Eighty-seven Years
While I was travelling on my motorcycle, I had the privilege of attending The Tamworth Country Music Festival.
It was a hot and dusty festival full of wonderful music and inspiration.
When the festival was over, I rode away from town as early as I dared.
It was 7am and the night was still cooling down.
The early morning light shone like diamonds on the hay bales and this moment was the inspiration for Eighty-seven Years.
Eighty-seven Years
For sixty-seven years I've been waking up early,
Before the sun, while the nights still cooling down.
And the colours shine like diamonds on the hay bales,
And I thank God I'm still around.
To hear the sweet song of the magpie calling,
And find a ringtail on her way home.
While the townsfolk are busy sleeping
I'm living in the glory of the land.
For seventy-seven years.....
To feel the cool breeze upon my shoulders,
And count the stars in a fading night sky.
And spin a yarn with a travelling drover,
Blessed is the country life.
For eighty-seven years.....
(And the colours still shine like diamonds on those hay bales,)
To give a smile to the new day dawning,
And remember those folks who've passed my way.
And know for certain where my home is,
And to give thanks in every word I pray.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Falls of Thunder
Having lived in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia words cannot convey the deep spiritual connection I have with Africa.
A connection I have carried with me my whole life.
I hope through Falls of Thunder you feel the spirit of The Victoria Falls and the spirit of the people of Africa.
Falls of Thunder
(I was inspired to write this song about Victoria Falls while listening to Aboriginal elder, George Walley, at George's song writing seminar in February 2020)
Where do you come from Falls of Thunder?
Where must the rain fall so you can flow?
Through the changing smiles on both sides of the border,
May your mist rise, may your mist rise, may your mist rise and free us all.
Through the eyes of a child I came to your water,
To dance in the mist and watch the hippos play.
And the rainbows end shone deep in the valley,
And even a child's, even a child's, even a child's breath was swept away.
I remember the border, your humble existence,
You always had a smile for a child like me.
While we waited and wondered the mist rose from your river,
Until it was time, until it was time, until it was time to go home.
In December a picture as silent as the enemy,
No water, no wonder, no hippos at play.
I pray for the rain and the sound of your thunder,
Let no man take, let no man take, let no man take your spirit away.
Where do you come from Falls of Thunder?
Where must the rain fall so you can flow?
Through the changing smiles on both sides of the border
May your mist rise, may your mist rise, may your mist rise and free us all.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2020
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Not Enough to Go Around
I like the idea that if there’s not enough to go around, just buy some more, and so I wrote this notion into a jazz love song.
Not Enough to Go Around
There's not enough of you to go around
All the girls are chasing you in town
And I am staying home and feeling lonely.
Chorus
When it comes to apple blossom time
We'll be eating cheese and drinking red wine
And if there's not enough to go around
We'll buy some more.
I might have missed the shots I didn't take
And of course there were the dreams I didn't make
But there's one thing you can be sure of.
Chorus
Just because it don't feel right don't mean it's wrong.
I'm sitting here and playing our favourite song,
And the sun is shining through all my dreams of you.
Chorus
There's just one thing I feel I need to say
When you're here you brighten up my day
When you're gone I know that I don't own you.
Chorus
Chorus
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Wilcannia my Darling
Deep in the heart of New South Wales is the little town of Wilcannia, situated on the banks of The Darling River.
I fell in love with Wilcannia and I just had to write Wilcannia My Darling.
Wilcannia my Darling
Chorus
In summer I might go, where the rising rivers flow,
Where the billabongs and the creeks all take their fill I'll have you know.
Where the toe-rags and the teamsters,
And the lovers and the dreamers
Hear the call to home where the cotton fields grow.
There is Hart in the desert and light on the hill,
And the ghosts down town Silverton are murmuring still.
Where the drovers are calling and the "Five Alls" are falling,
I'm in love with Wilcannia My Darling.
While the Lachlan is rising, the townsfolk are crying,
And Murray and Darling are laughing with glee.
Where the old Knox and Downs has been burned to the ground,
I'm in love with Wilcannia My Darling.
Where the black kites are flying and the miners are dying,
And the red-cockatoos sit high in the trees.
And the Cobb & Co coaches bring fine ladies with broaches,
I'm in love with Wilcannia My Darling.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Help Me Free My Mind
In recent years, songwriters have been encouraged to write songs about mental health to help bring community awareness to this most sensitive and important subject.
Help Me Free My Mind is like all my other songs, written from my own experiences and life observations.
Help Me Free My Mind
Chorus
Will you take me to a strangers town,
Where the river flows and I won't feel down.
Where the mountain air will free my soul,
Just let me know, please let me know, let me know when it's time to go.
It's like sugar, it's like wine,
It's like maybe I'll be fine.
It's like rust, like dust, sometimes.
It's like a flower in spring, it's like everywhere I've ever been,
It's like holding on to something I can't find,
Help me free my mind.
