1. Up The Orinoco (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Davy: vocals
Jore: pc programming, guitar, banjo-mandolin, backing vocals

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Ever heard a poem with the words "Elvis","Gaza","pygmies" and "pasta" on it? Well, soon you will! Davy was in a high fever in last winter and he wrote ten poems in a day... I wonder if this was one of them? --jore

Jore has a happy habit of finding just the right melody to fit my poems. I think the Orinoco is in Venezuela --davy

I was up the Orinoco
With a paddle in my hand
And behind me as I paddled
Was a six piece trad jazz band
I was up the Orinoco
With piranhas all around
And apart from 'Kansas City Blues'
You couldn't hear a sound

I was up at Machu Picchu
With a company of men
Who were listening to Elvis
Sing, 'Return To Sender' when
There was suddenly a rattle
Then a little rock and roll
And a tribe of pygmies crawled out
From a long forgotten hole.

I was legless up in Gaza
When the boat at last came in
It had every ration dreamt of
In a multitude of tins
There was bully beef and pasta,
Fish and chips and Irish Stew
And upon the back of every one
A photograph of you.

(c) Davy McGowan 2004

2. Hey Man (McGowan)

Davy: vocal, backing vocals, guitars, midi keyboard ("organ"), drums
Jore: fretless bass

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In our last night when we had already finished playing and Davy had packed up and waiting the early morning jet plane, we suddenly realized we had no reggae at all! After those famous five minutes Davy announced: now we have! --jore

We tried to do as many styles as we could on this collection - this was a very late addition, recorded just before I left for home. --davy

Hey man, you better get a woman in your life
Hey man, just as long as she ain’t your wife

Don’t cry wolf at the shepherd’s door
You might find yourself looking down a twelve bore
When the going gets tough you better save your skin
Don’t try to save the world like Rin Tin Tin

Talk is cheap when the chips are down
Anyone there can act the clown
There’s nothing tastes like humble pie
But we all got to eat some by and by

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2005

3. Collegiana (Fields/Mills/McHugh)

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Davy: vocal, backing vocals, washboard, jug, guitar, kazoos
Tuomas: vocal, backing vocal, midi keyboards ("piano")

Tuomas had this song on an album by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. It took me a while to figure out the chords - but we got them all eventually. The end result is like a bathtub that’s full to overflowing! --davy

4. Tell Me I´m The One (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Davy: vocals
Jore: guitar, fretless bass, mandolin, accordion

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This was one of the first attempts at putting words to Jore’s melody. The tj band were supposed to record it a couple of years ago - but they didn’t get around to it. Now it’s found a home here. --davy

Across St.Vincent Street the mist is drifting low
The kids all wish that it would snow.
I'm reading Conrad with a coffee in my hand
In the bookshop where we used to go.
But that was long ago and very far away
In another time, another life
I sometimes wonder where you finally ended up
A rich man's toy, a poor man's wife.

I still remember how your hazel eyes would shine
I still remember how you smiled
I still remember how you used to whisper low,
'Tell me I'm the one you love.'

Are there times when I still run across your mind?
Times you smile a secret smile?
Thinking back to our day spent in the wood
Times you sit and dream awhile
And do you see the leaves of scarlet green and gold
And feel my arms holding you tight?
And do you feel the simple joys of love and life
Like walking home in the moonlight?

I still remember how your hazel eyes would shine
I still remember how you smiled
I still remember how you used to whisper low,
'Tell me I'm the one you love.'

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2002

5. Living On Borrowed Time (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Davy: vocals
Jore: pc programming, banjo

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Jore’s melody and my words again --davy

Whisky for lunch with a chaser or two
Ain't nothing that I call mine
No one to see and nowhere to go
Living on borrowed time

Throw my head back as I empty the glass
Look out on streets of crime
No one to see and nowhere to go
Living on borrowed time

I did three years in the majors you know
When I was in my prime
There I am playing in an old photograph
Living on borrowed time

Whisky and gin - what do you get?
Where do you draw the line?
No one to see and nowhere to go
Living on borrowed time

Lucille had left by the time Jed was born
I told her that suited me fine
Don't know what happened to them, either one
Living on borrowed time

World's going to hell in a handcart - that's right
But who gives a lousy dime?
No one to see and nowhere to go
Living on borrowed time

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2004

6. Herätä linnunlauluun aamulla haluaisin
(I'd like to wake when birds are singing) (Heikkilä)

Jore: guitars, bozoukis, midi keyboard ("strings")

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I remember writing some bad verses for this a couple of years back. It’s much better as an instrumental! Would be good for a new Zorba the Greek movie --davy

