Terry and Val

Here is the tale of two friends. One I met on the Camino, Terry. The other, Val,  has been by my side for more than 30 years.

Terry and Val

In my short time with Terry, apart from keeping me dry and,  when the sun is blazing down, keeping my head cool, he has twice helped me out of a tricky situation.

The first was when, after walking 4km on the wrong side of a fence, I was confronted by a pair of locked steel gates topped with barbed wire. To reach the spot only inches away offered 2 solutions : walk 8km on a day when I had already covered close to 30 or to climb the gates.

First I climbed to the top and wrapped Terry around the barbed wire. Jumping down, I the climbed again to hook my rucksack to the top of the gate. (There was no point in me clambering over only to see me portable home stranded where I had just been!)

With everything prepared, I scaled the gates and, holding on to the highest rail, unwrapped Terry and lowered him to the ground. Then I had to pull my 25lb bag over to the other side. The weight was too much for the fragile hold my toes had on the criss cross fencing and I fell onto the stony ground with a thump. I cut my foot, hand and shoulder, but we had made it. Or maybe not….

Gathering my things I turned to see firstly a railway track and, beyond that an identical gate and fencing barring my from the town on 300 yards away. Wash, rinse and repeat.

Some days later, I found myself in a not too dissimilar situation. Once again, the wrong side of the fence but this time on the other side was a very steep bank about 40 feet from the path. The fence was relatively easy but the bank of prickly thistles and sharp stone was a tough proposition. Once again up stepped Terry.

This time I folded him in half, laid him down, put my rucksack into my lap and used Terry as a sled to slowly slide down the bank to safety.

As much as I am fond of Terry, it doesn’t compare to the deep 30 plus year love affair I have had with Val. In 3 decades of almost constant travel, through so many different countries in all corners of the world, she has been faithfully at my side. She is with me now as I embark on the last stretch of the Camino de Santiago.

I call her Val in honour of a great friend, Val Fifield who, along with her wonderful husband, Bobbies, I have know since I was a boy.

Over the last few years my traveling companion has suffered badly from wear and tear and sometimes looks like only a few threads hold it together. So, on my return from every journey I put her into the healing hands of her namesake, Val Fifield who, with love and skill restores her fresh for the next adventure.

The lining, the side panels and the back are all crafted from various sources from the home of Bobbies and Val. Most poignant of all for me is the shoulder strap. This was once the belt to Val Fifield’s ball gown worn as a young lady attending dances in our shared, beloved home town of Fulham.

Valerie Fifield, it pains me to tell you is currently unwell in hospital receiving treatment for cancer. So with a heavy heart I dedicate this post and the shoulder bag I named in her honour to a beautiful, kind and loving lady. Valerie Fifield.

Billy x

Terry and Val

Here is the tale of two friends. One I met on the Camino, Terry. The other, Val,  has been by my side for more than 30 years.

Terry and Val

In my short time with Terry, apart from keeping me dry and,  when the sun is blazing down, keeping my head cool, he has twice helped me out of a tricky situation.

The first was when, after walking 4km on the wrong side of a fence, I was confronted by a pair of locked steel gates topped with barbed wire. To reach the spot only inches away offered 2 solutions : walk 8km on a day when I had already covered close to 30 or to climb the gates.

First I climbed to the top and wrapped Terry around the barbed wire. Jumping down, I the climbed again to hook my rucksack to the top of the gate. (There was no point in me clambering over only to see me portable home stranded where I had just been!)

With everything prepared, I scaled the gates and, holding on to the highest rail, unwrapped Terry and lowered him to the ground. Then I had to pull my 25lb bag over to the other side. The weight was too much for the fragile hold my toes had on the criss cross fencing and I fell onto the stony ground with a thump. I cut my foot, hand and shoulder, but we had made it. Or maybe not….

Gathering my things I turned to see firstly a railway track and, beyond that an identical gate and fencing barring my from the town on 300 yards away. Wash, rinse and repeat.

Some days later, I found myself in a not too dissimilar situation. Once again, the wrong side of the fence but this time on the other side was a very steep bank about 40 feet from the path. The fence was relatively easy but the bank of prickly thistles and sharp stone was a tough proposition. Once again up stepped Terry.

This time I folded him in half, laid him down, put my rucksack into my lap and used Terry as a sled to slowly slide down the bank to safety.

As much as I am fond of Terry, it doesn’t compare to the deep 30 plus year love affair I have had with Val. In 3 decades of almost constant travel, through so many different countries in all corners of the world, she has been faithfully at my side. She is with me now as I embark on the last stretch of the Camino de Santiago.

I call her Val in honour of a great friend, Val Fifield who, along with her wonderful husband, Bobbies, I have know since I was a boy.

Over the last few years my traveling companion has suffered badly from wear and tear and sometimes looks like only a few threads hold it together. So, on my return from every journey I put her into the healing hands of her namesake, Val Fifield who, with love and skill restores her fresh for the next adventure.

The lining, the side panels and the back are all crafted from various sources from the home of Bobbies and Val. Most poignant of all for me is the shoulder strap. This was once the belt to Val Fifield’s ball gown worn as a young lady attending dances in our shared, beloved home town of Fulham.

Valerie Fifield, it pains me to tell you is currently unwell in hospital receiving treatment for cancer. So with a heavy heart I dedicate this post and the shoulder bag I named in her honour to a beautiful, kind and loving lady. Valerie Fifield.

Billy x

An Atheist Among the Adoring

This path was built and paved by missionary pilgrims.  Every town, no matter how small, has a plaza mayor where the locals will sit facing the cathedral. Are their conversations confessional? Their pontificating a form of prayer or praise? It’s not too hard to believe.

Sometimes I feel under scrutiny. Do they sense an Atheist Among the Adoring? 

In the bigger towns, Leon, Burgos and I’m certain, Santiago, the pageantry and ceremony is so extravagant, it’s as if those taking part are trying to prove themselves worthy to be allowed into the house of their God so as to be reunited with those they have loved and lost.

It is the sharpest of double edged swords.

My heart hurts for them as a life in the here and now is dismissed for a life of the there and then.

But I cannot ignore my frustration.

Had I walked the same distance South from St Jean Pied du Port, I would be at the scene of an atrocity carried out in the name of a different God promising an alternative paradise.

Do the followers of one faith not give credence to the followers of another. Even if the rival faith commits acts of such depravity and inhumanity?

Is the treacherous tale of virgin birth, multiple miracles and resurrection that ends in the house of the Lord in eternal bliss, any different to the sickness of sharia law and the promise of numerous virgins in exchange for a murderous martyrdom?

The behaviour of any faith or nation two thousand years ago are ridiculous and spiteful in a post Darwin and Einstein world.

We have grown up. Yet so many cling to the sweetened tales of humanities infancy.

I can’t hate them. But it is and always will be my duty to challenge them.

With love.

Billy x

Huerfano (Orphan) From The Crossing by #CormacMcCarthy - #TheKidsCamino

  I have read so many extraordinary books.  I can say that despite no real education. I read for the joy, not for the exam.  Books changed my life as much as did music.

In my own book I mention that Huckleberry Finn and I are “brothers separated only by fiction.

That said, there is no piece of prose in my own reading history where a character turned his head from the page, stared me in the eye and told me how my life was and how it should be.

It’s from The Crossing by Cormac Mccarthy,  the greatest living writer of our time. You will be hard pressed to find anything more beautiful.  Please read and share as much as you can.  Thank you so much.

