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The Piper Plays His Tune

by John Hackett

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1.
For them no longer dusty books, clouds of chalk and secret looks Marked absent again today, masters of my past By night I tread those corridors, of contraband and hidden stores “Plane face side, edge and mark!” lessons still go on. But oh Victoria in the rain, I never will go there again To maps and caps, dissected rats and masters of my past. “Look in the book at page sixty nine.” The penny drops, the sun will shine We’ll get through to break, dreaming of cake And hope the day ends soon, I hope this day ends soon. And now they stand before the Head, stomachs clenched , it’s them instead Have you all won a prize or are you doing lines? Oh Victoria in the rain, I never will go there again To maps and caps, dissected rats and masters of my past
2.
Broken 04:34
I can’t seem to sleep tonight, I’m longing to see the light I can’t seem to sleep tonight, I’m longing to see the light It’s four o’clock in the morning, my head is spinning round and I can’t sleep And the words we left unspoken echo in my mind, they run deep Floating in freefall, I wait for your call, you’re not here with me. I can’t seem to sleep tonight, I’m longing to see the light The rain falls on my window, the world keeps spinning round and I can’t sleep The lives we left behind us, photos on my phone, I can’t keep Floating in freefall, I wait for your call, you’re not here with me. You and I are broken and there’s no way back it seems But I will try and make it right, if only in my dreams We ran this race together, and we almost reached the end Now it seems we’re lost forever, it’s hard to be just friends.
3.
In love 04:45
On a desert island he took his knife and he longed for ways to save his life And the burning sun was on his face, when a woman smiled from a different place She opened my eyes, took me by surprise, cos’ love’s at stake. Leaving my side, eyes open wide, ‘cos love’s at stake. And she took his hand and led him on, to a forest temple hidden from the sun Where a priest was burning incense bright and they hid and watched into the night She opened my eyes, took me by surprise, ‘cos love’s at stake Leaving my side, eyes open wide, ‘cos love’s at stake. And they slept until it turned first light And when he woke he found his hands bound tight and a crowd gathered round… As the priest looked up into the sky, he knew it was his time to die When a woman’s hand did cut him loose, to run or stay was their time to choose She opened my eyes, took me by surprise, ‘ cos love’s at stake Leaving my side, eyes open wide, cos love’s at stake I’m in love with the touch of her hand I’m in love with the way she understands when I’m down, when I’m down.
4.
Crying Shame 05:14
You know it’s a crying shame but someone must take the blame Look up into the sky, our children will wonder why It’s written in the stars that the earth and the moon, Will one day fade away and we’re heading for mars You may roll your eyes at the prophets of doom But it’s too late to laugh once the piper plays his tune. On and on the earth is spinning silently in space Seize the day, there’s still time to save the human race. They said that the seas would roar, mankind would live no more They said the fires would rage, so listen to fool or sage It’s written in the stars, that the earth and the moon Will one day fade away and we’re heading for mars You may roll your eyes at the prophets of doom But it’s too late to laugh once the piper plays his tune On and on the earth is spinning silently in space Seize the day, there’s still time to save the human race You know there’s no time to lose, each of us has to choose Look up into the sky, our children will wonder why It’s written in the stars, that the earth and the moon Will one day fade away and we’re heading for mars You may roll your eyes at the prophets of doom But it’s too late to laugh once the piper plays his tune On and on, seize the day
5.
Broken Glass 04:53
6.
Julia 03:28
Julia wakes up in yesterday’s make-up She crawls to the bus at the end of the street She’s never lonely a bottle of maybe Will take her to bed every night But oh when she reads the letter I’ve written will she care To never again see my face at her door? Queen of the high school they said she was no fool Now drunk in the staff room at quarter past nine Cocktails at South Ken, did you even know then I harboured a daydream that you could be mine? But oh, can you cope with being a woman of our time Or is stay at home, pray at home way out line? Having a baby’s a definite maybe that Jeremy stripe-shirt will make you his wife Parties at Putney, supper with chutney A man who may love you the rest of his life But oh, I’m a thousand miles away from you now But if I should see you again, would it work somehow? Julia, wake-up, Julia, wake-up
7.
On the corner of a busy street, I thought I heard my name Like that summer back in ’63 when nothing would be the same With Buddy Holly on the radio and baseball in the yard Back in the summer of ’63 life didn’t seem too hard We were moving around, light on the ground We always knew when to let go Driving so far in an American car Never too late for the show. With Buddy Holly on the radio and baseball in the yard Back in the summer of ’63 life didn’t seem too hard We were moving around, light on the ground We always knew when to let go Driving so far in an American car Never too late for the show. But it’s too late for dreamers, we’ve landed on the moon And the boys in the back room still play the same old tune Yes it’s too late for dreamers , we’ve landed on the moon And the boys in the back room still play the same old tune
8.
Clown 02:50
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the saddest clown of all? One day up and one day down, where did we go wrong? Every day your answerphone, even when I know you’re home Can’t you see it’s you and me, where did we go wrong? You send me letters I don’t understand Like you’re living in a far-off land Maybe therapy will sort us out But you know, I have my doubts.
9.
Loved by you 04:35
10.
There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you always will take my side There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you’re making me feel inside I was ready to look for love from the moment I saw you In a back street bar in London town You were telling those killer jokes And the guys were all round you When the doors were opened and lights went down Time after time, seeing’s believing. There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you always will take my side There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you’re making me feel inside You were ready to spend the night, though there wasn’t much sleeping In a borrowed shirt you said goodbye Then later you went home to him And I feared I might lose you I wanted to believe our love was real. Time after time, seeing’s believing There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you always will take my side There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you’re making me feel inside I remember your hippy hat , how I nearly went crazy We bought a run-down van and formed a band And we wanted to hit the road but it’s never so easy But we’re hanging onto something real Time after time, seeing’s believing There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you always will take my side There you go again, turning my life around I love the way that you’re making me feel inside

about

Back in March I realised that it was going to be difficult to record another studio album in 2020 with the John Hackett Band due to lockdown. So I decided I would work on a completely home-produced project where I would write, sing and play all the parts myself.
and here it is ...

credits

released November 18, 2020

Performed, produced and mixed by John Hackett
All music and lyrics by John Hackett

Photography Katrin Hackett and Howard Sinclair
CD Design and layout Howard Sinclair

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John Hackett Sheffield, UK

John has never quite made up his mind if he is a classical flute player or a multi-instrumentalist rock musician and if truth be told, he is both! He studied music at Sheffield University, then went on the road with his brother Steve Hackett. John now has his own rock band cleverly named the John Hackett Band. ... more

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