Miscellaneous

Recordings

Some recordings (simply done, on a mobile phone!) of myself accompanied by a guitar or keyboard. Mostly old folk or roots songs, but occasionally dipping into other things. The full list can be found here. Some examples are the following (in chronological order of my recording them!):

• Lock the door, Lariston (old Scottish song written by James Hogg)
• That lucky old sun (Tin Pan Alley classic)
• La marche nuptiale (George Brassens)
• Hughie the Graeme (ancient Scottish ballad)
• Who's the fool now? (English folk song)
• Western hobo (Carter family roots song)
• Lord Marlborough (English broadside)
• Jock o' Braidislee (another ancient Scottish ballad)
• Fola, fola blakken (Norwegian children's song)
• O come, o come, Emmanuel (Christmas carol)
• Roving blade (American/Irish/British folk song)
• Hört, ihr Leut', und lasst euch sagen... (from Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg)
• Days of '49 (American folk song)
• Three hours (Nick Drake)

Stories

A few stories, the first two of which were originally intended to be children's stories:

1. The giant, the little girl, and the butterfly

2. The forest clock

3. The kind tree and the nuthatch

Poetry

A couple of little poems of my own, both of which I've set to music:

1. At midnight, and still light

2. Wildflowers here

A setting of two poems by W.B.Yeats to music: A coat and The host of the air.

Some translations from Norwegian to English of poems by Kolbein Falkeid, in the order in which I translated them:

1. On the night sea (På natthavet)

2. I envy (Jeg misunner)

3. Your poem (Diktet ditt)

4. Wavelength (Bølgelengde)

5. It all (Alt)

6. Or this maybe (Eller dette kanskje)

7. Morning (Morgen)

8. Night plane over townlet (Nattfly over småby)

9. Established facts (Kjensgjerninger)

10. On edge (Anspent)

Transcendental moments

Now and again, I experience moments which I can best describe as transcendent: a deep sense of beauty, of happiness, of awe, of empathy. A sense of profundity, of being at one with the mysterious essence of life. Whilst these moments cannot truly be expressed in words, there is an art in trying to do so, as well as their being a pleasant and useful aid to the memory!

1. A deer in the grass and the mist

2. Innerbergsalen

Last updated: 02:09 (GMT+2), 28th September 2022