"New songs seeking cool tunes"

by Stefan Lewis-Fish

Hello, my name is Stefan and I'd like to welcome you to "New songs seeking cool tunes!" If you like it and want to help it grow and develop remember that I rely on your feedback for my inspiration.

The site is full of lyrics to my songs. Each one of them I hope will make a good read for you because I've tried to avoid mind numbing choruses and unnecessary repetition.

I'm looking for someone out there to use the songs and to write music for them because, for reasons which will become apparent, I can't. If you're interested... read the open letter to singers and musicians at the bottom.

To make the site more fun for you and me I've made it a surfari by filling it with Hypertext links to interesting places I've found relevant to the themes of individual pages and the songs in them. To find them you'll just have to wave your mouse cursor around because I've hidden all the labels... so I hope you enjoy adventure gaming. If you find any broken links please tell me by e-mail... by clicking on my signature which you'll find dotted around the site. Can I assure you that any pop-ups that you encounter will be for your entertainment if you are worried about security. However, for now, can I invite you to relax and enjoy the ride... SLF

1. "Property tycoon" this is a sad reflection on modern living where some people can earn money by simply waiting for a rise in the property market when they can remortgage their bricks and mortar. Apparently, in London today, one in five householders have become millionaires because of the rise in the value of their houses. Within the page you'll find handy hints for first-time buyers, tips for you if you are contemplating hosting children's parties, going on a narrowboat holiday and important information about elves and leprechauns. Confused? You won't be as all will be revealed in good time!
   
   

2. "Witch's brew" Most of us use recreational drugs e.g. alcohol, tea, coffee, cannabis for enjoyment or to ease our social involvements. When we decide what to use we make bold statements about who we are to the world. Today, laws tell us what we can legally use but these are sometimes wildly at variance with social norms. Instead they reflect tabloid hysteria and social prejudice rather than any medical logic. This song lies at the heart of that debate. On the page you'll also find links to help you build your knowledge of this fascinating area. These include somewhere to get the gen on toad licking and the contact point for the founder of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee
   


3. "Your land, my land... our land": In response to the global rise of right wing nationalism I've attempted to use Woody Guthrie's idealism to express what I hope the majority of the people of Great Britain really feel today. Am I too idealistic? On a lighter note, you'll find loads of links on this page to tourism sites around the British Isles, great British traditions, legends and recipes. I hope they lighten up your leisure time...
   
   
4. "Nocturne": when people die in suspicious circumstances it is difficult to say categorically if their death has been the result of a conscious and deliberate act or is simply the result of a sad, sleepy mistake. At the end of the day, does anybody really care? After all they're dead and they don't normally shout from beyond the grave... do they? Also included within the site are links through which you can get drug advice, counselling and contact with the Samaritans. I hope you never have to make use of them...
   


5. " Psychotherapist's nightmare!" the problem with mind doctoring is it doesn't always create the benefits that people want... Psychotherapists aren't such a bad lot though they do sometimes make mistakes. If you happened to benefit from one of these minor problemos let's hope it's not as disastrous as the one in this nightmare... If you are thinking of becoming a therapist of some kind please don't be put off by my fevered imagination. You might even have fun looking around the jump sites I've peppered around the page.
   


6. "Tears of God" Simple truths often make the best sense. Whilst this poem starts off with a celebration of the joys of the world and the gifts of our Creator it also provides links to the world's disaster agencies. One also leaps you to Amnesty International which tries to get at some of the more unpleasant things that people do to each other whilst trying to protect human rights.
Remember, God is also there to share our tears during our times of trial.


7. "Quixote's dun tiltin!" Frank Sinatra had his "My way". This is mine. The page has links to support people as they enter the third age. These offer leaps to sites as diverse as the Open University and the Antiques Roadshow. There's even a page to help you with exercising your facial muscles to help you stave off those crows feet! Also there's a link to an unpublished poem written for my father-in-law written just before his death.
   


8. "Passion": This is a metaphysical piece I wrote some time ago. It is based on the conversation which Christ had with his heavenly Father while dying on the Cross. A couple of days after writing it I fell off my wheelchair and lay stuck on my kitchen floor for several hours before being discovered the next morning by my postman Vito. He had to break into the house to rescue me! Whilst I was laying there I developed a tune for the poem and found that singing it over and over again helped me through the night. If you want have a go at it I think you'll find the melody rather haunting. I'll give it to you, if you e-mail me.
   


9. "the trial of bin Laden": I wrote this in the aftermath of the events of 9/11 2001. The CIA were asked to find the culprits and immediately came up with a shortlist of one- Osama bin Laden. On the basis of this shorlist, with no direct evidence, the USA and a small press-ganged coalition went to war with Afghanistan. This song is about that decision. The links on the page explore various perspectives on the war on terrorism.



