From the recording Trains
John Jenkins – Vocals and Piano
Stephanie Kearley – Strings
About the Song
This song has a lot to answer for. I was fortunate enough to be joint audience winner in the 2014 Liverpool Acoustic Songwriting challenge with this song and as I explained on the night of the final, I had not been on stage in 35 years and even then I was never the singer. I had written the tune quite quickly and submitted it just before the deadline date with me singing as I hadn’t enough time to get someone else in to sing or play on it as I usually had done.
When I heard I had made the final, and I had to perform it myself I was extremely nervous to say the least. Getting Joint audience winning vote was surreal and having to get up a second time to perform it (as it was a winning song) was unreal. It gave me the confidence to actually get up at a few other places and I still do now on a regular basis.
Part of the prize was to record it in Crosstown Studio’s hence this recording.
The song itself was inspired by a painting at the “View 2” Art Gallery which reminded me of my late Uncle Harry Mooney going off to work in the early hours of the morning. He was a wonderful man and a character and really did buy a Scott’s Bread Van and then an Ambulance and as a kid I didn’t have a clue what job he actually did.
About the Recording
Jon Lawton told me I had to come in and do the song just as I had done in the “Songwriting Challenge” with me and a piano. After the short recording session I thought “is that really me singing?” and I thought “I’ll come back and do another song” and then a third was recorded and so on. After the second song was done I knew I wanted to hear some strings on theses tracks and through the wonders of Facebook again I was recommended to the lovely Stephanie Kearley who had done some great strings on Ian Till’s EP. She was due to have a baby around this time so I had to wait a bit but I think it was well worth the wait.
Lyrics
Put the World to Rights
I can’t remember what year it was
But I do remember you of course
Walking through the street on your way to work
And I must have been about 9 or 10
You told me something I’d never forget
You said “never take for granted your Ma or Pa”
And I’m sitting here nearly 50 years on
With my memories of those days long far gone
I remember when you bought the Scott’s bread van
Just after you sold that Ambulance
You always had your fingers in so many different pies
And I still don’t know what job you had
or if you were clever or if you were mad
It just seemed a normal thing for you to do
There’s a time and place that I’ll take myself
There’s a road that I’ll walk on
With you my friend, reminisce and laugh again
Put the world to rights
The pub down the street is no longer there
It’s a charity shop selling furniture
I know that would make you pull out your hair
Because you use to like a pint or 2
With a scotch on the side
with your Embassy number 1 (or was it Embassy number 2?)
There’s a time and place that I’ll take myself
There’s a road that I’ll walk on
With your my friend, reminisce and laugh again
Put the world to rights
There’s a time and place that I’ll take myself
Where those memories are so strong
Of you my friend,
One day we’ll meet again
And put the world to rights