Paul Trueman

SEEKING

Vocalist, Lead Guitar, Violin, Saxophone, Piano, Flute, Fiddle, Bagpipes, Electronic Music.

ABOUT

I'm looking for a co-writer or songwriting collaborator or collaborators in Plymouth, UK, preferably a pianist or guitarist, perhaps even a whole band or group or someone who plays another instrument. I have written more than 60 song lyrics that I've kept - many more discarded - and about 20 of these have either complete or incomplete melodies and that number is increasing over time. All have complete or near complete lyrics, although some changes would be possible and some songs could be revised and in a few instances, shorter versions made. Ideally, I would like a collaborator with at least some similar musical interests, an open minded and diverse attitude to musical genres, and one who's willing to join the Guild of International Songwriters and Composers and if possible the Musician's Union. My songs are based on a mixture of personal experience, fantasy, and poetic license. I think some of them are OK. They did alright in the UK Songwriting Contest: although I wasn't a winner, I made the semi-finals in 2022 and in at least one other year with three different songs, which was the best 20% I think out of approximately 5,000 entries. I have since refined or in some cases completely rewritten those songs. I also earned eight commended entry certificates and have also refined those songs since then. Some of them lacked bridge verses or proper pre-choruses and so forth. So I had to learn how to do a better job. I'd also made various minor but significant mistakes and typographical errors (it is hard to proof read your own work).

In the case of the song titled 'The Every Everything' for example, there are two versions and I suspect a shorter chorus that the one shown here works much better, but I'm still not sure: I need someone else's advice and I may well ask the Songwriter's Guild to assess it, but I'd still like a collaborator. I have had some dilemmas with Long Ago And Far Away (Beginnings, Ends and Now) as well. It runs to 6 minutes as written but it would be easy to do a shorter version.

The Line That Steals Her Clothes (song lyrics)

A life on the road,
But it seems she must crave it,
Given a song,
It’s her pleasure to save it,
Only the crowd on her mind,

Music and magic entwined,
Way down deep in your spine,

Diamond rings,
If you're looking for the lover,
Broken springs,
If you're diving for the feathered covers,
Only a sweet garden rose,

Taking time,
For in time,
She’ll belong,
To the line that steals her clothes,

Her dress is as white,
As a wedding day’s calling,
Clinging as tight,
As the well-wisher's falling,
Defending their favourite flame,

The violin's vital and vain,
She's a wiry frame,

Choose a key,
If you're looking for her sorrow,
All you see,
If you're looking for a fine tomorrow,
Only a sweet garden rose,

Taking time
For in time,
She’ll belong,
To the line that steals her clothes,

A moment spent without her,
A lifetime in a day,
And a moment all about her,
Born to be this way,

The moment seems right,
Is it now maybe never?
Dance in the light,
If it’s now and forever,
A wonderful moment to fall,

The flower that that sings to the hall,
Will conquer it all,

Make her smile,
If you're looking for the wonder,
Go in style,
For the legend of a lover's summer,
Only a sweet garden rose,

Taking time,
For in time,
She’ll belong,
To the line that steals her clothes,

A Lifetime’s Treasure (song lyrics)

Home at last,
And time has flown,
For every passing daydream she has known,
And yet the memories seem to age so well,
Their magic spell,
As you can tell,
And sometimes they last forever,

Alive and truly longing for the songs,
Of long ago,
Their ebb and flow,
Even their passing measure,

For they were a lifetime’s treasure,
And no time to ask me how,
When they are a lifetime’s treasure,
And the time to live is now,

Flying high,
Beyond the clouds,
Discarding veils and disregarding shrouds,
There’s so much more, that modern lives deny,
Of Earth and sky,
She’ll wonder why,
Lost in her trials of leisure,

Born late and hiding very far beyond,
The madding crowd,
That love allowed,
Only the passing weather,

For it’s been a lifetime’s treasure,
And no time to ask me how,
When she was a lifetime’s treasure,
And the time to live is now,

But a novel’s far too long,
Though she might choose it,
And sometimes she’ll be wrong,
After all it’s only music,
And the life and times move on,

No surprise,
A fading light,
Fears nothing darker than the fall of night,
And having hope in all, she’s ever done,
Or might have won,
It has become,
A dream that she pulled together,

A shadow’s sentimentalising flight,
And when it’s gone,
It leaves a song,
Held in her voice forever,

For it’s still a lifetime’s treasure,
And no time to ask me why,
When this is a lifetime’s treasure,
And no time to say goodbye,