One of my oldiest melodies. The first line was ready in my head when the melody was born - but not the rest. So at last in summer 2004 I decided the finish the song and after struggling hard one week I managed to make 5 verses to it. But not happy with the result, I rewrote almost the whole song, now with more happy ending. TODAY I have no idea where those lyrics are, so while waiting them to be found or re-rewrited I offer this instrumental version. This doesn't mean Davy's lyrics were bad as he claims; I just wanted to finish it in Finnish! --jore

7. Rock Island Line (Ledbetter)

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Davy: vocal, backing vocal, guitar, mandolin, drum, blues harp, shaker
Jore: fretless bass, backing vocal

You can’t beat a good skiffle number! It took some convincing to get Jore to do the backing vocals here - but I think he’s great! --davy

8. Changes (Cale)

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Tuomas: fretless bass, vocal, midi keyboard ("organ")
Davy: guitars, vocal, smaller tabla
Jore: shaker

This worked out wonderfully well. I had no idea I could play the guitar like this! Top marks to Jore for his mixing here - and to Tuomas for the great bass --davy

9. An Innocent Man (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Jore: vocal, guitar, shaker, rhythms, pc programming

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A little nonsense poem - but I suppose it’s rather dark in some respects. Once again Jore finds a tune to suit the mood. --davy

An innocent man
A flash in the pan
A visit from Homer
And Desperate Dan

A walk in the wood,
They're up to no good
It's Jack with a beanstalk
and Red Riding Hood

Too little too late
At a previous date
When you first prayed to God
And then cursed your Fate

Two pigs in a sty
A patch on your eye
A shiny new coin
In a blueberry pie

Virgil on speed,
Rousseau in need,
Finnegan dancing
A reel in the street.

Here's where it ends
With haikus and zens,
The taker he gives
And the borrower lends.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2004

10. The Nightshift Man (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Davy: vocal
Jore: guitars, backing vocal

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Another little poem of mine. Having worked nightshift myself for the past 5 years I know how he feels! --davy

Mr. Jones works nightshift,
I think it's just like this,
When other people go to bed,
He gets out of his.

Mr. Jones works nightshift,
In the Gaswork's dome;
When other people go to work,
He'll be coming home.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2002

11. The Watchers (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Davy: vocal
Jore: guitars, backing vocals

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Jore sang this on the original demo - but insisted I sang it in the studio. Well, I liked his version so much that this is me doing an impersonation of Jore’s demo! --davy

Who shall watch the watchers
When the watchers want to go
On a bus tour of the Highlands
Where they don't know friend from foe?

Who shall watch the watchers
When the watchers all decide
To forget their sacred mission
And run to the woods to hide?

Who shall watch the watchers
When the watchers move away
From their present habitation
To the coast of France someday?

Who shall watch the watchers
When the watchers are no more
When their houses lie abandoned
And no one answers the door?

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2005

12. Sadness (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Jore: vocal, guitars, midi keyboard ("ocarina")

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What a lovely, sad and wistful melody from Jore. --davy

Sadness is a place
Where a cold wind blows,
Where you stand alone
Where the crowd all goes.
Sadness is a place
With a distant view
Where you still see me,
But I can't see you.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2005

13. Midnight Special (Ledbetter)

Davy: vocal, guitar, backing vocal
Tuomas: midi keyboard ("piano")
Jore: nylon string guitar

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Our version of the old Leadbelly song. Not as good as Mungo Jerry’s perhaps - but who is ! --davy

CCR ?? --jore

14. The Last Stand (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Davy: vocal, bodhran, indian chant
Jore: pc programming

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A little poem about Custer’s Last Stand - which came to me as I listened to Jore’s tune --davy

A thousand miles on the Indian trail
A thousand miles on the plain
A thousand miles with the yellow haired man
Riding through the wind and the rain

Nights went slow when I laid myself down
Rifle ready in my hand
Sound of drums like a heart beating out
Over the Indian land

A thousand miles and they took us by surprise
A thousand miles to the kill
A thousand miles and my friends are all around
Lying in blood on the hill

I watched him fall, saw the look on his face
His yellow hair streaked with red
One shot left in the palm of my hand
Drums beating out in my head

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2004

15. Tarja's Theme (McGowan)

Davy: guitar, midi keyboard ("grand piano")

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John Renbourne and Erik Satie in the same recording studio??? That seems to be how it turned out. A little musical kiss for Tarja! --davy

16. The Gypsy's Wife (Cohen)

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Davy: vocal, backing vocal, mandolin, guitar, bozouki, jew's harp
Jore: guitar

This was a song that I chose to do. It’s a song of Cohen’s that isn’t too well known - but I’ve always loved it and I thought we could do a decent job of it with the bouzouki and mandolin etc. I’m very pleased how it turned out. --davy

17. The Dib Dab Bird (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Jore: vocals, pc programming, guitars. Sound effects used.

