Get all 11 Phil Matthews a.k.a.the Village releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Bells Of St Wystan's, Ghosts In The Static, Return to the Witchwood, Escape From The Witchwood, Memories Of Summer, Winds of Change, Carnival Of Fools, Voodoo Skull, and 3 more.
1. |
The Question
03:10
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The Question
I don't know why we must put up with this,
I don't know why we must put up with this,
I don't know why, please tell me why it is.
I don't know how we will ever put things right,
I don't know how we will ever put things right
We will not succeed without a fight.
Praying for tomorrow hoping for today
Thinking that by shouting we will frighten it away
I don't know who could ever drop a bomb
I don't know who could ever drop a bomb,
All they'll say is that it must be done
You know they're killing me, you know they're killing you,
I said they're killing me, you know they're killing you,
All they will say is it's the right thing to do.
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2. |
This Island Earth
04:28
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This Island Earth
Wishing and hoping that this day would never come
Trying not to think that my life here is done,
Almost time, the countdown has begun,
Last day that I'll call this place home,
All too soon I will be gone,
Chorus
I never thought that leaving you would hurt me so,
The pain is much too hard to bear,
Though Island Earth is waiting for me when I go,
Don't make me go back there,
Not if you really care.
See the twinkle of the lights shining down below,
The darkness in men's' hearts is worse than anything on show,
I left it all behind but now there's more I know,
All the horrors I can see
Spreading out in front of me,
So now I must say goodbye,
Start my fall out of the sky,
In many ways I think I'd rather die.
Rolling and tumbling out of all control,
Of everything I've been is this my final role,
Unsure and not knowing how this will unfold,
As I'm falling away,
Is this to be my final day.
Chorus
Please don't send m back there,
Don't make me feel this despair
Falling, falling, falling away
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3. |
Jerome The Gnome
03:44
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Jerome The Gnome
I once had a friend who was a gnome
He'd follow me everywhere I'd go
He told me that his first name was Jerome
His last one was a mystery he never let me know,
He'd lived in a council flat in Frome
But sought me out for company
He said he hated being on his own
That's why he thought he'd like to come to live with me
Chorus
Jerome the Gnome, as gregarious as he could be,
Jerome the Gnome thought of me as family
He told me there was nowhere that he'd rather be,
Jerome the Gnome moved in aftercoming round for his tea.
He told me he was off to see the world
He hoped I wouldn't think him bad,
He'd be back unless he found a girl,
I have to say I found it really rather sad.
So he packed his bag and said goodbye
He didn't know where he was going to roam,
I swear there was a tear in his eye,
As he left the one place that he would call his home
He sent a postcard to me from every place he went,
I knew they they were from him, I recognized his scent,
He sent me a photo from Hawaii with a lei around his neck,
The very next day he sent a request for a very large cheque,
Jerome the Gnome has seen all that he wanted to see,
Jerome the Gnome is happy to be back with me,
He told me t there is nowhere that he would rather be,
Jerome the Gnome moved back in,,this time he said he'd make the tea.
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4. |
Poison Dwarf
02:57
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Poison Dwarf
You're in a dreadful mess,
Send out an SOS,
No matter where you turn,
You know you're going to get burned,
Chorus
Do us all a favour and go before you make things worse.
Your friends don't have a clue,
Nor for that matter do you,
Bad advice is worse than none,
Yet you consider it job done.
If you were captain of the Titanic,
You'd run around and shout don't panic,
Set a course right at the floe,
Full steam ahead, off you go,
Are you up to the task,
That's what so many ask,
There's no reply you can give,
To those who no longer live,
Chorus
The lies pour from your mouth,
A mumble's bad as a shout,
This was your plan back in school,
But we all know that you're not fit to rule
Chorus
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5. |
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The Marmalade Cat (He Observes Everything)
The Marmalade Cat, he observes it all,
Is he appalled and longs to speak,
Does he hope for help to cope,
Or only think these times are bleak?
Better days will come back again,
You may not know when or how,
If the wheel turns full circle,
And the world carries on,
You should at least hope,
That the bad times have gone.