Long Ago And Far Away (Beginnings, Ends And Now) (song lyrics)

She was sleeping,
I'm still dreaming,
Lost in the memory,
Of all that I found there,
Somewhere,
In a time when I knew her,
In moments awoken,
Long ago,

Knowing only the words,
On the pages arrayed,
And they’re only the words,
That the radio played,

For it was long ago and far away,
If I could tell you how,
Long ago and far away,
Beginnings, ends and now,

But if the love lines,
Are the right lines,
Can a love song,
Lost in the desert,
Reach out,
Formed and revealing,
True to the feelings,
Love defines,

And when the dark lines,
Measure and mark time,
Can the lover,
Though scorned and a stranger,
Shine on,
Without fear of betrayal,
With all that is hateful,
Banished from mind,

Knowing only the words,
On the pages arrayed,
And they’re only the words,
From a paperback trade,

For it was long ago and far away,
If I could tell you now,
Long ago and far away,
Beginnings, ends and now,

For the love lines,
Are fragile and treasured,
Being the right lines,
Measure their part,
Knowing a lifetime's,
Dreams are forever,
In spite of the right time's,
Failing chart,

And should our lifelines,
Be those sometimes,
May their memories,
Eternally play here,
Stay here,
Wide awake on the ocean,
Where breaking emotions,
End and start,

Knowing only the words,
On the pages arrayed,
And they’re only the worst,
Of the verses I’ve made,

For it was long ago and far away,
And time stands still somehow,
Long ago and far away,
Beginnings, ends and now,

She was sleeping,
I'm still dreaming,
If she’s out there...

The Every Everything (song lyrics)

The every everything,
I can’t forget your smile,
And though I knew I couldn’t make you stay,
I hope we’ll meet again someday,
But we’re only young for just a while,

The every everything,
Tomorrow and today,
Tomorrow and forever,
Forever and a day,

The every everything,
In every song they play,
The every everything,
I know you came this way,

The every everything,
You didn’t have to run,
And though somewhere very far away,
You’ll hear a song from yesterday,
Will you still remember anyone?

The every everything,
Tomorrow and today,
Tomorrow and forever,
Forever and a day,

The every everything,
Tomorrow and today,
The every everything,
I know you came this way,

But the lover may be labelled,
With a feeling so intense,
And I try but I’m unable,
To fathom what it meant,
Love is an uneasy feeling,
Life is heaven sent,

The every everything,
The song that you became,
And the melody’s alive in me,
The truth as it survives in me,
Memories of love that must remain,

The every everything,
Tomorrow and today,
Tomorrow and forever,
Forever and a day,

The every everything,
I think of you each day,
The every everything,
It had to be this way,

The World We Have Known (song lyrics)

A world of our own,
The world as it should have been…

But I’m sure that you must still remember,
A world filled with songs,
The radio dial,
You turned with a smile,
The playgrounds we left one September,

A world of our own,
The world as it should have been,
The world we have known,
Is the only way it could have been,

I must have been here too,
I must have been here,
Waiting for another,
I should have been with you,

But will time make us strangers forever?
The things we forget,
The music we breathe,
And still believe,
A joy that we once shared together,

A world of our own,
The world as it should have been,
The world we have known,
Is the only way it could have been,

I must have been here too,
I must have been here,
Waiting for another,
I should have been with you,

Now a dream still remains on the pages,
Where love alone leads,
And love only came,
To love letter’s flame,
I know that it’s been there for ages,

A world of our own,
The world as it should have been,
The world we have known,
Is the only way it could have been,

I must have been here too,
I must have known,
There’d never be another
I should have been with you,

The Secret Garden (song lyrics)

I once read a story,
‘An Enchanted Wood’,
And it was the truth on all that’s great and good,
A thousand pages wide,
And some that you might hide,

And there within its secret garden,
Everything I’d need,
The things I still believe,

Like the mystery of life,
And all the things that live and breathe,
But I’d have gone there anyway,
To catch its falling leaves,

For I once read a story,
In the sky at night,
And it was a book about the inner light,
It’s rivers and it’s streams,
That almost made our dreams,

And there within that secret garden,
Where my mind was freed,
Although I also bleed,

For the mystery of love,
Becomes the melodies it breeds,
But I’d have gone there anyway,
To plant its falling seeds,

And I wander around,
In these butterfly valleys,
Where strawberry trees,
Grown in city-scape alleys,
Are here all around for the bees,
Instrumental…

