I thought I saw a woman when I was walking Up on Danebury Ring Her hair was the colour of the winter sun And I thought I heard her sing She could have been near or far away She could have been something I dreamed one day But if you go walking up on Danebury Ring Well you might just see her some day. I thought I heard a man by the gibbet at Combe On a dark November day His screams echoed out over Inkpen village As they took his life away They stretched his neck and they hung him high And they left him up on the hill to die And they gathered in the tavern for a measure of ale And they raised their glasses high (I met an) old Buddhist monk with pale green eyes It was up on Glastonbury Tor The sun was rising over the Somerset Levels He muttered he'd seen me before He asked me my name and told me his was the same And he told me it was all a celestial game So if you go walking up on Glastonbury Tor Your life may never be the same again I'm looking for the place where the ley lines cross Where the power of the land shines through Standing in the temple of the natural world With the mother earth holding you Bow down to the sun in the circle of stones And listen to the shaman as he rattles his bones The spells he casts are for those who have passed And the gods on their golden thrones ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2017

There are mountains there are rivers And some vistas give me shivers There are roads that lead to fascinating places There is morning there is night There is darkness there is light There are people with long forgotten faces You can see them standing there inside a darkened door Or sometimes they are standing in the sun Some of them will love you and some won't anymore They remember everything you've done There is sobriety or sedation Ruination or salvation You can choose the road you walk upon qute nicely There is safety there is danger There's a world that's getting stranger But you try to plan your future quite precisely You can follow in footsteps or just strike out on your own Anyway you choose is fine with me There's a place that I go to with a strong foundation stone One day the stone will set me free Instr There are oceans full of plastic waste Politicians are all two faced They talk the talk but they walk away from action The news has gone to shit I've given up listening to it I'm gagging on the stink of lies and corruption But I don't worry 'bout all the things - that I can't control I know it'll only bring me down Now is not the time for me to lose contact with my soul Now is the time to wear my crown ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

Hello once again I recognise you Your beautiful face tells the story of my life And I will not try To bind you in chains You are my love and thank God you are my wife And I saw a daffodil – dancing in the breeze She smiled in my direction From her home beneath the trees So many roads With so many turns When we were apart we would still walk side by side But we made it thru And focused on love And tried to forget all the tears we both have cried And I heard a falcon – crying in the sky Like Mother nature gives us dreams That one day we too shall fly You are my Sweet Jane And you're my Peggy Sue And you're my Mustang Sally I love you So hello once again I know who you are When I'm in the darkness you're my sunshine dividend And here we are now Together for good Now only death can bring the story to an end And I smelled the incense – at the temple door And I saw the goddess You're the one that I adore ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

I used to live in the city But I was way too young for that kind of life Hanging out where life is just nitty gritty Always getting myself in some kind of strife I was right on the edge of existence I met a sweet young boy by the name of Jasper I was sick, he took me in with no strings attached He turned tricks for a living down on the 'dilly Five tricks a day was what he got on his patch Well Jasper was lost but I guess I still knew my way home Street people always looking for that one big score They play the game in shadows always wanting more Out of my head on mandies and I'm dancing with a Greek Street whore Berwick Street market on a wet Monday morning Drinking coffee and dozing in a street cafe Jasper and all his mates speaking in Polari That's the secret language of the secretly gay We were all coming down and waiting for the shadows to fall Someone took me in a taxi to a club in Kilburn I don't remember 'cos I was too far gone They fed me so many pills until they damn near killed me And then they dumped me in a room upstairs and they just moved on I was just eighteen and lucky to be alive Street people always looking for that one big score They play the game in shadows always wanting more I've taken too many mandies now I'm dancing with a Greek Street whore We had no money so we broke into the electric meter Then we went riding on a stolen motorbike We got busted by the cops out near Heathrow Airport They wouldn't race they were most unsportsmanlike A night in the cells and then up before the magistrate Judge asked me if I knew that I had broken the law Yes your honour I replied and I'm filled with remorse He told me I should pay a fine and get out of the city And a two year period of probation would be enforced I pleaded guilty 'cos they had me bang to rights Street people like me always looking for that one big score I played the game in shadows always wanted something more I left the city behind and said goodbye to my Greek Street whore ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

