A song-by-song reflection on the late 2025 album ‘Long Long Way’ - more to follow…
Thinking about my mother yet again, with this one, I think… Although that may not have been apparent in the creative process. Sometimes you finish the thing and look back at it a week or two later and realise it’s not the thing you thought it was.
My mother did like simple things, in nearly every aspect of her life – decoration, clothes, food, sound, language… ‘nothing fancy’, she would say. No sauces or dressings or flashy jewellery or scarves and shoes. And she was often right. My father was the same – and it’s why I’m often reticent about being flamboyant. For a while I kept buying lovely hats and would never wear them. Although both my parents are gone, I can still since their ‘who do you think you are?’ looks when I wear anything too… fancy.
There’s something about the winter in this song, too – ‘the sweeter the thaw when the spring time comes round’. I had a very hard winter at the turn of 2024 to 2025. I’m not sure why – it might have been the prospect of becoming 60, or maybe just the sheer darkness and cold of it. I seemed to be cold to the bone in January and February, and I was prone to vicious drops in mood. I would start the day full of optimism and plans and sometimes in the middle of writing an email, my mood would plummet to despair. I could not wait for the warmth to return. Hence the ‘seeds in the ground’ line, I think.
Musicians: Anthony Toner - vocals and acoustic guitars
Lyrics:
The simpler the song from me
the more it connected to you.
You’d say, ‘the simpler the dream,
the more chance it comes true.’
And I’m waiting for mine –
I’m waiting for mine.
The longer the winter to come,
and the harder the ground,
you’d say, ‘the sweeter the thaw
when the springtime comes round.’
And we’re seeds in the ground –
we’re seeds in the ground.
You’d say, ‘the simpler the dream,
the more chance it comes true.’
And I’m waiting for mine –
I’m waiting for mine.