Billy

“He told the boy that although he was huerfano ( an orphan) still he must cease his wanderings and make for himself some place in the world because to wander in this way would become for him a passion and by this passion he would become estranged from men and so ultimately from himself. He said that the world could only be known as it existed in men’s hearts. For while it seemed a place which contained men it was in reality a place contained within them and therefore to know it one must look there and come to know those hearts and to do this one must live with men and not simply pass among them. He said that while the huerfano might feel that he no longer belonged among men he must set this feeling aside for he contained within him a largeness of spirit which men could see and that men would wish to know him and that the world would need him even as he needed the world for they were one.”

  Billy Franks.

Camino Frances de Santiago Stages Guide – The French Way Route

Rest & Reflection on the #Camino

  Found a lovely small private room in Pamplona so decided that, after my first 3 days, having developed a huge foot blister and some spinal pain, it would be the best choice for my first day of rest.

  I have now parted company with my travelling companions, Russell and his son, James.

For a few days at least, it will become my Camino.

When you’re walking over hills, crossing rivers, swishing

your way through forests and scrambling up rocky pathways, there is little time for reflection.

As soon as you stop, even for a few moments, you get this strange feeling of tranquillity, simplicity and beauty.

http://www.thekidstaysinthepicture.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/20160624_135653.mp4

It’s not a flash of insight or revelation, just a peaceful acceptance of  “it is what it is.”

Slowly lightening my load and my sense of worry.

Going to take a stroll around the town and get some lunch.

Adios mi amigos y mi amigas.

Billy

I Wanna Be Your Country #20 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

From Genius & Grace

I have, more than once taken other songwriters under my wing and taught them some very fundamental lessons on song craftsmanship. I’m not talking about your everyday pop trivia, but how to get on the road to being a songwriter who knows how to use words and melody to impart something thoughtful or heartfelt.

I usually start by asking the question, “what is it that compels you to write?” The most common answer is, “to tell people how I feel.” Wrong. You should want to make people feel how you feel.

How?

Well that’s a long and convoluted answer but the first lesson always starts with this: establish your vocabulary. What I mean by this is, once you have an idea and a title, certain words will prove to be more evocative than others.

I Wanna Be Your Country is the perfect example. On one hand it is a love song, on the other it is a critique of how governments behave. Poignant to me then, no less so now.

The idea was simple. If you love someone, a part of you wants to protect them and give them shelter from life’s hardships. What better way to express such feelings than to offer freedom, comfort and refuge: a place to call home. So, as you will see as the song unfolds, I chose a selection of words that refer to countries and their behaviour. Also words that express the plight of those who don’t feel they belong.

I wanna be your country

When you feel like a refugee

I want you to come to me

And I will grant you sanctuary

I wanna be your country

When you feel like you’re lost at sea

I want you to discover me

To recover me

I wanna be your country

I’m sure that lyric, which makes up the chorus, shows exactly what I mean.

It would become monotonous to repeatedly sing about what I want to be for someone, so the nifty little twist was to make the verses a list of things I wouldn’t be or do.

I would not see you hungry

I would not see you poor

I would not put a price on you

Or a black cross on your door

What I’m making here is a promise to keep someone from hunger, poverty, slavery or being cast aside. All of these protections I chose because they are things that so many nations don’t provide for their own vulnerable citizens.

The second part of the verse refers more to the idea of stopping people from speaking out against such injustice.

I don’t wanna keep you quiet

I don’t wanna keep you down

Come on out into the open

Take a look around

  I wanna be your country

When you feel like a refugee

I want you to come to me

And I will grant you sanctuary

I wanna be your country

When you feel like you’re lost at sea

I want you to discover me

To recover me

I wanna be your country

  Again, in the second verse the two themes of taking care of people and not repressing them are intertwined.

I would not see you homeless

I would not lead you blind

I would not beat you senseless

No, baby you can speak your mind

  I don’t wanna call you comrade

I don’t wanna run this race

Come on out into the open

Get a load of this place!

  I wanna be your country

When you feel like a refugee

I want you to come to me

And I will grant you sanctuary

I wanna be your country

When you feel like you’re lost at sea

I want you to discover me

To recover me

I wanna be your country

 .

.

.

.

.

Now we get to hear how different they would feel when they were in “your country.”

.

.

When you can come as you are

Go as you please

Worship without getting down on your knees

You’re in my country

  When you can be what you want

Do what you can

Welcome

Welcome to the heartland

  I wanna be your country

When you feel like a refugee

I want you to come to me

And I will grant you sanctuary

I wanna be your country

When you feel like you’re lost at sea

I want you to discover me

To recover me

I wanna be your country

.

.

Right here you have a metaphor that, over the course of 2 verses, a chorus and a middle section, is fully realised and fully expressed.

. 

I’m glad that this song came up relatively early in the series of essays because it establishes a rule that you will see adhered to throughout many of my songs. That rule, simply put, is a method of making people feel how you feel, rather than just dictating your emotions to the reader or listener.

. 

In this case the reader and listener was you. Thanks for dropping by.

.

Don’t forget to share as much possible in exchange for the free download.

Best wishes,

Billy

I Wanna Be Your Country 7.52 MB

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Damn Love #19 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

From Genius & Grace

Lighthearted songs don’t come easy. Especially when your instincts demand a high quality lyrical content. The last thing I would want as a writer would be to drift off into the world of novelty or whimsy. If I was going to write something to bring a smile to the face, it would have to have an essential truth at its heart.

When I wrote Damn Love, I had recently fallen for someone and realised what a mess it made of my life.

As the idea was gestating in my mind, I saw a BBC play called ‘Orwell in Jura’, about the author’s time on this island off the coast of Scotland.

(Here’s a snippet from their website:

If you want to get away from it all, Jura is the place to come. The novelist George Orwell who stayed on the island at Barnhill during the 1940s quite rightly described it as “an extremely un-getatable place”.)

Towards the end, in a response to remarks from his companion regarding the nature of happiness, Orwell replied “happiness is something that creeps up on you just when you were planning on being miserable.”

I had a start.

Just when I was feeling free 

To enjoy my misery 

Damn Love! 

Sweet nirvana on my mind

Now I worry all the time 

Damn Love! 

I was heading for the state of grace

But now I ain’t going any place 

So in keeping with the saints 

I damn love!

I’m not sure that too many saints would damn love but, as most of them were celibate, I’m sure there were times when it taunted the hell out of even the most devout of those who have been canonised down the centuries.

Though not a believer, I loved the idea that falling in love could even distract the devout from their chosen God:

                                                                                                                                                                               .

Almost met the mind of god

Now it’s only she I’m thinking of

Lord above!

Time to dip my soul in bliss

Stolen with a lover’s kiss

Damn love!

I was heading for the state of grace

So there you have it. A simple but charming song about the curses that come with the blessings of love.

Damn Love 4.27 MB

I'm giving away a huge catalogue of songs here. If you would like to help in any small way, please make a donation. Many thanks, Billy

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Angel at your Elbow #18 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

From Genius & Grace

There was some hesitancy before tackling this song. So beloved is it by so many people for many reasons, that I don’t want to talk down a song that I wrote, at the piano, almost in real time. Then again, some of the best songs are written in the shortest possible time.

I had been reading Charles Dickens Christmas Ghost Stories and in one of them was a moment when the narrator said something like “and he was as close to me as the ghost is now at your elbow.”

It gave me chills and I immediately changed Ghost to Angel and sat at the piano singing the first words and melody that came to mind.

Haunted 

Unwanted

Ghosts of days gone by 

Turned out

You hurt now 

But baby please don’t cry 

Now,  no sooner had I composed the verse, when the chorus melody came rushing into my head. But the chord structure would not be as simple as it has been for the verse. The chords were changing on just about every word and I had to pause to collect them all together around the tune.

