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Such a Silly Thing

by James Jefferys

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1.
Talking To Yourself 01:29
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James Jefferys - Talking To Yourself In case you can’t tell by the tone of my letter I miss you The feeling of small things that get under my skin This is helping, And it’s not total darkness – light peeks through the shade It’s all close It’s all close to my face; worries, people, hatred You have that You have that conversation and you tell them off They can’t hear you Talking to yourself – you’re such a silly thing I miss you I miss you, feeling of small things not being right Spluttering heat pipes, noises in the night And all those mystery lights
2.
Abenaki! 02:25
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James Jefferys - Abenaki! Pack your tools away You’re cute, but you can’t stay You’ve torn your mother’s breast Scoffed the lot, and sold the rest The sun is going down On all the sacred cows It’s rising in the West So that’s where we’ll build our nest Abenaki! They’re coming with their ills Through the woods, over the hills Our ears are in the sand And we can defend our land… Abenaki!
3.
Cabriole Fermée 02:40
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James Jefferys - Cabriole Fermée I fell straight into a well-deserved slumber, Slipped longitude from Forties to Humber The last thing I knew was the spray of Viking Then woke in the twilight of Wight, again You’re a gift, terra firma, thank you, really We pretended that we didn’t need you We always wished it was something we’d told, Ripped in the current from Portland to Sole Further from home, Washed in the foam… After a day of this Kinsale sailing, I’m carried through Shannon, up into Bailey I would do anything on solid ground – I’d kill, play golf, I’d flatten the mounds Ballerinas are circling by me Hopping through the surf, cabriole fermée Pastel pink, furious blue, Frustrated red and lilac, too Then the morning wash begins its pulling Of me to the shores of old Lagavulin
4.
Back in the Groove 02:49
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James Jefferys - Back in the Groove What is right? ‘In this world, everything casts a shadow’ Says the old man to the little child Says the child to the little old man (This time with his foot held down on his throat) Then all the squares fall down everywhere And all but one thing slips from our grasp We’re back in the groove, All the squares have had their edges smoothed Fingers wagging Have been zapped into space with Yuri Gagarin Every tiny moaner Has had their disc wiped – been painted over Every screaming doubt Has been sent to the gulag, flushed right out We’re back in the groove We’re back in the groove Tell the Muslims, tell the Jews We’ve little to lose, We’re back in the groove We’re back in the groove Back in the groove Back on the booze, Dance ‘round our shoes Back what’s not right? It’s midnight in the meadow And everything’s squares, and threats, and shadows (instrumental) Consider this a gift from me to me Same thing every year, it’s our swept-up leaves Hot under collar, sick to follow, Beg, steal or borrow, there’s always tomorrow We’re back in the groove, back in the groove We’re back in the groove, back in the groove We’re back in the groove, back in the groove
5.
You'd Want the Best 02:34
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James Jefferys - You’d Want the Best This is not a political song, But some people will hear it as one Love does not get watered down The more than it gets passed around You’d want the best, too For all those who are close to you You’ve been sold a silly lie By people unlike you or I That you can keep what’s in your hands If they can keep all the land You’d want what’s best, too For all those who are close to you
6.
Swish of the Pendulum 01:51
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James Jefferys - Swish of the Pendulum I didn’t pluck the flower, mama And Christ knows, I tried It was locked tight like Excalibur, To the Earth too closely tied. I sailed across a milky dust Gripped my stallion’s throbbing neck Does perverse disturb the universe Is the stone rolled by the speck? Photons fell rough and sandy on my face Each one taken there By a galloping mare The last pea pushed around my plate I’m the fly, the spider, moth Look blindly for the light But the Earth just sighs And doesn’t even try to shrug me off The outlines of the buildings Smudged a neon blur across My eyes as I hitchhiked through the city I’d hate to be there on the day They decide to tear it down There’s a little mother in all of us, One who makes A Game… Out of dodging the swish of the pendulum, And whistles like a doomed canary To mask the noise that tries to scare me
7.
St Thomas 03:48
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James Jefferys - St. Thomas Slips his hand inside his jacket pocket Pulls the door and joins the world outside Who could want you? You’re such a silly thing. The pain that you would bring… Stay at home, instead. You hold that little strap on the bus Like it could love you back Just stay away from us. ‘Fifteen men couldn’t hold me back from you’ It’s a line I hope someday I’ll use I’ll use that line And make it sound true. Then you will be mine We’ll do what lovers do I’ll wait I’ll wait like St. Thomas To find out who you are Then wait some more, I promise The TV smirks, Holds something back A dam make out of birthday cake and doubt The reservoir of crap Trickles through the cracks Please, just enough to tell that I count Slip my hand outside my jacket pocket Push the door and be the world inside Push the door and be the world inside.
8.
I Have Been Summoned! 02:13
