Longing for the day ...: Songs Archives

Category: Songs

November 6, 2019

12 Good Bars and True - Rewrite and feedback

OK, so this is great but a little confusing. As discused, I re-wrote 12 Good Bars and True and re-mixed it using a different DAW and a new understanding of sound production. Sent this version to NSAI for feedback: I... More

Posted by Hughie at 5:19 PM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2018

Forever Mine - Vital Signs rewrite

Submitting Forever Mine to the NSAI for feedback made me realise how out of date some of my song posts are. I almost never play these songs now as they are reported on this site. So, since it's the most... More

Posted by Huge at 1:14 PM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2018

Donnie's Black Dog - the full story

I was mowing my parents' lawn last week ... in the Queensland heat and humidity ... when a flash of inspiration popped into my head. Now, my head usually reverts to playing music when the rest of me is doing... More

Posted by Huge at 4:07 PM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2016

Dad Joke Blues

Last weekend the family went up to the farm. We had a stack of fun patting Dopey the steer and generally chilling, and in a moment of intense craziness we came up with a future project idea: the Huge Family... More

Posted by Huge at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2014

Budget Crisis

As readers of this blog will know, I have some fairly clear and strong political leanings. I've never been a member of any party but I know what I think is a good way to run the country: full equality... More

Posted by Huge at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2014

I'm wearing my breakfast

Many years ago, when my kids were babies, I wrote this silly ditty for my son, Edward, who was looking very proud of himself for finishing his breakfast - except that he was wearing a lot of it. I used... More

Posted by Huge at 2:31 PM | Comments (0)

December 5, 2012

Whiskey and History

In recent years I've spent many nights contemplating my life and future by the fire in my back yard. This has been an important part of my recovery from my divorce and associated trauma, and has all too frequently been... More

Posted by Huge at 4:44 PM | Comments (0)

October 5, 2012

Red Hot

I have always loved what John Butler does. I'm not a big fan of his songs as a general rule, but some of them are awesome and his playing is always incredible. Ditto Keith Urban, so when I saw their... More

Posted by Huge at 3:49 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2011

You Gotta Dance

I generally try to keep my family out of this blog but this was a bit special. Some time ago my 9-year-old daughter, who's been trying everything get my attention post-divorce (how does a 40-year-old man relate to a 9-year-old... More

Posted by Hughie at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2010

She Don't Want Your Love

I have a friend about whom I care for very deeply. This friend held my life together after the end of my marriage. She turned up on my door every morning and listened to my drivel. She took me for... More

Posted by Huge at 2:21 PM | Comments (3)

December 14, 2007

Be Free

I've had this acoustic guitar-runny lick bit in my head for quite some time and was having a nap one afternoon after playing with it, wondering where it might lead, when this idea popped into my head, which I immediately... More

Posted by Huge at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

October 8, 2007

Vital Signs

This song came to me in two separate parts. The chorus woke me up about 2am one morning while I was enjoying a cuddle with my beloved wife and I starting thinking about how lucky I am to be in... More

Posted by Huge at 10:29 AM | Comments (1)

August 17, 2007

When It's Over

This song is testimony to how hard it is to occupy two headspaces at once. For the past two weeks I have been trying to write a theory paper for my PhD, which is quite complex and difficult to get... More

Posted by Huge at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

June 1, 2007

Astral Traveller

Another of the riffs Tristan came up with turned into this funky number. It's a bit of a nonsense song, really. At the time I wrote (most of) the lyrics I was interested in what my darling and I called... More

Posted by Huge at 3:56 PM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2007

Dirty

Several years ago (~1995) I was in an unsuccessful 3-piece band called 'Lifta". The band came and went nowhere but the guitarist, Tristan Rogers, had a real flair for making up interesting guitar riffs. Tristan is the brother of Adam,... More

Posted by Huge at 3:53 PM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2007

So Far Away

In about 1993 I broke up with a girlfriend of 3 years: Erin. I found this profoundly upsetting but ultimately life-changing as it pulled me out of a rut and got me looking to the rest of my life. Just... More

Posted by Huge at 3:58 PM | Comments (0)

January 26, 2007

12 Good Bars and True

Just yesterday I was listening to ZZTop and thinking about how over-complicated music can get - as opposed to their predominantly simple but effective take on it. Today I am going down to the local club to jam with the... More

Posted by Huge at 9:53 AM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2006

Lullabye

I started writing this in Alameida, CA (USA) in 1994 when I learned of the creation of my first son. This was a truly moving experience and an unusually emotional time for me. I got to put my own desires... More

Posted by Huge at 2:45 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2006

Raindrops (What will be and what is ...)

I wrote this one years ago during a storm. I was sitting on my parents' mountainside front verandah watching it steam in from the coast and thinking about all the little things and little people that get lost among the... More

Posted by Hughie at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

June 1, 2006

Long for the Day (take 2)

Re-wrote this one after getting some songwriting advice from Jimmy Webb and Sammy Cahn. The original version is here. Also re-recorded it (MP3, 3MB - streaming version here) for a presentation to QUT. I think it's better but still has... More

Posted by Huge at 11:33 AM | Comments (1)

February 9, 2006

Mighty Fine Day

I wrote this one last week and arranged it in a day. Took a bit longer to perform it to demo standard, though. There's an MP3 version here (3.2MB) or streaming here. The studio bootleg version can be streamed here... More

Posted by Huge at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2005

Heart's With You (Irish version)

This is a rewrite of the song of the same name posted earlier. When Bun' Ber E recorded Unplugged, I wanted to include an original just to see how it would go. Thought occurred to me that this sentiment would... More

Posted by Huge at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2005

State Against State

As heard on Triple M's The Cage!: Click here to download (MP3, 2MB) or here to stream. As you might have figured out, I'm a huge Rugby League fan. Grew up with it, dad coached it, used to play it,... More

Posted by Huge at 10:17 AM | Comments (1)

March 16, 2005

Cry to Heaven

Several years ago I was in a band with a guy called Adam Rogers, with whom I also shared a day job. The band never went anywhere for a number of reasons, but one of the highlights was that we... More

Posted by Huge at 12:01 PM | Comments (2)

May 29, 2004

Simplicity

This one took a couple of years to write. It started out as a little guitar lick one night of deep drunken depression when I was living with my brother in a crumbling house in Cadell St, Toowong - not... More

Posted by Huge at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2004

Dancing with the Stones

This one was written by my good mate Mark Gillett, with whom I used to work at Maroochydore DSS office (now Centrelink). Not sure what inspired it but it rocks. I played it (on drums) with The Hinterland Band in... More

Posted by Huge at 9:37 PM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2004

Heart's with you (Hillbilly Lovesong)

This is a silly song that was inspired by my good mate Phil Graham. When returned in 2002 from walking the Kokoda Trail, I mentioned to Phil (by e-mail) the mountains I had climbed and complained that I had sore... More

Posted by Huge at 9:42 PM | Comments (2)

January 1, 2004

I Long for the Day

I started writing this for a bet in 1996. At the time I'd just had *another* band fall apart through no fault of mine and had move in with my then-girlfriend (now wife), Angie, quit my comfortable public service job and gone back to Uni to study journalism. More

Posted by Hughie at 10:31 AM | Comments (1)