For decades the words sat quietly in notebooks, folders and drawers. I originally wrote the lyrics with pen on paper — remember those days? I never imagined they would one day return with actual voices.
Recently I discovered Suno, where I uploaded the old lyrics and described the atmosphere I imagined. Then something almost magical happened. The handwritten words came back carrying music, mood and emotion.
What amazes me most is not just the technology itself, but the strange collapse of time within the work. Words written by a younger version of myself suddenly became audible in the present.
On the page, lyrics exist silently. But once voice and music enter, another layer of meaning appears. The words become less flat, almost three-dimensional.
I’ve lived long enough to witness this transformation from ink on paper to sound moving through the net. Then, as part of the adventure, I had to teach myself how to create a YouTube channel just to share it.
Here’s some songs.
Bodhisattva Pyjamas
I wrote this after a friend joined Divine Light, the Guru Maharaji scene. He upset me because he believed he’d found THE ANSWER & when I questioned this he walked away saying I didn’t understand. So, he was something special!
I’m a Holy Man
I wrote this some years after being kicked out of a Sai Baba meeting. I brought a couple of kids with me & he & his followers didn’t want kids there. I basically told the Holy Man he was a hypocrite. Obviously no one liked what I said. He called out from his dais/throne – “Out! Out!” waving his hand towards the exit. I left.
Julia
The voice in this song is mine. I gave Suno an mp3 recording of me singing with friends playing guitars. So, the tune is mine too. Suno just added instruments & “cleaned” my taped recording of my voice. The recording was on cassette tape. Remember those?😀
Pictures of Sophie
These lyrics were just a stream of consciousness that I organised. I like playing with words & bending the thoughts carried by them into some semblance of meaning.
Views from Inside Out
Thoughts Into Swans
A Conquistador Cannot Tell a Lie
I wrote this a few years later after being employed as a trainee futures broker. I hated it.
Lines of Crazy Fortune
The Star
Not gonna mention names but this guy was a real rock star. Not gonna say how I met him but suffice to say I saw through his bullshit & I felt he knew I saw it.
In the 1980’s, as a hobby, I’d write poems & then transform them into lyrics with music making songs. Most of the music was written by a friend, Henry, and there are some I wrote the music. I wasn’t a great guitarist, just knew a few chords & made do with them for my music to the lyrics. Apart from Henry there was also Dennis who played lead guitar and Willie, my brother, who also played guitar.
I scored a cheap Casio player and there are some jams we recorded with me playing the Casio. It was one of the first players that had programmed polyphonic auto accompaniment. “Playing” implies I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. I just pressed some keys in rhythm hoping it’d make some semblance of a tune. It provided the “metronome” drum beat & the programmed beats/notes. These acted as “guard rails” to the jam.
The Casiotone we used was like this. It was the first to have programmed polyphonic auto accompaniment
It was a great way to spend a Friday or Saturday night. We didn’t have any plans to perform, we just liked hanging together making music for ourselves. I’m so glad we took out the microphones to record them on cassette.
It all is SO long ago.
I’m uploading these recordings for posterity sake. No, I’m not putting them up on YouTube or SoundCloud because this blog is good enough for my purpose. My purpose? Why do I bother? Simple – for my kids & grand kids to have easy access to what I was up to, musically. It’s also a part of my Journey in this World Within Worlds.
I have already posted some of the songs’ lyrics so I thought, once I overcame my cringe factor, to complete the outing by posting some of the songs – complete with my singing & mates’ music. Writing a poem is very different to writing a song lyric. Transforming a poem into a song lyric is an interesting exercise, especially if someone else writes the music.
So, step back in time – come into my lounge room & get a taste of some home grown songs from Sydney in 1980’s.
By the way – if there’s anybody interested in updating these songs let me know by messaging me at dodona777@yahoo.com.au
I think some of these may work with right mixing even 40 years later. Some have links to the lyrics on this blog.
This is the simple & cheap transformer from cassette tape to mp3 I used to digitise tapes about 40 years old!
“Prison of Time” Lyrics by Stavros, Music by Henry. Recorded on cassette in lounge room. Stavros – singing, Dennis – Lead Guitar, Henry – Rhythm Guitar
I’m glad you’re here.
On this blog I share the paths I’ve walked: outward journeys across places and causes, and inward journeys through reflection and creativity. Expect stories, songs, poems, photos, quotes, and occasional star-gazing — astrology, I Ching, alchemy, and other ways of seeing.
You’ll also find traces of the human rights campaigns I’ve been part of, offered here as part memory, part witness.
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Vinyl Collection
Like the stories on this blog, these records have travelled with me through the years. As I gradually pass them on, you can browse my current eBay listings.
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