There’s an angel at your elbow 

And a wolf at your door 

A new moon rises

In her eyes so

What are you waiting for 

I believe that I instinctively added the wolf to dissipate the almost clichéd overuse of the word Angel.

Then,  seeing the new moon reflected, rising, in the she wolf’s eyes, rounded off the chorus perfectly.

For the second verse, I opted for those moments when whatever hurts or ails you at any particular time, seems to bite deeper than at any other: nightfall. When we are suffering a great loss or heartache, nightfall can be the loneliest of all hours.

Night falls 

Pain calls 

There’s no one at your side 

Feel stranded

Abandoned 

Well baby dry your eyes 

There’s an angel at your elbow

And a wolf at your door

A new moon rises

In her eyes so

What are you waiting for

It’s that all important middle eight section.

This time, I’m using the quietest moments of the song to offer a little comfort.

Let It go now 

You’re not alone now

Let it show you how to heal

Be strong 

You belong

There’s nothing wrong with the way you feel 

You hurt now

Feel burned out 

But someone loves you still 

There’s an angel at your elbow

And a wolf at your door

A new moon rises

In her eyes so

What are you waiting for

Among the many notable musical moments the production of this song has, my lasting memory is of asking our drummer to play a soft roll with brushes, out of the middle eight and into the final chorus, to give the impression of wings fluttering as our Angel takes flight.

Lee Hirons and I sat up all through the night getting the mix of this song refined enough so that you could clearly hear all of the instruments. Additional instruments were added at every point, right up until the 2 new guitar parts come in over the outro. Despite the song’s simplicity, the listener would always find something new to latch on to.

Apart from being on the album, Genius & Grace, Angel at your Elbow was also part of the soundtrack to the independent movie, Track 16.

Angel at your Elbow 4.95 MB

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Lies, Damn Lies & Donald Trump Statistics

  There’s never been a presidential candidate like Donald Trump — someone so cavalier about the facts and so unwilling to ever admit error, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

  Donald Trump’s false comments connecting Mexican immigrants and crime

Donald Trump repeatedly defended his claim that the Mexican government is sending criminals and rapists to the United States. But a range of studies shows there is no evidence immigrants commit more crimes than native-born Americans. Moreover, the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants in prison do not belong in the category that fit Trump’s description: aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder, drug trafficking or illegal trafficking of firearms.

Trump’s bogus claim that he never said ‘some of the things’ claimed by Megyn Kelly

Fox News host Megyn Kelly asked Donald Trump a pointed question about his verbal treatment of women. On the Sunday shows, Trump refused to apologize — and further asserted that Kelly lists things he did not say. But there is ample evidence for each of the slurs against women uttered or tweeted by Trump. He had a small point that he attacks once he is provoked, but there is little doubt that the over-the-top language cited by Kelly was correct.

Trump’s zombie claim that Obama spent $4 million to conceal school and passport records

Trump, one of the most high-profile “birthers” during the 2012 presidential campaign, resurfaced this zombie claim that President Obama spent $4 million in legal fees to conceal records that would indicate his true citizenship. There is no proof that Obama spent $4 million in legal fees (personally or through his campaign) to keep his school application or passport application records away from the public. Federal campaign finance records show from 2008 through 2012, the Obama for America campaign paid more than $4 million in legal services to Perkins Coie, the law firm that defended the campaign in some of the eligibility lawsuits. But campaigns have in-house and outside counsel to vet a wide range of issues, not just those related to lawsuits.

Trump’s absurd claim that the ‘real’ unemployment rate is 42 percent

Trump’s made a ridiculous leap in logic to come up with his claim that the “real” unemployment rate was 42 percent — at a time when the official rate was 5.3 percent. He took an estimate for the number of people not working — 93 million — and assumed they were all unemployed. But the vast majority of those people do not want to work. Most are retired or simply not interested in working, such as stay-at-home parents. Even a President Trump would be unable to make much of a dent in this supposed 42-percent unemployment rate, given that most of the Americans he is counting as “unemployed” are not in the labor force by choice.

  Trump’s repeated claim that Obama is accepting 200,000 Syrian refugees

Like a broken record, businessman Donald J. Trump keeps repeating a statistic with little basis in fact — that the Obama administration wants to accept 200,000 refugees from Syria. It appears to be based on a misunderstanding — the Obama administration says it planned to admit 185,000 refugees over two years from all countries. For Syria, Obama has only directed the United States to accept at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next year. Ironically, that’s a number that Trump indicated was fine.

Trump’s baseless claim that the Bush White House tried to ‘silence’ his Iraq War opposition in 2003

Trump brags that he had the vision and foresight to oppose the Iraq War ahead of the invasion in 2003. He says his opposition was so vocal, and his reach so great, that the White House approached him and asked him to tone it down. There is scant media coverage of his supposed opposition ahead of the Iraq War. (We later compiled a complete timeline of Trump’s comments in 2002 and 2003 about the Iraq invasion, which showed he was not vocal about his opposition prior to the invasion, and they didn’t make headlines.) Trump ignored our request for the names of White House officials he supposedly met with, so we checked with former senior White House officials. None of the dozen people we contacted directly or through former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer could recall a meeting with Trump, concerns about his opposition, or even Trump’s views being on their radar prior to 2004.

Repeat after me: Obama is not admitting 100,000, 200,000 or 250,000 Syrian refugees

Trump had previously earned Four Pinocchios for falsely claiming President Obama was planning to admit 200,000 refugees from war-torn Syria. (The real number is 10,000; a total of 180,000 refugees from around the world will be admitted in 2016 and 2017.) Undeterred, Trump upped the number to 250,000 — and fellow novice politicians Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson followed up with claims of 100,000 refugees from Syria. All three earned Four Pinocchios.

Trump’s outrageous claim that ‘thousands’ of New Jersey Muslims celebrated the 9/11 attacks

GOP presidential hopeful Trump falsely and repeatedly asserted that he saw TV clips of “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the collapse of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks. Despite an army of fact checks, including ours, and repeated debunking, Trump continued to assert he was correct, even though he could produce no evidence except a handful of news stories that made brief mentions of alleged celebrations — which never could be confirmed. He earned Four Pinocchios. Ben Carson, another GOP aspirant, briefly said he, too, had seen such a video. But to his credit, he withdrew the statement after realizing it was of Palestinians in Gaza, not New Jersey.

  Trump’s claim that he ‘predicted Osama bin Laden’

In various speeches and interviews, Trump has claimed that two years before the 9/11 attacks, he warned that Osama bin Laden was a threat — going to “do damage” to the United States — and even predicted the rise of terrorism. This claim rests on some vague references in a book he published in 2000. The references have little relationship to how Trump portrays them now — and he ignores the fact that well before 9/11, experts, news organizations and even bin Laden himself said he planned to attack the United States.

Trump’s claim that the unemployment rate is 23 percent

After falsely asserting the “real” unemployment rate was 42 percent, Trump suddenly tossed out a new estimate of “22 to 23 percent.” But this was also wrong. His figure is still more than double the most expansive rate published by the U.S. government, which at the time was 9.9 percent. That means there are about 35 million “unemployed” who Trump has not accounted for — and as usual the Trump campaign refused to explain how he came up with his estimate.

Trump’s truly absurd claim he would save $300 billion a year on prescription drugs

Trump said that he would allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies, thus saving $300 billion a year. This made little sense, given that the prescription drug portion of the Medicare program costs only $78 billion a year. Total annual spending on prescription drugs in the United States is between $298 and $423 billion, which suggests Trump thinks he can eliminate virtually any cost to prescription drugs. Once again, we are confronted with a nonsense figure from the mouth of Donald Trump.