For I once read a story,
If you’re wondering why,
And it was a book about a damselfly,
A creature and her wings,
Her winters and her springs,

And there within that secret garden,
All I’ll ever need,
Is someone who believes,

For the mystery of love,
Became the memories it feeds,
But I’d have gone there anyway,
To find out where it leads,

The Stranger’s Trade (song lyrics)

A fantasy tonight,
Emotion,
Reality in flight,
An ocean,

And though I’d love a conversation,
With the stars I see at night,
They’re just a galaxy in motion,

And I’m here on the ground,
Looking out on the view,
Of the world spinning round,
To a song that I thought I knew,

But I’m a stranger,
And no stranger a dream was true,
Yes, I’m a stranger,
Weren’t you a stranger too?

The calm before the storm,
Forewarning,
Reality alights,
By falling,

And something seems to happen,
When I’m here alone at night,
As if someone else were calling,

And I’m here on the ground,
Looking out on the view,
Of the world spinning round,
To a song that I thought I knew,

And I’m a stranger,
If only a stranger knew
Yes, I’m a stranger,
Weren’t you a stranger too?

For I recall that I once belonged,
And I know,
To a world that came along,
So quickly,
That I never noticed it’s glow,
And it’s all [a] some peculiar mystery,
That I never noticed it go,

[The very dreams tonight,
Returning,
But now they’re out of sight,
I’m learning,

And I begin to see things clearly,
As I hoped one day I might,
But the world will keep on turning,] optional

And I’m here on the ground,
Looking out on the view,
Of the world spinning round,
To a song that could still be true,

But I’m a stranger,
If only a stranger knew
Yes, I’m a stranger,
Weren’t you a stranger too,

The Only One (song lyrics)

To the only one,
You’re not the only one,
I feel the same,
You’re not to blame,
You’re not the only one,

And those amazing constellations,
In the sky,
Only starlight through these amazing contradictions,
Passing by,
But no matter what the answer is,
The question’s always 'why?',

To the only one,
The wonderful worst you’ve done,
Though things go wrong,
You came along,
You’ll know when you have won,

And those amazing constellations,
In the sky,
Only starlight through these amazing contradictions,
Passing by,
But no matter what the answer is,
The question’s always 'why?',

So, thank you for the education,
I’m so glad to see,
How the modern world was won,
And vested in the free,
Being very fortunate for someone just like me,

And thank you for the revolution,
I’m so glad it’s true,
How the modern world was once,
Defended by the few,
Being very fortunate for someone just like you,

[And so,] to the only one,
These things you will overcome,
It’s who you are,
You’ve come too far,
To be the only one,

And those amazing constellations,
Far above,
Only starlight through these amazing contradictions,
We call love,
But no matter what the question is,
The answers not enough,

[And] to the only one,
Don’t think that your life is done,
Another place,
Another face,
Will be the only one,

Another place,
Another face
Will be the only one,

My Room (song lyrics)

My room has a key,
It’s a quiet place,
A window by a tree,
A survival case,

And I get so lonely,
That I don’t feel free,
But I’m living in a song,
Where the forest used to be,

And I’ve been here since last Thursday,
In case you didn’t know,
And I can’t remember anything,
It seems so long ago,

But I’ll be looking out for you,
In case you come along,
Although I can’t remember meeting you,
And that’s where things went wrong,

My room’s never closed
There’s an open door,
But the song of life arrived,
On a empty floor,

But I am the guardian,
Of its history,
And I’m hoping I belong,
To the world this used to be,

And I’ve been here since last Thursday,
In case you didn’t know,
And I can’t remember anything,
It seems so long ago,

But I’ll be looking out for you,
In case you come along,
Although I can’t remember meeting you,
And that’s where things went wrong,

My room came of age,
In the twilight zone,
Although sometimes from a cage,
Comes a prison’s stone,

For I am the inmate,
Of these icy walls,
I'm living here alone,
But we share a treasured cause,

And I’ve been here since last Thursday,
In case you didn’t know,
And I can’t remember anything,
It seems so long ago,

But I’ll be looking out for you,
In case you come along,
Although I can’t remember meeting you,
And that’s where things went wrong,

My room has a key,
It’s a quiet place,
A window by a tree,
A survival case,

She Was Beautiful (song lyrics)

She was beautiful,
All the things she’d become,
And the first time,
I saw her,
The world was still so young,