10. "Keep out!" is a piece I wrote when I was feeling Utopian and it is dedicated to all the fringe parties that materialise every time an election is held. It has links to various fringe parties in which list I've included the Greens who are rapidly becoming a very serious party. Also linked is the "Monster raving loony party", the British National party, the British Communist Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party. My favourite connection will take you through to the Utopia party from Polynesia. In my utopia I admit that I have a dislike the people and parties that want to exclude others on the grounds of race or sexual orientation. I guess I'm just a fascist bigot at heart...



11. "One girl's question" this song is based on a conversation between a little girl, Katie, and her mum about the nature of God. Links on this page trace the history of the Lord's prayer in English with some analysis by St Francis of Assisi. The lyrics evolve into a medley with a revamped version of the Lord's prayer which can be sung to the tune of "She moved through the fair..." a haunting Irish folk melody which I hope you'll like
    
    
12. "Ugly duckling??" this is about a crisis of confidence which has the singer seeking to reassure a young woman that although she may think herself plain that there is always someone out there who's going to think that she's perfect just the way she is... The page even provides reassurance for ducks, many of whom suffered from identity crises in the aftermath of the original "Ugly duckling" story. What is so wonderful about swans anyway. This page offers a few tools and ideas to people aiming to improve people's self-image with special help for those who want to try a little self hypnosis. Of course I hope you won't be distracted in all this from the principal task of writing some music for the lyrics...



13. "Silken thread... a halloween legacy" Written on October 31, 2004 this song asks some simple questions,'how will we be remembered?' and 'what are we going to leave behind us for future generations?'. I've included links on the page to pages about spiders, a free fantasy role-playing game, building time capsules, writing wills, Halloween recipes and customs, the Bayeux tapestry, hand weaving, jokes for children by children, millennium achievements, the three Fates, Sword of Damocles,and an obituary for Sydney Carter, you can even discover your fate and journey to the Bodleian library in Oxford! Why... all will be revealed by a simple click on the link.



14. "List to the bells" this song was written as a 'come all ye' which was taken on by St Ethelreda Church Junior Bellringers in Guilsborough, Northamptonshire as their anthem and first performed on Easter Day 2002. the links on the page on all about bellringing and tintinology... I hope you enjoy it.it's also an invitation to have a look at my 'Christian miscellany' web site... have a go



15. "Lyke Wake dirge" not so much a new song, more a new adaptation of an old one. Drawing on traditional lyrics from around the UK I have added a couple of verses to complete the legend. I hope you enjoy it and might like to try producing a new arrangement!



16. "Crisis interruptus... a midlife pause" was written by me five years ago at a time when I was contemplating my own future. I was in the process all being forced into an inevitable retirement due to M.S.. Whilst I have come to realise that we have little control over many of the cards we are dealt with we are fully in control of what we do after we receive them... this is the true test. I didn't handle being told that I had to retire very well myself but I hope that I've made productive use of my time since then. My midlife crisis gave me a much-needed boot up the posterior... I hope you enjoy the results! Though this is an old piece, written at my time of trial, I have rewritten it substantially for inclusion in "New songs". The original poem was written with the rhythm of the Rondo from Mozart's 4th horn concerto echoing in my mind. I hope I've done it justice!



17. "Dawn chorus" ... This song examines the raw side of creation, all of us need to eat in order to survive but for one animal to live others need to die in order to provide a slap up meal... literally one man's meat is another one's poison. In the context of the food chain, is it evil to kill?

an open letter to musicians and singers

So my name is Stefan and, like you, I used to be out there in the real world. I played my heart out, basked in the spotlight and marinated my soul in booze and social activity. It was wonderful!

However, in 1981 I found myself with multiple sclerosis and I started on a new, very personal journey which has led me to the here and now...

It is 2004. I am now largely housebound, bedbound and I'm in need of your help. My head still keeps filling up with words and music. My hands, however, won't hold instruments any more and my larynx won't hold a tune. So, I'm putting my words here in cyberspace and asking you to set them for music. If you find you enjoy them and can rise to the challenge, get in touch. For some of the pieces I've got ideas for tunes or, where specified I've written new words for old songs. But, if the spirit moves you... don't let me restrict you.

Feel free to play around with the lyrics. I have always felt that when a song lyricist produces a new song and releases it to the public (whilst retaining copyright!) it begins to interact with other people's imagination. When you begin to work with it you take control. You superimpose your own emotions and experiences and, hopefully, will produce something which gets the very best out of the words. If you feel you have, send me an MP3 and I'll post it the page. Together we can share it with the world!

Alternatively, if you like my writing style and have some interesting music you want some lyrics for, get in touch and maybe we can write some together and make a million.

I hope to hear from you soon so click on my signature below and sends me an e-mail...

© Stefan Lewis-Fish

Sunday September 26, 2004