I'm delighted to say that my new album Weathering has finally blown in - twelve songs that are just a wee bit battered by the breeze. FATEA magazine described it as "an impressive debut that proudly wears its Scottish roots in the music and the singing, it easily scales those weathering heights."
Have a listen and see what you think. Each song is a different mood and like the weather if you don't like it there will be more along soon.
1. Wilder Times David plays guitar and sings, James plays 12 string, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “I grew a beard, it was not universally appreciated. But there is hankering in all of us for wildness – its just hard to find the right balance let alone the right amount of wildness in someone else.” I find hope in the strangest places In the strife of a whiskered kiss I struggle out of false embraces Seeking bliss Give me peace in a world of cages Just a breath of quietened air The outlook's calm while the inlook rages Crazened prayer Cause I keep looking for an altar on a hill A cathedral bell of grass and dew I belong to a wilder time with you Coming back from the foulest weather Seeking solace in the scouring gale Though it tears at every tether I won't bale Cause I keep looking for an altar on a hill A cathedral bell of grass and dew I belong to a wilder time with you Let’s leave it all together Slip out into the woods Bury me in moss and leaves This wildness that I seek Oh this wildness that I need Cause I keep looking for an altar on a hill A cathedral bell of grass and dew I belong to a wilder time with you a wilder time with you a wilder time with you – words and music by David McNeish
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2. Our Dancing Days David plays guitar and sings, James plays mandolin, Karen plays accordion and Jenny plays double bass. “This gorgeous lyric by Lainey Dempsey was set to music by myself and Donald Livingstone at a songwriting week with Boo Hewerdine in Moniack Mhor in 2019. It’s a poignant and heartfelt ode to relationship breakdown.” He stood alone among the crowd And watched her lose herself in dance Last orders rang, he crossed the floor To make his move and take his chance He walked her home as light as air She asked him in, the time was right For now they were the only ones Another sleepless city night Six years along they’ve settled down He works in sales, she stays at home The kids are great but take her time He often feels like he’s alone She’s looking worn with three to mind When one goes down the others fight He’s out his depth and out the door Another sleepless city night These tired streets know loves demise How time creeps by and hearts part ways It saves our dreams for morning light And our dancing days She watches as the hands go round And hopes tonight that he’ll return The bed seems big without him there She wonders what they have become Their youngest cries out in her sleep She rushes through and holds her tight Its been so long since last she danced Another sleepless city night Its been so long since last she danced Another sleepless city night – words by Lainey Dempsey, music by Donald Livingstone and David McNeish
3. When You Haven’t Done Well David plays guitar and sings, James plays dobro, Karen plays accordion, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “Some folks just never quite get it together, life keeps taking the wind out their sails and success is a foreign country. Written in the great Scots tradition of pairing miserable lyrics with a cheery tune.” What do you do when you haven’t done well, When you keep falling off that carousel. When everyone expects you to excel, What do you do when you haven’t done well. Behind the wheel at seventeen Desperate to pass oh she kept me keen I couldn’t see all that would entail When he said “son I’m afraid you’ve failed”. What do you do when you haven’t done well, When you keep falling off that carousel. When everyone expects you to excel, What do you do when you haven’t done well. We got married and I tried again Learned how to drive, how to stay in lane Fifteen years as man and wife When she said “son I want a different life” What do you do when you haven’t done well, When you keep falling off that carousel. When everyone expects you to excel, What do you do when you haven’t done well. I only drink til the bottle’s dry I drink until I don’t want to die Get half an hour and then there’s tears Say “son I’m sorry for these wasted years” But still I’m walking on Still I’m walking on Still I’m walking on But still I’m walking on Still I’m walking on Still I’m walking on What do you do when you haven’t done well When you keep falling off that carousel When everyone expects you to excel What do you do when you haven’t done well. What do you do when you haven’t done well When you keep falling off that carousel When everyone expects you to excel What do you do when you haven’t done well. – words and music by David McNeish.