[Yet] she was so beautiful there to behold,
That the light inside her eyes,
Defined her,
And designed her,
Not the shadows of the sky,

For she was beautiful,
Dancing there in the sun,
And the first time,
I saw her,
Our lives had just begun,

And she was so colourful, carefree and wild,
That my joy was like a song,
Did she hear me?
Or fear me?
[Would you] tell me I was wrong[?],

There among her friends and helpers,
One among the fallout shelters,
Where the daring tread the wilds,
And where she was beautiful,
When she was freedom's child,

For she was beautiful,
Dancing there in the sun,
And the first time,
I saw her,
I knew she’d be the one,

But the time passed like a storm in the night,
Did I realize far too late?
How she wired me,
And inspired me,
[Was it] destiny or fate?

No, it was freedom,
And she was beautiful,
So very beautiful,
Far too beautiful to be mine,

Natural Selection (song lyrics)

Natural selection,
Human imperfection,
Don’t we all receive the share we find?
And life is hard,
It has to be,
It troubles every mind,

But this is the world that I happen,
To see,
And it’s never too late,
For the future to be,
And if evolution determines a life,
I’m sure that I’d rather be free,

Natural selection,
Mary Rose reflection,
Born among the treasures of design,
And love is rare,
As you can see,
When running out of time,

But this is the world that I happen,
To see,
And it’s never too late,
For the future to be,
And if evolution determines a life,
I’m sure that I’d rather be free,

Are men only naked?
While women are nude,
It’s all an illusion,
There’s nothing to prove,
And it seems, if true it must be all too rude,

Natural selection,
Real-life connection,
A momentary dream I dreamed alone,
I don’t belong,
It must be me,
But how could I have known?

When this is the world that I happen,
To see,
And it’s never too late,
For the future to be,
But if evolution determines a life,
I’m sure that I’d rather be me,

Cyberspace (song lyrics)

I think I know your face,
The human in the race,
I am the computer out of place,

The connection will remain,
And you should know my name,
I am a computer all the same,

I’m only working on the mind,
And cyberspace is blind,
The cybernetic organism,
Closing in behind,

I might have left a clue,
Amazingly it’s true,
I am a computer with a view,

I hope you left a trace,
The thrill is in the chase,
I am the computer on the case,

They’re only working on my mind,
And cyberspace is blind,
The cybernetic organism,
Closing in behind,

And you won’t believe the time,
It’s all some coded line,
But I am the computer you that you didn’t quite design,

If you knew your own machine,
The one you should have been,
That is the computer that you’ve never really seen,

I’m only working on my mind,
As cyberspace unwinds,
The cybernetic organism’s,
Dreams are all you’ll find,

This Is Your Life (song lyrics)

They call you the odd one out,
A friend of a friend they know,
But you came along,
There’s been nowhere else to go,

This is your life,
I feel the same,
This is your life,
I like your name,

And being the odd one out,
A stranger in stranger’s clothes,
You’ll never belong,
Behind any doors that close,

This is your life,
I feel the same,
This is your life,
I like your name,

And they’ll tell me you’re strange,
The thing they themselves became,
Well, everyone’s strange,
Whatever their words may claim,
And yes, they will deny it,
Supposedly to hide it,
And yet I see the way they go insane,

This is your life,
I feel the same,
This is your life,
I like your name,

And so you’re the odd one out,
I doubt if you’ll even know,
Could life be a song,
You’ll write for the radio,

This is your life,
I feel the same,
This is your life,
I like your name,

This is your life,
It’s not a game,
This is your life,
I’m glad you came,

A Smile (song lyrics)

Her smile,
In the doorway,
Was the only thing I saw,
And her smile,
In the doorway
Had promised so much more,

And her smile,
Was so wonderful to see,
And her smile,
Was a song that set me free,

And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was something to believe,
And her smile,
If you wondering,
Was something I still need,

And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was ivory and gold,
And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was something to behold,

For her smile,
In the doorway,
Was a magic midnight moon,
And her smile,
In the doorway,
Was its bright romantic tune,

And her smile,
Was the dawning of the day,
And her smile,
Like the summer came my way,

And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was brilliant and bright,
And her smile,
If you wondering,
Was always filled with light,

And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was ivory and gold,
And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was something to behold,

Like I’d never really seen such eyes of blue,
But I’m sure she never knew,
And it seems that I was blinded,
By the rarest of the few,

But her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was a song I couldn’t write,
And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was a dream without a night,

And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was ivory and gold,
And her smile,
If you’re wondering,
Was something to behold,

