Greg Harper

To celebrate Earth Day on 22nd April, Greg has released a live performance video of Gossamer Wings, filmed last autumn at Purbeck Folk Club, whilst being accompanied by Nigel Ratcliffe on keyboard. The song was originally released on his ‘Bricks & Dust’ album. It has been described by Philip Lymbery, the CEO of Compassion In World Farming as "a beautiful, poignant and haunting song”.

The song's message gets more and more important, as nature, and our time left to act, both slip silently away.

GOSSAMER WINGS 

I thought I saw a bumble bee 
Busily buzzing by 
It seemed to me when I was young 
They filled the whole of the sky 
I thought I saw a butterfly 
With beautiful gossamer wings 
But it’s been awhile 
Since I’ve seen 
Either of these things 

I thought I saw a beautiful sight 
A meadow full of flowers 
We used to play there everyday 
All of our waking hours 
But I guess it’s just a trick of the light 
Reflecting off the corn 
If you shield your eyes 
It breaks the disguise 
And the colours are all gone 

I remember the song thrush singing 
Waking me up at dawn 
I remember watching them catch 
All the worms upon my lawn 
But that was many years ago 
And now they’re all long gone 
I thought I heard a song thrush call 
But I guess that I was wrong 

I thought I saw a bumble bee 
Bimbling through the sky 
I thought I saw a butterfly 
Slowly flitter by 
But to tell the truth all I saw 
Was a plain and empty sky 
The reason they’re gone 
Is the saddest of songs 
It’s simply you and I 
The reason they’re gone 
Is the saddest of songs 
It’s simply you and I

I am delighted to have been asked to perform at a special 175th Anniversary Service, to honour the men involved in the Worthing Lalla Rookh disaster of 1850, which will be taking place at St Mary's Church, Broadwater, Worthing, West Sussex, at 1.30pm on Sunday 23rd November.

I will be debuting a brand new song, 48 Dependants, which has been specially written for the event.

 Eleven Worthing fisherman went out in a small open boat, to assist the stricken barque Lalla Rookh, which was floundering offshore, in a fierce storm. Tragically all eleven lost their lives. Twenty more fisherman then went out, boarded the vessel, and managed to re-sail the ship, taking it to safety. 

As a result of this catastrophic loss of life, Worthing became a lifeboat town in 1853, with the RNLI taking command in 1865. This remained the case until 1930.

It will be an honour to be part of this important historical event.

This Remembrance I am releasing a recent ‘live performance' video, of a song called Delville Wood, that I wrote after visiting the WW1 battlefields a few years ago. I went to Delville Wood early one morning, and the song conveys my experience of that peaceful, and tranquil morning. However, to help you understand the song a little better, let me give you some background information.

In July 1916 Delville Wood became an objective for the allied army, trying to dislodge the Germans from the village of Longueval, as part of the battle of the Somme.

The wood formed an area of 156 acres of trees, with dense undergrowth, and seamed grassy rides running through it. Its western border laid on a ridge, on the edge of the village.

At 5am on 15th July, 3153 officers and men of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade penetrated the wood, and secured a bridgehead, forming most of the wood. The soldiers named the grassy rides and bridleways running through the wood after well known streets in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Thus, Princes Street, Regent Street, Rotten Row, to name but a few.

For four days they fought heroically to hold the wood, whilst under heavy artillery bombardment, and fought off many German counter attacks. However on 20th July they had to withdraw from the wood. Only 780 men were present for roll call that day. The wood had been completely destroyed, and laid in splinters. Only one of the original trees, a hornbeam survived the devastation, and lives to this day.

Today the whole wood has been replanted. It was purchased by the South African Government in 1920, and now acts as a monument, museum, and final resting place for thousands of soldiers whose bodies were never recovered.

For more detailed information please visit the official Delville Wood website here.

It is a beautiful, though moving, place to visit.

I hope that you enjoy the song, and it’s sentiments, and that you are able to spare a couple of minutes yourself, to remember, in your own personal way.

Here is the recent live performance of the song.

DELVILLE WOOD

Nothing moved in Princes Street / Nobody there, no-one to greet you / No piercing scream, no metal clang / Just the sound of the birds, as they chattered and sang / Nothing moved, nothing should / All lay quiet in Delville Wood // In Regent Street, no shoppers there / Just a couple of silent grazing deer / In the morning light, in a wooded glade / Laying quietly upon the brave / Nothing moved, nothing should / All lay quiet in Delville Wood // A careless footprint in Rotten Row / At the sudden noise, they turn, they go / Across the gentle furrows which in the soil remain / Which belie the carnage, the suffering, the pain / Then nothing moved, nothing should / All lay quiet in Delville Wood / Nothing moved, nothing should / All lay quiet in Delville Wood //. 

I am delighted to release two new ‘live performance’ videos, filmed recently, during a concert at Purbeck Folk Club in September.  Thank you John Kirwin for the footage.

These two videos feature two of my favourite environmental songs, The River and Cool Clear Water. I never get tired of performing them live, as the message they share becomes more and more important, with each day that passes.

They both feature Nigel Ratcliffe on keyboard, adding a beautiful wash of sound on The River, an environmental lovesong, and environmental ‘Rock & Roll’ piano on the anti-fracking song Cool Clear Water.

I hope that you enjoy both the passion, and the fun, represented in them.

Many thanks to everyone who came along this afternoon to my concert at Ropetackle Arts Centre.

Starting from the warm welcome of the venue staff, to the lovely attentive audience, who listened throughout, it was a real pleasure to share my songs with you. Thank you all.

The setlist:
Highdown Hill, Well Spun Lies, Gibbet Wood, Greater Need, The Fire Inside, Who Knows Who, Crows, No Damn Illusion, Delville Wood, The River, Goldfish & Hoopla, Since Time, Looking At Me Now, My Town, Shadow On Your Hand, Jezebel, Gossamer Wings, Birdsong, Cuckmere Shore.

We are delighted to share with you Greg's brand new single, and video… MY TOWN.

The song was recorded and produced by Paul Linale at White Room Music, West Sussex.

The song is available now from all the main streaming and download sites. Listen here: Spotify  Apple Music

Released at the same time, is this video version of the song…

The video was filmed, edited and produced by Greg Harper.