Does the marmalade cat reflect on his past,
Think how he'd act this time around?
Dream of climbing trees, the way life used to be,
Stalking through the grass without a sound?
The lights that illuminate a better time,
Will shimmer and shine once more,
Do you shield your eyes from the heart of the glare,
Or accept defeat with a thousand yard stare?
The marmalade cat goes about his days,
So set in his ways they're all the same,
Never asking much, from his life as such,
Or wondering who is to blame.
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6. |
Who Cares?
02:34
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7. |
Childhood
04:34
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Childhood
Whatever happened to the days we used to know,
Of running to the shops to look for toys,
Of endless summers, and then fighting in the snow,
Happy, wet and dirty little boys.
Do you remember all those picnics on the beach,
Playing on the sand and in the sun,
Donkey riding right to where the waters reach,
Simple pleasures that were so much fun.
Chorus
I remember because I kept a diary,
A record of my sorrows and my joy.
It's funny that what seems so important now,
Meant nothing to me when I was a boy.
Wintery Decembers with snow deep upon the ground,
Windy nights that were too dark to see,
A Christmas tree with presents too high to pull down,
Wondering which parcels were there for me.
Chorus
Do you ever think of all those holidays from school,
And weeks that seemed to last for years,
When being grown up was something very far away,
Just a person who would dry up your tears.
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8. |
The Bells Of St Wystans
05:51
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The Bells Of St Wystans
I walked through Repton one spring day at dawn,
Wondered how the place had changed from when you were born,
Playing with a hoop and stick or skipping down Well Lane,
Reach the end and turn around to come back once again,
The butcher's shop and the blacksmith's forge,
The haberdashery and the general store,
Mrs Pentlows' ribbons tying up your hair,
As if you were heading to the Statutes Fair.
And the Bells of St Wystans rang out loud and clear,
Calling all the village to the fair from far and near
All the excitement when they filmed Mr Chips,
Did some of your old school friends win a part in it,
And how many of them marched off to the war,
Leaving you wondering would you see them anymore.
And the Bells of St Wystans rang out once again,
As they bade farewell to all those brave girls and men.
The Blue Bus makes its' way round the cross and down the street,
Taking villagers to town,
There's a bigger world for everyone to see,
Should they go or stick around?
For those who came back to to stay,
Did you celebrate on their wedding day?
And were you able to say goodbye,
To those who came back home to die?
And the Bells of St Wystans rang out to the sky,
In honour of all those who had married or died.
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9. |
Briefly
02:51
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Briefly
I don't know quite what to say, the words are hard to find,
Disjointed phrases blowing through my mind.
Like leaves wafting on a gentle breeze,
Carried by the currents almost within reach.
Chorus
They move too fast to catch them
A glimpse at first then none,
A tantalising image,
Briefly a false dawn.
I don't know quite what to say,
The words are spinning round,
I can't put them all together,
Or lift them off the ground.
Dandilion angels floating on the wind,
Or fairies dancing on the head of a pin,
Prepared to take flight
Before you can reel them in they are gone.
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I don't know quite what to think,
My mind is upside down,
Each time I feel inspired
Those thoughts keep whirling round.
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10. |
Elegy For GB
04:55
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Elegy For GB
News came through early this morning,
You had packed you bags and gone,
Though you left with little warning,
You will always shine on.
You spoke of vestal virgins,
And cartwheels across the floor,
Even with none of our urgings,
Still there would be more.
Chorus
You told me I must shine on brightly,
You wrote it on your note to me,
Though you're gone you'll always shine on brightly,
Your light is there for all to see.
You may have been a salty dog,
And sailed to parts unknown,
You were never ever shipwrecked in the fog,
You always found your way back home.
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Phil Matthews a.k.a.the Village Derby, UK
The Village is a magical place for outsiders and oddballs.
Phil has built up a following around the Midlands and South
East winning hearts and minds with his performances.
Phil has written and performed with many bands over the years and the Village is his latest alter ego, with his music played on hundreds of radio stations worldwide and his album music streamed and downloaded thousands of times.
... more
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