Are you the master of your mind?

Recorded in Agropoli with Francesco Citera on accordion. The song is about how most of us put all our efforts into controlling the outer world, while inside we go to pieces. Devote a little time to listening to the crazy voice in your head every day, and then sometimes you can get away without doing what it says. Link to lyrics

We flatter those we scarcely know

A song inspired by the poem Life's Scars by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Recorded in Agropoli with the most excellent Francesco Citera on accordion. Lyrics

All the time - w/Francesco Citera

I'm very honoured to be able to be able to play with musicians like Francesco Citera. He's completely at one with his instrument. We only have to play through the songs once and he's got it. A real virtuoso. He doesn't have a website - he's too busy playing - but search for him on Youtube and be blown away.
Lyrics

You are not the voice in your head

I'm a big fan of Eckhart Tolle. He's an inspiration for the modern age. A new prophet. The main thing to know is the voice in your head is just a program that gives answers, suggestions and ideas based on your experiences. Your actual consciousness, who you really are, is much deeper. We're actually sleep-walking through the day.

It's not dark yet

A classic track by one of the greatest artists of our times, Mr Bob Dylan. This is sung on the terrace of my girlfriend's Uncle's Hotel in Agropoli, watching the sun go down. Filmed by Francis Cassidy, the Stray Photographer.

Satellite of love

I used to live across from Bar Sciue Sciue in Agropoli and Alessandro, the owner, is a real character. I got behind the bar last week to sing him a song and cheer him up.

Bit of a Buddha

My consciousness fades in and out. Sometimes I've got a widescreen sense, the next moment I'm staring at the ground while I walk mumbling to myself. It's sad. But knowing you're crazy is half the battle. Right!?

Toyboy

A cover of an old Jack Stafford song. He's one of my favourite artists. If not the favourite.

Society

I had always thought that Eddie Vedder wrote this song - a classic for modern times about our obsession with the material world, with poignant lyrics and a haunting melody - but it turns out it was written by guy called Jerry Hannan. I only found out when I covered it and credited it to Vedder, only to be corrected by my fans. I don't know how he and Eddie crossed paths, but Vedder made it famous when he covered it for the soundtrack for the film Into the wild.

Here's Hannan's version below... I think they use the same backing track. Strange.

ADD

I stayed with a crazy American family on tour while on tour in San Diego in 2006 and their child was out of control. They said he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and the song was originally called Parental Deficiency Disorder.

Thanks to everyone at Bakery Art in Agropoli for letting us film there.

Go there for some great cakes! Bakery Art, Via Giuseppe Mazzini, 21, 84043 Agropoli Salerno, Italia

VERSE 1
G D C G
I hear you've got a kid, wild and free
Em C D G
And you don't know, what it could be

He's wrecking your house, destroying your home
Can't be left for two minutes alone

Just when you're on the edge of insanity
You discover the term ADD

Now you can give him plenty of treats
Chocolate, cookies, crisps and sweets
Drive him to school, never walk anywhere
Don't let him play outside
When he's hyper with pent-up energy
Get him tested for ADD

Make all his food tasty and colorful
Sugary drinks and ice cream by the tub-full
Everything's processed, nothing's fresh
Minimal vegetable, plenty of flesh
Then when he's at Grandma's and won't sit down for tea
Blame it on the ADD

Let him stay up late every night
Get up in the morning whenever he likes
Indulge his rugged rebellious streak
Give him a new toy every week
When people say he's spoilt
Whisper to friends that it's ADD

MIDDLE
C
Fill him with fear of the stranger danger
The candymen that don't need the dark
Keep him off the streets he could get by a car
And away from the syringes in the park
Give him all the freedom in the world, as long as he's inside

VERSE 2
Let him spend days in combat game sessions
Sign him up for karate lessons
Build up his collection of ninja toys
Stick him in daycare with bigger boys
Then when he makes his sister bleed
Spank him for his ADD

Keep him quiet with animation
If he's causes ttouble he goes in isolation
Don't bother to plead to get him to read
Talk to the kid like a kid
When he can't master his ABC
It's another symptom of ADD

Give him 300 channels and a remote control
40 games for his portable console
20 cereals and 30 shoes
Kill his attention span and ability to choose
So if he doesn't win the spelling bee
He'll be able to say it's his ADD

Memorize the symptoms on Wikipedia
Spout all the stats you heard in the media
Blame the teachers and his education
Sedate him with Ritalin medication
While you at it get something for your anxiety
Float away together on ADD

When he's older and wiser and his life is a mess
Can't cope with working or get any success
He'll remember the snacks of his infancy
All the sugar you ate in pregnancy
When he accuses you of parental deficiency
Plead the 5th and ADD

Eindhoven

I lived in Eindhoven for 2 years. Happy memories. Strolling along the Stratumseind, singing in the old Effenaar, dancing in the now defunct Dans Salon. Formative years. It's not a beautiful place, but it is honest.

Fancy

I thought I should do some covers, not alway me me me. Here's a reinterpretation of pop's current No.1 song - the best selling or most viewed or however they count it these days... song in America.

The real world

I wrote this song the other morning while I was thinking whether to play the guitar or check my email. Early morning is the best time to write songs as there's a direct connection to the unconscious, and they just flow out.

Social media is one of societies modern ills. There's a lot to be said for unplugging oneself from the social online whirlwind. I think it's slowly destroying a lot of people's ability to concentrate, eroding their self-confidence and their happiness.

Please share.

5 years on

If I had an idol, then David Bowie would be up there. His songwriting is very special and I love his song '5 years' in particular. It describes the day that people find out the world is ending... why we're not sure, but what we do know is that there are 5 years left. I took up the narrative with this song, 5 years on, which describes the events on the day that the world actually ends. Lyrics

Sorrow's never far away (A winter in Perdifumo)

When I came back to Italy with Maria after 8 months travelling Australasia with her it was a bit like being in a movie. We moved straight in with her family. I didn't speak the language. We were living in the countryside. She went out to work all day with her father and I stayed at home with her mother and grandmother. Looking back on it it was not a sensible idea. Especially when the winter came along. Then it turned into a true tragedy when her father got leukemia and was sick for a year before succumbing. Sorrow was never far away at that time. Lyrics

Nepal and India

Kathmandu was a trash can. The air was so dirty I could hardly breathe. I spent a week there and that was enough. After that I was in India for a month again. Now I'm back in