Trump’s false claim he built his empire with a ‘small loan’ from his father

Trump often says he started his business empire with just a $1 million loan from his father. But that is simply not credible. He appears to have inherited about $40 million. He also benefited from numerous loans and loan guarantees, as well as his father’s connections, to make the move into Manhattan. His father set up lucrative trusts to provide steady income. When Trump became overextended in the casino business, his father bailed him out with a shady casino-chip loan — and Trump also borrowed $9 million against his future inheritance. While Trump asserts “it has not been easy for me,” he glosses over the fact that his father paved the way for his success — and that his father bailed him out when he got into trouble.

Trump’s smear of Time magazine as the source for his ‘facts’

In a contentious interview with a conservative radio host, Trump was quizzed on claims he made about Wisconsin at a time when Gov. Scott Walker (R) was still a presidential contender, in particular the false claim that under Walker the state had gone from a $1 billion surplus to a $2.2 billion deficit. Trump refused to apologize, saying the blame should be placed on Time Magazine; he claimed he was simply quoting the magazine. But we could find little evidence for Trump’s claim. While Time at one point has mentioned a $2 billion budget “shortfall,” that was different than Trump’s phrasing. Moreover, the budget issue had already been resolved two weeks before Trump started making the claim—and he didn’t change it even after being called out by fact checkers.

Trump’s nonsensical claim he can eliminate $19 trillion in debt in eight years

In an interview with The Washington Post, Trump asserted he could eliminate the nation’s $19 trillion in debt in just eight years, apparently through renegotiating trade deals. Using federal budget data, we demonstrated why Trump’s pledge is mathematically impossible. First, he has to eliminate the deficit that is adding to the debt year after year. (That is projected to add another $7 trillion in debt by 2024.) Even if Trump eliminated every government function and shut down every Cabinet agency, he’d still be $16 trillion short.

  Trump’s false claim that the Islamic State is ‘making a fortune’ on Libyan oil

Trump asserted that the Islamic State terror group had seized the oil in Libya and “is making a fortune now” in the country. But analysts said this is completely false. ISIS has attacked oil fields and destroyed equipment but it has not captured any – or even sought to control the fields. At best one can say ISIS has disrupted the flow of oil. But it is certainly not making any money from such tactics.

  Trump’s false claim that ‘scores of recent migrants’ in the U.S. are charged with terrorism

It’s unclear where Trump is getting this information but it appears to be a bungled reference to a list issued by a Senate office concerning 30  foreign-born individuals who were arrested on charges relating to terrorism in recent years. But the majority of the 30 cases involved naturalized U.S. citizens — people who came to the U.S. as children or had arrived before 2011. There is no evidence that “scores” of “recent migrants” are charged with terrorism.

  No, Putin did not call Donald Trump ‘a genius’

Trump likes to brag that Russian president Vladmir Putin has “called me a genius.” But Putin said no such thing. The Russian president used a Russian word that means “colorful” or “lively” or even “flamboyant.” A handful of news organizations used the word “bright,” but not in the sense of intelligent. As usual, Trump stretched the meaning even further.

Source: The Washington Post

  #post- .CPlase_panel display:none; "If you tell the truth for long enough you will eventually be found out." Enter Email Address To Get RSS Feed To Your Inbox. Alternatively, fill in the white form for 12 free songs & book extract.

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Genius & Grace #11 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks (Album 2)

    First a note. This is the first song on my second solo album, Genius & Grace. For the album cover, I used this picture of myself as a young boy for a very good reason.

“Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recaptured at will.” ― Charles Baudelaire

Let me start my stating my stance on the whole notion of genius – There is no such thing as a genius. Genius is a place you go to. It’s a place in the mind where your imaginations has no boundaries. There has to be no thought unconsidered. No limit to what you will allow yourself to think or feel. It is also the place where that freedom allows you to find ways of expression not present in the daily state of mind. Here is the first half of the first verse.

There’s a place I can go

Deep in my mind

Where the dangerous know

The beauty you find

Trust me when I tell you that it can be a very lonely and desolate place. If getting there is tough, making sure you don’t stay too long is imperative. If you do, you will stand a good chance of losing your mind. Genius can be harsh but it teaches you compassion.

Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” ― Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Here is the second half followed by the chorus which sums up my thoughts expressed here.

You only get here what you pay for

But if you stay too long

Greatness become true temptation

Grace becomes someone you used to know

Grace I know

Is a careless love

Genius is cruel but teaches to be kind

Genius and grace

One way or another

Genius and grace, make up your mind.

.

To quote once again my favorite poet, T.S Eliot, these forays are “raids on the inarticulate.”

It’s a perfect metaphor because a raid is exactly what it is. You get in, grab what you need, then get out. Otherwise you can get lost. It’s sometimes easy, particularly when all this beauty is new to you, to overstay out of of a kind of artistic vanity

It’s been a long, long time

Since grace was here

Now she’s gone and I’m

Stranded here

My mistake

I took a little

Something for myself

Vanity was

Only the beginning

Sanity was

A fair weather friend

.

Here are quotes by a couple of men, wiser than me, who have come to the same conclusion.

.

.

Grace on the other hand is completely in the opposite direction. A state of grace in when thinking is minimal. You are undisturbed and at peace with yourself. You don’t do, you simply be. Unfortunately once you have headed in either direction there is a point where they become mutually exclusive. Your closeness to one puts the other out of reach. Their one similarity is that once you are heading towards genius or grace, you are compelled to go the whole way. There is no turning back.

.

.

Grace I know

.

I say grace is a careless lover in the sense that grace is carefree.

“People like me are aware of their so-called genius at ten, eight, nine. . . . I always wondered, “Why has nobody discovered me?” In school, didn’t they see that I’m cleverer than anybody in this school? That the teachers are stupid, too? That all they had was information that I didn’t need? I got fuckin’ lost in being at high school. I used to say to me auntie “You throw my fuckin’ poetry out, and you’ll regret it when I’m famous, ” and she threw the bastard stuff out. I never forgave her for not treating me like a fuckin’ genius or whatever I was, when I was a child. It was obvious to me. Why didn’t they put me in art school? Why didn’t they train me? Why would they keep forcing me to be a fuckin’ cowboy like the rest of them? I was different I was always different. Why didn’t anybody notice me? A couple of teachers would notice me, encourage me to be something or other, to draw or to paint – express myself. But most of the time they were trying to beat me into being a fuckin’ dentist or a teacher” ― John Lennon.

.

Genius & Grace 6.12 MB

Click this pic to get my first solo album, Mass and it’s accompanying essays for free.

Best wishes,

Billy

  .

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This is brilliant! George Carlin: How language is used to mask truth. (Worth 9 minutes of anyone's time!)

George Carlin: How language is used to mask truth and Israeli terrorism.

This reminds me so much of a piece by the first brutally honest comedian, Lenny Bruce. Chris Rock has also written a connected skit called Niggers Vs Black People.

Words only have power if we give it to them.

Billy

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Mass - The Complete Album + The 10 Essays - 1 Essay For Each Song (in 3 eBook formats) - All Free!

My initial idea was to wait until I had covered all of my albums, collect all the essays into a book and then publish it.

But I thought for this first one, Mass, I would make an exception and let you have it, along with the 10 songs for free.

Though, I would appreciate it if you would make a donation.

On the page, The Kid Stays In The Picture, you will see that, in order to keep writing, recording and releasing new albums, I have started my own crowdfunding option.

If you would like to  sponsor me in this way, please click the “I would like this donation to automatically repeat each month.”

