Category: Music

My original music and collaborations with various songwriters

No Way To Live
by Josh Howatt, Paul Battersby

This is a song Josh wrote with someone like Carrie Underwood in mind to sing it but Josh is a good singer himself and I think his voice suits the song very well.

Josh posted this song in a music forum and requested feedback. I responded with some suggestions about his existing string part, explained what I meant and offered to show him, so he let me rewrite and record the strings for his song.

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No Way To live
Lyrics © 2011 by Josh Howatt (BMI)

You and I, we’re facing down this open road
And one direction wins, and one we lose.

And I’m afraid, oh no I can hardly say it
But baby I pray that love’s the one we choose.

‘Cause up till now life has been all second chances
And turning ’round, when the road got too hard.

If it’s all or nothin’
I’ll come runnin’
Just tell me where and when and if it’s too late to forgive me

(Chorus)
For always lying
When I said I’m trying
But something inside of me I know has got to give
‘Cause living without you is no way to live
No way to live

Please, just listen
All this time that we’ve been given’s
Not a life at all worth living without you

And I’d be cross,
Always blind, forever lost
I don’t care what the cost, or what I have to do.

‘Cause up till now,
Life has been all trip and stumble,
And eyes to the ground, so afraid of fallin.

(Chorus)

Living just don’t feel right
Without your love in it, I
Don’t understand
How am I supposed to go on breathin
Air without exhale
In a world where nothing
Make sense
So I need another chance.

If it’s all or nothing
I’ll come running
Just tell me where and when and if it’s too late to forgive me

For always lying
When I said I’m trying
But something inside of me I know has gotta give
All I need’s a chance and surely I can fix it
‘Cause living without you is no way to live
No way to live

Josh Howattsong writing, vocals, piano, drums, bass guitar, mixing
Paul Battersbystrings, mixing
Hear the original version on soundcloud.com

On Your Own Terms
by Dave Semple, Paul Battersby

A nice vocals and guitar ballad that Dave wrote a long time ago. He more recently recorded it and let me add accompaniment.

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On Your Own Terms
Lyrics by: Dave Semple

You sit back and wonder where you are,
Where you’re going, where you’ve been, and who you are.
Teardrops on your pillow,
Make you think about your life: all the conflicts, all the strife.
Don’t look back. The past is gone. It’s over now and all is done.
Face the world on your own terms,
‘Cause you’re the only sunshine.

Pull back the curtain. Take a look out the window.
If you see what’s going wrong, you can change it. You are strong.
Don’t be afraid to face the world on your own terms.
Catch a rainbow by it’s tail. Catch the wind that fills your sail,
And face the dawn… Face the dawn.

Sometimes you’ll get frightened.
That’s OK. Don’t you know that we’ve all been scared before.
Memories remind you,
Of the times when you’ve been wrong; when your will was not so strong.
Memories can be so sad. You keep the good; accept the bad.
Face the past on your own terms,
‘Cause you’re the only sunshine.

Tear off the blindfold. Free yourself from the darkness.
All the fears you have inside; you must face them. You can’t hide.
Tear down the fortress in your mind. Free the spirit that has held you in its arms,
Kept you safe; made you strong.
Face the dawn… Face the dawn.

You are strong now, and you can face the dawn.

Pull back the curtain. Take a look out the window.
If you see what’s going wrong, you can change it. You are strong.
Don’t be afraid to face the world on your own terms.
Catch a rainbow by it’s tail. Catch the wind that fills your sail,
And face the dawn.
Face the dawn.

© December 1985

Dave Semplesongwriting, vocals, guitars
Paul Battersbyflute, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, french horn, trombone, mixing
Visit Dave Semple at Reverb Nation

Center Stage
by Dave Semple, Paul Battersby

A song about an old, forgotten piano that longs to leave the storage room in which it’s been forgotten and return to perform on center stage. The song is written in a style that serves as a tribute to Billy Joel.

