Hugh Featherstone, a troubadour of our times
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Hugh Featherstone songlist
 

An alphabetical index of 149 songs and instrumentals written
and recorded by Hugh Featherstone, as well as thirteen of Hugh's
songs not yet published as audio recordings (vinyl discs or CDs).

Song titles in yellow are linked to the lyrics of the first recorded
version of the song on the respective discography page.

The "date" is the year in which the song was written.

"video" indicates that there is a video of the song on the
Hugh Featherstone YouTube channel (see discs page).
  A    B     C     D     E     F     G     H
 
I     K     L     M     N     O     P     Q
 
R     S     T     U     V     W     Y
 
song title date recordings description / theme
 
01/01/01 1995 News from Nowhere CD (2000) new year, new century
  A  
 
Airmail   Announcer LP (1981)  
Albena's tune (instrumental) 1996 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
An American dream 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001),

An American dream EP (2001)

 
Automatic 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
  B
 
Back to Davy   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Believe in you 1993 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
Betrayal   Announcer LP (1981),

Late night hunger single (1981)

 
Big car big money 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
Birthday surprise 1995 Live at the Chapel CD (2005)  
Blue machine   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Blue-sky science 2004 Live at the Chapel CD (2005)  
Blutopia 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000),

Red Shift promo CD (2000)

 
Box-Car City 2005 Live at the Chapel CD (2008),

9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)

living in a container
Box of letters 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
Brownie   "the Yellow Tape" cassette album (1983)  
The bullets that hit John   News from nowhere CD (2000) Lennon and McCartney
Bunny 1999 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
  C
 
Cabriolet   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Calling home   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
Candlelight 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000) human rights; political prisoners; torture
Carry on the Song   Announcer LP (1981)  
Chinese takeout   West of Eden CD (1993)  
The circle of your arms 1993 West of Eden CD (1999),

Live at the Chapel CD (2005)

video (2011)
 
Coaster   Empty Houses LP (1977)  
Coat of many colours 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
Cold rain on the stars 1986 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
The complex art   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
Conway Bridge 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Live at the Chapel CD (2005),

video on the Hugh Featherstone
YouTube channel (see News)
 
A corner of the sky   Friendly Skies CD (2008),

To be continued, Lokal Heroes CD (2011)

video (2011)
 
Cosmic Dan   Empty Houses LP (1977) lost-in-space lover
Cyberia 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000) online/virtual relationships
  D
 
Daylight   Announcer LP (1981)  
The day you left 2006 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010),

video (2011)
fortune in misfortune; silver linings
Don't walk away   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Dragons teeth (lyrics below)   unrecorded  
  E
 
Edge of Town   Empty Houses LP (1977)  
Emotional dunce 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
End of world 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
Everybody’s living in the third world   "the Yellow Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Everybody needs someone   West of Eden CD (1993),

Red Shift promo CD (2000)

 
  F
 
Fine print   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Fish on the phone   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Fly away 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
Free at last 1992 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
  G
 
The Garden of Eden 2003 Live at the Chapel CD (2005)  
George thinks again   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Getting going, getting gone 2000 Live at the Chapel CD (2005),

Friendly Skies CD (2008)

 
Girl in the second row ? unrecorded (see text below)

video (2013)
 
Give it out again   Largo LP (1979)  
Gone before you're there 1997 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
Graduation honours   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
  H
 
Healer 2008 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)  
Here with you 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
The hiring man 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995),

To be continued, Lokal Heroes CD (2011)

video (2011)
 
Holly Square incident ? unrecorded (see text below)  
Homes fit for heroes 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000) social utopianism
Home to stay   Red Shift promotional CD (2000)  
How long is the night? 1997 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
  I
 
I believe ? unrecorded (see text below) blind faith
I don't get it 2003 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010) badly drawn gun
I get hurt 1974 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995) Tribute to Hoagy Charmichael
I guess I was wrong   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
If you feel the same 1981 "the Black Tape" cassette (1983),

Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)

 
I lay with love 1997 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001),

An American dream EP (2001),

To be continued, Lokal Heroes CD (2011)

video (2012)
 
I'll remember you 1997 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001),

An American dream EP (2001)

 
Industrial lace   West of Eden CD (1993)  
In my room 1993 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
The inside war   Empty Houses LP (1977)  
In the nineties   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Ivory tower 1981 "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
  K
 
Kansas man   Announcer LP (1981)  
Kerosene and caffeine
(The Boeing Man)
2009 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)

video (2011)
 
Kingdom of the blind 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995) reflections of the one-eyed king
King of the ocean   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983),

West of Eden CD (1993)

man who fell from grace with the sea
Kite (intro to Calling home)   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
  L
 
Landing 1997 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001),

video (2011)
 