Anyone who chooses this option, no matter how small the donation, will receive a free copy of the new album, A Far Cry From Sunset, on it’s release in 2 weeks, and a free signed copy of this book of essays when it is completed with all 7 albums

Many thanks,

Billy

Mass - The Complete Album + The 10 Essays 62.13 MB

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Mass #10 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

  I cannot begin to tell you about this song without recounting the “long dark night of the soul” that lasted a full 6 months as I wrote the cathartic mini album, Saint of Contradiction. Without coming through that deep exploration of myself and the world we lived in, I could never have written this, a signpost to a better world than the one we find ourselves in. This is my signature song.

  Again, I will use a paragraph from my book, A Far Cry from Sunset, to convey that pivotal point on my life as a writer and as a man.

    “The writing of it had become a full-blown obsession.  I wrote from the early hours of the morning till late at night, sometimes stopping only for hurried meals.  It was a writer‘s search for faith. I wanted conviction. I wrote in a desperate hunt for something I could openly and honestly feel devoted to. The way I thought to find it was to crush, tear apart, and tear down everything I had been asked, tempted or forced to have faith in until now. Political, philosophical or religious, I didn’t care.

I would demolish everything that I had ever been persuaded to believe in, that gives life meaning, even God if I had to.  Using words with music, I sought to burn down every place of worship, shred every sacred text, and unmask every so called messiah. When I was done, if there was anything left standing, I would have something I could give myself up to. The writing of the piece took my mind to a place so barren that I had literally feared for my sanity. Those six months pushed me to the very edge of my mind‘s own abyss. When I was done, there was nothing left standing.  For a period, I felt nothing but absolute loneliness. I had destroyed everything. When I looked back from the edge, there lay the ruins of all that I had never truly trusted.  It looked like I was in Hell but I was in love. With everything else torn and stripped out of its way, love stood still and strong.  Bright, patient and absolutely indestructible. All that had hidden love from view or taken credit for its power was gone.”

  In so many songs, I have deliberately taken the language of various religions and tried to claim it back for the lexicon of what, is without doubt, the only proven and obvious governing power of the universe, love.

  The very word, Mass, is associated with a religious ceremony, but it has many other meanings; a mass gathering of people being the most relevant one here. The theme of this album was the idea that belonging to a faction or fraction of the world we live in, denies us our natural sense of intimacy with the whole.

          So here’s what I did. I took my other loves, language and knowledge and imagined myself choosing only one genre or outlook of these. I opened with language.

  If I refuse to choose between

Sonnet and heavenly prose.

Both divine subterranean waters

Where the deeper feelings flow so

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side

Why oh why when I’m equal to

A love of language and loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  I am moved deeply simply reading that back. The song has established, from the get go, where we’re going.

  On to my love of knowledge, of learning and, in particular, a fascination with physics and all other disciplines that search for answers to the truth about life and the nature of the universe.

  If I will not say

That this is matter and this is mind

If the edge and the centre are one place

Then and now, one time.

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side.

Who oh why when I’m equal to

A love of knowledge and loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  It’s worth noting at this point how much beauty and enchantment the saxophone adds to this song. More on that later.

  The last verse goes right to the heart of the matter. The true power of love is that, when acknowledged as unconditional, it denies us the right to take sides. Insisting on the need to love unconditionally, even those who may hate us and everything we stand for.

  Supposing then, I don’t accept

That there are them and then there is us

But that neither not both is the healing state

Of unconditional, unconditional love

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side

Why oh why when I’m equal to

Loving them as I’m loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  Although, in essence that would usually signal the end of a song, for this piece, the central truth of it is only just about to be made clear.

You may remember that from the outset of making this album, I wanted as many songs as possible to have monk-like chanting at each songs end to endorse the feeling of a traditional mass.

The chants at the end of this song say quite simply everything that the theme of the album tries to encapsulate and bring into the light. In plain words it tells us it’s time to move on from those old ideas that have kept us in conflict for thousands of years.

  All those ideas that for years we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those religions that for eons we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those assemblies that we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those movements that we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those times for a moment we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

  So there you have it. A fitting finale to a moral code that took a lifetime’s struggle to come to, mapped out in ten songs.

A set of words gently sung over a simple track of only piano, guitar and bass drum plus, of course, the deeply gorgeous saxophone, conjures up ten minutes of beauty that I am honoured to declare my signature song.

I give special credit here to Mark Waterman, previously of The Faith Brothers, who played saxophone on the track.

Also to Hugh Sadlier, who engineered the recording.

Note: There’s a story behind the sax playing:

I had a CD of the legendary saxophone player, Ben Webster, who plays each note with a lot of subtly added breath. I asked Mark to listen to the album and try to play in that style.

Hugh and I then recorded around 6 or 7 takes and spent hours taking the best bits from each take to compile the version you have here. It really was a long and painstaking process.

Funny. Once we had it done it was the early hours of the morning. We tried playing back the whole song to assess what we had but we both kept falling asleep before the end! It was around 4am, the song is ten minutes long and very hypnotic. We eventually went home and got some rest.

We came back the next day and, with fresh ears, played back what was now the finished track. We were both so moved. We knew we had put together something very special.

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this enough to download a copy to keep, pass around and treasure.

  With love,

Billy

Mass 14.20 MB

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Mass #10 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks (Final song from this album)

  I cannot begin to tell you about this song without recounting the “long dark night of the soul” that lasted a full 6 months as I wrote the cathartic mini album, Saint of Contradiction. Without coming through that deep exploration of myself and the world we lived in, I could never have written this, a signpost to a better world than the one we find ourselves in. This is my signature song.

  Again, I will use a paragraph from my book, A Far Cry from Sunset, to convey that pivotal point on my life as a writer and as a man.

    “The writing of it had become a full-blown obsession.  I wrote from the early hours of the morning till late at night, sometimes stopping only for hurried meals.  It was a writer‘s search for faith. I wanted conviction. I wrote in a desperate hunt for something I could openly and honestly feel devoted to. The way I thought to find it was to crush, tear apart, and tear down everything I had been asked, tempted or forced to have faith in until now. Political, philosophical or religious, I didn’t care.

I would demolish everything that I had ever been persuaded to believe in, that gives life meaning, even God if I had to.  Using words with music, I sought to burn down every place of worship, shred every sacred text, and unmask every so called messiah. When I was done, if there was anything left standing, I would have something I could give myself up to. The writing of the piece took my mind to a place so barren that I had literally feared for my sanity. Those six months pushed me to the very edge of my mind‘s own abyss. When I was done, there was nothing left standing.  For a period, I felt nothing but absolute loneliness. I had destroyed everything. When I looked back from the edge, there lay the ruins of all that I had never truly trusted.  It looked like I was in Hell but I was in love. With everything else torn and stripped out of its way, love stood still and strong.  Bright, patient and absolutely indestructible. All that had hidden love from view or taken credit for its power was gone.”

  In so many songs, I have deliberately taken the language of various religions and tried to claim it back for the lexicon of what, is without doubt, the only proven and obvious governing power of the universe, love.

  The very word, Mass, is associated with a religious ceremony, but it has many other meanings; a mass gathering of people being the most relevant one here. The theme of this album was the idea that belonging to a faction or fraction of the world we live in, denies us our natural sense of intimacy with the whole.

        So here’s what I did. I took my other loves, language and knowledge and imagined myself choosing only one genre or outlook of these. I opened with language.

  If I refuse to choose between

Sonnet and heavenly prose.

Both divine subterranean waters

Where the deeper feelings flow so

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side

Why oh why when I’m equal to

A love of language and loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  I am moved deeply simply reading that back. The song has established, from the get go, where we’re going.

  On to my love of knowledge, of learning and, in particular, a fascination with physics and all other disciplines that search for answers to the truth about life and the nature of the universe.