4. Nervous David plays guitar and sings, Karen plays accordion, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “I once experienced a psychosis away from home when there was a perigean spring tide (look it up!). It was terrifying. I genuinely thought that as the water got higher and higher it was going to swallow the house and just keep on coming. In fact it was a fairly accurate picture of what was happening in my head. Singing about it, paradoxically, helps calm me down, even now.” See the tide come in, makes me nervous I think its never going to stop And the harbour wall, will come tumbling down Send us spinning out to sea Feel the north wind blow, makes me nervous I think it's never going to stop And this shingled roof, will come tumbling down Lift us spinning to the sky I never planned to go, you never planned to stay And all the things I know, have been written anyway There were times when I thought that I had it all That's when you would watch me fall Help me find a broken winning way Hear the rain pour down, makes me nervous I think it's never going to stop So I cry along, tears come tumbling down Watch them spinning down the drain I never planned to go, you never planned to stay And all the things I know, have been written anyway There were times when I thought that I had it all That's when you would watch me fall Help me find a broken winning way See the tide come in, Feel the north wind blow Hear the rain pour down – words and music by David McNeish
5. Into The Ground David plays guitar and sings, James plays mandolin, Beth plays cello, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “A love song about dying. We fear loss so much and yet it is the fear itself that causes the greatest losses. To love someone in the clear eyed knowledge that death is coming is actually rather beautiful and liberating. The earth accepts us all and we have such a hard time accepting this.” The soil has a song that you’ll never have heard Mulching the memories of all that has been Each tremor and footstep is planted within Down, down into the ground He led her through forest and barley and shore Weaving a way to the heart of all things The tangle of promises spoken aloud Down, down into the ground And their love took root With the greening of leaves that one day would fall And their love took root, down down into the ground They fell through the branches of pledges and vows Cradled in moss and the sunlight of time The swelling of courage and belly and grain Down, down into the ground And their love took root With the greening of leaves that one day would fall And their love took root, down down into the ground So sure enough one day the sod felt the blow Of spade upon turf and the tearing of toil A keening, a kindness and a kist for the ring And their love took root With the greening of leaves that one day would fall And their love took root, down down into the ground And their love took root With the greening of leaves that one day would fall And their love took root, down down into the ground The soil has a song that you’ll never have heard Mulching the memories of all that has been Each tremor and footstep is planted within Down, down into the ground, down into the ground down into the ground. – words and music by David McNeish.
6. So Joan David plays guitar and sings, James plays dobro, Karen plays accordion, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “The song that started it all. Whilst away in Camas, Mull I made a rash promise to write a song for anyone who could repair my torn trousers. Joan offered and then I had to deliver. No one had ever written a song for her before and, speaking with a friend who knew her, I came up with this. One of the strangest, most delightful things about song writing is that the gift of a song to another is also a gift to yourself. Afterwards I had both the repaired trousers and the new song. And only one of them has endured.” So-o-o Joan You find the good in things others won't condone And you gather up the fragments Help create this patchwork life So-o-o Joan You've learned to sing to plants and tend them as they've grown And you gather up the seedlings Help create this patchwork life And the trees will sing a long held truth This is the summer of eternal youth The trees will sing a long held truth This is the summer of eternal youth So-o-o Joan My holey trousers are most wonderfully sewn As you gather up the edges Help create this patchwork life And the trees will sing a long held truth This is the summer of eternal youth The trees will sing a long held truth This is the summer of eternal youth You dance while no one's looking You sing when no one hears But God keeps count of melodies As well as all your tears You dance while no one's looking You sing when no one hears But God keeps count of melodies As well as all your tears And the trees will sing a long held truth This is the summer of eternal youth The trees will sing a long held truth This is the summer of eternal youth, so-o Joan – words and music by David McNeish.
7. So Cruel David plays acoustic and nylon guitar and sings, James plays mandolin and banjo, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “It took a long time to find the right lyrics for this tune. When I did I realised that it was a song of two halfs in which neither half was happy. All too often, shit happens. Does it help knowing you’re not the only one? Sometimes.” No one told them the things they need to know No one showed them the places they could go So they went there alone Why does life have to be Why does life have to be So cruel so cruel Careful mantle fails to hide the strain Friendless rituals barely numb the pain Still they try them alone Why does life have to be Why does life have to be So cruel so cruel Endless efforts, dancing in the grey Tearful silence dragging out the day So they blamed them alone Why does life have to be Why does life have to be So cruel so cruel Tell them the reasons they should sing What notes can mark losing everything How can you say they should have given away The only thing they had to give So cruel So cruel So cruel – words and music by David McNeish.
