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Real Lives

by The Living Archive Band

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1.
I Want A Little More From Life Neil Mercer Here in this house, it’s not my home I dream of somewhere I can call my own A chance to start afresh would be so nice I want a little more from life The people here, they don’t complain They say be grateful if things stay the same But I’ll take no more of their advice I want a little more from life I’m not looking for La Dolce Vita I don’t expect a life of ease But I’m sure life could be sweeter Why am I so hard to please? What’s to be done? What should we do? We’ve got to work to make our dreams come true And though we wonder if it’s worth the price We want a little more from life People call me discontented Because I want something new But when I see how their dreams have ended What am I supposed to do? Here in this house, it’s not my home I dream of somewhere I can call my own A chance to start afresh would be so nice I want a little more from life I want a little more from life
2.
The Wolverton Refreshment Room Words & music: J Cunningham If ever you take the railway that runs through Birmingham town Three hours out of Euston, they let you all get down. Eleven minutes is allowed - we have to keep up speed And the Wolverton Refreshment Room will answer every need With seven fair young ladies to wait upon you all Four men and three boys are at your beck and call A kitchen maid is in her proper station With a matron to guard her reputation . ‘A wonder of these modern times’ a gentleman has said, ‘Three hundred railway cottages and every one is red, A giant locomotive shed where meadows used to be.’ But the Wolverton refreshment Room is all that you will see With seven fair young ladies to wait upon you all Four men and three boys are at your beck and call A scullery maid, a kitchen maid are in their proper station, With a matron to guard their reputation. You will not meet the railwaymen, oh entertain no fear, They go off to a public house, The Royal Engineer Or over to Hell’s Kitchen, which is beastly and profane But the Wolverton Refreshment Room has neither sin nor stain With seven fair young ladies to wait upon you all Four men and three boys are at your beck and call A laundry maid, a scullery maid, a kitchen maid Are in their proper station, with a matron to guard their reputation. Banbury cakes, ladies fingers, brandy, lemonade, The company has insisted they be tastefully displayed And if about your comfort you still harbour any doubt There’s warming up, by the stove, a quantity of stout. With seven fair young ladies to wait upon you all Four men and three boys are at your beck and call A house maid, a laundry maid, a scullery maid, a kitchen maid Are in their proper station, with a matron to guard their reputation. One hundred pounds of luggage is all that we allow, Smoking is prohibited. The train is leaving now. We hope you have been satisfied with our establishment And please - no gratuities. The servants are content. With seven fair young ladies to wait upon you all Four men and three boys are at your beck and call An odd man, a house maid, a laundry maid A scullery maid, a kitchen maid Are in their proper station, with a matron to guard their reputation.
3.
The Bunny Run Kevin Adams Sunday afternoon we're out to take the air Up and down in Stony Town, see who else is walking there. Hoping that some day I'll find that certain special girl of mine. So I'm always there when the weather's fine On the Bunny Run Sunday afternoon, when we're walking in the street The lads stroll up and the girls walk down and ne'er the twain shall meet. There's a girl I've seen who's caught my eye so I gave her wink sort of on the sly And she winked back- now my, oh my ! Sunday afternoon, trying to impress Cleanest boots and Sunday suits - it's not a day of rest! You might stand a while in a shop doorway just to pass a little time of day Till Sergeant Rollings moves you on your way... Sunday afternoon only comes round once a week It's over far to soon, Monday looks so very bleak As the days go past I'm a sorry case but when I close my eyes I can see her face And I'll see her next week in the usual place.
4.
I Would Not Change A Thing Wods & music: Neil Mercer We’re in a changing of times for worse or better With dreams much braver than mine you bring change in I know when you take a stand for what you believe in You try the best that you can to bring change in But as I look out tonight On this summer evening as the church bells ring I just know then that I’m right About what really matters I would not change a thing I hear there’s trouble today though you don’t tell me Maybe it must be that way to bring change in So sure of all of your plans you give your reasons To those who don’t understand the change you bring
5.
The Valley of the Shadow words & music: Paul Clark Our great attack had failed, we'd nothing left to give. Our wounded hanging in the wire had little time to live. The German shells came screaming down To shred them where they lay, Abandoned in the valley of the shadow. The battle ground at night would look as bright as day, As Very flares turned blackness into ugly, lifeless grey. The twisted shapes that once were men in senseless patterns lay, The tenants of the valley of the shadow. The torn and shattered fields, the bits of wire and steel No blade of grass, or branch, or leaf, to make the place seem real. An ancient traveller passing by just couldn't help but say: “This surely is the valley of the shadow.” Let paintings of that scene be hung upon the wall In rooms where governments decide if men should stand or fall. They'd never go to war again if leaders had their say While looking at the valley of the shadow.
6.
The Flowers 02:00
7.
A FEW COPPERS words & music: Neil Mercer Oh times are very bad for business The shopkeepers all say When half of the people walking down High Street Are stretching what they've got to buy enough to eat There's not much prospect of employment Unless you move away So be glad of what you've got and do the best you can A few coppers go along way. But it's not enough sometimes And you know sometimes- I wonder what it's all about. What we put away for a rainy day Just seems to have run out. But things seem better when the fair comes For those two magical days Each penny that you save will mean an extra ride A few coppers go a long way. Oh the fair brings folk to Stony Stratford From near and far away There's PC MacAdam from his Bradwell beat And families from Wolverton to join the treat From Market Square down to the Horse fair There's loads to do each day So pitch yourself a coconut on Oxford Street A few coppers go a long way. But it's not enough sometimes And you know sometimes- I wonder what it's all about. What we put away for a rainy day Just seems to have run out. Oh times are very bad for business And they may stay that way So be glad of what you've got and do the best you can A few coppers go a long way
8.