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James Jefferys - I Have Been Summoned! I’m agonised But if you’re nice I’ll describe my dream It’s no surprise I’ve had it once or twice This week Just out of the air, You’re up three flights of stairs In your four-poster bed, Dropping your jewellery, The highest tomfoolery Whilst I’m I the scullery, Still feeling grateful, Plenty-the-plateful, Peeling potatoes. My heart always sings When I think of your things Then the bell rings! On with the cummerbund I have been summoned! But it’s only my alarm clock Another Monday
9.
The Boy in Front of Me 02:06
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James Jefferys - The Boy in Front of Me It’s the confluence of a thousand tributaries, Flowing into the basin of the boy in front of me. It’s finding a line that describes the feeling perfectly, And then forgetting it totally when he’s crying and he needs me. And only the gist of the feeling remains – I’ve even lost doggerel in the space between the page and seeing his face.
10.
Get Away 03:36
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James Jefferys - Get Away The days ahead overlap It’s like throwing a dart at a moving map Pack a bag, catch a flight Feel the flash running up the kite Or dig a hole in the loam Plant yourself like a pretty rose Let the wind comb your locks Then pull you up by your frilly socks Nights passed hang around Our necks like all the stones that we found Pack a bag, catch a flight A little more running might make this right Reckons he’s found the answers To all the questions he thought he’d asked us The window melts down the wall Until we’re stuck in the room with nothing at all… Let’s get away Put everything off for just a few days If they’ve waited this long they’ll wait longer, you’ll see… (instrumental) We skipped just a bit There’ll be more of that if you stick with me All of the rules get confused We’ll abandon more than the rhyme scheme… Let’s get away Put everything off for just a few days If they’ve waited this long they’ll wait longer, you’ll see… Soldiers break step Out of their depth They’re worthless, inept But the shaking ain’t kept No more Without orders And the clearest borders They’re just morons, Mindless marauders, I’m sure Let’s get away Put everything off for just a few days If they’ve waited this long they’ll wait longer, you’ll see… Let’s get away Put everything off for just a few days If they’ve waited this long they’ll wait longer, you’ll see…
11.
Family Viewing 05:15
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James Jefferys - Family Viewing The priest came by here in the night You want to know how I know this? He snagged his habit on a rowan tree Though its branches were high And its fruit glowed red And it stands on the precipice of the valley The badgers and moles, rabbits and foxes Although dead looked so at peace The trail of torn tunic led straight To a boulevard of carrion Pecked by more carrion And the last rights had been given The peasants disappeared overnight Their photographs followed them A cellarful of ripped parachutes, Frustrated troops And ill-fitting boots Might have to wait another season Family Viewing I offer the priest an instant coffee Whilst smiling, he politely refuses He thinks about his afternoon There’s too much to do Exorcisms and pianos to tune And selling the rest as firewood Drunk on the fog that conquering brought We sat at the roadside, swapping Inaccurate stories of past successes And future amends And how we’ll lose it all in the end Lunatics chuckling in the hurricane
12.
Orphan (For the Rest of His Life) 03:08
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James Jefferys - Orphan (For the Rest of His Life) All five fingertips connect With the plea ‘collapse the traps’ There’s a little mother in all of us Who wants to do exactly that So we can all just let them get away And have our chase another day No love …Caused the orphan to ask questions Of his patchy life thus far “Where are all the photographs? Was I born aged five?” “You were born at nine am, That’s when you came alive.” No love The quiet day, the noisy night, the way it’s working out Is good for me As it takes my head To places where things better left unsaid Stay unsaid Forever corked under cellar doors, Never washed on foreign shores Never read by glaring eyes Unsaid is the parasite…
13.
You Won't Be Lost Forever 02:28
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James Jefferys - You Won’t be Lost Forever You won’t always be excited The flame will go out, The water drains right out the spout You won’t always be happy to see me Some days I’ll be a drag, Please let me have a freebie You won’t always be pleased You’ll be a house without a roof, A car without the keys A shark without a tooth, A boat without the sea A bird without the feathers, Left to dangle for a while too long, until it seems like you’ll be lost forever You won’t be lost forever

about

All songs written, performed, recorded, produced and mixed by James Jefferys 2019. ©

Track 1 and 7 piano written and arranged by Emil Sommer. www.emilsommerquartet.com

Track 2 and 5 violin written, arranged, and recorded by Fred Holden. www.fredholden.co.uk

Track 9 woodwinds written, arranged, and recorded by H.C Molbech. almune.bandcamp.com/album/bjergtagen

Track 7 cello written and arranged by Ursula Klindt Nielsen. goetterfunken.dk

Thank you to all of the artists who contributed to this album. It’s always humbling for me to hear my songs made better by musicians more talented than I am.

Similar to the 24 others which preceded it, this album was recorded mainly in my own living room, the living rooms of musicians, and a bit at work, which microphones kindly leant to me by the eminent H.C Molbech of Almune fame. It would therefore benefit enormously from being heard on decent speakers. I’m no Geoff Emerick.

As ever, this album is free to download and listen to but if you'd like to pay for it, then name your price. Links to download and/or buy are up above.

I’m just going to keep doing this…

Love,

James

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released February 6, 2019

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James Jefferys Aarhus, Denmark

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