Write up: (written September 2007)

At the time I was supporting my music by working part time as a youth worker in two youth centres. The photo was taken in the DJ room of the Grip Youth Arts Centre, Hedgend, and the recording was done in the Genesis Centre, Locksheath.
As always, I was working solo, with the bare minimum of equipment and trying to get the sound that I could hear but never create. I'm not sure if I got it this time either, but the trying was a useful journey! I've always prefered a stripped down acoustic sound, and I guess if you don't have a million dollar budget to throw at a producer, things are always going to have their quirks, which end up annoying me, but don't seem to bother the people who have often said that this is their favourite of my albums. I was amazed to find that one couple even played one of the tracks (I think the title track) for the first dance at their wedding!
Looking at the song list now, some of the songs (Sometimes, When Mary comes in, End of the evening) are still in the set list now eight years later. Others have left the set list, but only because of a lack of room and still make the odd appearance! The butterfly room has never made it into the set as it is doesn't really fit the venues we play at the moment.
The cover was mainly designed by Rob Loneragon, a friend of mine who was killed in a motorcycle accident last year and is sadly missed.

Songs:

We were meant to be.
This is a very early song, I think written whilst I was at college. It's a song of longing, and although it's about someone mising someone, I think at the time I think it was coming from my desperate lack of company! It was my first use of songs written around very close sounding chords, and strong rhythm.

Sometimes feel like crying.
At the time of writing this one, aI was at the start of a time of some soul searching that by the time of recording, was on the way to a heavy bout of depression later on. I guess it was written at a kind of crossroads time; part of me still thought it could take on the world, whilst the rest was beginning to have doubts.

Mr. Politician.
An angry young man song. I don't write many of these, but at the time, as mentioned, I was still taking on the world a bit.

When Mary comes in.
This song started to come to me in he middle of a John Renbourne gig at the Tower Arts Center, Winchester. I should have been paying more attention to the gig, but at least I came up with a song that is still in the set today, and I guess Mr. Renbourne must have made me feel arty enough to write this song. I always jokingly say that it's about beautiful people being a pain in the arse...

Hunting for fairies again.
This song was written in the Wimpy in Farnham (!) and again marks a time when my belief in my dreams was getting shaky. (It is not, despite the assertions of hecklers, about trying to find gay people in Farnham!)

Leaving.
A sad song about leaving a relationship.

Holiday.
This is one of the most asked for songs of all of mine, but hasn't been in the set for years, as I've never got around to sitting down with Dave and Deano to teach them the changes. It's another end of relationship songs, and was recorded with two changes. The first was that it was written with a the F word in it, but for the recording I chickened out of my mum hearing it, and left it out. Secondly, I always have in mind Shawford station in just outside Winchester, but when I recorded it I thought Eastleigh scaned better and changed it. Shawford can be a very bleak out-of-the-way station on a winters morning, and it has now been reinstated if played live!

The Butterfly room.
This song is partly literal and partly metaphorical. At the time I had moved back into my parents home and so in a way, all of my life was squeezed into one room. At the same time it's a song about struggling to connect, with dreams, or people, or life.

What if?
This is another song that didn't make it in when I formed the new trio. In a way it's a shame as it's a very early song, and strong rhythmically. Actually I guess the other reason it's not in the set is that live it would be best performed with a full band including drums etc. to make it a full of rhythm thing. Lyrically it carries on the theme of questioning everything.

End of the evening.
This one was written after a late night at my friend Rob Loneragon's house. It's not autobiographical, but I wish it was! I think it was my first lustful song! I've used this song to end my gigs, more or less since it was written.

For a while I took this album out of circulation because, as the recordings were getting better, quality wise, I thought that it wasn't good enough for people to listen to, but now I think that maybe that's a bit of a daft idea, and that as a record it shows where I was at the time, and in a way, that makes it an important album for me and people that like my music.

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