Sheltered Lives Paul Clark Now Wolverton's a place with an easy gentle pace It's a railway town of no great renown But to us that's no disgrace. The summit of success is a job with LMS With a terraced house, contented spouse, And in time two kids or three Who in their turn will grow to learn To want no more than we. Suppose we tried to say what really makes our day It would be hard to know, 'cause things always go In that same old simple way The hooter tells us when it's time for work, and then Its familiar call reminds us all That it's lunchtime- twelve till one One last time it blows, the whole town knows That another day is done. The works doors open wide, the workers move inside Anyone could say as we start our day That we feel a quiet pride Our work requires our skill, our manliness and will 'Cause you know each lad will follow dad Who taught him what to do In a job that's sure, safe and secure That will last a whole life through. Just look across the square, the War Memorial's there With the names marked down of the boys from town Who copped it over there. Depression times were tough, there just never was enough But through it all survives the sheltered lives That we've lived amidst these fears Should war come again, we'll be the same As we've been through all these years.
9.
The Permanent Way Kevin Adams Granite for ballast and sleepers of pine Cut through the country in a very straight line. Depart and arrive the very same day On the London to Birmingham Railway On the permanent way On the permanent way On the permanent way London to Birmingham the very same day. Train coming out of Linslade tunnel White smoke streaming from the funnel Pistons pumping, drive wheels hum Folks in Fenny surely hear us come. Look down there that's Denbigh Hall Hardly a sign of life at all Turned round here when the line was new Now we just keep rolling through Slow goods up, fast mail down Rattling the windows through Wolverton Town Never mind the cinders, never mind the smoke Wolverton people are railway folk Steam train coming, powerful sound Darken the sky and shake the ground. If you live to a hundred and three It's the fastest thing you'll ever see.
10.
Do you ever think of England? Rod Hall Do you ever think of England When it’s four on a shell-shocked morning You try staying awake lad, when your body cries for rest. You try being a hero when the best friend that you ever had Is lying out in No-Man’s Land with a bullet in the chest Oh…. I can still hear the brass band playing I can still see them singing and marching While they take young men off to war Oh… If they really want to make me happy Then they’ve got to march me down From the top of this hill That they marched me up before There’s a quiet place behind the lines Where crosses stand in row on row The list of missing and wounded grows longer every day Kitchener told us when we joined We’d be proud to hold our heads up high Don’t try doing that here, lad you’ll throw your life away.
11.
Denbigh Hall 02:21
Denbigh Hall Words & music: Paul Clark ‘Twould be a stately place you’d think, to call it Denbigh Hall But until now, it’s truth to say, there was nothing there at all. Its little pub was never used by coaches passing through, No fame it had for beauteous barmaid, or for powerful brew. Now the fortunes of this pub have risen with a bound The railway’s come right through the place There’s navvies all around And ev’ry day they spend their wages buying food and beer They pack the place up stairs and down with rough and hearty cheer The railway coming up from London ends at Denbigh Hall To travel any further north the trains won’t help at all But there are coaches right at hand to serve the traveller’s need To Lichfield or to Nottingham they’ll get him there with speed Each day the train from London town arrives at half past one And then begins a frantic rush with trav’lers on the run They’re jumping into coaches porters stowing bags away Each coach and omnibus starts out with minimum delay.
12.
James McConnell words & music: Paul Clark I come from Daley, Ayrshire McConnell is my name I’m a first-class railway engineer And few can make that claim I say, And few can make that claim At thirteen I set out from home To learn to make my way Studied at night in the Institute Apprenticed in the Works by day, Did apprentice work by day. In Glasgow and in Liverpool I learned the mechanics’ skill At the drawing board I used my brains On the shop floor used my strength and will I lived by brains and will I’ve worked on jennies, I worked on mules On cranes that sit dockside I’ve built a crystal palace too But locomotives are my pride, Locomotives are my pride On the Birmingham and Gloucester line Where Yankee engines fail Up a one in thirty seven grade One of my engines specially made Carries people freight and mail And now I’ve come to Wolverton My terms are fair and square I want good labour, I want good men And I shall do my share I say And I shall do my share
13.
CAPTAIN SWING Words & music: Paul Clark For poor law pay, they’re forced to useless labour A morning’s work, two miles a stone to bear That afternoon they’re forced to take another You’d think good men would use their labour better Their families starve, they freeze through all the winter, They steal to eat, so to a cart they’re tethered, On market days, through Aylesbury streets they whip them You’d think just men would treat their misery better. Their fathers worked a whole year for one farmer. From farm to farm they beg for each day’s pay, Their only choice, the workhouse or the prison. You’d think wise men could change their lives for better.
14.
All Change 05:32
All Change Words & music: Kevin Adams When this story first began, when Adam delved and Eve she span Who was then the gentleman? I hear the ploughman cry Rich man safe in his estate, poor man sits outside the gate How much longer will he wait before he questions why? All change, all change Listen well and heed the call All change, all change See the writing on the wall Change is coming for us all Once I walked while master rode Once I carried master's load Laboured under master's goad Tied to master's land Iron forge and coal to burn has Thrown the future in the furnace Who can tell just where this journey's Leading you and me? Ploughman walks away from sorrow Turns his back on field and furrow Lends his strength unto tomorrow On the iron way. This soil here turned once for ever Lines laid here that none can sever Brings the distances together Hastening the day - All change , all change etc.
15.
The Night the Stones Rolled Into Town Music: Neil Mercer words: Neil Mercer & Kevin Adams I was just 15, it was the year that I left school Levi jeans, Ben Sherman shirts were what we thought was cool In your Burton's made-to measure, you're nobody's fool Getting used to working weekdays, living by the rules, ‘Til the weekend came around Wilton Hall was paradise for all us music fans Dancing there on Friday nights to the latest bands And the man behind it all, I'd like to shake his hand- It was Ron King who wore the crown On the night the Stones rolled into town And we were living for the future, glad to be alive Then one day you wake and find the future has arrived In Makario’s coffee bar, before the show that day Sipping our espressos, sang 'Not Fade Away' Nowhere else to got to, happy just to stay While the world went spinning round On the night the Stones rolled into town We went into Wilton Hall, on that famous day Right up to the stage, and there we stood and watched them play I can still remember, just like yesterday How Keith made that guitar sound- On the night the Stones rolled into town.