Land of plenty 1994 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
Last one out 1993 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
Late night hunger   Announcer LP (1981),

Late night hunger single (1981)

 
Laundromat 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
Letters 1974 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
Lies   Empty Houses LP (1977)  
Lights (along the highway)   Empty Houses LP (1977),

To be continued, Lokal Heroes CD (2011)

video (2013)
road movie
The line   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Liven up   "the Yellow Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Love is a stranger here   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
Lullaby for Noah   unrecorded (see text below)

video (2011)
 
  M
 
Man who wasn't there   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
Melancholia 1970s unrecorded  
My favourite planet 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
Moving to Berlin 2005 Live at the Chapel CD (2005)  
  N
 
New obsession 2009 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)  
Night train   Empty Houses LP (1977) going to go
No regrets 1998 Live at the Chapel CD (2205)  
Nothing at all 1994 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
Not missing 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
  O
 
The old frontier   Friendly Skies CD (2008) time travel; dystopia
One of these days   West of Eden CD (1993)  
One planet per person (lyrics below)   unrecorded

video (2009)
 
Out of this world 2000 Red Shift promo CD (2000),

9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)

 
  P
 
The park 1975 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
Peace on Earth   Largo LP (1979) world peace
Peachy side of the moon 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
People make mistakes   "the Yellow Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Praise to Victorian engineers   Not released as a recording Tribute to Isambard Kingdom Brunel
  Q
 
Queen of broken things 2004 Live at the Chapel CD (2005)  
  R
 
Radio Berlin   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Raindance   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
Risky business   "the Yellow Tape" cassette album (1983)  
  S
 
Saints   Largo LP (1979)  
The same in blue   Friendly Skies CD (2008)

video (2015)
 
The score   Announcer LP (1981)  
Shíráz 20 October 1819 (instrumental)   Largo LP (1979)  
Shooting stars 2001 Live at the Chapel CD (2005)  
Sidecar (instrumental)   Friendly Skies CD (2008)  
Silas in Tigertown   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Silver City   Largo LP (1979) a case of madness
Silver flute   Empty Houses LP (1977)  
Simple song 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
Sing it while you can 1986

unrecorded

(see text for Girl in the second row below)

 
Slo mo 2002 Live at the Chapel CD (2005),

Friendly Skies CD (2008)

 
Software zillionaire   unrecorded (see text below)

video (2014)
 
Solid state   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Someone else's child 1982 "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983),

Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001),

Live at the Chapel CD (2005)

video (2011)
 
Sometime, never, maybe 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
Statistic 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999) landmines
Stay another day   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983),

Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)

 
Stevenson's Rocket (instrumental)   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983) rain, steam, speed
Streetcar magic   Largo LP (1979) love on the tram
Sunset   Largo LP (1979)  
  T
 
Tender touch   Red Shift promotional CD (2000)  
Terminus   Empty Houses LP (1977)  
Then   "the Black Tape" cassette album (1983)  
There's a light 2008 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)

video (2020)
There's a tunnel at the end of the tunnel
Three chord town 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
Thursday at Eleven 1969-
1972
Announcer LP (1981)  
Time for a change   Not released as a recording It must be time for a change
Tin star   Not released as a recording Western heroes and the silver screen
Tomorrow will be fair (t.w.b.f.) 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

lullabye; drilling for oil
Too many everything 1993 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
To sign for you 1997 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999),

Landing CD (2001)

 
Transatlantic nights   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Transit   Largo LP (1979)  
Trees of Knowledge   Announcer LP (1981) stranger in a strange land; original sin
Two-way street 1998 Me & Miss Wray CD (1999)  
  U
 
Union Dan   Empty Houses LP (1977) trade unionism
  V
 
Victim's day 1994 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995),

News from Nowhere CD (2000)

 
  W
 
Walls to Fall (The WeQ-Song) 2014 Not released as a recording

See lyrics and mp3 below
plus link to photos and video
 
The way in (instrumental) 1999 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
The way out (instrumental) 1999 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
When the Kennedys ride again   Friendly skies CD (2008) newstalgia
Western shore 2004 9 on the sub-prime CD (2010)

video (2013)
 
West of Eden (spoken poem extract)   West of Eden CD (1993)  
Why I shiver 1993 Negotiations & Lovesongs CD (1995)  
Wine bar bombers   Friendly Skies CD (2008)

video (2011)
 
Write it down   "the Yellow Tape" cassette album (1983)  
  Y
 
Your father drives 1996 News from Nowhere CD (2000)  
Your losing eyes   Largo LP (1979)  
 

Dragons teeth

(unrecorded)