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Center Stage
Lyrics by: Dave Semple

Well, my ebony’s worn and my ivories are yellowed and stained.
My pedals, they squeak, but I manage to hold my sustain.
My tuning is off, just a little, and my hammers grow brittle and grey,
And my strings aren’t as bright as they used to be back in the day.

In a ten-by-ten storage room somewhere stage left off the wings,
They have piled me high with stage curtains and boxes of things.
Not a window to look through at all, and the paint is all faded to grey
Then one night someone slipped though the door and started to play.

He sang… I want to play center stage. How my music will take them away,
Through majors and minors, augmented, diminished, I will play.
When the lights shine on me, center stage, oh, I’ll carry their spirits away.
How I dream of the day when they ask me to play center stage.

He was young and inspired and his eyes held the depth of his dreams
He was rough ’round the edges in his faded T-shirt and jeans
His lyrics were honest and gentle, but his melodies yearned to be free.
How I wanted to tell him I’ve been where he’s longing to be.

‘Cause I used to play center stage, and my music, it took them away.
Through majors and minors, augmented, diminished, I did play.
When the lights shone on me, center stage, oh, I carried their spirits away.
Now, I dream of the days when I used to play center stage.

And as his fingers flowed over the ivories in that storage room forgotten and grey
Well, he gave back to me all the sweet memories of my life in the lights on the stage
And then he closed his eyes in the moment, and the storage room faded away
His future, my past, from the first to the last, found the music to take us away…

To where we could play center stage, and the music, it takes us away,
Through majors and minors, augmented, diminished, we play.
And the spotlights, they shine, center stage, and it carries our spirits away,
In the dead of the night, in a moment so right,
His future, my past, from the first to the last,
We’ll hold on to this night for the rest of our lives
As we stand in the light and we play…

Center Stage

Dave Semplesong writing, vocals, piano, video
Paul Battersbystrings, brass, drums, mixing
YouTube video
Audio onlyVisit Dave Semple at Reverb Nation


You might also like: Leaving Footprints, The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse
by Dave Semple, Paul Battersby

This song was originally written back in 2011 (hence the date associated with this post), but I wanted to update it (Feb 14, 2015) to reflect 4 more years of orchestration and mixing knowledge since I originally worked on this.

“The Lighthouse” is about always being there for friends that need you, but suddenly they are not there when you need them. Dave originally asked me to add a drum track. I surprised him with full orchestral accompaniment.

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The Lighthouse
Lyrics by Dave Semple

Oooo when the rain falls down.
Oooo when it all comes around.
There’s a west wind blowing over the sea.
Oooo, it’s reaching out to me.

My light sends out a warning to the ships at sea.
And when the morning comes they will all abandon me.
I try to show my tears, but they’re swallowed by the spray.
They’re like a woman who will love you through the night,
And leave you by the day.

West wind blowing; Heed my warning: danger under the waves.
Lightning slashing, thunder crashing, forcing you toward the shore.
I will guide you. Right beside you, until you are safely home.
Safely home.

Oooo, when the rain falls down.
Oooo, when it all comes around.
There’s a silence, blowing over the sea,
Oooo, don’t let it get to me.

I stand here all alone watching ships go by:
A solitary beacon, burning in the night;
And deep within my walls there’s a man who lives inside.
He keeps me burning, burning through the night.
Tide after tide.

When you need me, then you see me, until you are safely home.
One night my light will disown you, driving you onto the shore.
Lost like sailors in bad water; you won’t see me anymore,
I don’t need you anymore… Anymore.

Oooo, when the rain dies down.
Oooo, when the sun comes around.
There’s a silence rolling over the sea.
They’ve once again abandoned me.

Dave Semplesong writing, vocals, piano, tin whistle, flute, sound fx, video
Paul Battersbyflute, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbals, mixing
YouTube video
Audio onlyVisit Dave Semple at Reverb Nation


You might also like: Red Nose, Playing With Autumn Leaves