  If I will not say

That this is matter and this is mind

If the edge and the centre are one place

Then and now, one time.

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side.

Who oh why when I’m equal to

A love of knowledge and loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  It’s worth noting at this point how much beauty and enchantment the saxophone adds to this song. More on that later.

  The last verse goes right to the heart of the matter. The true power of love is that, when acknowledged as unconditional, it denies us the right to take sides. Insisting on the need to love unconditionally, even those who may hate us and everything we stand for.

  Supposing then, I don’t accept

That there are them and then there is us

But that neither not both is the healing state

Of unconditional, unconditional love

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side

Why oh why when I’m equal to

Loving them as I’m loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  Although, in essence that would usually signal the end of a song, for this piece, the central truth of it is only just about to be made clear.

You may remember that from the outset of making this album, I wanted as many songs as possible to have monk-like chanting at each songs end to endorse the feeling of a traditional mass.

The chants at the end of this song say quite simply everything that the theme of the album tries to encapsulate and bring into the light. In plain words it tells us it’s time to move on from those old ideas that have kept us in conflict for thousands of years.

  All those ideas that for years we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those religions that for eons we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those assemblies that we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those movements that we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those times for a moment we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

  So there you have it. A fitting finale to a moral code that took a lifetime’s struggle to come to, mapped out in ten songs.

A set of words gently sung over a simple track of only piano, guitar and bass drum plus, of course, the deeply gorgeous saxophone, conjures up ten minutes of beauty that I am honoured to declare my signature song.

I give special credit here to Mark Waterman, previously of The Faith Brothers, who played saxophone on the track.

Also to Hugh Sadlier, who engineered the recording.

Note: There’s a story behind the sax playing:

I had a CD of the legendary saxophone player, Ben Webster, who plays each note with a lot of subtly added breath. I asked Mark to listen to the album and try to play in that style.

Hugh and I then recorded around 6 or 7 takes and spent hours taking the best bits from each take to compile the version you have here. It really was a long and painstaking process.

Funny. Once we had it done it was the early hours of the morning. We tried playing back the whole song to assess what we had but we both kept falling asleep before the end! It was around 4am, the song is ten minutes long and very hypnotic. We eventually went home and got some rest.

We came back the next day and, with fresh ears, played back what was now the finished track. We were both so moved. We knew we had put together something very special.

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this enough to download a copy to keep, pass around and treasure.

  With love,

Billy

Mass 14.20 MB

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Mass #10 in the series, A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

  I cannot begin to tell you about this song without recounting the “long dark night of the soul” that lasted a full 6 months as I wrote the cathartic mini album, Saint of Contradiction. Without coming through that deep exploration of myself and the world we lived in, I could never have written this, a signpost to a better world than the one we find ourselves in. This is my signature song.

  Again, I will use a paragraph from my book, A Far Cry from Sunset, to convey that pivotal point on my life as a writer and as a man.

    “The writing of it had become a full-blown obsession.  I wrote from the early hours of the morning till late at night, sometimes stopping only for hurried meals.  It was a writer‘s search for faith. I wanted conviction. I wrote in a desperate hunt for something I could openly and honestly feel devoted to. The way I thought to find it was to crush, tear apart, and tear down everything I had been asked, tempted or forced to have faith in until now. Political, philosophical or religious, I didn’t care.

I would demolish everything that I had ever been persuaded to believe in, that gives life meaning, even God if I had to.  Using words with music, I sought to burn down every place of worship, shred every sacred text, and unmask every so called messiah. When I was done, if there was anything left standing, I would have something I could give myself up to. The writing of the piece took my mind to a place so barren that I had literally feared for my sanity. Those six months pushed me to the very edge of my mind‘s own abyss. When I was done, there was nothing left standing.  For a period, I felt nothing but absolute loneliness. I had destroyed everything. When I looked back from the edge, there lay the ruins of all that I had never truly trusted.  It looked like I was in Hell but I was in love. With everything else torn and stripped out of its way, love stood still and strong.  Bright, patient and absolutely indestructible. All that had hidden love from view or taken credit for its power was gone.”

  In so many songs, I have deliberately taken the language of various religions and tried to claim it back for the lexicon of what, is without doubt, the only proven and obvious governing power of the universe, love.

  The very word, Mass, is associated with a religious ceremony, but it has many other meanings; a mass gathering of people being the most relevant one here. The theme of this album was the idea that belonging to a faction or fraction of the world we live in, denies us our natural sense of intimacy with the whole.

        So here’s what I did. I took my other loves, language and knowledge and imagined myself choosing only one genre or outlook of these. I opened with language.

  If I refuse to choose between

Sonnet and heavenly prose.

Both divine subterranean waters

Where the deeper feelings flow so

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side

Why oh why when I’m equal to

A love of language and loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  I am moved deeply simply reading that back. The song has established, from the get go, where we’re going.

  On to my love of knowledge, of learning and, in particular, a fascination with physics and all other disciplines that search for answers to the truth about life and the nature of the universe.

  If I will not say

That this is matter and this is mind

If the edge and the centre are one place

Then and now, one time.

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side.

Who oh why when I’m equal to

A love of knowledge and loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  It’s worth noting at this point how much beauty and enchantment the saxophone adds to this song. More on that later.

  The last verse goes right to the heart of the matter. The true power of love is that, when acknowledged as unconditional, it denies us the right to take sides. Insisting on the need to love unconditionally, even those who may hate us and everything we stand for.

  Supposing then, I don’t accept

That there are them and then there is us

But that neither not both is the healing state

Of unconditional, unconditional love

Why should I go to Mass

Why should I take a side

Why oh why when I’m equal to

Loving them as I’m loving you

Should I go to Mass?

  Although, in essence that would usually signal the end of a song, for this piece, the central truth of it is only just about to be made clear.

You may remember that from the outset of making this album, I wanted as many songs as possible to have monk-like chanting at each songs end to endorse the feeling of a traditional mass.

The chants at the end of this song say quite simply everything that the theme of the album tries to encapsulate and bring into the light. In plain words it tells us it’s time to move on from those old ideas that have kept us in conflict for thousands of years.

  All those ideas that for years we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those religions that for eons we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those assemblies that we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those movements that we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

All those times for a moment we thought could save us

We’re gonna have to let them go

  So there you have it. A fitting finale to a moral code that took a lifetime’s struggle to come to, mapped out in ten songs.

A set of words gently sung over a simple track of only piano, guitar and bass drum plus, of course, the deeply gorgeous saxophone, conjures up ten minutes of beauty that I am honoured to declare my signature song.

I give special credit here to Mark Waterman, previously of The Faith Brothers, who played saxophone on the track.

Also to Hugh Sadlier, who engineered the recording.

Note: There’s a story behind the sax playing:

I had a CD of the legendary saxophone player, Ben Webster, who plays each note with a lot of subtly added breath. I asked Mark to listen to the album and try to play in that style.

Hugh and I then recorded around 6 or 7 takes and spent hours taking the best bits from each take to compile the version you have here. It really was a long and painstaking process.

Funny. Once we had it done it was the early hours of the morning. We tried playing back the whole song to assess what we had but we both kept falling asleep before the end! It was around 4am, the song is ten minutes long and very hypnotic. We eventually went home and got some rest.

We came back the next day and, with fresh ears, played back what was now the finished track. We were both so moved. We knew we had put together something very special.

  I hope you’ve enjoyed this enough to download a copy to keep, pass around and treasure.

  With love,

Billy

Mass 14.20 MB

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Motown Secrets to Songwriting (How to make them want to listen to your song)

Learn the key to keeping the producers and publishers listening to your song. How to hold their attention like the professionals.

