He Believes in Science

He takes the view, as many do,
that we all choose a path
Fatalism, he would say,
is a load of arse

And destiny, he would agree,
is false hope helping none
Humanism, once a day,
is good for everyone

So thought, and time, consideration,
logic, patience, calculation
Over and above all else
he believes in science

And mostly clever men have never
denied divine descent
Atheism, in a way,
is just irrelevant

Everything from slug to king,
is only real with proof
Naturalism does convey
the one and only truth

So time-invested, tried and tested
ways will give the explanation
Over and above all else
he believes in science

Joe Escott

If you live or come from here
you'll have heard of, maybe know
local legend
my friend Joe

Joe is quite famous in this little city
and if you don't know him i'm sure you will soon
his voice is like chocolate, his girlfriends are pretty
and if you just ask him he'll give you a tune

With Benny Rich he plays songs from the sixties
and he runs a night where others can play
and that's where i started, where he was the big cheese
with songs from the 80s, back in the day

He had a band without any women
a room full of instruments, a couple of fans
They were quite good, I was in the band with him
Never recorded outside of a jam

Don't underestimate the rather dramatic
knack Joe has developed for pleasing a crowd
TV show theme tunes worked into a classic
He gets them dancing and singing aloud

I have a friend, his name is Joe Escott
It's partly his fault that I to do what I do
and if I should ever achieve some success
what I'll never forget is where credit is due

On the Greenbank

From Station Road so early
We moved to 26
Where was born my sister curly
and I loved that mortar and bricks

When she was grown and the last to leave
then back to Station Road
and I was lucky I believe
of always fixed abode

On the Greenbank I sit contented
and I do not want to roam
and you will often catch me smiling happy
on the Greenbank
I have found my home

From North Road West at Christmas
she left for Marlow town
From Bedford Park to London
it did not get me down

From London back to Mutley
I liked it well enough
Yes I've been around aplenty
All these places I have loved

Now when I look out of my window
I can see out on the Sound
and I can see those new tall buildings
A home here I have found

And I'm coming now productive
and I'm learning all the time
and I love my lover deeply
and now this place is mine

West Coast Hip Hop is Not for Me

An unspeakable incident left me glum
in 2001
at Reading Festival

Sunday night, right at the end
Hefner played the Carling tent
at 20 decibels

The tent was brimming
I couldn't get in it
and I was too young to realise
The impact
the music would have
on my later life

I strained to hear
it wouldn't reach my ears
drowned out by the main stage
I really wasn't all that in to Slim Shady
although at the time I had the Marshall Mathers LP
now it was an unwelcome tirade

It drilled right down to the core of me
when I missed the one about fat Kelly's teeth
and Marilyn Manson, the son of a bitch
over his noise I couldn't hear 'The Sad Witch'
I wanted to hear 'I Took Her Love for Granted'
Not some genre that I hadn't grasped yet
West coast hip hip is not my scene
West coast hip hop is not for me

Looking back I wish that I had been cooler
the year that Darren got Beulah
The only chance I ever had to see them
Swamped out of Reading and popular culture
the year of the vulture
the D12 era

It was a miserable night
a weekend lowlight
I wanted to make the end good
but my bad mood was shameless
I know what his name is
and everyone else does too

Everyone around could tell that I was annoyed
that I missed the one about Helen of Troy
I couldn't hear 'The Science Fiction'
'Christian Girls' or 'Hello Kitten'
I wanted to hear 'I Took Her Love for Granted'
Not some genre that I hadn't grasped yet
West coast hip hip is not my scene
West coast hip hop is not for me

I wanted to hear 'Love Will Destroy Us in the End'
I didn't want to listen to Eminem
West coast hip hip is not my scene
West coast hip hop is not for me