Chorus
It's like you, it's like me,
It's like a scene from a horror movie,
It's like a fickle breeze, a falling leaf, a bird's cry.
It's like trust, like lust, it's like feeling like I've had enough,
It's like holding on to something I can't find,
Help me free my mind.
Chorus
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Copyright Jane Laws 2020
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
He's Nice
I have been lucky in my life to have played a few tunes, and created new songs, with some great musicians. He’s Nice is a tribute to everyone I have ever been on stage with, thank you.
He's Nice
He likes a cup cake,
He likes a cup of coffee,
He likes to play the field on Saturday night.
He likes to bogie, on a moon beam, when there's no one else insight.
He counts the colours of a rainbow before he goes to sleep at night,
But most of all he plays a really good tune, and he's nice.
He runs a stable,
He brews a pale ale,
He'll take a brandy or tequila on ice.
He'll run a mile, on a Sunday, so he can eat a loaded caramel slice.
He'll give one hundred, on a Monday, teach a kid to fly a lazy day kite.
But most of all he plays a really good tune, and he's nice.
He rides a bike,
Likes to take a hike,
Do him wrong and he won't do you right.
He lost a bet, on a game of chess, he won't get caught out twice.
He found himself a dog, named that dog Bob, said that he could stay for life.
But most of all he plays a really good tune, and he's nice.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Can I Dance?
You do not have to know someone all your life for them to inspire you, to teach you.
I wrote Can I Dance? for Jo Rich.
I don’t think I have ever cried so many tears while writing a song.
I cried for Jo, and as I was writing Can I Dance? during the time of the Covid Delta strain outbreak in India, I cried for those who lost their lives during this terrible time of crisis and desperation.
It seemed as if every word was a tribute to those souls taken from this world before their time.
Can I Dance?
(For Jo Rich 1963 ~ 2021)
Can I dance even though I'm not a dancer?
Can I sing you a song to make you smile?
Can I sleep for one thousand dreams?
Can I see you once in a while?
Chorus
Do you know where you are going to? Can you feel the cool night air?
Can you see the brightest light shining through? Please wait for me there.
Can I teach even though I'm not a teacher?
Can I kiss all your tears when you're alone?
Can I breathe for one thousand years?
Can I find my way home?
Chorus
Can I love even though I'm not your lover?
Can I hold onto you through the night?
Can I dance again with another?
Can I paint the sunset in the sky?
Chorus
Wait for me there.
Where you are going to can you feel the cool night air?
Can you see the brightest light shining through?
Please wait for me there.
Can I dance even though I'm not a dancer?
Can I sing? Can I sleep? Can I see you?
Can I teach? Can I kiss? Can I breathe? Can I find my way?
Can I love? Can I hold onto you?
Can I dance again, with you?
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Travelling Man
I love travelling by motorcycle and some of the happiest moments of my life have been spent riding the open road.
I enjoy listening to the stories and learning about the towns and the townsfolk along the way.
Travelling Man is a traveler’s song.
Travelling Man
Before I make it home again
I'll ride the Snowy Mountains Highway,
And I'll climb the highest mountain in this Great Southern Land.
And I'll write about Jack Riley as I ride along the byway,
Learning more about this country than I'll ever understand.
Before I make it home again
I'll spend a night on desert sands,
And listen to the dreaming and the meaning of the land.
And I'll wonder where I'm going when a sister takes my hand,
Learning more about this country than I'll ever ever understand.
Before I make it home again
I'll know the Cradle Mountain man,
Painted on a sidewalk with his native animal clan.
Resting in the valley, alone, without his companion,
Learning more about this country than I'll ever understand.
Before I make it home again
I'll sing a song with a stranger and,
I'll cry for those who died so I can be a travelling man.
And I'll smile at the wonder when I remember where I am,
Learning more about this country than I'll ever ever understand.
Learning more about this country than I'll ever ever understand.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2020
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Smoky Bar
I met Tony Lightfoot at work in 1979.
Through the years, and through the different paths of our lives, we always kept in touch until his passing in 2014.
Tony said to me in his last correspondence “I call the sax smoky bar music.”
This comment was the inspiration for Tony’s song, Smoky Bar.
Smoky Bar
(For Tony Lightfoot 1954 ~ 2014)
Chorus
If you should appear to me right now, I would surely take you down,
For just one more night on the town.
Goin' down to Smoky Bar, better walk it's not that far.
Wear my fancy party dress, one I wore first time we met,
try to hide the loneliness.
Chorus
Recall the sax and the sex, but I forget what happened next.
Just that guy up at the bar, with that smoky old cigar,
I guess he must be dead.
Chorus
There was a girl who sang real pretty, and a guy who talked kind-a witty.
Seemed that night would never end,
Was it real was it pretend, long to feel that way again.
