One of my lifetime goals was to see my lyrics included on an album. And I’m glad to say that it’s not happened a few times. I’ve set up this page to showcase some of those albums.
Sons of Alerik – Sons of Alerik
About the band
Sons of Alerik are a rock band, featuring musicians based in the US, Japan, and Spain. The band name was inspired by the Deep Purple song ‘Son of Alerik’. Their debut album really rocks and the production quality is top notch. Please check the whole album out. If you like it, then you can buy the album, or individual songs, from Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
My contribution – lyrics for a song called ‘Apologies’
I wrote the lyrics to Apologies and am thrilled that it’s been included on the Sons of Alerik album. The song was written while the dreadful Australian bush fires were raging. The song is about all the awful things that we humans have inflicted upon ourselves and upon the environment, and how just offering apologies isn’t enough.
Here’s a taster for the lyrics:
Apologies
(Verse 1)
There were 70 million deaths in the Second World War
Six million Holocaust victims, maybe a little more,
The scale of this destruction still pulls on our heartstrings
How dreadful we should ever allow such monstrous things
(Verse 2)
There were one billion animals killed in Australia’s fires
And the estimated figures just kept on rising higher,
This is just the start of this, who knows what tomorrow brings
How dreadful that we should be the cause of such awful things
(Chorus)
I offer my apologies
It’s not enough,
My apologies
My apologies.
If we’re not the cure
We’re the disease,
We need to do much more
Than offer apologies
(Written by Simon Wright, January 2020)
Andy LeFevre – Our World album
About the artist
Andy LeFevre has been composing infectious melodic songs and instrumentals for over 16 years. His songs “Life In Red City” (from his CD “Raindance”) and “Lost Love” (a collaboration with poet ‘Didi’ E.M.Crook who wrote the lyrics, is on his “Reflections” CD) are both finalist song-of-the-year competition entries. He performs in Essex music clubs, festivals and local radio stations either solo or with various combinations of his musical friends. Check out his website.
My contribution – lyrics for a song called ‘The End Of The World’
I worked with Andy LeFevre on a Key Change collaboration challenge on the MuseSongWriters website. I provided the lyrics and Andy then did all the music and vocals. The song that we ended up with was called ‘The End Of The World’ and is the final track on Andy’s great album. I’ve included a snippet of the lyrics below:
(Verse 1)
Salt sea fresh from its ocean
Launches itself at me
There’s nobody here, at the end of the world
Nowhere is more free
(Verse 2)
Steep bluffs no place for the living
But that’s just fine with me
There’s nobody here, at the end of the world
Nobody but me
(Bridge)
Back in the real world
You seek my confession
With a finger gun held up to my head.
Your eyes flash as you wield your aggression
Dissecting each word that I’ve said
(Written by Simon Wright. June 2020)
Parma Way’s ‘The Forty Elephant Gang’ EP
About the band
Parma Way are a collection of musicians and lyricists from all over the world, who share ideas and create wonderful sounding songs on Kompoz.com. Kompoz is a music collaboration website.
My contribution – lyrics for the ‘We Got Rain’ song
Track 5 on this 6 song EP is called ‘We Got Rain’ and features lyrics that I wrote in January 2020. Jen Carie has supplied the vocals, with the music created by Mike Cordray, Pablo Montenegro, Frederic Osuch, Fredric Schulz, and Alex Wilke.
Here’s a sample of the lyrics:
(Verse 1)
An empty space at the dinner table
Dishes piled in the sink
Last cigarette still in the ashtray
The news hasn’t sunk in yet
(Chorus)
You’ve gone away
This was our last day
So unexpected
Nothing detected
Weather man predicted sun but we got rain
(Written by Simon Wright, January 2020)
No Clear Sky’s ‘Black Mold – Volume 2’ album
About the band
No Clear Sky are a band made up of a talented bunch of musicians and lyricists from around the world. Many of them are from the Kompoz music collaboration website. Those who contributed to this album were Tsvetomir Ivanov, Sergey Engel, Brian Henry, Frank Ruiz, Dave Moore, Bill (Sriracha), Luke Adrien, Tony Inosencio, Bert Smit, Mike Paterson, Momchil Grozev, Daniela Brando, Kim Noble, Xan Eden, James Tanner, Jayesh Raikar, Nigel Robinson, Ican Petkov (aka S!ckATrix), Sergei Shilov, and myself!
My contribution – lyrics for the ‘One by One’ song
Track 4 on the album is called One by One. It features Frank Ruiz on vocals, Sergey Engel on bass guitar, Brian Henry on drums, and Tsetomir Ivanov on guitar and production. And the lyrics are by me. It’s an anti war song. Here’s a snippet of the lyrics:
‘Faded jackets, medals pinned to them
Same time every year, we take them out again
Failing minds, don’t know what happened yesterday
But crystal clear on a place now so far away
Falling over, help me up again
Too many stayed down but that was back then
Failing minds, don’t know what happened yesterday
But crystal clear on a time now so far away’
Listen to and buy the album: https://noclearsky.bandcamp.com/album/black-mold-vol-2
Publish date: May 2020
The Wave Exchange album, by The Rock Station
About the band
The Rock Station is a band comprised of musicians and lyric writers from around the world, who started collaborating on the Kompoz website.
My contribution – lyrics for a song called ‘Growler’
I provided the lyrics to one of the eleven songs on the album. That song is called ‘Growler’ and here is a sample of some of the lyrics:
‘Fog draws deep
And another one comes, a Growler,
Wake up man.
This is not a dream
And if we miss a beat, we cower
Another one comes, a Growler!’
You can buy the album on the Amazon US or Amazon UK websites.
Ego, by Skuve
About the band
Skuve is a virtual band made up of musicians from around the world, who collaborate to create music that blends pop rock and country pop influences. Their album ‘Ego‘ was released in August 2018.
My contribution – lyrics for a song called ‘Sometimes I’
Sometimes I is the 8th song on the album, and is about how sometimes we need to get away from life’s complexities. The protagonist in this song is doing that by running along a beach, enjoying the beauty of his surroundings. I’ve included some of the lyrics below. Please give the song and the album a listen
(Verse 1)
Sometimes I
Wonder why
This life is so complicated.
Sometimes I
Despair of
These hardships we created.
(Chorus) Running up a hill, but nothing’s gonna get
In my way
Take life on the chin, yeah, nothing’s gonna
Make me stay.
The wind’s in my hair, cold breath at the start of
A new day,
The coast stretches out, a line of gold sand
Pointing the way.