David Harley Words & Music

Song Without Warning (Harley)

(c) 2018: all rights reserved

This is my box of dreams, my nest of nightmares
Words and lines and verses in a cage
Fragments of conversation
Thoughts that barely made the page

Some days, I think someday I’ll write them
All the verses in vitro in this room
Someday these little birds will find the way to fly away
They won’t need me anymore and they’ll be gone

Sometimes I call myself a writer
Though I’m afraid I might have lost the paperwork
Till they tap me on the shoulder and remind me
My poetic licence hasn’t been revoked

When my last song has been written
When I’ve picked my last chord
My box of dreams will still be here
Overflowing still with orphaned words

For every song without warning
That somehow made it to be heard
There’ll still be all these scraps of recollection
Thoughts and dreams that never found their words

Sometimes I call myself a writer
Though I’m afraid I might have lost the paperwork
Till they tap me on the shoulder and remind me
My poetic licence hasn’t been revoked

Backup copy:

Alternative master:

Backup copy:

My good friend Vic Cracknell, who among other musical activities runs open mike nights around Surrey, where I lived for several years, often used to introduce me as someone who plays authentic blues. As a result of which, I got used to introducing this along the lines of: “This is a traditional blues. However, it differs from most traditional blues in that it was written on the platform at Chalk Farm Tube station after an evening at the Enterprise folk club in 1983.” Essentially a 12- bar but with more minor chording than you might expect.

I rarely get the opportunity to play this with a band, so this is how I generally do it, with just my trusty Les Paul for support.

Backup version:

And a slide version. Too slow for my taste now, but some nice slide-y moments.

Backup version:

And this is an acoustic version. Better vocal, but a lot of ambient noise. Never mind, I’ll get back to it at some point. Plugged or unplugged? Not sure yet. 

Here’s a much older, slower acoustic version. I’m thinking I might revert to this arrangement, or something close to it, as per the video linked below.

Recorded as a live video some time ago:

Here’s an audio version captured from the video and mastered to raise the levels slightly:

Backup copy:

You can’t cage a butterfly, not unless you break its wings (x2)
You can cage a songbird, but you can’t make him sing

I went over the hill and I heard some flyer blow (x2)
I’ve been too long in the city: time to pack my grip and go

You think I’m fooling, but honey, it’s a fact
You had a good old mule, but you just broke his back

Words and Music by David Harley (all rights reserved) Not to be confused with The Butterfly, a slip jig of which there’s also a recording sitting on this site somewhere.