Chorus
For just one more night on the town, with you,
For just one more night on the town.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Down to the Waterline
I wrote Down to the Waterline to wash the covid blues away.
It's an upbeat, fun song, inspired by my home town of Rockingham in Western Australia.
Rockingham is an aquatic playground full of bays, beaches and beautiful people, so get your dancing shoes on cos it’s cha cha cha.
Down to the Waterline
Seahorse, seabird, seashells, sand everywhere,
Girls in bikinis, long hair, blond hair,
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
Guys with a six-pack, board shorts, blue eyes,
Surfing the waves, riding high,
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
Ice cream, cool breeze, jet skis, sailboat sailing by,
Jump from the jetty, sun in your eyes,
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
Guy on a skateboard, freestyle, big smile,
Girl on a scooter, flies by, says "hi,"
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
LEAD (full verse)
Sun hat, sunrise, sunset, fire in the sky,
Kick off your shoes, have a good-time,
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
Guy with a guitar, cool grooves, cool moves,
Dance 'till you got it, dance 'till you drop,
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
I'm going to rock you, baby, down to the waterline.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Wings of Hope
I was asked by author, Wendy Campbell, to write a theme song for her autobiography, “On Aspiring.”
Over a couple of weeks I immersed myself within the pages of “On Aspiring.”
Wings of Hope is an inspirational song about life’s quest to let go of the overwhelming, deep-seated psychological fears that stop many of us from achieving our personal goals.
Wings of Hope
Music and Lyrics ~ Jane Laws
(Theme song for On Aspiring, written by Wendy Campbell)
And I will keep on searching along the wings of hope,
Hearing only angels voices, fearing nothing in my way.
And I'll share with you my dreams, as my tears wash my pain away.
Along the wings of hope I fly today.
Where I am, it's not where I'm meant to be,
And this road I find me on isn't really me.
I must find a way, find a way to save me from myself.
I am letting go, and holding on to the wings of hope.
You may be the one who's taken all of my heart,
But the mountains and the stars have captured my soul.
I am drowning, drowning in a sea of fear and glory.
I am letting go, and holding on to the wings of hope.
I've learnt to trust the arms of a stranger,
I've known the summit glow, I've learnt to dare.
And in my prayers, I pray for strength and confidence.
I am letting go, and holding on to the wings of hope.
And I will keep on searching along the wings of hope,
Hearing only angels voices, fearing nothing in my way.
And I'll share with you my dreams, as my tears wash my pain away.
Along the wings of hope I fly today.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2018
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Optical Illusion
Way back in 2004 I attended a guitar workshop with renowned jazz guitar wiz, Doug de Vries. You could say that Doug introduced me to the idea of writing songs with a jazz flavour. Optical Illusion provides some light against the shade of the thought provoking folk songs on Timing and Expectation.
Optical Illusion
There's an optical illusion on my mind, its not a waste of time,
Its just another crazy feeling.
You can be sure, if you give a little more
You'll take me through an optical illusion over you.
Can you fall in love with an optical illusion
If the object of that illusion is me?
There's an optical illusion in everyone I know, just let it grow,
Don't stop that crazy feeling.
How can I resist the simplist kiss
Now I'm going through an optical illusion over you.
When you fall in love with an optical illusion
Let the object of that illusion be me.
There's an optical illusion in your eyes, it should come as no surprise,
Relax, enjoy that crazy feeling.
Love is weak, love is kind and love is blind
Now I'm going through an optical illusion over you.
Can we rise above this optical illusion
And take me through more than an illusion with you.
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
Where The Wind Blows Cold
For some time I have enjoyed listening to the life teachings of Indigenous Australians. In the spring of 2021 I found myself on the road to Wiluna ~ “place of the winds.” Wiluna is situated on the edge of desert country, in the traditional lands of The Martu People. Where the Wind Blows Cold is a song about what life might be like if I was taken in by The Martu, and lived in the desert, and left behind my materialistic life for a life connecting with people and country.
Where The Wind Blows Cold
Chorus
I'm goin' to where the wind blows cold,
I might find gold, and I might grow old there.
I'm goin' to where the wind blows cold,
Where the elders know, where the stories told,
Where I must go to find home.
Take me, Martu, with you, and never let me go.
I'll leave my fears behind as from waterhole to waterhole we stroll.
And the softest rain will fall upon my head, and instead,
We'll take our time to paint the stars,
We'll take our time to look out for Mars,
And we'll follow in the footsteps of home.
Chorus
Hold me, Martu, hold on to me and never let me go.
I'll leave my tears behind while you teach me everything you know.
The meaning and the dreaming will make me smile, every mile,
I'll rest my head upon the grass,
While my dreams slowly let go of the past,
And we'll follow in the tracks of home.
Chorus
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Copyright Jane Laws 2021
Unauthorised copying, public performance, broadcasting, hiring or rental of this song prohibited.
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