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Great pc programming from Jore. Sounds like an acid version of Paul Simon’s ‘Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard!’ --davy

They say, in ancient days of yore,
The dib-dab bird - like many more
Less well known creatures of the sky -
Would shake its feathered wings and fly.

The dib-dab bird was red and blue,
With two green stripes and two spots too,
The spots were white, but its tail was grey
And its wings were the colour of a chestnut bay.

The dib-dab bird simply ceased to be
Round about the sixteenth century.
There's a stuffed one somewhere still on view,
With an arrow sticking in the red and blue.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2005

18. The Ballad of William Harrison (McGowan)

Davy: vocals, guitar, drums, (slide) banjo, mandolin

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Davy the Celt seems to be a country boy after all! --jore

I just picked up the mandolin and started strumming 3 out of the 5 chords I know - and the words came very quickly. Don’t know what happened to Jore - why isn’t he playing something here? Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself?? --davy

Well my name is William Harrison, I was born in Jackson town
Lord the women there well they sure got ways to pick you up when you feel down
It was late one night, the moon was high, I was on the lonesome trail
When the police came and arrested me, Lord they threw me in a Southern jail.

I asked exactly what I'd done to be locked up in that place
They said the charge was murder one and my name was a disgrace
Yes they said that I was a wanted man for murder in the first degree
I said, 'I don't know who you're looking for my friend, but it sure ain't me.'

I spent four months there awaiting trial in that God forsaken jail
There was not one soul to call my friend, no one to go my bail
Well the trial judge he just looked at me, yes he looked right in my eye
He said, 'Son you killed my Mary Lou and you better get to fixin' to die.'

I watched them build that gallows pole, I watched them build it high
And they came for me one frosty night as the midnight hour drew nigh
They dragged me out into the street, there was nothing I could do
When I felt the rope going round my neck someone said, 'There's Mary Lou.'

Seems she'd run away with a gambling man from the Mississippi side
And she'd come back here a wiser gal, had to swallow all her pride
Well I left that town just as fast as I could when the judge apologized
I'd a hundred dollars in my hand for those Jackson girls' surprise.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2005

19. Westward Ho (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Tarja: vocals
Jore: pc programming, bozoukis, rhythms, backing vocals

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One of those innocent songs that Tarja’s voice was made for. Great melody from Jore too. --davy

Where shall I find a friend?
Half a mile around the bend.
Oh but how shall I know he's true?
Look into his eyes of blue.

I smell spring in the morning air,
Everything is bright and fair.
There's a wind in the west and I know,
That's the road that I must go.

Over the hill I go,
It's sunny sky and Westward Ho,
Corn waving in the breeze,
And now I find my heart's at ease.

When shall I find my love?
Leave it all to God above.
Oh but how shall I know he's mine?
Put your trust in tide and time.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2003

20. To The Jungle (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Jore: guitars, mandolin, midi keyboard ("acoustic bass")
Davy: vocals

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A rather tongue in cheek little ditty about a 6 year old explorer. My own Auntie Nelly emigrated to the US in the 40’s - and ended up living in the same street as Roy Rogers! --davy

I seem to have some difficulties to keep steady rhythm... sorry! --jore

I set off for the jungle
In a land unknown to man;
Impenetrable, vast and still,
Untouched since time began.
My Auntie Nelly combed my hair
And tied my laces tight,
Then kissed me gently on the cheek
Saying, "Don't forget to write."

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2002

21. The Rhubarb Tree (Heikkilä - McGowan)

Jore: vocals, guitars, midi keyboard ("acoustic bass")

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This started out as a one verse song - but Jore insisted on having a second verse - and I was happy to oblige. --davy

Who needs Lewis Carroll? Davy is here! --jore

High up in the rhubarb tree
I saw a mouse as big as me,
It smiled a smile and gave a wave
And seemed to know how to behave.
So I smiled back and said, 'Hello,'
Then on my way prepared to go
A little wiser than I'd been
Before I saw what I'd just seen.

Half way down the winding lane
I saw the same mouse once again,
He asked me if I'd like some cheese
At which I smiled and said, "Yes please"
And so we sat in the setting sun
Eating bread and cheese and currant bun
Till the air grew chill as the night crept in
And each star shone like a shiny pin.

(c) Davy Mc Gowan 2005

22. Sitting On Top Of The World (Vincson/Carter)

Davy: vocal, backing vocals, guitar, drums
Jore: guitar, rhythms
Tuomas: midi keyboard ("piano")

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Loosely based on the Don McLean version - with a few extra verses from God knows where thrown in. --davy