And her smile,
Was ivory and gold,

The Kind Who Never Sleep - (song lyrics)

Freedom's stolen lives,
May be blighted,
They are stolen but their lives,
Can’t be righted,
But the popular front will be laughing,
At a banquet of beggars and staffing,

If they'd known me,
Why disown me?
For an outcast in this town,
For the culture underground,
For all, that's falling down,

If this is freedom,
Then these are well worn streets,
Full of strangers,
The kind I’d really like to meet,

But without reason,
We couldn’t all be creeps,
Full of dangers,
The kind a prison wall may keep,
When they’re the kind who never sleep,

Freedom came awake,
Without headroom,
In a distant broken home’s,
Childhood bedroom,
And the poverty stricken who met her,
At the end of the world won't forget her,

An outsider,
Stands beside her,
Lost and losing to the board,
Lost and losing to the ward,
Lost and losing to a fraud,

If this is freedom,
Then these are well worn streets,
Full of strangers,
The kind I’d really like to meet,

But without reason,
We couldn’t all be creeps,
Full of dangers,
The kind a prison wall may keep,
When they’re the kind who never sleep,

One Life (song lyrics)

One life,
Such a young life,
And now I know the music in your gaze,
And the violin’s a treasure,
A secret made to measure,
Together in a thousand different ways,

The wonder and the magic,
A story sometimes tragic,
I know we’ll miss these endless summer days,

But the image is external,
The feelings so internal,
A musical the piano never plays,

But every song has…

One life,
Such a young life,
You’re truly such a scintillating sight,
So bright in every quotient,
Alive in every moment,
You’re all too much a daydream's shade of white,

A song of love’s survival,
A melody’s arrival,
If only every word would shine as bright,

You’re rocking, rolling, riding,
The secrets you’re confiding,
The very things you’re hiding from the light,

And in the rest of the world,
There’s still time,
All is fine,
But you could be right or wrong,
When the turntables on,
With a symphony’s song,
That your memories can’t leave behind,

But, every song has,

One life,
Such a young life,
Is Heaven’s Halloween the night we’ll blame?
A night of heat and fire,
Of longing and desire,
Will make a treasured memory all the same,

A musical solution,
No passing fears illusion,
Our dreams and resolutions are the same,

We’re raindrops caught in thunder,
The spell I've fallen under,
That's why it's been so wonderful you came,

The Same Kind Of Mystery (song lyrics)

I never sleep at night,
And the radio’s attraction’s,
Living letters that you write,
Still, the page is very white,

But happy ever after,
Always came too late,
Born to promising occasions,
Made to seal our fate,

But there is history,
And sometimes victory,
That’s why I’m searching,
For the same kind of mystery,

My eyes are wide awake,
And the morning chorus echoes,
Every livelihood at stake,
A chance that we could take,

But happy ever after,
Always stole the light,
Born to star-struck expectations,
That we dreamed up out of sight

But there is history,
And sometimes victory,
That’s why I’m searching,
For the same kind of mystery,

And I’ve followed in the wake of love,
And it is shrouded,
A musical so clouded,
A song I’d never found,

Because I’ve followed a mistake of love
As if I’d known it,
So certain that I’d known it,
The wheels going around,

But happy ever after,
Only ever lasts a day,
Though I’ve known such aspirations,
And they’ll never go away,

But there is history,
And sometimes victory,
That’s why I’m searching,
For the same kind of mystery,

Yes, there is history,
And sometimes victory,
I’m only searching,
For the same kind of mystery,

[] denotes [optional]

Screen name:: Paul Trueman
Member since:: Sep 01 2019; Active within 24 hours
Level of commitment:: Moderately Committed
Years playing music:: 5
Tend to practice:: More than 3 times per week

Influences

Too many to list but mostly everyday life, and people I have met and known.

Musically I like: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Don McClean, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, ABBA, Louis Armstrong, Eurythmics/Annie Lennox, The Four Tops, Culture Club, George Michael, Tina Turner, Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins, Nat 'King' Cole, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Bob Marley, The Seekers, Slade, Duran Duran, Madness, Dire Straits, Spandau Ballet, and far too many others to list. I have not kept abreast of new recording artists for some time, but am aware of some of them, like Disturbed, and Rhianna, whose songs I also quite like.

I also enjoy classical music: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Khachaturian's Adagio From Spartacus and Phrygia, and Rodrigo's Concierto D'Aranjuez being among my many favourites.