Saturday 19 December 2020

The Unknowable Next: a book of would be lyrics

Presently being worked on as an ebook: it can best be described with the introduction below - which has just been completed

INTRODUCTION 

The words in this book were also recorded on a double CD with the same title. The book is meant to be a companion to the CDs.

About the words: they consist mostly of thoughts and ideas which at the time they occurred I had chosen to write down. They were usually written in lines and rhymes because at sometime or other - although I can’t remember exactly when - it had become a habit to do that.

Most of them began as one line with the prospect that they might become a lyric. And some of them are lyrics. Others wandered away in a different direction to become what they now are.

Only a few of the words had previously been worked on and in preparing the book I wanted them to remain that way. I knew from experience that once the process of making changes has begun it can be hard to stop and there is always a risk that what was initially written down can become something unrelated to the originally expressed thoughts or ideas. 

The reluctance to get drawn into making changes to the words has informed the eventual content of the book and two issues in particular.

Several years had gone by since the recordings were made and I was unable to locate an exact copy of the text which was used at the time. As a consequence the recorded words are not an exact match with the printed words. No attempt was made to remedy this,

Also there are several duplicates, mainly as a result of some rushed editing and having used two different kinds of title i.e. first line and made up.

The most obvious remedy was to remove them and this could have been easily achieved with the written words. There was however no easy way of making changes to the already published CDs. I have opted instead to explain the situation and apologize for any confusion this might cause. 

The track lists from the recordings are being used for the indices in the book and although the playing times of the recordings may not be of interest to the reader they have been retained for any interested listener. 

The recorded words are on two CDs: DISC ONE and DISC TWO and the printed words are in two parts PART ONE and PART TWO. 

Written or spoken there are seventy seven items in nine sections. The titles for both have been kept the same. 

DISC ONE: PART ONE

1. The Inescapable Road

2. Heartbreak Land and Thereabouts

3. On the Road to Sundrie

4. The Bay and Beyond

5. Out There Somewhere

DISC TWO: PART TWO

1. If it Had Not Been So Dark

2. So Said the Sap

3. Clown in a Pram

4. The Unknowable Next 

There is a separate concluding track entitled Some Last Days of Fun

A selection of the recorded words can be heard and downloaded from Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/album/the-unknowable-select

 

 

 


Friday 11 September 2020

OLD DOCUMENT SCAN

 And it could be called a SAP SCAN. 

I have been scanning the documents from an old folder. They began with my first letter to the BBC in which I was requesting an audition. I had been encouraged to do this after meeting with several people who worked at the Glasgow Drama College. But the person who guided me in what to say in the letter was the Secretary. 

It did result in a few radio performances but this post is more about my overall impression of all I had tried to do as a singer, a songwriter and then - as it became apparent in the last few documents - as a writer. 

And the words which have stayed with me are that throughout this endeavour I had been asking the wrong questions of the wrong people. And I’ll leave it there for now.

It’s good to be back on the Sap site. There is a strong feeling of belonging which I am thoroughly enjoying.


Monday 6 April 2020

NINE RHYMES

The first rhyme is entitled THAT'S IT -  although it does have a longer alternative one called SMOTHER THE OTHER. I have recorded a version with a very basic accompaniment using a cajon. It  may need to be re-recorded so for now it is staying out of view.

The NEGLECTED Sap

The Sap has been neglected and I wonder if there is a reason. I'd like it to be that I no longer feel like a Sap, or that I no longer feel as much of a Sap as I once did. But leaving that aside I inadvertently came across the site today - I was in no way looking for it - and I thought I should post something new.

The newest news is that I am working on a selection of words which were written over (I think it was) about two days and because they all happened during that time frame I am assuming they are associated with each other - although the association, as I work on them, is best described as loose.

The selection is entitled NINE RHYMES: on getting back in line and I hope to have more to say about it soon.