Get all 5 Paul Nowak releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of People like you, Hurt, The best of us, Sent to War, and Cowboy Songs.
1. |
People like you
04:54
|
|||
|
Wasn’t born into riches or plenty,
Didn’t go to the finest of schools.
Taught to work long and hard for your money,
Keep your nose clean and play by the rules.
Put a little aside if you’re lucky,
Find a place of your own to call home.
Leave a bit to the kids, and be grateful,
But there’s one thing you always should know
Chorus
It’s people like you, don’t get to do what I do
They get to do as I say
See there’s two types of folk in this world friend,
There’s people like you, then there’s people like me.
And we’re bound by the same laws and customs,
But only one of us can claim to be free.
Cos my daddy’s, granddaddy’s, granddaddy
Helped Britannia rule the land and the sea
On your back, built a fortune, an empire
Then passed every penny down to me
So that people like you, don’t get to do what I do
You get to do what I say
In factories, in fields
In villages and towns
They whisper of a change
That will bring my world tumbling down
They met at union rock by the slate mine,
They took an oath in the shade of a tree.
They stood united on St George’s plateau
Won equal pay in a car factory
Cos our daddy’s, granddaddy’s, grandaddies
And their mothers and sister’s could see
That the rules of the game weren’t just broken,
They were fixed from the start, to be free
People like you, shouldn’t do what they do,
Shouldn’t do what they say
People like me and you, shouldn’t do what they do
Shouldn’t do what they say
|
||||
2. |
You and yours
03:12
|
|||
|
She goes to work every day
To bring back money for her family
Says, ‘It’s not the life that I chose,
It’s the life that’s in front of me’
I care for your sick and your old
I clean your office and your factory
I drive the bus and the van, the cab and the car
That brings your next delivery.
(Chorus)
So take your warm words and your handouts
Take you thanks and your applause
Tell me straight, why I’m worth less than you and yours.
Take your heart felt condescension
Hit me straight between the eyes
Tell me why you and yours are worth more than me and mine
He crossed the land and the sea
To build a new home for his family
Says, ‘It’s not the life that I chose,
It’s the life that’s in front of me’
And my wife and my kids, just like you,
Are the things that matter most to me
Why should they settle for less, take second best?
They want dignity not charity
(Chorus)
|
||||
3. |
Black Dog
04:01
|
|||
|
You say that I drink too much
That’s probably true
I overthink everything, yeah that’s a thing that I do
I worry about such and such
Don’t worry enough about you
Get lost in my darker side
Find it hard to come through
And I’ve written some sad songs
Bared my soul on the page
I’m wrong more than I am right
Its fair to admit
I promised you everything
Ashamed that this isn’t it
And I’ve written some dark songs
Put my heart on the page
When the black dog finds me at home
He knows that I’m wanting
When the black dog gets me alone
He knows that I’m scared
When the black dog makes an appearance
I feel like I’m drowning
When the black dog starts to take hold
I only hope that you’re there
And I’ve written you love songs
They’ve helped keep me sane
When the black dog finds me at home
He knows that I’m wanting
When the black dog gets me alone
He knows that I’m scared
When the black dog makes an appearance
I feel like I’m drowning
When the black dog starts to take hold
I only hope that you’re there
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
Riding on an empty train
Rolling south, and work again
Empty seats and shattered lives
Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives
And I wonder if we’ll ever be
Back to the place we used to be
Nights with friends in crowded bars
Music, laughter, old guitars
Chorus
And I trust, these days will prove
To bring the best in, best in you
And I hope we look back and see
The best in you, the best in me
Riding on an empty train,
Rolling north and home again
Home to more than town and place
Home to feel your warm embrace
Chorus
Too many times now, I have found
What matters least
Still brings me down
Time to roll away that pain
Riding on an empty train
|
||||
5. |
||||
|
Early morning conversations
You’re the first thing that I see
I pull you back for ten more minutes (and hold you tight)
Head downstairs to make your tea
Remember when they were just children?
Who was more scared, you or me?
And now they’ve grown and I still worry (and so do you)
About what they’ll do, or who they’ll be
Let’s write a new verse,
For the songs we sing together
Breathe some new life, into the old familiar tunes
Let me hold your hand,
And dance with you forever, my lover
If I could start again, I’d always start with you
We have this one life, just one moment
No second chances, no repeats
And just by luck, and just by fortune (can’t kid myself otherwise)
I found you, and you found me
Let’s write a new verse,
For the songs we sing together
Breathe some new life, into the old familiar tunes
Let me hold your hand,
And dance with you forever, my lover
If I could start again, I’d always start with you
Let’s write a new verse,
For the songs we sing together
Breathe some new life, into the old familiar tunes
Let me hold your hand,
And dance with you forever, my lover
If I could start again, I’d always start with you
|
||||
Paul Nowak Liverpool, UK
Singer-songwriter from Birkenhead, Merseyside. If you don’t know Birkenhead, it’s a bit like Brooklyn to Liverpool’s
Manhattan. If you do know Birkenhead, you’ll know it’s not...
Cowboy Songs is the first thing I’ve recorded in a studio since my late teens and throughout 2020 I’ll be doing the odd-gig to promote it when the day-job allows.
... more
If you like Paul Nowak, you may also like:
Sorry I'm So Sensitive
by Bea Stewart
The second EP from Northern Irish singer-songwriter Bea Stewart runs from gentle folk to pillowy pop ballads, all perfectly executed.
go to album
Father and daughter team up to make pretty folk music inspired by the day she was born and the day she'll leave home.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 26, 2024
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 19, 2024
go to album
Six and Forty-Six
by Riccardo La Foresta & James Ginzburg
Percussionist and sound artist Riccardo La Foresta joins musician and producer James Ginzburg for a fluid collaborative experiment.
go to album
The Room
by Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel
featured on Bandcamp Radio Jan 9, 2024
go to album
Stirring Americana set to acoustic arrangements and topped by the legendary Alice Gerrard’s lovely, world-wise voice.
go to album
