These are the stories that make each of the mufti songs come to life for me. These thoughts, poems & stories are what have inspired my lyrics. They are the ideas that touch me and move me when I sing the songs I write with Spike.
Love & hugs to you all, Gill xxx
Psycho Man
I got pretty passionate about this song given the story involved a member of my family who had been subjected to what seemed like Victorian style torture. Cathy ran away from an obsessively sick man, with four kids in tow, to a new life. This took her 6 years, massive planning and not a little help from those that loved her and wanted her to be Cathy again. A whirlwind few weeks at the end of the escape plan saw us standing at Heathrow waiting for her to emerge with the kids. Exhausted but free, their new life began. What an inspiration she must be to anybody who wants to change what seems then like a dead end situation with no hope. Now it’s her life again.
Seize the Moment
I really got into clubbing & dance music back in 1997 with a chicks week away in Ibiza followed by 2 weeks with bronchitis (no surprises there then ...!). Dancing was the trip for me - it's that whole zone you get into with a solid bass line and a tune that drags you along for what feels like forever. But even when you're in that zen place you can’t help noticing good bodies and piercing blue eyes. Then begins the man-woman flirting dance which can lead to many lush things. Oh yes. Mine ended in the best round the world trip ever, more of that dancing, new friends and a gorgeous man. Got to grab it while you can.
To Learn a Lesson
I wrote this song when my best friend at the time was going through a divorce. Breaking up with someone you thought would be ‘the one’ can really shock you if it’s unexpected. You want to leave but you don’t. You want to run away to family and friends who’ll be on your side, but also try to reconcile what's happening between you and the one you thought would be your soul mate. Either way, it’s a pretty harrowing experience and one you would only want to do once. So it was doubly tough knowing this was her second time round. For goodness sake, all the average human wants is to be happy and live life with their best friend. But if you don’t learn the lessons, I guess they keep coming back to haunt you ...
Gather Light
My spiritual phase is honoured in this song which describes the journey I took some 10 years ago that made sure I found myself here. Girlie travels around the world, Thailand beaches, broken friendships, new boys to play with and a massive awakening to some of the more important principles in life. I am still learning, that’s for sure, but trying to ‘do the right thing by yourself’ and agreeing the principles you want to live by is a good place to start. While you drink copious amounts of wine and eat your body weight in cheese, of course.
Confessions
Confessions is one of the few songs I wrote about my own stuff going on inside. It's all about secrets, hurt, love, giving & losing; the secrets and desires that haunt you about things you want in life, that fundamentally drive you and seem so close and yet so far from your grasp. Sometimes you have to keep trying until it feels like it'd hurt more to stop than to carry on. And you just have to remember that we all have these demons so we're all ultimately in the same boat. So brush yourself down and keep trying - often life's a matter of playing the numbers: odds are if you keep going, eventually you'll succeed. But if all this sounds a little cryptic, listen to the lyrics and hopefully the story will unfold for you in the song ...
Circumstances Change Me
This song was written with my dear friend Jenny at heart. She met her fella during a drunken holiday and then, for what seemed like an eternity, proceeded to travel endless miles across the sea to Ireland to see him. Long distance love so often fails, but Jen & Barra are an inspiration to us all, beating the practicalities of making it work against the odds. Because if you want something enough, whatever the circumstances, you change to make it work. Jen & Barra and their beautiful children remain an inspiration to me. As do my other girlfriends Sewage & Nats who have also changed wonderfully as life has altered their path.
I'm Coming Home
This is one of those feel good songs that just fell together musically. And whilst it does have tinges of sadness around the story that's being told, you'd never know it. I guess the crux of it is that when you really find someone you love and just want to be with, then it gives you that feeling of coming home, of being safe, & happy, being with that one person who is your one true soul mate; you can see & feel their knowing smile as you stare at them across the room; it's been a bad day, and all you want is to be with that person. Becasue that's when you know you're home. And it feels good. This song was my coming home ...
Watch Out for Dreaming
All of us dream, and sometimes we read too much into the vivid memories of sleep. The ones you have as a child that seem to shape you, that you use to blame for the way you are now - nightmares and gentle happy stories alike. Should you believe what you dream will happen, are your dreams glimpses of the future, why do they feel so telling when you wake up and wonder what they mean? I guess for me it comes down not just to the dreams you remember, but what you do with them. I first learnt to fly in my dreams - why can't you do that in real life? Or may be that doesn't matter. You can either live and learn by your dreams or just downright enjoy them.
Leopard Swapping Spots
This is a story of change. The sort of change that we all go through as we move through and experience different life stages. Moving out of home, getting into relationships, getting out of relationships, trying again. Watching that change in someone is so lovely when you see a shift in spirit, circumstances and often how you feel about each other. Especially when the person changing sees it too. Especially when it means that they become closer and you now shift and move together. Sometimes doing things that make you uncomfortable is the best way to grow. That was certainly the case with this guy ...
If This Was The Day
Have you ever been driving along in a car and suddenly had the image of an accident flash before your mind's eye - what if I had swerved there, hit a car, smashed uncontrolably and been terribly hurt ...? Or have you ever looked back on a snap-decision you took and realised with horror how at that precise point your life suddenly vered off into a dramatically different direction ...? Life's defined by all those what if's. These sorts of moments change everything, and remind us of how precious the things we have & love are, and how quickly they could be taken away. So if this was the last day you were on this earth, what would you do ...? This song was recorded during a very sad time, when dear Mary was beginning her last few days on this earth. It made singing it all the more telling for us all. But it's not all doom & gloom. It's quite liberating to realise that the only sensible approach is to make the most of what you have, to cherish the things you love, to make the most of the opportunities you still have in front of you - to live your life to the full. Oh, and the sentiments in the chorus still make Spike well-up no matter how many times we play it. The guy's a girl, I tell you ...!
