SONGS
Although I play the flute and sing a bit, I'm not really a composer. I am a lyricist, though, and these are a few of the songs I've co-written with my musician husband Alasdair, and recorded under the name Species 8472. My inspiration tends to be the savagery of the natural world and the way it relates to the wild weather inside our heads. You can hear some of these songs here.
Want to see more of my writing? Check out my Substack On The Edge with Clare O'Brien and subscribe for free!
The Snowglobe
You walked through the wastes where the hills were shrouded
Singing the song of snow
Wrapped in your furs and horizons clouded
Watching the crystals grow
Out of your throat flew a wind of hoarfrost
Blanketing earth to sleep
Only the night knew your way was longlost
Shivering flesh too deep
Shake the snowglobe
Breathing in
Let forgetful snows begin.
I moved through the snow like a great fish swimming
Naked I came to you
Under the mountain I’d heard you singing
Something breaking through
I picked up the wind and the snow fell slowly
Melting on my skin
You fell from your furs and the day was only
Waiting to begin
Shake the snowglobe
Breathing in
Let forgetful snows begin.
There in the light as the sun grew higher
Snow began to thaw
Lit up your skin with its own wild fire
Watch the fire roar…. [repeat]
Let the rain in
Feel the sun
Watch the snowglobe come undone
Scarburst
My elbow broken
The big blown oak tree watching
The rope keeps turning
The greenstick bending in the wind
That fierce unfolding
The spring too early for you
The frost descending
The flower blasted in the bud
A hard-headed little virus
Bores through the bandage round my heart
With eyes wide open
He must not see me hiding here
This light could kill me
A spark could set my skin on fire
A crack in the air
It slides in sideways
A crack in the air
It has a tail of fire
And fury’s silent
She has no words to show you
Cut out her tongue then
The thing she swallowed feeds on you
A Lost Boy
Hard to find
He plays inside
Circles in her mind
Little boy
Roams the rooms
She’s just left behind
He’s alone
Whispering
She wonders what he said
In her mouth
Melting words
Find his floating bed
Sleeping now
His dream recalls
Things she never saw
Through her eyes
Weeping skies
Steer him back to shore
No Robbery
Twisting on his eager tongue like barley sugar flame
She gulps the vivid air and then she holds her breath again
Waiting in his silent mouth for just a little while
The lies she learns to undertake set fire to his smile
He lights her like a beacon and he slides into the dark
He doesn’t know what words he spoke to trap her in his heart
He doesn’t know what words he spoke to trap her in his heart
Want to see more of my writing? Check out my Substack On The Edge with Clare O'Brien and subscribe for free!
The Snowglobe
You walked through the wastes where the hills were shrouded
Singing the song of snow
Wrapped in your furs and horizons clouded
Watching the crystals grow
Out of your throat flew a wind of hoarfrost
Blanketing earth to sleep
Only the night knew your way was longlost
Shivering flesh too deep
Shake the snowglobe
Breathing in
Let forgetful snows begin.
I moved through the snow like a great fish swimming
Naked I came to you
Under the mountain I’d heard you singing
Something breaking through
I picked up the wind and the snow fell slowly
Melting on my skin
You fell from your furs and the day was only
Waiting to begin
Shake the snowglobe
Breathing in
Let forgetful snows begin.
There in the light as the sun grew higher
Snow began to thaw
Lit up your skin with its own wild fire
Watch the fire roar…. [repeat]
Let the rain in
Feel the sun
Watch the snowglobe come undone
Scarburst
My elbow broken
The big blown oak tree watching
The rope keeps turning
The greenstick bending in the wind
That fierce unfolding
The spring too early for you
The frost descending
The flower blasted in the bud
A hard-headed little virus
Bores through the bandage round my heart
With eyes wide open
He must not see me hiding here
This light could kill me
A spark could set my skin on fire
A crack in the air
It slides in sideways
A crack in the air
It has a tail of fire
And fury’s silent
She has no words to show you
Cut out her tongue then
The thing she swallowed feeds on you
A Lost Boy
Hard to find
He plays inside
Circles in her mind
Little boy
Roams the rooms
She’s just left behind
He’s alone
Whispering
She wonders what he said
In her mouth
Melting words
Find his floating bed
Sleeping now
His dream recalls
Things she never saw
Through her eyes
Weeping skies
Steer him back to shore
No Robbery
Twisting on his eager tongue like barley sugar flame
She gulps the vivid air and then she holds her breath again
Waiting in his silent mouth for just a little while
The lies she learns to undertake set fire to his smile
He lights her like a beacon and he slides into the dark
He doesn’t know what words he spoke to trap her in his heart
He doesn’t know what words he spoke to trap her in his heart