Please enter your email address to be updated on more posts in this series.

Many thanks,

Billy

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Seven Notes In Search Of This Song #7 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

I’ve been looking forward to this one.

Once I had the title, which I love, I knew I had a lot of creative space, lyrically.

In any key that a song is set, there are generally seven major notes up for grabs to compose your melody. The idea that they were out there in the ether searching for this very song thrilled me as an idea.

Those first notes, pinged on the guitar amount to seven. As do the plucked violin notes between chorus and verse.

Regarding the opening lyric:

I had read somewhere that, if you put all the primary colours on a circular board and span it at high speed, all the naked eye would be able to see was white.

I had also picked up from a book on astronomy that some unseen moons that hover around distant planets are never sighted, but are known to be there because of the way the light and shadow plays on the planet itself.

.

.

.

.

I had my beginning.

A pirouette of seven colours

Will bring the white to bloom A distant system’s play of light Betrays the hidden moon. Could love’s unstruck music Be hit upon this way By seven notes in search of this song.

~

~

The next verse plays very much with the metaphor of the sea.

.

.

  The moment of creation Ebbs into eternity But I glimpse the bigger picture In pools left by the sea. Could love’s empty canvas Be coloured in this way. By seven notes in search of this song.

.

Like with some of the lyrics in the last essay dealing with seeing the whole in its smaller parts, I was attracted by the above lines;

I glimpse the bigger picture

In pools left by the sea.

.

.

~

I also like the way that “unstruck music” can be ” hit upon.“

For the middle eight, I wanted to paint a bigger picture by making stellar comparisons

.

.

  Heavenly bodies go around the sun

Holy waters around the earth

But around in my mind

Go seven notes in search of this song.

As I have noted in the essays I have already written, I wanted to end this, like so many of the songs on Mass, with some repeated chanting or singing.

I take up the first chant.

.

Seven notes in search of this song

Then the girls give it a lift by singing in harmony.

.

Seven notes in search of this song

Seven notes in search of this song.

~

The interesting thing about the recording of this song is that there were two versions: One mainly acoustic guitars with drums.

Another with the bigger production values of strings, electric guitars, the military drum roll you hear here and there throughout, and the girl’s backing vocals.

But by grace of the engineering genius that is my long time co-conspirator, Lee Hirons, we were able to join them together.

The result was the epic 4 minutes of pop music with soul that you get here.

`

I never tire of this song, though I listen to it only sporadically.

I am always taken almost by surprise by it’s evolution as the song progresses.

Once again, I hope you’re enjoying these insights to the songs as much as I am documenting them.

Have a read, take a listen and help yourself to the free download by sharing.

Warm regards,

Billy

Seven Notes In Search Of This Song 5.86 MB

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Behind Beneath Beyond #6 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks -

Only a few times have I shed tears on stage. The first time was with me and my then band, which included girl backing singers along with 5 band members all of whom could sing. We got to the part where, while the chorus is repeated with gospel type ad-libs, one of the girls sings the last section of lyric. You will see and hear it at the end and maybe you’ll understand why it was so emotionally overwhelming. For the record, some audience members were crying, too.

Behind, Beneath, Beyond is a very idiosyncratic song in that I used words not completely referring to the song’s theme. I was, as the title may explain, trying to express how I, and I’m sure many of you, have wondered about what is there beyond what we can see or hear. What is it that runs like some vast engine beneath the surface of reality, pumping all this beauty and wonder along with all the despair and pain.

  For believers, of course, God will be the answer to that question. But I am not a believer so I have had to look long, hard and deep at myself, the people around me and the world itself to try to unearth answers I can truly believe in. I did have my breakthrough while writing this very album, Mass, so it is poignant that these are the songs about which I now write.

Let’s get started. The first verse:

Untie the knot of flaming colour

Under the blanket blinding white

See the whole wave in the foam

Think of coming home

  The first two lines were a poetic way of how difficult it is to make that breakthrough and see the world with a sense of wonder rather than alienation. To untie a knot of flaming colour under a blanket of blinding white light. It’s not completely clear but that’s what came forth when I started writing.

The second two lines are a different matter and their meaning will resurface in the next verse.

That, in moments of undeniable clarity when you can see the whole universe in it’s smallest parts. This theory is also discussed in physics so it’s not just poets and visionaries that talk of it.

You see the whole wave in the foam and, in that moment of stunning revelation, you suddenly feel at home in the world.

The chorus is as simple as it is beautiful; just a gospel choir ringing out the three words in the title.

Behind Beneath Beyond

The second verse may be a little easier to understand. Just a little.

Receive communion in numbers

Deliver the form within the fluid

See the whole field in the blade

Turning as you lay

For it’s opening line I was thinking of physics which, no matter how much I read about it, as soon as I put the book down thinking, “oh now I get it.”

I immediately think, “no, I ain’t got it!”

But I love that there are people who can understand the universe in numbers. We all know that Einstein’s theory of relativity has a mathematical equation; E=mc^2 but what it means in his head is something wider, vaster and more complex that what it conjures up in most of us. I compared it to communion because it must feel like a religious or mystical experience when your mathematics come up with an answer that helps explain the universe! I also like the “Deliver the form within the fluid because, all things are fluid and yet the great minds have to make at least a temporary form of their concepts and theories. It’s also a nice metaphor for the birth of a child. A Baby is delivered, fully formed from having lived in fluid during the pregnancy.

As with the first verse, seeing the whole field in the blade, says everything is connected and one small part can tell you about the whole.

The middle eight, tries to suggest some beauty that might be lying underneath something ordinary.

Behind the point behind the eyes

Beneath the loss, beneath the prize

Beyond the inner edge

Behind the chord, behind the din

Beneath the root, beneath the skin

Beyond the outer heart

Lines, 3 & 6 I put there to expand on the microcosm/macrocosm nature of all that we perceive

The chorus makes a welcome return to lift the spirits.

Behind Beneath Beyond

Now, when writing the song, I thought, at this point it was lyrically done. I could listen to that belting chorus over and over. Then an idea struck me. What If I could tell of a short journey which ends in a perfect moment, like those the songs pleads with us to look for.

So I imagined me, or you, taking this walk.

Out of the gate and through the town

Take the road that takes you down

Between the trees to the river’s edge

Follow the tide until the bridge

Cross into the open field

Sleep beneath the sun

And wake beneath the stars,

Beautiful.

I got one of the girls to sing that part in the hope it would come across as more universal and not a personal journey that I myself had taken.

I know of one person who believes this is not only my best song but also the most beautiful song ever written.

If one person loves it that much, I’m happy and grateful for that.

Many thanks again for coming by to get the scoop on another song.

It’s a real joy writing these because I do so without pre-prepared notes or any planning. I write what the song tells me to.

My hope is that you get at least a little pleasure from them, too.

Warm regards,

Billy

Behind Beneath Beyond 6.42 MB

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Behind Beneath Beyond #6 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

Only a few times have I shed tears on stage. The first time was with me and my then band, which included girl backing singers along with 5 band members all of whom could sing. We got to the part where, while the chorus is repeated with gospel type ad-libs, one of the girls sings the last section of lyric. You will see and hear it at the end and maybe you’ll understand why it was so emotionally overwhelming. For the record, some audience members were crying, too.

Behind, Beneath, Beyond is a very idiosyncratic song in that I used words not completely referring to the song’s theme. I was, as the title may explain, trying to express how I, and I’m sure many of you, have wondered about what is there beyond what we can see or hear. What is it that runs like some vast engine beneath the surface of reality, pumping all this beauty and wonder along with all the despair and pain.

