Over Easter I flew over to France, meeting up with Sofie (wife) at our holiday cottage near Bordeaux. As an after-thought, just before leaving home, I grabbed a notebook in case I was inspired to write something while away. As soon as I arrived at the airport an idea hit me – a funny incident from years ago, so I pulled out the book and began scribbling and didn’t stop till I got to France. Over the ten days there, every moment not out on excursions or doing jobs around the house, I was compelled to write. At first my outpourings were just short thoughts, like snatches of poetry (which is what I thought they were) but then some semblance of an theme began to emerge – all summed up by a song I wrote a couple of years ago (see below). Its a jokey little number which doesn’t convert to the page very well but, for posterity, I include it here.
I’m still writing in the notebook and keep having loads of random ideas – mostly autobiographical and often with a musical element. We’ll see where it takes us, but I feel a CD coming on.
THE KEY TO A HAPPY LIFE
Everybody wants to know everybody’s business,
That’s all they really want to know.
Poking their noses where they don’t belong now,
No wonder those noses grow.
No, no, no… No wonder those noses grow.
C: The key to a happy life is to mind your own business,
And don’t go messing where you don’t belong.
The key to a happy life is to mind your own business,
You know that I’m right coz I sure ain’t wrong.
Tinker, tailor, soldier and a sailor,
Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.
They’ve all got a job to do.
You lazy whatsit – so how about you?
Down in the valley in the old back alley,
There is Mrs Muddle on Jeremy Kyle,
Ranting and a-raving and a-misbehaving,
Meanwhile her kids are all a-running wild.
Down the ages turn the history pages,
Kings and emperors went to war.
Leaving a trail of death and destruction,
They all thought they were above the law.
The next door neighbour’s having a party,
Enough damn noise to waken the dead.
Don’t they realize people are sleeping?
They need it like a bang on the head.
One, two, three, four, five – BANG! (X2)