From the garden fair
to the battlefield
to end our journey there
wounds unhealed
from the starving land
to the Milltown smog
we tried to understand
our Captain's log

yet I believe we're given a chance
yes I believe we're called on to dance in the new day

from the words of pawns
to the things they do
there's a gap that yawns
in me and you

from the mystic smile
to the sadistic mind
it's hard to reconcile
the things we find

yet I believe we're given a chance
yes I believe we're called on to dance in the new day

ten thousand dragons teeth
ten thousand horses too
lie waiting underneath
this gentle dew
we sucked the milk of death
were raised on history
yet dreamt with every breath
how things could be

still we believe we're given a chance
still we believe we're called on to dance in the new day
still we believe we're given a chance
still we believe we're called on to dance in the new day

from the battlefield
to the garden fair
I retrace our steps
to find you there
 

Girl in the second row

Hugh wrote:

"Bob Dylan wrote A hard rain's a gonna fall in the run up to the Cuban missile crisis, saying afterwards that he felt he needed to get everything in there, as it might be his last song. I had a similar epiphany during the Tschernobyl meltdown (during which I wrote Sing it while you can) and again, more recently, when the plant at Fukushima went critical following the great tsunami. The situation there is ongoing and still potentially deadly for us all, so that show is definitely not over.

In a state of muted and resigned panic (you probably had the same feeling), tinged with toxic deja vu, I poured out Girl in the second row in a single jet. It was an attempt to present the way my mind works when I write a song, where and how inspiration arrives, the love and respect I feel for the very process of creation. I dedicate it to an ideal listener, there's always one, this time it happens to be the girl in the second row. If I seem to be paying more attention to the text than the camera in this version, that's because the song is still new enough to be a little unsure on its legs in places."
 
 

Holly Square incident

Bill and Jody had a word or two
They fell out down at the Green Canoe
No one really knows how these things start
Pretty soon we took the place apart
When the fight spilled out into the street
Careful neighbours went and called the heat
We all scattered when they came around, except for Jody
Jody died that day on Holly Square
No one saw it though we all were there
What a hero he could make you cry
"Poor Jody such a talented guy
Oo, Jody such a sweet, sweet guy"

Policeman Baxter kept us out of bed
Trying to reconstruct it in his head
But none of us could really help him much
Too confused to see that fatal touch
"Who had the knife?" We each in turn deny
"Plain to see that someone here’s telling a lie"
Early morning when he sent us all home, except for Jody
Jody dead became a local star
With close up coverage of his Ma and Pa
Little Jody was their pride and joy
"Poor Jody, such a sensitive boy
Dear Jody, such a sensitive boy
Oh, Jody, such a good, good, good, boy"

With Jody gone there wasn't much to do
We soon stopped meeting at the Green Canoe
And policemen Baxter moved to Jericho
Looking back, it seems so long ago
No one talks about it anymore
Deep inside us, we locked the door
I guess we all had our own lives to lead, except for Jody
They built a drug-store where I hid the knife
Last summer, Jody's girl became my wife
One night she asked me how did Jody die ... and I said
"Poor Jody, such a talented guy
Oo, Jody such a talented guy
Yeah, Jody such a sweet, sweet guy" and she said:
"How I loved that boy, how I loved that boy
Ooooo, how I loved that boy", she said ...
 
 

I believe

I believe that when you're near
I'm better looking than Richard Gere
He can't compete. I own your street

I believe that when you smile
The world gets brighter for a while
I can't resist. You must be kissed

And I believe the things you said
Have built a castle in my head
And I believe that's where we ought to live

I believe that when you go
They tamper with my radio
The whole day long, it plays your song
... for me

And I believe the things you said
Have built a castle in my head
And I believe that's where we ought to live

I believe without a doubt
You make the moon and stars come out
They disappear when you're not here
... with me
 
 

Lullaby for Noah

Instrumental

Hugh wrote:

"This was the first of a series of three instrumental compositions (so far!) written to celebrate our grandchildren. As a lullaby it actually works. I know, because I tried it out on the test subject himself. The partial capo used here is a device I'm returning to, now that they are available on the market. Previously (circa 1980) I manufactured my own, but they were rather capricious and awkward to work with."
 
 

One planet per person

Not yet puclished on disc. Hugh made a video for his YouTube channel,
where he commented:

Created on September 26, 2009 using FlipShare.

Who remembers those 80's sweatshirts with "one planet, one people" written on them? Can one be a Baha'i and a misanthrope at the same time? Maybe, if this song is anything to go by. The totally awful sound quality is thanks to the totally USELESS Flipshare software, it sounds great in the original version on my computer. Sorry, but the Flip people seem more interested in selling cool skins for their video cameras than in improving compatibility with YouTube. Any suggestions for solving this are welcome.


