Lately

I think the lyrics of this song by Brother Clyde sum up how a lot of us feel from time to time. A little less angry, crazy, selfish. A little more grounded, patient and forgiving. Sometimes it does feel like the world is ending, often due to our own stupidity.

I know that I can become a better person, but it takes a lot of continuing work, but by the grace of God I will get there. God wants me to be the best I can be, and to do that I have to allow Him to work in my life. I want to feel good again.

I came across this track and video on the Rock Refuge site a few months ago. I think the video accompanying the song goes very well with the lyrics. Enjoy...


I wish I was a little more solid
A little more grounded
Maybe just a little more
I wish I was a little less angry
A little less selfish
Maybe just a little less

Lately I feel like crashin'
I feel like the whole world is coming to an end
Lately I feel like nothing really matters
I want to feel good again

I wish I was a little more patient
A little more forgiving
Maybe just a little more

I wish I was a little less crazy
A little less out there
Maybe just a little less

Lately I feel like crashin'
I feel like the whole world is coming to an end
Lately I feel like nothing really matters
I want to feel good again
I want to feel good again

Lately I feel like crashin'
I feel like I hate rapping
I feel like the worlds gonna end
And the gang situations keep no attraction
I feel like the feats gonna happen
In here no bail we're packed in
Everything just keeps on lasting
I just want to keep gettin past it
I want to waste away
I want to be left alone in hell
No one gave a damn
When I was sitting in my cell
So what they gonna do or feel
When I get close to the edge
And I feel I'm about to break
And I can't take the fact that lately
I've been through the ashes greatly

Lately I feel like crashin'
Feels like the whole world is coming to an end
Lately I feel like nothing really matters
I want to feel good again
I want to feel good again

I wish I was a little more solid
A little more grounded
Maybe just a little more


Brother Clyde - Lately found on Pop

Another Cup Of Coffee?

I really like this "haunting" song by Mike & The Mechanics. To me it can easily be looked upon as a 1990's version of Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles, in so far as it is a good piece of social commentary.

All too often a loving relationship turns sour over the years, through many different and varied reasons. It could be that when children are grown up and left home, that you find that they were the only things holding it together by then. Again some people are convinced that despite obvious character traits that they can change their partner to be the person they want them to be after marriage.

There may or may not be obvious courses of action to be taken in these situations. For some addictions are a way out. The song refers to the "simple" addiction of caffeine, pour yourself another cup of coffee.

I would not presume to tell anyone what to do in any of these situations. I am very fortunate, that my loving relationship with my wife is still strong after twenty two years. What I do know though, is that relationships have to be worked at, with give and take on both sides. I find too, that being a Christian with a relationship with God also helps. I find great help and advise in the bible, specifically in the book of Proverbs. Wisdom is needed to keep any relationship alive.

Enjoy the song...

And she pours herself another cup of coffee
As she contemplates the stain across the wall
and it's in between the cleaning and the washing
That's when looking back's
The hardest part of all

And she always did her best to try and please him
While he always did his best to make her cry
And she got down on her knees to stop him leaving
But he always knew one day he'd say goodbye

Where are your friends
Where are your children
Is this your house
Is this your home
Does nothing ever last forever
Does everybody sleep alone

And he tears the business tags from his old suitcase
As he packs away the pieces of his life
They all love him but they always try to change him
That's what happens when a girl becomes a wife

And she pours herself another cup of coffee
As the pictures leave a clean space on the wall
and it's in between the leaving and the loving
That's when looking back's
The hardest part of all

Where are your friends
Where are your children
Is this your house
Is this your home
Does nothing ever last forever
Does everybody sleep alone

Don't look back
Don't give up
Pour yourself another cup

Movie Star

This song has been back in my head over the last few months, which is a surprise as I have not heard it played anywhere for probably 30 years! It is not even my usual style, being a very catchy pop song. I first heard, and loved this song back in about 1976 on Thames Valley Radio. This was a local independent radio station broadcasting out of Reading. This was when local radio was local radio, not just part of a national corporation. Harpo was a Swedish artist, and this was multi national hit for him, though it peaked at 24 in this country.

The gist of the lyrics are about someone pretending to be who they are not. In this case an actor whose credits only really are adverts, living the trappings of a big star.

I think, however, that we are all in danger of falling into this trap. How often do we say that we are fine, when we are not. We have a tendency to gloss over failings and to "big up" successes. We can say we live in a particular nice area nearby, rather that the real place we live. We also "upgrade" our jobs in conversations with strangers. Well I say we, I know I have been guilty of all these, and more, at sometime or other.

We have no need to do this though, as the one who really matters, God, knows the real us anyway. It should not matter to us what other people think about us, though this is often difficult to put into practice. I ought to be happy to be the person God has created me to be, and not pretend to be someone else. I am a work in progress, and God is steering me in the right direction.

Enjoy a bit of nostalgic pop music....

You feel like Steve McQueen
when you're driving in your car
and you think you look like James Bond
when you're smoking your cigar
it's so bizarre you think you are
a new kind of James Dean
but the only thing I've ever seen of you
was a commercial spot on the screen

Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a movie
Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a Movie Star

You should belong to the jet set
fly your own private Lear jet
but you worked in a grocery store
every day until you could afford to get away
so you went to Sweden to meet Ingmar Bergman
he wasn't there or he just didn't care
I think it's time for you, my friend
to stop pretending that you are a

Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a movie
Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a Movie Star

The frozen hero!
Your words are zero
when your dreams had vanished into dark
along the go that you don't want to know

Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a movie
Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a Movie Star

Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a movie
Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a Movie Star

Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a movie
Movie Star, Movie Star,
you think you are a Movie Star
you think you are a Movie Star
you think you are a Movie Star
you think you are a Movie Star

New Years Day

A new year, a new start...well not really as the song says nothing changes on new years day! Today is just the same as yesterday, and the day before in reality. People do use the start of a new year to make resolutions to do things better or differently, but most are discarded soon afterwards, so whats the point?