I don't wanna wake up in the morning And find you lingering inside I couldn't lock the door To stop you comin' in And now I've had to take it on the chin There was never any kind of invitation You came right in and made yourself at home I didn't spot the signs but then you showed your face And now I'm in a different kind of place The only thing that's real is this moment This moment brings creation to our eyes Yesterday seems real - but only in your mind And tomorrow is a place you'll never find The day we met might have spelled disaster You were hard to read - I couldn't see your face But you seemed pretty cool And didn't tell me no lies You laid it out from behind your bland disguise One thing you taught me was surrender I wasn't even looking for to be taught I was naked and cold Shivering and afraid But then I saw your smile reflected in the blade The only thing that's real is this moment This moment brings creation to our eyes Yesterday seems real - but only in your mind And tomorrow is a place you'll never find Nature raises many more questions than answers Why do some people live and why do some people die Is it just an accident or divine destiny Well it all seems pretty random to me Getting old brings some existential awareness I've always thought that I was never gonna die So I wave to the future Like I wave to the past And I count my blessings before this moment's passed. The only thing that's real is this moment This moment brings creation to our eyes Yesterday seems real - but only in your mind And tomorrow is a place you'll never find ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2022

When I go, I am not alone You never leave me on my own And all you seem to do is follow It's kinda hard to shake you off 'Cos every time I sneeze or cough It's just more pain for me to swallow I know I'm lucky and I'm blessed I wear the scars upon my chest But now my heart feels kind of hollow Writing down dreams in the night Pulse is throbbing like a drum I'm lying there trying to keep the breath in my lungs The darkness magnifies pain Just give me some morphine again Passing the hours until daylight comes On Juhu beach we sat one day You were quite still nothing to say I tried to tune to your vibration I never really knew your name I don't know where to pin the blame On you, or on your grand foundation I tried to contact you that night You couldn't bring me to the light You never heard my supplication Chorus When flesh and blood are running low I hold out for my inner glow To keep the shadows from the road ahead And she did cut and then repair And left me gasping for more air But now I sleep more soundly in my bed ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2022

I never knew that the pistol was loaded I swear it never even went through my mind Until the moment it fired and exploded With a flash - that struck me quite blind, my friends A flash that struck me quite blind I looked down and I saw you staring With fear and shock in your eyes I lost my way and all of my bearings I was sick and so horrified, my friends Sick and so horrified My mind it span and it tumbled When I saw the blood flood through your shirt I heard the sound of my own heart breaking - apart And then the strangers they came to surround me And they took the gun from my hand They were trying to humiliate me And they pushed me down onto the ground, my friends They pushed me down onto the ground They said that they knew I was guilty Of murder in the first degree My nightmares were not dreams in sleeping They were truly my reality, my friends Truly my reality My mind it span and it tumbled When I saw the blood flood through your shirt I heard the sound of my own heart breaking - apart Well they're saying that the killing was murder But Lord they just don't understand That I had no motive to shoot you My brother, my friend and right-hand, my friends My brother, my friend and right-hand So now I'm sat all alone in the jail house In a cell, up on death row I got a date to keep with the hangman And the Devil is sure to show, my friends The Devil will surely show. ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

There was an old love song from a thousand years ago But I can't recall the title of the song Memories will crumble into dust and fade away And it doesn't really matter if they're right or they are wrong Some say that time is of the essence Others say that time waits for no man The poet said, time that old impostor Time is time define it if you can When you stand upon the sea-shore and there comes a sailing ship Bounding westward before a following sea Mains'l bloated and swollen with a belly full of wind Then her wash comes ashore like a fleeing refugee When you stand upon the summit of a mountain you have climbed And the view is there and it takes your breath away Does it make you feel like God up on your cold and lonely peak Or does God feel just like you - well who can possibly say? Some say that time is of the essence Others say that time waits for no man The poet said, time that old impostor Time is time define it if you can When you're sitting by a river and you watch it rolling by It's like a stream of thoughts that never seems to cease A single silent flower you cast, can take your thoughts away And your angry cluttered mind will find quietude and peace Well the rainbow bridge is closer now with every passing day But the distance isn't measured in country miles I can wait till you get here brother, but take your own sweet time Y'know I reckon I can hang out here and wait a little while Some say that time is of the essence Others say that time waits for no man The poet said, time that old impostor Time is time define it if you can ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

Won't you come riding - In the desert with me Saddle up at sunrise under the Jacaranda tree Beautiful desert oasis – sparkling in the sun Pretty little Afghan pony – she don't want to run But she lets me sit up on her back, and we smoke a little pipe Sun hot on my shoulder and the guavas are ripe Snowpeaks in the distance – float like clouds in the sky The dusty hills of Bamian - sweat running in my eye Laughing with the chai shop boys, Buddha - taller than the land The lake is like a giant turquoise - jewel in the sand “More chai Sahib?” asks Ahmed - and we smoke another pipe Universal laughter - and the guavas are juicy and ripe My heart has been breaking for Ahmed and his kin The giant Buddhas of Bamian broken by ignorance and sin From the snow-peaks of the Hindu Kush to the orchards of Kandahar Those people suffering destruction, visited on them from afar. Well I wish I could go back one day and smoke just one more little pipe 'Cos people are just people - and the guavas will still be ripe ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

When will you tell me that everything's new When will the light within come into view When will the past and the future align When will the present carry a sign When will I find the words there on my tongue When will the world hear the songs that we've sung When will the darkness turn into light When will the wrongs of this world become right When will you enter my field of view When will you see just how much I love you When will the gods of the universe show When will they tell me it's my time to go And questions arise whilst answers decline As you live your life and I live mine One day we will fly in the clear blue sky And watch all the answers go sailing by When will duality turn into one When will my wisdom be more than homespun When will our suffering be overcome When will I see you sucking your thumb When will these memories blister and burn When will the poets and artists return When will our poverty turn into wealth When will this sickness turn into health When will I understand what I don't know When will I ride the celestial rainbow When will my spirit expand into space When will my soul be touched by your grace ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

I took the express train out of - New Delhi station Riding second-class towards that big ol' rising sun Sixteen hours thru' day and night to reach my destination I always had the feeling - I was going to meet someone Couplings snap, we start to move – locomotive hissing steam Suburban slums, men squat in fields – shitting in the dawning light My fellow travellers - looked tired with gloomy faces But when I make eye contact they were always smiling bright This was my happy place – my heart and my soul This is my karma I'll be bound At the end of my days When the story's long been told I will lay me down on holy ground Drinking chai - and smoking by - the river in Varanasi Soaking up the atmosphere – from four thousand years I smell the scent of sandalwood – drifting in the morning breeze I hear a voice behind me that's familiar to my ears And there you stand – just as tall as I remember Same old faded shirt – all that hair still piled up high But something in your eyes told me this was just an illusion You were there but suddenly I was saying goodbye This is my India – my heart and my soul - This is my karma I'll be bound At the end of my days - when the story's long been told - I will lay me down on holy ground I guess I'll never track you down Unless you turn up unannounced at my door You vanished into the distance on a road I don't know But I've ridden that road before My mother was gentle, she was wise and fierce and cosmic She took me into her heart and she put her mark on me She gave me a friend like you – blazing briefly through my sky And I love her still, if you were here with me, I think you would agree This is my happy place - my heart and my soul - This is my karma I'll be bound At the end of my days - When the story's long been told - I will lay me down on holy ground I guess I'll never track you down Unless you turn up unannounced at my door You vanished into the distance on a road I don't know But I've ridden that road before ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2021

I have travelled here and there Grass could turn out greener elsewhere I left my home behind Looking for some peace of mind Break these chains that have confined And left me flying blind I followed signs up on a wall This could be my next port of call The river sliding by The bloody sunrise in my eye See the pilgrims passing by They bow down to the sky I walked beside you in the sun We were looking for that sense of being one On the banks of the river Something inside me shivered Breathing out breathing in Oh dear Lord let me in I loved the freedom of the road Senses all on overload I found a friend in you You appeared right on cue And every day our friendship grew You showed me something new Climbing hills beneath the stars Strumming borrowed cheap guitars My sorrow disappeared There was nothing that we feared The wise man with the silken beard Was one that we revered I walked beside you in the sun We were looking for that sense of being one On the banks of the sacred river Something inside me shivered Breathing out breathing in Oh dear Lord let me in ©GrahamShankarjiMusic

Did you ever start a journey from what was your destination? Did you think that you were leaving but in fact you had returned? I was following you blindly, but then I saw you far behind me So I turned to walk towards you but you vanished in thin air When the northern winds of winter make your skin lose all sensation And you’re travelling a path you think is heading t'ward the light Did you think that you were seeking for some kind of understanding? But you realised that knowledge is just one more thing that dies There’s an ocean in my way - just a stretch of open water And I’m learning how to pray - beneath this crescent moon Well I look to the horizon - but my eyes are searching farther In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune Well the words we write on love don't often capture our emotions When the written page is open and yet hidden in our hearts Will the distances between us give us all a deep perspective Or will painful separation be impossible to bear A spark it crackles brightly inside every pair of eyes Sacred intuition that's so hard to realise In the early hours of morning with the silence of the sun Broken only by the songbird and the throbbing of the drum There’s an ocean in my way - just a stretch of open water And I’m learning how to pray - beneath this crescent moon Well I look to the horizon - but my eyes are searching farther In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune Temporary pleasure will fail you once again It isn't all that different from the temporary pain Temporary pleasure when it courses through your vein The pleasure's just as fleeting as the temporary pain Instrumental I once listened to a wise man speak about the nature of illusion I think I understood him when he told me this was it We all search for meaning but the search is just a distraction This moment is the moment - each one perfect as it comes There’s an ocean in my way - just a stretch of open water And I’m learning how to pray - beneath this crescent moon Well I look to the horizon - but my eyes are searching farther In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune In the distance lit by starlight - we are dancing to this tune ©GrahamShankarjiMusic 2019