8. Jenny And The Starlings David plays guitar and sings, James plays mandolin, Beth plays cello and Jenny plays double bass. “Jenny Sturgeon is a gifted songwriter and musician from Aberdeenshire, now living in Shetland. At a songwriting workshop in Orkney she handed out colour swatches to everyone to write a song based on the colour they were given. I was more interested in the fact that she had gone to the DIY store to get colour swatches, not to redecorate a room but to encourage composition. So with the help of Alison Nimmo, we ignored the brief and wrote a song about Jenny. The second verse is about completing a PhD – no one I know who has done this has ever come away unscathed.” Jenny stole the samples from the paint shop She wanted more than they had ever seen Like a magpie with an appetite for bright things She longed to free the colours in between All she desired Was a starling coloured song And an endless stretch of water To launch her dreams upon Hours watching others from the clifftop She’d remain while they would fly away Sapping strength as pigments fade to nowhere You wouldn’t wish to paint your life that way. All she desired Was a starling coloured song And an endless stretch of water To launch her dreams upon Moving made a difference to the shadows Lingering in the length of summers height Still unsure how feathers found their finery Shimmering rekindled in the light All she desired Was a starling coloured song And an endless stretch of water To launch her dreams upon All she desired Was a starling coloured song And an endless stretch of water To launch her dreams upon – words and music by David McNeish and Alison Nimmo.
9. Worn, Wounded And Weary David plays guitar, harmonium and sings, James plays 12-string, and Jenny plays double bass. “Every island has ship wreck songs – laments not just for the event, but for lancing the boil of other pain and disappointments as well, in a culture that is not known for wild outpouring, unless there is drink involved. Sarah Jane Gibbon collected this song as part of the Big Orkney Song Project. Written by Colonel David Balfour it was based on a fragment of song he heard sung by servants when a boy. This gave me the perfect excuse to dress it in a new tune and add another verse at the end, as if it wasn’t tragic enough already.” Worn wounded and weary beneath the bleak sky Some sank down to slumber some lay down to die For the good craft that yesterday breasted the main Will ne'er carry sailor nor lading again. O'er the wild war of waters the thunder may roar The slumberers hear not, their struggle is o'er O'er the wreck-bestrewn islet calm morning may break Till the last trumpet calls them they never shall wake. Long, long may the mother look out o'er the sea. To watch the home-coming that never can be And wives sick with longing, half hope and half fear, May hearken for voices they never shall hear. Well I knew from your eyes I should never have gone But the lure of horizons did carry me on Pulled down by cruel forces much stronger than death T'was your name I cried as I drew my last breath – verses 1-3 traditional, verse 4 and music by David McNeish.
10. We Will Make It Through The Winter David plays guitar and sings, James plays banjo, Douglas plays fiddle, Karina sings and Jenny plays double bass. “My favourite fiddler of all times and all places is Douglas Montgomery, of Saltfishforty and The Chair fame. His touch is sublime and his encouragement of others, escpecially kids, is legendary. I’m so delighted he was up for being a part of this song. A declaration of intent, I wrote this in June, after a splendid Orkney Folk Festival, knowing I would need help for the winter ahead. It has since become a good friend and gets sung with feeling at winter concerts. Packing it away each spring is a sadness that is more than consoled by the lengthening of the days.” We will make it through the winter Though the nights are dark and long We will make it through the winter all we need is song There'll be dark days ahead Days when it costs such a lot just to get out of bed When the weight of the rain, Seems to carry all of your pain And it takes all your courage to remind yourself what has been said We will make it through the winter Though the nights are dark and long We will make it through the winter all we need is song How to measure a day Birds hardly chatter and the sun seems reluctant to stay. When the crashing of waves, Seems to cower even the brave Threatening to drown out all hope but you know what they say We will make it through the winter Though the nights are dark and long We will make it through the winter all we need is song Who to tell of the strain Now that you're hear then you forfeit the right to complain when the ebbing of light, seems the proof that you're losing the fight but the battles not over and some say that nothings in vain We will make it through the winter Though the nights are dark and long We will make it through the winter all we need is song I got nothing, well I got nothing, but I'm clinging on, I'm clinging on I got nothing, well I got nothing, but I'm clinging on, I'm clinging on What goes around comes around that's what they say But I'm sick of this night and I'm longing for day If the planets still spinning please help it along Cos I'm all out of options except for this song I got nothing, well I got nothing, but I'm clinging o--n We will make it through the winter Though the nights are dark and long We will make it through the winter all we need is song We will make it through the winter Though the nights are dark and long We will make it through the winter all we need is song – words and music by David McNeish.