There are lots of things I do want to do differently, and I can start the changes anytime, it does not have to be today's date that makes me do them. It is high time that I did lose some weight and got fitter. Having lost a parent at a young age myself, I want to see my boys grow up. I will look after myself better, I will build even stronger relationships with family and friends.

At our church we are being encouraged to read the bible in a year. This I intend to do as well. I believe reading God's word will help me achieve my aims mentioned above. I am sure you could achieve them without knowing God, but you are then dependent on will power alone. I want to be with you night and day, and the you to whom I refer is the spirit of God.

Happy New Year to you all.

All is quiet on New Year's Day
A world in white gets underway
I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
On New Year's Day

I will be with you again
I will be with you again

Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it's true it's true...
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one

I...I will begin again
I...I will begin again

Oh...
Maybe the time is right
Oh...maybe tonight...

I will be with you again
I will be with you again

And so we're told this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
Though I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes
On New Year's Day

Joy To The World

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

What Do You Got?

A song by Bon Jovi with some very strange grammar, which has been getting quite a bit of airplay on Planet Rock recently. It does, however, make a very true observation of human life. It does not matter who you are, rich, poor, famous, anonymous, or anyone in between, we all need love. We need to love and be loved, we have been programmed that way.

I know some people who have had bad experiences of love may well disagree, but I honestly feel love is what makes the world go round. I am lucky in that I have the love of family and good friends to support me. I also have the love of and for God. Even when earthly love lets us down, God still loves us. As the Bible says God gave his only son, even to death on the cross, so we could have eternal life. We were programed to love God and be loved by him. I know that this is not what the band are singing about, but the point is still true none the less.

Every one needs someone to tell them the truth the song says, and so we do. The truth from God is what we need, and his gentle nudges in the right direction. So what do you got if you aint got love - loneliness. With love - happiness. With God's love - eternal happiness. This does not mean the end of trouble or pain, but the knowledge of spending eternity with God.

Bon Jovi
What Do You Got? lyrics

Everybody wants something, just a little more
We're making a living, and what we're living for
A rich man or a poor man, a pawn or a king
You can live on the street, you can rule the whole world
But it don't mean one damn thing

What do you got, if you aint got love?
Whatever you got, it just aint enough
You walk in the road, but you're going nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night?
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreaming of

If you ain't got someone, you're afraid to lose
Everybody needs just one, someone... to tell them the truth
Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I still believe
I believe in hope, I believe the change can get us up off our knees

What do you got, if you aint got love?
Whatever you got, it just aint enough
You walk in the road, but you're going nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night?
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreaming of

If you ain't got love, it's all just keeping score
If you ain't got love, what the hell we doing it for

I don't wanna have to talk about it,
How many songs you gotta sing about it?
How long you gonna live without it?
Why does someone somewhere have to doubt it?
Someday we'll figure it out

What do you got, if you aint got love?
Whatever you got, it just aint enough
You walk in the road, but you're going nowhere
You're tryin' to find your way home, but there's no one there
Who do you hold, in the dark of night?
You wanna give up, but it's worth the fight
You have all the things, that you've been dreaming of

If you ain't got love, it's all just keeping score
If you ain't got love, what the hell we doing it for
Woahhh, I ain't got, if you ain't got love
Woahhh, What do you got if you ain't got love?
Woahhh, What do you got if you ain't got love?

God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You

On the premise that God created everything and gives good gifts to his children, then yes God did give rock 'n' roll to everyone. It has often been said, that rock music, and in particular the heavy metal genre, is the devil's music. In the same way that man can take good things and turn them evil, chemical weapons for example, then music can be used for both good and bad messages. In the whole though, I feel that rock music, in it's widest sense, can and is used for the good. You can not single out rock music as being "bad", and not also include genres such as gangster rap. In the main the musicians are just putting over a message, some may be slightly darker, but hey some poetry is very dark.

All people were made in the image of God, that includes followers of rock music. God loves us as much as anybody else, and anyone who says otherwise has a slightly odd take on the Gospels.

The Kiss song of this name, uses rock music as a form of escapism from the grind of an ordinary nine to five job, in a mundane existence. That though is what most of us find as a reality in living. Christians have no need to resort to escapism, as they have a relationship with the living God, who can help us to a better life.

God does give rock 'n' roll to us, but he also gives us so much more, if only we would let him.


God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
Do you know what you want? You don't know for sure
You don't feel right, you can't find a cure
And you're gettin' less than what you're lookin' for

You don't have money or a fancy car
And you're tired of wishin' on a falling star
You gotta put your faith in a loud guitar

God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to everyone (oh yeah)
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone

"Now listen"
If you wanna be a singer, or play guitar
Man, you gotta sweat or you won't get far
Cause it's never too late to work nine-to-five

You can take a stand, or you can compromise
You can work real hard or just fantasize
But you don't start livin' till you realize - "I gotta tell ya!"

God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to everyone
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in your'e Soul

God gave rock and roll to you (to everyone he gave the song to be sung)
Gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to everyone

God gave rock and roll to you (to everyone he gave the song to be sung)
Gave rock and roll to you, saved rock and roll for everyone
Saved rock and roll

I know life sometimes can get tough! And I know life sometimes can be a drag!
But people, we have been given a gift, we have been given a role
And that roles name is... Rock and Roll!