I love the human race
but I don't like you
please don't take it too personal
it's just the things you do
if you were far away
I could love you too
because you'd be part of the human race
and I love them through and through

one planet per person, that's what we need
one planet per person, that's good enough for me
one planet per person, that would be divine
you'd love all the folks on yours
I'd love all the folks on mine
one planet per person would suit me fine

I love the human race
but they don't like me
I give my opinion with a smiling face
then they dare to disagree
left handed people, right handed people
I just can't stand to see
but apart from these two categories
I love humanity

one planet per person, that's what we need
one planet per person, that's good enough for me
one planet per person, that would be divine
you'd love all the folks on yours
I'd love all the folks on mine
one planet per person would suit me fine

me and the neighbourhood we just can't agree
if I had my own planet, I could live in unity

one planet per person, that's what we need
one planet per person, that's good enough for me
one planet per person, that would be divine
you'd love all the folks on yours
I'd love all the folks on mine
one planet per person would suit me fine
one planet per person would suit me fine
 
 

Software zillionaire

Hugh wrote:

"Here's a song that has been floating around for a while, waiting for me to write it. Doing this set of videos finally forced me to finish it. The idea came from an interview I once read with a highly successful application developer (unfortunately I can't remember his name, but he's a very funny and thoughtful guy). Anyhow, he'd already made his pile in the first big hardware revolution of the raw and rowdy 1980s, when computing was in its infancy. Most of his pals retired rich, but he stuck around too long and lost everything, only to come back again, two decades later, even bigger than before.

The thing that got me thinking was when he said that striking it rich twice is very strange, because you really have no desire to live the kind of life you lived last time around ... in his case all parties and pools, indeed, if you do try to repeat your 'first act', then it's clear you've learned nothing. Instead you want to make something real with your wealth, something of use and service, something worth being remembered for. I recall him remarking that he used to live in Bel Air back then, but would never set foot there now if it could possibly be avoided."


Should have left in the 80s
Quit while you're ahead, they said, but I stayed on
Became a software zillionaire instead ... a software zillionaire!
Should have left in the 80s
Quit while you're ahead they said, but I stayed on
Became a software zillionaire, instead I wear Gucci
With an Aston and a place in Kent, I was lucky
There are better men without a cent
Scratch me, Susan,
I need to know I'm really there
Destroy me, darling,
Show me how you truly care ... for your software zillionaire!
I can handle the pressure
When everybody’s on my back and I can't run
Got to walk the walk and take the flack, and the hackers
A crazy pack of anarchists gonna melt you
If you fail to make their goody list
Slow down, junior
Go easy with that gold cuillière
You'll spoil the payoff
Be sure to live to sell your shares ... and be a software zillionaire!
I remember Wilko's jamborees
The parvenus and the wannabes
The fountains filled with cheap champagne
I'll never set a foot again inside Bel-Air ... now I'm a software zillionaire!
Should have left in the 80s
Quit while you're ahead, they said, but I stayed on
Became a software zillionaire instead ... a software zillionaire!
 
 

Walls to fall (The WeQ-Song)

(not released as a recording)

Written as the theme song for the "Walls to Fall" event,
Berlin, November 2014 (see photo series 11, with video).

Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, we’ve known it from the start
The wall is in your head; the bridge is in your heart
It’s everything we came down here to say
Where there is a wall, there is a way

No time to call the papers, no time to call the cops
They’re running out of headlines, we’re running out of jobs
Words are shouted up and down the street
Not a single word that we can eat

[Refrain:]
We tear down one, just to find another one
We tear down ten while you build them up again
The future could be bright enough for all
But not while there are walls to fall!

Laws protect the ones who make them, even when they kill
I guess it all looks perfect from your castle on the hill
But right outside your garden is a world
The bricks that built your mansion can be hurled

"Equality" in poverty, "minorities" of power
Maintaining dumb majorities for twenty cents an hour
Is this the way you liberate the poor:
You tease them with the life they’re dying for?

[Refrain:]
We tear down one, just to find another one
We tear down ten while you build them up again
The future could be bright enough for all
But not while there are walls to fall!

Walls between the races, walls between the creeds
Walls between the people with their identical needs
The "We" is so much stronger than the "I"
The things we share should open up the sky

[Refrain:]
We tear down one, just to find another one
We tear down ten while you build them up again
The future could be bright enough for all
But not while there are walls to fall
Not – while – there – are – walls!
 

Walls to fall (The WeQ-Song)

Words and music by Hugh Featherstone.

Apart from thirteen songs, this songlist includes only songs and
instrumentals that Hugh has so far released on vinyl discs and CDs.

He has written many, many more wonderful songs that the public has the right to hear.
Write to your member of parliament, start a petition, demand your right to hear them.
Preferably before next Wednesday.


Last updated 14 May 2023
Hugh Featherstone plays Kraushaar Guitars
 
www.featherstone.de website design Ursa Major