Week 12 – ‘Remember School?’
by Frank Hamilton
A practical start to this weeks blog… Earlier in the week I announced details of a little tour in April. If you haven’t already seen the dates they’re listed here. I’m also thinking about adding a few living room shows into the mix – so if you’ve got a living room and might like to host an evening of music and friends then keep your eyes peeled for an announcement on Twitter/Facebook in the next day or so.
In other news the second installment of the ‘Car Park Sessions’ can be found on Youtube, where me and my evil twin performed a stripped back version of ‘Song for Noah from week 11.
On a less practical note this week’s been quiet but nice. I’ve been working on 3 or 4 songs that you’ll hear soon enough and talking to some exciting people about One Song A Week collaborations. I’m excited to report that Spandau Ballet, Bastille, Davey from The Crimea and Ed Tudor Pole (of Crystal Maze fame) are just a few of the folk entertaining the idea. Exciting times ahead…
Anyway, back to business…
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The Blurb:
Last week I wrote (and sang) about my nephew Noah. He’s 6 years old, his favourite colour is blue and he doesn’t understand why I have a massive problem with his claims to support Chelsea FC.**
For the next 10 (possibly even 16) years he’s been given a full time job: ‘To learn and have fun’.
Most days will be similar:
– Breakfast
– School
– Activity / Play time
– Dinner
– Play time
– Bed
– Dream
Job perks include a rent-free room in a house with a garden, two chauffeurs and a family cat. There’s also the option to obtain items (such as Nerf Guns and Lego Star Wars figures) through careful, strategic negotiation – although this is something that the chauffeurs seem to have a problem with. Surely they should just keep driving and stop getting involved?!
The best thing about all of this is that Noah doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. He doesn’t know he’s been given such an important job (or that he’s already doing such a good job). He doesn’t even know he knows half of the things he already knows (confusing, but true). He’s just plodding along with life – having the time of his life.
Maybe I should tell him what’s really going on here? When I think back to my childhood part of me wishes I’d known how important the film was while I was still in the cinema – I might have paid more attention.
The fact is I could never tell him – and even if I did he wouldn’t understand. Ignorance being bliss has never made so much sense and I don’t think I’d have enjoyed the film half as much with that sort of knowledge on board. Besides, it’s not like I paid for my ticket!
** I’ll give him another year or so before I break his legs and wrap them in a United scarf. Think on, Noah.
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Favourite Lyric:
“Do you remember school?
All the things we used to do just to make ourselves look cooler
Do you remember when
We weren’t old enough to listen and too young to understand”
Instead of talking about this weeks favourite lyric I’d like to ask you all a question. What did YOU do in your youth to make yourself ‘look cooler’? I’ll start…
When I was 13 I decided my hair wasn’t ‘tick’ enough so I bought some Sun-In from Boots (on the advice of a Scottish kid called Marcus) and applied it on the bus home from Cambridge. Unfortunately my ambitions of becoming part of the ‘bench crew’ (see week 4) took a serious nosedive when it went orange. Never again.
#onesongaweek 
I don’t think I ever felt the need to look cooler, it was all about being in the wierd-group for me and mocking the ‘cool’ people. That was always fun, they were easily out-smarted.
Nice theme dude 🙂
When I was around 13 flared trousers were back on the agenda…kids all around me were wearing them and regular boasts about how many inches they had made me sick with envy. I thought they looked absolutely shit but my mojo was taking a hiding and so I hinted contstantly to my parents (I couldn’t bring myself to ask them outright for a pair of flares, my old man would have been disgusted in me).
One day I returned from another long envious day at school to find my mum in the kitchen and there on the table was a bag from Whatshop. It was a moment of mixed emotions….I knew inside that purple bag was a pair of flares, I was excited! But I was also pretty gutted that she had bought them from the one shop in town that had a reputation at our school of condeming many a kids life to one of regular taunts of ‘what shop did your mum buy them in?’.
Anyway, it was what it was and I decided that I could probably get away with lying and saying they were from Burtons so I grabbed the bag and ran upstairs to try on my new fanny magnets….I was always a skinny little kid always wore a pair of tracksuit bottoms under my trousers with the deluded idea that this wud make me look buff..but when I tried the flares on, they were about 5 inches too short! Dilema indeed!!
Either I sacked the idea of wearing them and continued to feel socialy inadequate or I wore them and pulled them half way down my arse so not to see the bottom of my tracky bottoms (not wearing those was not an option).
I decideed to take the plunge. The next morning I put on my new flares and off I walked to school…as I aproached the gates my worst nightmare awaited me. A hord of the best looking girls in our school were stood there and it only took one of them to laugh and within a few seconds I was being howled at by the lot of them…mortified, I turned and ran back across the road and was hit by a car breaking my arm and left leg.
Laying there on the road, it seemed like the whole school and their mums were standing over me. I couldn’t have given a shit about my injuries, I actually wished I’d suddenly be sucked out of my body by angels but it wasn’t to be….it was perhaps the worst decision I’d ever had to make and I’d got it horribly wrong.
I learned my lesson. Be carefull what you wish for! I’ve never followed a trend since!!
Another a wonderful song Frank…
Another briliant song Frank – love it!!
I’m actually wondering if you will ever write a song I don’t like!
Also loving Al’s story about the flares – feeling your pain!!
Karen x