Pulling the songs together for this album, I wanted to write something for a person I knew who was going through a hard time – a time when the head and the heart were not quite on speaking terms.
There was a sense that the heart kept pulling towards situations the head knew were a mistake. And the idea came to me that the heart would have its own identity, and would know better, could speak aloud, and say simply – ‘you never know me’. The chords and melody had been around for a while – I wrote them in London, and all I had for a lyric was ‘you never know me’.
I didn’t realise until I thought about my friend that in fact it was the voice of his heart. Sometimes moments like that are like a key turning in a lock, or a coin dropping down into a slot – sometimes, when you connect an expressive idea with a specific person, you can almost hear the bolts sliding back and the song walks through the open door. I hope that doesn’t sound too pretentious, but it’s like being in the dark with the lights coming up, like coming up to the surface.
MUSICIANS: Anthony Toner – vocals and guitars; Clive Culbertson – bass; Peter McKinney – drums; John McCullough – piano; John Fitzpatrick - violin
The Heart Says: 'You Never Know Me':
Trusting in your high wire shoes from grace to grace.
Practising your broken smile from face to face.
Carrying your rotten luck from place to place.
Oh, in the dead of night your heart will tell you:
‘You never know, you never know, you never know me’.
Love will make you leave your home, and change your name;
Make you bend or break the rules of every game.
The people that you leave will never be the same.
Oh, in the dead of night your heart will tell you:
‘You never know, you never know, you never know me’.
Desire is the flame that melts you together
And she says you’re the one, but your heart knows you better.
‘You never know, you never know, you never know me’.