Songs – Page 56 – David Harley Words & Music

Tears of Morning

Full version:

Backup:

Remastered for volume:

Backup:

Version recorded for Ian Semple’s programme on CoastFM, but not actually used.

Tears of Morning (Housman-Harley)

Another Housman setting: words from Last Poems. I’ve followed the example of Michael Raven in using two separate (but consecutive) verses that are clearly connected thematically and in form, at least as far as this stand-alone song is concerned.

XXVI

The half-moon westers low, my love,
And the wind brings up the rain;
And wide apart lie we, my love,
And seas between the twain.

I know not if it rains, my love,
In the land where you do lie;
And oh, so sound you sleep, my love,
You know no more than I.

XXVII

The sigh that heaves the grasses
Whence thou wilt never rise
Is of the air that passes
And knows not if it sighs.

The diamond tears adorning
Thy low mound on the lea,
Those are the tears of morning,
That weeps, but not for thee.

Please

Backup:

Please

Please
Let me go on dreaming
Don’t make me wake
To find her gone
But it’s all right
Waking in the darkness
To find her still
Here in my arms

And the nightmares come and go
But in the afterglow
The pain spills out across the sheets
If this is all a dream
Please
Let me go on dreaming

Please
Let us go on dreaming
Sleep away the bitterness
That poisoned our lives
Help us
Go on believing
Tuning out the threats
And the lies

Please
Hold back the daybreak
Let there be no more
Lonely dawns
Or else
Let tomorrow last for ever
Dreaming
Of the night before

Words & Music by David Harley
© 1977

Singing in the Street [demo]

I have a large basket full of forgotten or half-written songs, or even orphaned lines and verses. Every so often I take a look through it, and some time ago I found this, from the early 70s.

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I thought I heard you singing in the street
You couldn’t hold the tune, but the words were sweet
I don’t know who you were singing for
I don’t even wish it was me

And I remember once I caught you crying
I was half-asleep, your body next to mine
You wouldn’t say what you were crying for
I suppose it might have been me

And once I heard you singing in the street
You couldn’t hold the tune, but the words were sweet
I heard that song too long ago
There’s nothing more to say

“Of course I love you
I told you so”
“Yes, I remember
But it seems so long ago”

And a version with a second guitar, just as a tryout. I think the final version will be quite different (and will need some work on the vocals: I wasn’t getting those low notes very well today). Still, nice to have a version actually down.

Backup:

David Harley

Words & music (c) David Harley 1973