WELCOME TO THE ROOF
(McAndrew)

the sun stands still through the morning
as my thoughts meander by
memories of passion, memories of glory
as appealing as that noon-day sky

the roar of the bus meets the rumbling train
you hear a cobbled street reproof
the smells and sounds of a by-gone age
just say WELCOME TO THE ROOF

the hum of life raises a tone
as the eating hour rushes through
the slumber comes, as the calm returns
and my thoughts, they return to you

we walked the street where the princes played
and the jesters strum their tune
where the modern day merchants ply their trade
beckoning WELCOME TO THE ROOF

the sun moves on towards evening
still my thoughts meander by
memories of passion, memories of glory
as appealing as that evening sky

from the heat we felt on that Scottish street
to the first of May refrain
please leave the thoughts, but remove the pain
by saying WELCOME TO THE ROOF

Comment:- This is probably my best received solo composition that i perform. A huge thanks again extend to Ricky for his tremendous arrangement and his successful attempt to give the song a Steely Dan-ish feel. The music is a re-working of an old song entitled Shiny Starts, and having decided to record in the studio, i picked this chord progression to commit to ADAT. Having finished the backing track, the time arrived to record the vocals, the only problem being that i didn't want to use the originals and thus didn't have any! When Ricky and i were thinking about working in a duo format, he was busking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and offered me the chance to join him. His idea was for us to do solo sets, with some sets where we played as a duo. The very first time i busked was after Ricky had finished his set and he said to me "O.K., on you go!" This was a very nervous time for me, it being the first time in this 'arena', and i replied "I'll have to write a song about this, Welcome to the Roof". The roof in question is the Waverley Market Roof in Prince's Street, Edinburgh and the lyrics were written under pressure of studio time, in twenty minutes!