We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Philosophical

by Andy Roberts

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £6.75 GBP  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 12 Andy Roberts releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Roll On The Day, Boulevard Days, The Rowan Tree, Unnailed! - The Last Nail, solo acoustic, Sleep, Century - (Tapes Vol 3.), Puddles (Tapes vol 1.), Mazet (tapes vol 2), and 4 more. , and , .

    Excludes subscriber-only releases.

    Purchasable with gift card

      £19.17 GBP or more (40% OFF)

     

  • Standard Compact Disc
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    10 track CD comes in a transparent pouch with cover art and track listing, includes shipping by letter post and access to full 13 track digital download album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Philosophical via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
It's always hard getting ready just waiting for something to start it fires off a million nerve endings sends palpitations to the heart It's easier to just stay at home never taking that first scary step Sealed inside of your biosphere dome all stockpiled and hoarded and prep But you know it can't last forever, Not while they're running down the clock There's no getting away from the weather or the sign that says we're all out of stock So gather those things that you're never gonna need Go round and take one final check Then switch off the pilot light turn off the mains Lock the cabin and swab down the deck Oh deadlines are easy they keep passing by A date is just a number you can stretch Who gave us all the procrastinate gene Threw the stick where it's so hard to fetch Stop wondering, start your wandering Quit staying in late at night Go forth into the unknown my friend Stay away from the fireside bright
2.
Full moon rising, we know what that means A high high tide up over the shore And then a low low tide out across the bay with all the mudflats exposed even more Even more Full moon lights up the darkness outside You can walk those unlit roads. Pull down the blinds if you want to sleep at night Before the angles line up with your nose She knows Full moon can make some people feel uptight I don't know how that's meant to work But if you know someone who's up there on the moon You'd better try and help them back down to Earth Down to Earth Full moon shining it's always on the same side We used to think the other was dark I won't see you there I can't pretend No not even for a laugh For a laugh Laughing Full moon setting now the stars are shining brighter later we'll see the Milky way Stop walking the the streets pull up the blinds There's going to be another day Another day.
3.
Richard Long 05:23
His walk is his land art, my journey's a song I walk in the footsteps of Richard Long On the map it's a straight line no detours allowed Three days under blue skies until the first cloud Journey's a song I walk in the footsteps of Richard Long Over the landslip down into the chine Arranging the stones there into a long line Journey's a song I walk in the footsteps of Richard Long The path I walked last week has fallen into the sea At the bottom laid sideways that old holm oak tree All the way out into the unknown, All the way out and then all the way back home Through the emotions I cry as I laugh Toes in my old boots, hand on my stoic staff Journey's a song I walk in the footsteps of Richard Long He sits on the bank there, backpack and guitar Waits until sunset then steals away to sleep in the car All the way out into the unknown, All the way out and then all the way back home My back and my legs ache, both feet are the same Hard skin on my heels cracked but it's only pain. Journey's a song I walk in the footsteps of Richard Long
4.
Lyrics to Life Will Go On ( Under The Stone) - by Andy Roberts If there's life at the bottom of the deepest ocean Doesn't mean that's a great place to live You don't have to accept every single offer Push every grain of sand through the sieve Every story has four meanings Three of those don't matter at all Just because it all adds up to a number Doesn't mean you have to make that call You don't have to make that call Because life will go on Yes life will go on Life will go on under the stone. I'm just saying that sometimes it's better to leave the path untrod alone You don't have to go there just because you can. You could always walk away You can always walk away And life will go on Life will go on Life will go on under the unturned stone If we've been observed throughout the ages Must be a good reason why we don't know Maybe it's because they decided not to tell us We can't disturb them if we don't know where to go And life will go on Life will go on Life will go on under this stone. Under the stone.
5.
Have you had the upgrade that we're pushing through to you? Once you've had the upgrade there's nothing left to do. There's lots of new facilities that you can explore Things you won't imagine faster speeds and so much more Once you've had the upgrade. Have you had the upgrade putting you into the cloud Things you used to do before will no longer be allowed And once you've had the upgrade our drop out rate will fall That's why you can't go back again no you cannot uninstall Once you've had the upgrade Now you've had the upgrade you're completely up to date All those incompatibles for them it is too late And if the speeds you were promised have failed to do the trick It's just because your hardware is old next time we'll turn it all into a brick Once you've had the upgrade
6.
It only took one to make a stand Staying outside in the cold One by one they joined and made a crowd All together now young with the old We are the new humans Differently wired armed with the facts We are the new humans Everything's changed you've got to adapt They kept doubling down on the oil and gas When they knew it should have been left in the ground Now we all know it can't carry on We need to shut that system down We're gonna shut system down They kept throwing oil onto the killing fire They knew it should have been kept in the wells Didn't ask us if they could crash the world We don't need permission to rebel We are the new humans Straight to the point armed with the facts We are the new humans Everything's changed you've got to adapt We don't need permission Don't ask permission Don't need permission To rebel
7.
The schools are all out and the middle road's closed Shops are all shutting up early. If you really need to travel the advice is don't go We've just had a little bit of snow. The bus is still running just a little diverted Ferries tied up in the ports The postie the health visitor they'll struggle through We've just had a little bit of snow I'm dreaming of a white valentine I've downloaded plans to build an igloo With an ice block table and a crystalline window to look out on our litre patch of snow ( of it settles) So get out your sledge from the back of the shed Last seen about five years ago. And put on you crampons your ear muffs your axe We've just had a little bit of snow And we're fetching out all of our favourite phrases Whiteout and blizzard, deep freeze Snowpocalypse antarctic ice stormaggeddon It's just a little bit of snow I'm dreaming of a Wight valentine I've downloaded plans to build an igloo With an ice block table and a crystalline window to look out on our litre patch of snow I've just seen a car go by the first for some time With a little patch cleared on the windscreen I don't think that's legal but anything goes When we've just had a little bit of snow
8.
We went to the festival, didn't have a tent Crept into to the chateaux so glad that we went Another time in the deux chevaux we went all the way to the coast Stayed until Bastille Day to watch the fireworks and see who had the most Lurching round the corners, over the bumpiest courses Fold up the windows and don't spare the horses, Don't spare the two horses. Camping up on the clifftop with mussels and bread from the town BBQd on a wood fire with five litres of red to wash it down Take the empty bottles in and get your deposit back That's enough for another three and so it goes on all down the track We lived in the city then and Jean-pierre would call round Pick us up in his 2cv and drive on out right out of town And if the engine let us down we'd pull over to the side of the road Jean Pierre could always fix it up and we'd pile back in and off we'd go Lurching round the corners, over the bumpiest courses Fold up the windows and don't spare the horses, Don't spare the two horses Oh I remember Port-en-Bessin after half a century I saw a painting in a museum Place has a special memory
9.
Seek out those secret places Far from the maddening crowds Arrive in good time before the deluge Got any questions? Don't say them out loud. Make the most of these quiet times Don't know how long they will last Sitting in the corner, away from the speakers If it kicks off, get out of there fast We won't assemble, under the cymbals Not too much treble or bass You might think that the voice should be louder That's almost never the case Nah naddie naddi nah di diddy diddy di so etc There's a valley in the woodlands You won't find it this way Once a fortnight, silence is broken By the engines on racing day Checkout those cherished moments Outside of occupied time keep it quiet, don't tell anybody I won't be letting on mine We won't assemble, under the cymbals Not too much treble or bass You might think that the voice should be louder That's almost never the case Nah naddie naddi nah di diddy diddy di so etc
10.
Shape 03:36
Matter is material until you consider the energy that holds it together Study the synergy of time, time and direction, without protection Take away the consistency of your persistent identity All you have left, all that remains is just the shape Oh but shape has the power to sail into wind Or as good as And shape has the power to cut through solid rock In a whirlpool of time, And a gravity of meaning, predicting the pattern So follow the contours, and make good Get into the shape. A cork floating on the sea will always describe a circle As each wave goes by. That travels great distance, all the way across the ocean, But no water has moved Until it crashes on the shoreline, ending the journey The life and the death The birth and the story All that is left, all that remains is just the shape.
11.
Change Is 07:12
It was the hottest summer for fifteen years I took myself down to the sea. To feel the breezes and the fresh country air Wide skies, open and free. Wide open to see There's a mist in the morning then warm summer sunshine Lights the green hillside with minerals and spray And the smells of the sea cliffs go right back to a memory From a deep-seated childhood salt bracken and gorse Then the wispy grey clouds crept over above I felt the first drops of rain on my skin Showers becoming frequent and set in for the day Oh where has my summer sunshine gone, where's my summer gone Where has my summer sunshine gone, where's my summer gone Climate is better it suits my clothes I could never be bored Then the temperature's dropped and the dark clouds arrived The heavens opened it rained and it poured And it rained and it rained and it poured. Change is a constant it's not predictable You know when it starts but never how long Prepare for possibilities, they never happen. The only thing to do is to keep on keeping on. Caught out in the open in my summer attire I took shelter in a small wooden hut And the rain belted down on the roof and the walls I pulled the windows and doors tightly shut Windows and doors tightly shut Waiting in the summerhouse for the skies to clear The rain eased, then strengthened again So I settled down to endure the duration Stranded in the summer house in the rain I'm stranded again. For fear of rain later we set off mid morning To watch for the seabirds and to follow the coast And at every small summit the path beckoned us further around every headland until we reached the next town And the heather on the scree slope makes abundant good hunting For the kestrels that hover then swoop to the ground There's a post with an arrow, where it's pointing is impossible But we wind our way round until we reach the next town Change is a constant it's not predictable You know when it starts but never how long Prepare for possibilities, they never happen. The only thing to do is to keep on keeping on.