  For believers, of course, God will be the answer to that question. But I am not a believer so I have had to look long, hard and deep at myself, the people around me and the world itself to try to unearth answers I can truly believe in. I did have my breakthrough while writing this very album, Mass, so it is poignant that these are the songs about which I now write.

Let’s get started. The first verse:

Untie the knot of flaming colour

Under the blanket blinding white

See the whole wave in the foam

Think of coming home

  The first two lines were a poetic way of how difficult it is to make that breakthrough and see the world with a sense of wonder rather than alienation. To untie a knot of flaming colour under a blanket of blinding white light. It’s not completely clear but that’s what came forth when I started writing.

The second two lines are a different matter and their meaning will resurface in the next verse.

That, in moments of undeniable clarity when you can see the whole universe in it’s smallest parts. This theory is also discussed in physics so it’s not just poets and visionaries that talk of it.

You see the whole wave in the foam and, in that moment of stunning revelation, you suddenly feel at home in the world.

The chorus is as simple as it is beautiful; just a gospel choir ringing out the three words in the title.

Behind Beneath Beyond

The second verse may be a little easier to understand. Just a little.

Receive communion in numbers

Deliver the form within the fluid

See the whole field in the blade

Turning as you lay

For it’s opening line I was thinking of physics which, no matter how much I read about it, as soon as I put the book down thinking, “oh now I get it.”

I immediately think, “no, I ain’t got it!”

But I love that there are people who can understand the universe in numbers. We all know that Einstein’s theory of relativity has a mathematical equation; E=mc^2 but what it means in his head is something wider, vaster and more complex that what it conjures up in most of us. I compared it to communion because it must feel like a religious or mystical experience when your mathematics come up with an answer that helps explain the universe! I also like the “Deliver the form within the fluid because, all things are fluid and yet the great minds have to make at least a temporary form of their concepts and theories. It’s also a nice metaphor for the birth of a child. A Baby is delivered, fully formed from having lived in fluid during the pregnancy.

As with the first verse, seeing the whole field in the blade, says everything is connected and one small part can tell you about the whole.

The middle eight, tries to suggest some beauty that might be lying underneath something ordinary.

Behind the point behind the eyes

Beneath the loss, beneath the prize

Beyond the inner edge

Behind the chord, behind the din

Beneath the root, beneath the skin

Beyond the outer heart

Lines, 3 & 6 I put there to expand on the microcosm/macrocosm nature of all that we perceive

The chorus makes a welcome return to lift the spirits.

Behind Beneath Beyond

Now, when writing the song, I thought, at this point it was lyrically done. I could listen to that belting chorus over and over. Then an idea struck me. What If I could tell of a short journey which ends in a perfect moment, like those the songs pleads with us to look for.

So I imagined me, or you, taking this walk.

Out of the gate and through the town

Take the road that takes you down

Between the trees to the river’s edge

Follow the tide until the bridge

Cross into the open field

Sleep beneath the sun

And wake beneath the stars,

Beautiful.

I got one of the girls to sing that part in the hope it would come across as more universal and not a personal journey that I myself had taken.

I know of one person who believes this is not only my best song but also the most beautiful song ever written.

If one person loves it that much, I’m happy and grateful for that.

Many thanks again for coming by to get the scoop on another song.

It’s a real joy writing these because I do so without pre-prepared notes or any planning. I write what the song tells me to.

My hope is that you get at least a little pleasure from them, too.

Warm regards,

Billy

Behind Beneath Beyond 6.42 MB

Enter Email Address To Get RSS Feed To Your Inbox. Alternatively, fill in the subs form for 12 free songs & book extract.

Enter your email address:

Behind Beneath Beyond #6 in the series - A Beautiful Heresy - The Songs of Billy Franks

Only a few times have I shed tears on stage. The first time was with me and my then band, which included girl backing singers along with 5 band members all of whom could sing. We got to the part where, while the chorus is repeated with gospel type ad-libs, one of the girls sings the last section of lyric. You will see and hear it at the end and maybe you’ll understand why it was so emotionally overwhelming. For the record, some audience members were crying, too.

Behind, Beneath, Beyond is a very idiosyncratic song in that I used words not completely referring to the song’s theme. I was, as the title may explain, trying to express how I, and I’m sure many of you, have wondered about what is there beyond what we can see or hear. What is it that runs like some vast engine beneath the surface of reality, pumping all this beauty and wonder along with all the despair and pain.

  For believers, of course, God will be the answer to that question. But I am not a believer so I have had to look long, hard and deep at myself, the people around me and the world itself to try to unearth answers I can truly believe in. I did have my breakthrough while writing this very album, Mass, so it is poignant that these are the songs about which I now write.

Let’s get started. The first verse:

Untie the knot of flaming colour

Under the blanket blinding white

See the whole wave in the foam

Think of coming home

  The first two lines were a poetic way of how difficult it is to make that breakthrough and see the world with a sense of wonder rather than alienation. To untie a knot of flaming colour under a blanket of blinding white light. It’s not completely clear but that’s what came forth when I started writing.

The second two lines are a different matter and their meaning will resurface in the next verse.

That, in moments of undeniable clarity when you can see the whole universe in it’s smallest parts. This theory is also discussed in physics so it’s not just poets and visionaries that talk of it.

You see the whole wave in the foam and, in that moment of stunning revelation, you suddenly feel at home in the world.

The chorus is as simple as it is beautiful; just a gospel choir ringing out the three words in the title.

Behind Beneath Beyond

The second verse may be a little easier to understand. Just a little.

Receive communion in numbers

Deliver the form within the fluid

See the whole field in the blade

Turning as you lay

For it’s opening line I was thinking of physics which, no matter how much I read about it, as soon as I put the book down thinking, “oh now I get it.”

I immediately think, “no, I ain’t got it!”

But I love that there are people who can understand the universe in numbers. We all know that Einstein’s theory of relativity has a mathematical equation; E=mc^2 but what it means in his head is something wider, vaster and more complex that what it conjures up in most of us. I compared it to communion because it must feel like a religious or mystical experience when your mathematics come up with an answer that helps explain the universe!

As with the first verse, seeing the whole field in the blade, says everything is connected and one small part can tell you about the whole.

The middle eight, tries to suggest some beauty that might be lying underneath something ordinary.

Behind the point behind the eyes

Beneath the loss, beneath the prize

Beyond the inner edge

Behind the chord, behind the din

Beneath the root, beneath the skin

Beyond the outer heart

Lines, 3 & 6 I put there to expand on the microcosm/macrocosm nature of all that we perceive

The chorus makes a welcome return to lift the spirits.

Behind Beneath Beyond

Now, when writing the song, I thought, at this point it was lyrically done. I could listen to that belting chorus over and over. Then an idea struck me. What If I could tell of a short journey which ends in a perfect moment, like those the songs pleads with us to look for.

So I imagined me, or you, taking this walk.

Out of the gate and through the town

Take the road that takes you down

Between the trees to the river’s edge

Follow the tide until the bridge

Cross into the open field

Sleep beneath the sun

And wake beneath the stars,

Beautiful.

I got one of the girls to sing that part in the hope it would come across as more universal and not a personal journey that I myself had taken.

I know of one person who believes this is not only my best song but also the most beautiful song ever written.

If one person loves it that much, I’m happy and grateful for that.

Many thanks again for coming by to get the scoop on another song.

It’s a real joy writing these because I do so without pre-prepared notes or any planning. I write what the song tells me to.

My hope is that you get at least a little pleasure from them, too.

Warm regards,

Billy

Behind Beneath Beyond 6.42 MB

Enter Email Address To Get RSS Feed To Your Inbox. Alternatively, fill in the subs form for 12 free songs & book extract.

Enter your email address: