Emotional strife, inner city isolation and er, fairgrounds: There must be a song in here somewhere!
Jan 5, 2025
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Fairgrounds represent powerful reminders of my childhood. Memories of cold Autumn evenings - moments filled with anticipation, excitement pulsating through my young boy body as I walked towards the bright lights and sounds of a Fairground Night. I well remember the shadows of stark industrial wastelands, desolation made cinematic by the luminous circles of Ferris wheels and busy candy-floss stalls. To me as a young boy, this landscape represented joy. In reality, it was just a little bit of temporary urban wonderland created upon a ‘cheap to rent,’ inner city rejuvenation site.
But, that robber of ‘devil may care’ pleasure - the effluxion of time - seems to steal some of our ability to recognise and enjoy such simple experiences. Maybe it is the weight of responsibility we bear, the daily toil that numbs our childhood energies and ability to absorb simple moments in their entirety. This ability seems to get lost somehow, the price we pay, part of life’s paradox: it’s power to excite and reward whilst at the same time, disappoint. But can life ever be stripped of spontaneity? I don’t believe so, it’s part of what makes us human, our unpredictability.
Maturity, that bringer of new perspectives and responsibilities, forces change upon us, not least being that one overriding, compelling, mysterious, unfathomable animal instinct that drives us towards intimacy and partnership and the complexity of relationship:love. And, for all its pleasure it is somehow flawed, abstract, mercurial - labyrinths of emotion where people hurt, cry, laugh but also fly on the wings of passion into the arms of contentment and bliss … and then (sometimes) fly back out again! A rollercoaster, big dipper, swing-boat ride – all the fun of the fair, the excitement, elation and release captured in the confines of our own personal travelling show story of relationships lost and found – and it must be a travelling show because that is the nature of life.
So, it was in such a moment this song was crafted, its narrative arc unfolding as I attempted to bring together: the simplicity of childhood experience, the complexity of adulthood relationship and (for good measure) a little sprinkle of fairground make believe. These are the essential ingredients of a world I like to return to sometimes, to live in for a while, the little cave between my ears where I can experience splendid isolation in my quest for inspiration.
But the story needed a context, a city landscape, somewhere, a bit detached, a place that might provide somewhere to live but not necessarily to like. I guess we could all bring such a place to mind. There are of course great city exceptions … but they are harder to create a thematic counterpoint with – I wanted contrast so, ‘as city sirens call …’ it’s chaos and crime I want to spring to mind not fountains and beautifully manicured lawns! Perhaps a visiting Fairground might be an attractive spot for those needing distraction from the density of a busy, no-nonsense city. A place where childhood memories might be rekindled, a place to remind emotionally confused adults that solutions exist if seen through a different lens. Well, it might!
Thus, I imagined a trip to a Fairground, a place I associate with laughter and spontaneity, somewhere to have fun, forget troubles. Such a spot could be somewhere to rekindle friendship and love, a place of excitement which offers a temporary return to the world of our childhood and with it endless possibilities.
‘This Fairground Night’ is thus the location where love in need of repair spends ‘time out’ and recalibrates itself. It’s a space we sometimes need to spend time in, an imaginary, chimerical 'somewhere' to remember our beginnings, rejuvenate our emotions and reconcile our differences. ‘This Fairground Night’ is where this happens (well, in my head anyway).
My experience, for what this is worth, brings me to the conclusion that a lot of what we search for e.g. " ... all that I want, is all I can see, come spend this fairground night - with me," is often much closer to us than we imagine. This is what the song is about.
'This Fairground Night' is due for release in March 2025.
VERSE 1
Tonight - as city sirens call
I fear I’ll see it all- come true
For two lives -in their blood red autumn down
Lovers dressed as clowns
Going round and round and round and so…
CHORUS
Walk into this fairground night –
Here with me.
Ride upon our old ghost train
Let the clowns collide all tears and smiles
I think you’ll understand
VERSE 2
Tonight - we’ll tumble-down or bow
Get lost in the why? and how?
Of what’s right, and then, I smile
There’s new life in a dream
A message on my screen
“Let’s stop going round and round and so…”
CHORUS
Walk into this fairground night –
Here with me.
Ride upon our old ghost train
Let the clowns collide all tears and smiles
I hope you’ll understand
Middle
All the things we’ve done
I’m glad, glad we made it
Twists and sound - the fear of falling
Make this dark the best light of our lives
And so - on and on we’ll go let’s ride
Chorus
Walk into this fairground night –
Here with me.
Ride upon our old ghost train
Let’s make swing-boat smiles
Kiss dark-star eyes
Then I know you’ll understand
Tag
That all that I want, is all I can see
Come spend this fairground night - with me
