I started to put the tracks together for my first album ‘Listen Up’ around August 2016. After many years listening to great acoustic guitarists like Springsteen, Petty, Browne etc I had an idea of what I was wanting to put on this album, these guys told great stories, of people and life..
A quick track by track breakdown, click on the track title to listen to the track for free.
- Not In This Paradise  – This song was inspired after I was listening to Bob Dylan’s – Subterranean Homesick Blues one day. This song is about leaving school, leaving home, leaving college or university or getting your first job and the crazy world of change and growing up that engulfs you at this stage of your life..
- Tonight – This is about my journey, or anyones journey through life to where we are now, family, children…
- Listen Up – Leaving something behind, exactly why I started recording these songs, so your voice can still be heard when your surfing the astral plains…
- Down By The Creek – you’re driving down the motorway or highway, i the middle of a field, there’s an old ruined building an old farm-house, fort, castle…this song is inspired by those places, who lived there, what were they like..
- Tattoos & Whiskey – This song is pure and simply about the late great AC/DC singer Bon Scott
- The Lonely Road – I’ve always loved Bruce Springsteens acoustic tunes and especially the album Nebraska. After listening to it one wintry night in 2016 I wondered if I could write a song in the same style and mood that would fit as part of the Nebraska story, The Lonely Road was my attempt at it.
- You & Me – This is about my Wife, or about us together
- Cry Of The Innocent – Today we live in a world rife with corruption, from the top down, politicians looking after number 1, secret deals in the background, and when they are caught…well nothing really happens does it!!
- And You Pray – A song about taking some time out each day to appreciate the good things in life something we should all do more often..
- Tell Me Your Story Tonight – as mentioned earlier I always liked the singer songwriter tracks with a story to tell, this is one of those type of tunes, lyrics about 2 people struggling through everyday life
- Don’t Let Go – A track inspired by The Hothouse Flowers song Sweet Marie, in a roundabout way and of course about my Wife again (she’ll be popping up in a lot of songs!! )
- Life – This is purely and simply about my life…..
So there you go, some of the ideas behind the songs on this first CD/Album of mine..recorded on some free online software with a mic, a guitar, a harmonica and some patience and time…
If you enjoyed any tracks please share with your friends or download/add to playlists on Spotify (link below) etc…
MMc
Mark McCafferty Music 