about

Released in 2000 by the 9-piece electric line-up of the band to coincide with the revival of 'All Change', (the very first performance to be put on at the new Milton Keynes Theatre), this collection combines music from that play together with some other old favourites.

credits

released February 1, 2000

Marion Hill, Sue Malleson & Shahnaz Hussain-Hall: vocals
Brad Bradstock: guitar, vocals
Neil Mercer: guitar, mandolin, whistle, trumpet, vocals
Paul Clark: bass, vocals
Kevin Adams: fiddle. mandolin, guitar, vocals
Andrew Hall: keyboards
Ben Hallett: drums, percussion
Dave Watson: drums

Recorded at Audiolab , Buckingham by Andy Glass
Mixed by Andy Glass & Nigel Neill
Except-
Track 1 recorded by Brad Bradstock at the Living Archive, 1996
Tracks 5 &10 recorded live at Stantonbury Theatre 1995, mixed by Brad Bradstock

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The Living Archive Band Milton Keynes, UK

An acoustic quintet with an emphasis on strong vocals to deliver both songs and the spoken word depicting the experiences of the people of North Buckinghamshire past and present. The inhabitants of the towns of Wolverton, Stony Stratford and Bletchley and of course the new city of Milton Keynes all have had something to say, and the Living Archive Band gives them a voice. ... more

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