To celebrate tonight’s news here the background to the track…here the original slip of paper I wrote it on….plus a note on reverse mentioning the song ‘Satisfied Mind’ maybe for ‘feel’. I never recorded it as far as I can tell.
Sunday 21st October 2001
A blank week in diary…aged 42 and still working at St. Catherine’s Library Oxford University as a library assistant for £14k full time in 2001. About to resign following a miserable year rebounding from a relationship of 7 years with a Spanish woman.
I was in a quiet time writing….and here it is.
Inspiration is a funny thing…the song came from the sky literally….
I know that because I date everything. Written on a small piece of paper no more than a post-it note. Almost the whole lyric written in one go no edits. Then transferred to an archive where Claudia Scott found the following in 2003 when I putting together The Moon Over the Downs charity disc for my father after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Here the ‘official’ online version Claudia found I not sure if I amended to ‘my dear’ or Claudia did.
THE DEVIL’S HOUSE
I LIVE IN A HOUSE ON TOP OF A HILL
I’VE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS AND I’M HERE STILL
AND I WATCH YOU EVERY DAY YOU GO BY
EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE
AND THE RAIN POURS DOWN LIKE TEARS
FROM THE COAL BLACK CLOUDS MY DEAR
ON TO THE DEVIL’S HOUSE
WELL YOU DO THINGS THAT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND
YOUR FEEL CONFUSED BUT YOU WORK AND PLAN
THEN ALONG COMES A GIRL WITH A PRETTY SMILE
AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOU’RE ALREADY MINE
COS I BEEN WATCHING YOU ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE
Then Claudia recorded the lovely version on the original Moon Over The Downs in 2003 with Fats Kaplin.
Finally Claudia re-recorded on last year’s ‘Follow The Lines’ which was nominated alongside four other albums for a Norwegian Grammy (Spelleman) for Best Country Album 🙂
and today the great news…Claudia pictured below with the Spelleman award 🙂
My mother and father who both passed on from cancer would be proud they met over a turntable playing Bill Haley and Fats Domino:-)
