Town Cryer
https://soundcloud.com/steve-lewis-36/town-cryer
This is a song about how the place in which I grew up has slowly fallen into ruin. As a kid I use to love going 'into town'...to Woolworth's, the record shops and all sorts of other great places.
Now there's nothing much left.
Town Cryer
In the centre of this town it’s raining
The rich get gold and the poor get none
Charity packs another bag to leave and says
There was hope but now it’s gone
The Emperor's clothes are never old
To hold on to his toys he’ll give pennies
His box full of nothing’s almost empty now
And his chain is hanging heavy
Crier
Crier
We need a Town Crier
This town is crying
The clock tick-tocks yet time stands still
Cobwebs creep down with the ivy
From the rooftops to the pavements like a varicose vein
To suffocate so sublimely
Manakins abandon their windows
Leaving nothing behind but their price
Say goodbye to ‘hellos’ on these empty streets
There’s nothing left now but silence
Crier
Crier
We need a Town Crier
This town is crying
In the centre of this town there’s nothing
Just coffee shops broken telephone boxes
No dancefloors no cinemas showing the greats
Where once opportunities knocked
Peacocks become even bolder
The streets becoming theirs to keep
In the centre of this town it’s raining
And the water’s getting deep
Crier
Crier
We need a Town Crier
This town is crying
(They say the lights were always bright in this town
There was always magic in the air)
Comments
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Excellent piece.
Wonderful song, you painted a vivid picture of an encroaching urban desert!
Some truely brilliant lines in there Steve, I enjoyed it very much.
One to be proud of there!
Well done.
Sid
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That's really poignant and nostalgic and melancholy. The guitar picking adds to the moody, sparse atmosphere
With your chorus I'd be tempted to stretch out the "crier" progressively turning it into a wail.
eg Crier, Cri-er, We need a town Cri-i-i-er (it feels a bit too restrained to me). Then maybe return to that clipped, constrained feel for the final line.
"Leaving nothing behind but their price" - that's a great line. I like this one too:
"Peacocks become even bolder"
Really nice.
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I'm drawn in right away with that intro. Loving the way it builds and that chorus is just fabulous. What really makes this is your lyrics which are beautiful. Melancholy is the right word, yet there's almost a psychedelic vibe to this too. I like some of the fx you use on the vocals. This is superb.😀
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Howdy, Stranger!