11. I Remember Falling David plays guitar and sings, James plays mandolin, Boo and Karina sing and Jenny plays bass. “A song everyone can relate to about rupturing your spleen on a ski slope and then feeling no pain at all whilst in the helicopter because I was so excited to be flying. Until it got to the roof of the hospital and the ultrasound department was on the ground floor, followed by emergency surgery. It’s really about being young and falling in love and making a life from it. I’ll always be grateful.” Nineteen and living like twenty'd never come Bleeding as the chairlift took me up Pleading as the stretcher took me down Flying, excitement drowning out the pain Til we landed on the roof And the only way was down, down, down I remember falling, I still remember falling Now I'm adding up the scars, still, its a beautiful life And we, we'd only just met, I told you I loved you You thought it was the drugs Flying, excitement drowning out the pain Til we landed on the roof And the only way was down, down, down I remember falling, I still remember falling Now I'm adding up the scars, still, its a beautiful life And all, all the signs say, this is not the end But I've made my vow that's one thing I recall I remember falling, I still remember falling Now I'm adding up the scars, still, its a beautiful life And now, we hold the ashes in our hands Our children like roses, singing we will climb again Flying, excitement drowning out the pain Til we landed on the roof And the only way was down, down, down I remember falling, I still remember falling Now I'm adding up the scars, still, its a beautiful life I remember falling, I still remember falling Now I'm adding up the scars, still, its a beautiful life – words and music by David McNeish.
12. Skaill, Selkie of Suleskerry David sings. “I first came across the lyrics in a George Mackay Brown book of short stories. He only quoted the chorus and, travelling by train down from Thurso, I created a story to satisfy myself to fit around it. This ignorance was blissful as it meant I wasn’t intimidated by the song’s rich heritage. And so I created the back story that there are a host of selkies living in Suleskerry and this just happens to be about one of the lesser known characters. Another few of them appear in my play The Boy Who Thought He Could Swim. Keep your eyes peeled.” I am a man upon the land, I am a selkie in the sea, And when I’m far from every strand, my home it is in Suleskerry Six long winters I’ve endured, for sake of blushing tenderness She drew from me the softest touch, that led me far from Suleskerry. I am a man upon the land, I am a selkie in the sea, And when I’m far from every strand, my home it is in Suleskerry The bairn she bore was dark of hair, like limpet clung upon her breast Her cries would drown the brightest thought, and ache my heart for Suleskerry I am a man upon the land, I am a selkie in the sea, And when I’m far from every strand, my home it is in Suleskerry No loaf can tempt me to remain, no bannocked fire my heart can draw For now my pelt I must reclaim, and leave my love for Suleskerry I am a man upon the land, I am a selkie in the sea, And when I’m far from every strand, my home it is in Suleskerry I found it hanging in the byre, beside the shore I slipped it on The waves did claim me for their own, and led me back to Suleskerry I am a man upon the land, I am a selkie in the sea, And when I’m far from every strand, my home it is in Suleskerry No more a man upon the land, I am a selkie in the sea It’s hard for you to understand, who are so far from Suleskerry You are so far from Suleskerry. – chorus traditional, verses and music by David McNeish.
Acknowledgements Engineered, mixed and mastered by Jamie Savage. Recorded in Chem 19 Studios, Hamilton. Hand claps, accordion and backing vocals, recorded in Gloworm Studios, Glasgow by Euan Burton. Harmonium recorded in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall by Mark and Nicol Summers. Produced by Boo Hewerdine. Front cover painting by Calum Morrison (1956-2022). Album design by Elly Lucas. Inner paper texture scanned from the reverse of a 1774 sea chart by Mark Summers, the Hamnavoe Bookbinder. Thanks are due to many people for encouraging me. To the wonderful musical friends who listened, played and made everything so much better. To Boo whose gentle insistence is the reason this is more than an aspiration. To Sally, I’ll always be grateful. To Fran and the staff at St Magnus Cathedral for letting us play harmonium after hours! To everyone reading this who supports independent music – thank you! Whoever you are, whatever your politics, please ensure Palestinians can access health care. Join me in supporting Medical Aid for Palestinians: www.map.org.uk All songs words and music written by David McNeish except (2) words by Lainey Dempsey, music by Donald Livingstone & David McNeish, (8) words and music by David McNeish & Alison Nimmo, (9) verses 1-3 words traditional, (12) chorus words traditional All songs © stonesongmusic 2024