about

This new "Philosophical" album is simply the biggest and most significant single piece of art I have ever created. It's the culmination of at least EIGHTEEN MONTHS work: planning, preparation execution and refinement. The lyrics were mostly written in February 2019 in a series of planned day trips around the Isle of Wight and just over the other side in Lymington. Sometimes on foot, by car, bus and ferry. Occasionally with good company but often alone. I put them away to mature then got them out and composed the music later. A slower process which occupied much mostly during October 2019 but stretched over into February when the demo recordings were completed.

The songs were performed live at Quay Arts, Newport in March 2020 just before everything closed for the 2020 Lockdown. That was a good gig, I wonder if you were there?

So I was just about to collaborate on studio production when that became impossible for the forseeable future and therefore these 10 tracks have been very carefully recorded and mixed according to the new 'Quarantined" aesthetic by myself working alone at the Orchard Attic studios during April 2020. I've learned tons and I hope you will be as pleased with the results as I am.

The ten pieces are all strong compositions but some (about 6) need a tiny bit more work where I feel I may be able to get a slightly better performance or sound setup so the pre-release comes with 4 tracks and a bonus song ready to stream or download now, with the final 6 becoming available to anybody who has already bought the album once the release date occurs. This is set to be May 31st but could come sooner. That will then finalise the work for a physical CD version which will go out at £10 (or +£3 if you've already bought the digital copy.)

The principle here is that you should never need to buy the same music twice just because it's in a different format. Normally this would be done by giving away free access to the streaming and downloads with the purchase of a CD, but in these times of no real live gigs at all, no record shops and no street busking it is obviously necessary to put the downloads out first.

credits

released May 31, 2020

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Andy Roberts England, UK

Original and unique songs through the decades
in the classic
"contemporary folk" solo acoustic
singer songwriter style.

Influences: Roy Harper, Mike Chapman, Loudon Wainwright, Beefheart
... more

contact / help

Contact Andy Roberts

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Andy Roberts recommends:

If you like Andy Roberts, you may also like: