Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:40:40 +0200 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/ en-EN contact@hearthis.at contact@hearthis.at https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/ https://img.hearthis.at/5/6/0/_/uploads/dummy/user/w1400_h1400_q70_ptrue_v2_----cropped_user_01065.png no no https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/she-thought-to-see-dragons/

She thought to see Dragons, by firelight by moon,
she thought to see dragons, but all that she saw
was the sweep of the bristle, the brushing of the broom

It’s a runaway sadness, this daring to dream
a whispered forgettery, bite at the gleam
Taken in taken under, your heart blown asunder
you reach as you stumble, the heartbeat to fall

She thought to see Dragons, by firelight by moon,
she thought to see dragons, but all that she saw
was the sweep of the bristle, the brushing of the broom

In a call (lost in calling) a fall (lost in falling)
a day drowned at dawning, so brightly the break
forever unmaking the risks that you take,
and a life without risk, sure that’s no life at all

******************************************
Written sung played and mixed up by Emma]]>

She thought to see Dragons, by firelight by moon,
she thought to see dragons, but all that she saw
was the sweep of the bristle, the brushing of the broom

It’s a runaway sadness, this daring to dream
a whispered forgettery, bite at the gleam
Taken in taken under, your heart blown asunder
you reach as you stumble, the heartbeat to fall

She thought to see Dragons, by firelight by moon,
she thought to see dragons, but all that she saw
was the sweep of the bristle, the brushing of the broom

In a call (lost in calling) a fall (lost in falling)
a day drowned at dawning, so brightly the break
forever unmaking the risks that you take,
and a life without risk, sure that’s no life at all

******************************************
Written sung played and mixed up by Emma]]> 1512369 no no Sat, 15 Jul 2017 03:28:00 +0200 2017-07-15T03:28:00+02:00 4:45 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/honeysuckle-tree/ Written sung played and mixed up by Emma.

…………………………………………………
Honeysuckle Tree..

O I’m sick up and fed of the life dull drain
the weary woe and the groan old pain
I’ve packed up me bag, stuck a feather in me hair
put a pink carnation in me underwear

O where the bee sucks there suck I,
with a spring in me step and a twinkle in me eye,
I’m going down to the honeysuckle…
down to the honeysuckle, honeysuckle tree

Well I hitched up me skirts and I jumped on me bike
in a rattle-trap flurry to a tune that I like
with a jug full of bubbles and a circus too
paint a dancing rainbow and a dinosaur poo

O I love him and he loves me
and we gird our loins beneath the honeysuckle tree
there’s muck on the ground but we don’t care a bit
when you’re blind with lust, you don’t give a shit

So kick your heels and point your toes
with a left right left and a dozey-doh
With a ding-a-dong-ding and a hey-nonny-no
forget all your troubles and around we go!]]> Written sung played and mixed up by Emma.

…………………………………………………
Honeysuckle Tree..

O I’m sick up and fed of the life dull drain
the weary woe and the groan old pain
I’ve packed up me bag, stuck a feather in me hair
put a pink carnation in me underwear

O where the bee sucks there suck I,
with a spring in me step and a twinkle in me eye,
I’m going down to the honeysuckle…
down to the honeysuckle, honeysuckle tree

Well I hitched up me skirts and I jumped on me bike
in a rattle-trap flurry to a tune that I like
with a jug full of bubbles and a circus too
paint a dancing rainbow and a dinosaur poo

O I love him and he loves me
and we gird our loins beneath the honeysuckle tree
there’s muck on the ground but we don’t care a bit
when you’re blind with lust, you don’t give a shit

So kick your heels and point your toes
with a left right left and a dozey-doh
With a ding-a-dong-ding and a hey-nonny-no
forget all your troubles and around we go!]]> 1512370 no no Mon, 10 Apr 2017 11:01:32 +0200 2017-04-10T11:01:32+02:00 3:34 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/were-i-to-open-my-eyes/
When as a child, I gazed far through the night
and dreamed in the clouds, clinging hard, small and bright,
never could I have seen,
never ever foreseen

Were I to open my eyes, let my love flow freely
as a silent tide swiftly falling
Were I to open my heart, let my love flow freely
would you stay with me laughing and hold me,
would the waves gently float you away?

Years fell tired in my head, wilting frightened,
yet I searched for you time and again,
Reaching out for some leaf I could cling to,
having touched you, I laugh with the pain…

Were I to open my eyes, let my love flow freely
as a silent tide swiftly falling
Were I to open my heart, let my love flow freely
would you stay with me laughing and hold me,
would the waves gently drift you away?


Written played sung and mixed up by Emma]]>
When as a child, I gazed far through the night
and dreamed in the clouds, clinging hard, small and bright,
never could I have seen,
never ever foreseen

Were I to open my eyes, let my love flow freely
as a silent tide swiftly falling
Were I to open my heart, let my love flow freely
would you stay with me laughing and hold me,
would the waves gently float you away?

Years fell tired in my head, wilting frightened,
yet I searched for you time and again,
Reaching out for some leaf I could cling to,
having touched you, I laugh with the pain…

Were I to open my eyes, let my love flow freely
as a silent tide swiftly falling
Were I to open my heart, let my love flow freely
would you stay with me laughing and hold me,
would the waves gently drift you away?


Written played sung and mixed up by Emma]]> 1512371 no no Tue, 24 Jan 2017 20:13:51 +0100 2017-01-24T20:13:51+01:00 3:51 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/reaching-out-for-things-that-shine-hans-and-emma-collab/
The music is all made by hans, o, other than a teeny sprinkle of synth that I added in when I was mixing it up...
Words and voices - Emma

Reaching out for things that shine…


I’ve been searching in the shadows
reaching out for things that shine
seen you moving just beyond me,
another place, another time

And you’re calling in the shadows
spinning cobwebs, drifting twine,
gather all the things that matter
weave the darkness, spill the wine
reaching out for things that shine

We’ve been dancing in the shadows,
reaching out for things that shine
bright the blade that once was broken
reaching out for things that shine…

When you thought that it was over,
a bird of hope begins to fly
nothing’s ever really over
only by searching will you find…

Picture is from a painting by Vladimir Kush - flight of the sun]]>
The music is all made by hans, o, other than a teeny sprinkle of synth that I added in when I was mixing it up...
Words and voices - Emma

Reaching out for things that shine…


I’ve been searching in the shadows
reaching out for things that shine
seen you moving just beyond me,
another place, another time

And you’re calling in the shadows
spinning cobwebs, drifting twine,
gather all the things that matter
weave the darkness, spill the wine
reaching out for things that shine

We’ve been dancing in the shadows,
reaching out for things that shine
bright the blade that once was broken
reaching out for things that shine…

When you thought that it was over,
a bird of hope begins to fly
nothing’s ever really over
only by searching will you find…

Picture is from a painting by Vladimir Kush - flight of the sun]]> 1512372 no no Sun, 18 Dec 2016 18:47:39 +0100 2016-12-18T18:47:39+01:00 4:11 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/lament/
Lament

I’ve been missing you too long to know you’re gone now,
the hand that holds my cheek, the tears that keep on falling,
I’ve been loving you too long to know you’re gone now
It’s a never-ending ever-falling rain

I know you’re gone, in my head I know
but this heart keeps right on crying, head can’t stop the crying,
I know I know, all these things I know
But the song I know is you, I love you so

There’s a song keeps on climbing through my window,
when I’m sleeping sings a sobbing little song,
waking up it feels my life has been a bleeding,
can’t figure out, just what’s going on

I know you’re gone, in my head I know
But this heart keeps right on crying, head can’t stop the crying,
I know I know, all these things I know
But the song I know is you, I love you so]]>
Lament

I’ve been missing you too long to know you’re gone now,
the hand that holds my cheek, the tears that keep on falling,
I’ve been loving you too long to know you’re gone now
It’s a never-ending ever-falling rain

I know you’re gone, in my head I know
but this heart keeps right on crying, head can’t stop the crying,
I know I know, all these things I know
But the song I know is you, I love you so

There’s a song keeps on climbing through my window,
when I’m sleeping sings a sobbing little song,
waking up it feels my life has been a bleeding,
can’t figure out, just what’s going on

I know you’re gone, in my head I know
But this heart keeps right on crying, head can’t stop the crying,
I know I know, all these things I know
But the song I know is you, I love you so]]> 1512373 no no Mon, 03 Oct 2016 00:53:29 +0200 2016-10-03T00:53:29+02:00 3:14 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/last-time-i-heard-the-trees-call/
Last time I heard the trees call, I was lying in the desert
Sun was ripping out my eyeballs, sand the cushion for my head,
Breathing in and breathing out, the shadows on the wall,
must have slipped there from the ceiling,
There’s a black crow on a dead tree, it’s a harsh a bitter call.

Now they’re waggling their little leaves,
the fingers spread, the singing trees
I crawl to them on broken knees,
it’s just mirage, a gentle breeze…

The last time I heard the crow call, I was sweating in a junkyard
full of broken dreams and bottles that had splintered on the ground,
I have no recollection of the time that went before,
A kaleidoscope, a melody cascading to the floor,
In a rivulet of pity, in a parody of dream, it’s a broken down occasion
if you can’t tell where you’ve been

Then you open up the television, tuck it all away
It is simply not appropriate to carry on this way,
If they happen to annoy you, trees can simply be replaced,
We have plastic ones that play a tune, you hug them and they smile a little,
Talk to them and they will hum a cheerful little tune a little tune..

In the rainbow coloured lorikeet, the jungle of my brain
the exploding of the forest – it’s a deep primeval pain,
Shifting sands, the trees are singing deep, the thrumming of their voices,
It’s an overwhelming drowning, it’s an overwhelming song…



* * * * * * *

Sung played and mixed up by Emma... including an assortment of 'found sounds'...
]]>
Last time I heard the trees call, I was lying in the desert
Sun was ripping out my eyeballs, sand the cushion for my head,
Breathing in and breathing out, the shadows on the wall,
must have slipped there from the ceiling,
There’s a black crow on a dead tree, it’s a harsh a bitter call.

Now they’re waggling their little leaves,
the fingers spread, the singing trees
I crawl to them on broken knees,
it’s just mirage, a gentle breeze…

The last time I heard the crow call, I was sweating in a junkyard
full of broken dreams and bottles that had splintered on the ground,
I have no recollection of the time that went before,
A kaleidoscope, a melody cascading to the floor,
In a rivulet of pity, in a parody of dream, it’s a broken down occasion
if you can’t tell where you’ve been

Then you open up the television, tuck it all away
It is simply not appropriate to carry on this way,
If they happen to annoy you, trees can simply be replaced,
We have plastic ones that play a tune, you hug them and they smile a little,
Talk to them and they will hum a cheerful little tune a little tune..

In the rainbow coloured lorikeet, the jungle of my brain
the exploding of the forest – it’s a deep primeval pain,
Shifting sands, the trees are singing deep, the thrumming of their voices,
It’s an overwhelming drowning, it’s an overwhelming song…



* * * * * * *

Sung played and mixed up by Emma... including an assortment of 'found sounds'...
]]> 1512374 no no Wed, 10 Aug 2016 22:46:54 +0200 2016-08-10T22:46:54+02:00 5:26 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/keep-blazing/
You feel so heavy now, you think you’re dying,
You feel so heavy now, you can’t move on,
Soft and clear as a bell sound falling,
far away sad, from a strange pale bloom,
Pulls your blood in a deeper imagining,
Colours untangle and dance in your room

Keep blazing on now as the beat’s moving on,
Keep blazing on babe as the colours move through you,
Keep blazing on now as you’re blown into pieces
Keep blazing on, Baby keep on

You rise and you fly and you’re touching the sky,
You’ve never felt ever so free and so flying
Your heart is so high but your head’s down so low,
Separated, you’re lying there dying
Divided we rise as a wild cloud of birds
separated to dance in the air,
The sound of the half-crazy beat of our hearts,
the feathers, the scent of a summer half dying

Weaving in weaving out as the wild women shout
and the reason is simply to fly,
The ribbons drift silk in the blue of the air
fill the sun-splintered skin of the sky,
You rise now and fly and you’re touching the sky,
you never felt ever so free and so flying,
Your heart is so high but your head’s down so low
Separated you’re lying there dying


Written played sung and mixed up by Emma...
the photo is taken from my magical beach.]]>
You feel so heavy now, you think you’re dying,
You feel so heavy now, you can’t move on,
Soft and clear as a bell sound falling,
far away sad, from a strange pale bloom,
Pulls your blood in a deeper imagining,
Colours untangle and dance in your room

Keep blazing on now as the beat’s moving on,
Keep blazing on babe as the colours move through you,
Keep blazing on now as you’re blown into pieces
Keep blazing on, Baby keep on

You rise and you fly and you’re touching the sky,
You’ve never felt ever so free and so flying
Your heart is so high but your head’s down so low,
Separated, you’re lying there dying
Divided we rise as a wild cloud of birds
separated to dance in the air,
The sound of the half-crazy beat of our hearts,
the feathers, the scent of a summer half dying

Weaving in weaving out as the wild women shout
and the reason is simply to fly,
The ribbons drift silk in the blue of the air
fill the sun-splintered skin of the sky,
You rise now and fly and you’re touching the sky,
you never felt ever so free and so flying,
Your heart is so high but your head’s down so low
Separated you’re lying there dying


Written played sung and mixed up by Emma...
the photo is taken from my magical beach.]]> 1512375 no no Sat, 25 Jun 2016 23:59:57 +0200 2016-06-25T23:59:57+02:00 4:41 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/only-one-way-to-stop-this-rain/
Dream in the mirror, a face that you just might have been,
wipe condensation, a bleary outline of a dream,
In the forest, I saw you standing in green
started running for cover, the sky it is falling, strange birds begin calling

Seems there’s only one way to stop this rain,
walk on through, as it’s falling
Seems there’s only one way to stop this falling
breathe in deep, as you push on through the sky

In the stream, watch the small fish dart by,
surprised by your silence, the air so bright still light
A dream you had folded away,
now it gnaws at your bones, you are reaching out, reaching

Seems there’s only one way to stop this rain,
walk on through, as it’s falling
Seems there’s only one way to stop this falling
breathe in deep, as you push on through the sky

The river is wide, there’s no way over
I’ve never learned the ways to fly
the path behind me, keeps disappearing
come on baby, reach for the sky

* * * *
A simple blue heartsong for voice piano and cello.
Illustration by Donn Kenn.
Written played sung and mixed up by Emma…
]]>
Dream in the mirror, a face that you just might have been,
wipe condensation, a bleary outline of a dream,
In the forest, I saw you standing in green
started running for cover, the sky it is falling, strange birds begin calling

Seems there’s only one way to stop this rain,
walk on through, as it’s falling
Seems there’s only one way to stop this falling
breathe in deep, as you push on through the sky

In the stream, watch the small fish dart by,
surprised by your silence, the air so bright still light
A dream you had folded away,
now it gnaws at your bones, you are reaching out, reaching

Seems there’s only one way to stop this rain,
walk on through, as it’s falling
Seems there’s only one way to stop this falling
breathe in deep, as you push on through the sky

The river is wide, there’s no way over
I’ve never learned the ways to fly
the path behind me, keeps disappearing
come on baby, reach for the sky

* * * *
A simple blue heartsong for voice piano and cello.
Illustration by Donn Kenn.
Written played sung and mixed up by Emma…
]]> 1512376 no no Sat, 05 Mar 2016 23:04:53 +0100 2016-03-05T23:04:53+01:00 4:53 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/there-used-to-be-an-island/
There used to be an island, in the middle of my stream,
a place of wild flowers, for the eye to drift and dream
and float away... o’er sea and flame and stone, drift away... far and beyond

The wild storms rose, the waters wild, a stormy sea that leapt and roared
through nights of troubled sleep and days
too damp for dreaming, to float away... far and beyond...

Now waters still and pale sky blue sweet birds do gentle sing
I call your name, in vain, in vain, the island it has gone
it’s washed away... far and beyond...

There used to be an island in the middle of my stream,
a place of wild flowers, for the eye to drift and dream,
I’ve been thinking, I’ve been dreaming where that island used to be
In that empty greening silence where the waters gently sing
call me away... o’er sea and flame and stone, call me away...
far and beyond...



Written played sung and mixed up by Emma…
]]>
There used to be an island, in the middle of my stream,
a place of wild flowers, for the eye to drift and dream
and float away... o’er sea and flame and stone, drift away... far and beyond

The wild storms rose, the waters wild, a stormy sea that leapt and roared
through nights of troubled sleep and days
too damp for dreaming, to float away... far and beyond...

Now waters still and pale sky blue sweet birds do gentle sing
I call your name, in vain, in vain, the island it has gone
it’s washed away... far and beyond...

There used to be an island in the middle of my stream,
a place of wild flowers, for the eye to drift and dream,
I’ve been thinking, I’ve been dreaming where that island used to be
In that empty greening silence where the waters gently sing
call me away... o’er sea and flame and stone, call me away...
far and beyond...



Written played sung and mixed up by Emma…
]]> 1512377 no no Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:43:30 +0100 2016-01-21T21:43:30+01:00 4:11 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/thinking-about-blowflies/ The cunningly posed photo was captured by Ronel Broderick. The sounds were captured and/or created by Emma.

A merry cacophony of utterly silly fly music….


Thinking about Blowflies

Where do the blowflies sleep at night?
Do they have cosy beds?
Do the mummies tuck their babies in
and kiss their fuzzy heads?

Do they sing them buzzy lullabies
and bid them to be still,
in a busy blowfly dreaming tree
on buzzy blowfly hill?

Busy blowfly, busy blowfly
you’ve been buzzing far too long,
it is time to tuck your wee wings up
and cease your blowfly song.

I can hear your mummy calling,
you may leave now - yes you may,
or I’ll expedite departure
with a toxic can of spray
]]> The cunningly posed photo was captured by Ronel Broderick. The sounds were captured and/or created by Emma.

A merry cacophony of utterly silly fly music….


Thinking about Blowflies

Where do the blowflies sleep at night?
Do they have cosy beds?
Do the mummies tuck their babies in
and kiss their fuzzy heads?

Do they sing them buzzy lullabies
and bid them to be still,
in a busy blowfly dreaming tree
on buzzy blowfly hill?

Busy blowfly, busy blowfly
you’ve been buzzing far too long,
it is time to tuck your wee wings up
and cease your blowfly song.

I can hear your mummy calling,
you may leave now - yes you may,
or I’ll expedite departure
with a toxic can of spray
]]> 1512378 no no Sun, 20 Dec 2015 20:44:36 +0100 2015-12-20T20:44:36+01:00 2:35 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/when-the-piper-calls/
O when all the seasons are spring to my heart
although outside winter be cruel,
there’s a wild stream a-flowing a dreaming, a knowing,
pipes calling me, leading me on

Dream away now, me darling
They’re calling you leading you on
Sail away dreaming me darling be gone
for the Piper is calling you home

Sometimes hear when the heaviness fills me
and the golden peeps out through the trees
it’s a gathering up and a snuggling down
a loving, a wild restless breeze

So lead me down there where the white lilies grow
lead me there, c’mon give me your hand,
for I see that the woodlands are coming alive
enchantment steals over the land

O dreaming one, screaming one, see how she cries,
but it’s different for dreamers like me
I awake and I rise, toss my fears to the skies
for too long I have dreamed to be free

I wrote this song quite a few years ago for a dear friend… it began with a feeling of yearning for a homeland… but as with so many songs that I untangle, it has grown into a more complex collection of ideas. I had great trouble ‘producing’ it and it has seemed to take a very long time. I have sung it live a few times and it has been a song of farewell for another friend… I wanted to create an atmosphere of sound, hints and suggestions of a misty land where music almost floats and yet there is a raw sense… ach… too many words… here it is anyway  Written, played, sung and mixed up by Emma.

The lovely painting is by Roger Dean – “Awaken Breakaway”
]]>
O when all the seasons are spring to my heart
although outside winter be cruel,
there’s a wild stream a-flowing a dreaming, a knowing,
pipes calling me, leading me on

Dream away now, me darling
They’re calling you leading you on
Sail away dreaming me darling be gone
for the Piper is calling you home

Sometimes hear when the heaviness fills me
and the golden peeps out through the trees
it’s a gathering up and a snuggling down
a loving, a wild restless breeze

So lead me down there where the white lilies grow
lead me there, c’mon give me your hand,
for I see that the woodlands are coming alive
enchantment steals over the land

O dreaming one, screaming one, see how she cries,
but it’s different for dreamers like me
I awake and I rise, toss my fears to the skies
for too long I have dreamed to be free

I wrote this song quite a few years ago for a dear friend… it began with a feeling of yearning for a homeland… but as with so many songs that I untangle, it has grown into a more complex collection of ideas. I had great trouble ‘producing’ it and it has seemed to take a very long time. I have sung it live a few times and it has been a song of farewell for another friend… I wanted to create an atmosphere of sound, hints and suggestions of a misty land where music almost floats and yet there is a raw sense… ach… too many words… here it is anyway  Written, played, sung and mixed up by Emma.

The lovely painting is by Roger Dean – “Awaken Breakaway”
]]> 1512379 no no Wed, 09 Dec 2015 21:55:42 +0100 2015-12-09T21:55:42+01:00 4:02 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/spin-earth-spin/
Shush, I hear her voice now, calling in my heart,
Peace, I feel her warmth now, although the night is dark
When the waves beat on forever and the wildness aches and cries
Sometimes I just can feel her near, sometimes

Spin earth spin, Cry wind cry
I can hear a song dream somewhere
feel the drum beat sky

She sings when I am sleeping, memory remains
Shapes and colours blur and fade in a melancholy pain
And when the heart stops trembling, the senses wake and still
You feel a stirring in the blood, your magic lives, your magic breathes

So Dance on now, let your heart lead the song
Let your bones remember, wake the dream
it has mouldered on too long!

Spin earth spin, Cry wind cry
I can hear a song dream somewhere
feel the drum beat sky…

Written, sung, played and mixed up by Emma.
Piano, cello, some synths… field recording of cars on a wet Wellington street, vocal meanderings….
]]>
Shush, I hear her voice now, calling in my heart,
Peace, I feel her warmth now, although the night is dark
When the waves beat on forever and the wildness aches and cries
Sometimes I just can feel her near, sometimes

Spin earth spin, Cry wind cry
I can hear a song dream somewhere
feel the drum beat sky

She sings when I am sleeping, memory remains
Shapes and colours blur and fade in a melancholy pain
And when the heart stops trembling, the senses wake and still
You feel a stirring in the blood, your magic lives, your magic breathes

So Dance on now, let your heart lead the song
Let your bones remember, wake the dream
it has mouldered on too long!

Spin earth spin, Cry wind cry
I can hear a song dream somewhere
feel the drum beat sky…

Written, sung, played and mixed up by Emma.
Piano, cello, some synths… field recording of cars on a wet Wellington street, vocal meanderings….
]]> 1512380 no no Wed, 30 Sep 2015 22:13:21 +0200 2015-09-30T22:13:21+02:00 3:38 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/sing-in-blue-for-the-voice-of-the-sea/
Like a bird on the road, that has flown too far
feathers stiff, stuck in the gun-metal tar
like a ship out to sea where the people have fled
leaving food warm and waiting, words left to be said

I went walking one day on the turn of the tide
felt a seeping of blood warming up from inside
Sing in Blue Sing in Blazing, in Sky Colours too
for the voice of the sea holds a memory true

There are faces there dreaming, just beyond reach
voices crooning in golden on a dream-shadow beach
It’s a calling, a drawing, it’s a pink spiral shell
whisper ocean, I hear you in a far away bell

I went walking one day on the turn of the tide
felt a seeping of blood warming up from inside
Sing in Blue Sing in Blazing, in Sky Colours too
for the voice of the sea holds a memory true

Draw in deeper my darling, draw in wild, draw in wet
for there’s things here a-thriving, that you’ve tried to forget
And they watch as you pass, your body moves by
The yellow-head gannet slides clean through the sky
to the belly of sea and the beat of the sun
running faster we dance as the water colours run..

I went walking one day on the turn of the tide
felt a seeping of blood warming up from inside
Sing in Blue Sing in Blazing, in Sky Colours too
for the voice of the sea holds a memory true

This is essentially an acoustic track – I was in a bit of a ‘dark celtic’ mode and I’ve been exploring how to play a wooden bass recorder (plus descant and alto) and have also included the ocean as an instrument… I recorded the waves/gulls on the beach where I originally wrote the song – how’s that for synergy?? it was a tricky mix I can tell you!! The cello added some more grunt… well, no synths in this piece!!
That big recorder sure takes a lot of air to play it… but I love that hooty haunting sound… what do you think? 
]]>
Like a bird on the road, that has flown too far
feathers stiff, stuck in the gun-metal tar
like a ship out to sea where the people have fled
leaving food warm and waiting, words left to be said

I went walking one day on the turn of the tide
felt a seeping of blood warming up from inside
Sing in Blue Sing in Blazing, in Sky Colours too
for the voice of the sea holds a memory true

There are faces there dreaming, just beyond reach
voices crooning in golden on a dream-shadow beach
It’s a calling, a drawing, it’s a pink spiral shell
whisper ocean, I hear you in a far away bell

I went walking one day on the turn of the tide
felt a seeping of blood warming up from inside
Sing in Blue Sing in Blazing, in Sky Colours too
for the voice of the sea holds a memory true

Draw in deeper my darling, draw in wild, draw in wet
for there’s things here a-thriving, that you’ve tried to forget
And they watch as you pass, your body moves by
The yellow-head gannet slides clean through the sky
to the belly of sea and the beat of the sun
running faster we dance as the water colours run..

I went walking one day on the turn of the tide
felt a seeping of blood warming up from inside
Sing in Blue Sing in Blazing, in Sky Colours too
for the voice of the sea holds a memory true

This is essentially an acoustic track – I was in a bit of a ‘dark celtic’ mode and I’ve been exploring how to play a wooden bass recorder (plus descant and alto) and have also included the ocean as an instrument… I recorded the waves/gulls on the beach where I originally wrote the song – how’s that for synergy?? it was a tricky mix I can tell you!! The cello added some more grunt… well, no synths in this piece!!
That big recorder sure takes a lot of air to play it… but I love that hooty haunting sound… what do you think? 
]]> 1512381 no no Wed, 19 Aug 2015 21:23:56 +0200 2015-08-19T21:23:56+02:00 5:30 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/be-ba-do-a-happy-silly-song/ :-)
]]> :-)
]]> 1512382 no no Wed, 05 Aug 2015 02:43:35 +0200 2015-08-05T02:43:35+02:00 1:53 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/harvest/
You stand in a dream
a tree dream, upon eggshell sky
Hands upraised dark in dream
head thrust back, scream to the sky

I’ve stood here too long, my heart is burning
I’ve waited too long, I think I’m lost
stood here too long, in deepest silence
and the dark dreaming beat of your heart

You suddenly notice this pain, all leaves are falling
suddenly see the bare limbs, the grey empty sky,
leaves like dry tears curling round as they dance, far beyond you,
curling like wounds in the sharp little smile of the wind

You have gathered the harvest, you know that it’s time to lie down now,
the seeds in the ground snuggle deep, dream the warm dream of sun,
As the rain trickles down, I can sense you are leaving
on the crest, all the everything yet to be done
.
.
.
.

It has taken me quite some time to capture this song… I wrote it a few years ago and have been trying to capture the sense of it within a recording for ages… Essentially it is piano and voices with a smoothing of cello and a slither of synths… The picture is an excerpt from van Gogh's 'Wheatfield with Crows'.
.
Written sung played and mixed up by Emma.
]]>
You stand in a dream
a tree dream, upon eggshell sky
Hands upraised dark in dream
head thrust back, scream to the sky

I’ve stood here too long, my heart is burning
I’ve waited too long, I think I’m lost
stood here too long, in deepest silence
and the dark dreaming beat of your heart

You suddenly notice this pain, all leaves are falling
suddenly see the bare limbs, the grey empty sky,
leaves like dry tears curling round as they dance, far beyond you,
curling like wounds in the sharp little smile of the wind

You have gathered the harvest, you know that it’s time to lie down now,
the seeds in the ground snuggle deep, dream the warm dream of sun,
As the rain trickles down, I can sense you are leaving
on the crest, all the everything yet to be done
.
.
.
.

It has taken me quite some time to capture this song… I wrote it a few years ago and have been trying to capture the sense of it within a recording for ages… Essentially it is piano and voices with a smoothing of cello and a slither of synths… The picture is an excerpt from van Gogh's 'Wheatfield with Crows'.
.
Written sung played and mixed up by Emma.
]]> 1512383 no no Thu, 11 Jun 2015 21:37:03 +0200 2015-06-11T21:37:03+02:00 4:20 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/theres-a-land-far-away/
There’s a land far away I’d forgotten
it’s a dream I’d lost, buried away
it’s a hope it’s a wildness a fierce shout of joy
I’ve unlocked the scream, opened the door

And the land is amazing, the colours so bright
the perfume intoxicates, fills you with light
And the song in your heart as you rise to the spring
the leap of the blood and the supple of skin

Your eyes are a petal to the blossom of brain
the sting of wild nettle, a fierce joyous pain
The land always was and it will always be
but your brain’s been asleep and you’ve swallowed the key
.
.
.
.

The photo of the NZ bellbird was taken by my son (proud smile) - and I've recorded some of its birdsong to include in the song... it has a magical ringing call...
.
It has taken me a long time to mix this song – years actually... Once again, I had an idea in my head but not the ability to translate that into sound. This is a song about remembering a lost dream ...
Written played sung and mixed up by Emma.
]]>
There’s a land far away I’d forgotten
it’s a dream I’d lost, buried away
it’s a hope it’s a wildness a fierce shout of joy
I’ve unlocked the scream, opened the door

And the land is amazing, the colours so bright
the perfume intoxicates, fills you with light
And the song in your heart as you rise to the spring
the leap of the blood and the supple of skin

Your eyes are a petal to the blossom of brain
the sting of wild nettle, a fierce joyous pain
The land always was and it will always be
but your brain’s been asleep and you’ve swallowed the key
.
.
.
.

The photo of the NZ bellbird was taken by my son (proud smile) - and I've recorded some of its birdsong to include in the song... it has a magical ringing call...
.
It has taken me a long time to mix this song – years actually... Once again, I had an idea in my head but not the ability to translate that into sound. This is a song about remembering a lost dream ...
Written played sung and mixed up by Emma.
]]> 1512384 no no Tue, 19 May 2015 23:04:35 +0200 2015-05-19T23:04:35+02:00 2:21 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/lullaby-i-will-light-a-candle/

Lullaby: I will light a candle..

I will light a candle, for the night is very dark now
I will light a candle for to drive away your fear,
I will hold you in my arms and chase away the shadows,
I will light a candle from the beating of my heart

When the mothbeats flutter and the dreambirds running wild
beating wings of darkness, there’s a small child crying
When your voice is calling me, seems to come from far away
I will hold you, I will hold you, still the dreaming

Small, I feel your heartbeat in the squeezing of your arms
Hush you now my darling Hush you now,
In the storm of dark things calling, feel I’m drowning in my love
Hush you now my little darling Hush you now

.
.
.

I wrote this song years ago when my children were small and now I have a grandchild, I thought I’d record it... You can hear him chuckling in the beginning...
As I was singing I was swept up in memories, how so often love and loss can become a part of the same... intertwined.

Written sung and mixed up by Emma... all acoustic this time.. not a single synth was allowed in.. 
]]>

Lullaby: I will light a candle..

I will light a candle, for the night is very dark now
I will light a candle for to drive away your fear,
I will hold you in my arms and chase away the shadows,
I will light a candle from the beating of my heart

When the mothbeats flutter and the dreambirds running wild
beating wings of darkness, there’s a small child crying
When your voice is calling me, seems to come from far away
I will hold you, I will hold you, still the dreaming

Small, I feel your heartbeat in the squeezing of your arms
Hush you now my darling Hush you now,
In the storm of dark things calling, feel I’m drowning in my love
Hush you now my little darling Hush you now

.
.
.

I wrote this song years ago when my children were small and now I have a grandchild, I thought I’d record it... You can hear him chuckling in the beginning...
As I was singing I was swept up in memories, how so often love and loss can become a part of the same... intertwined.

Written sung and mixed up by Emma... all acoustic this time.. not a single synth was allowed in.. 
]]> 1512386 no no Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:45:28 +0200 2015-04-29T20:45:28+02:00 4:19 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/iris/

There was an iris in the way that I saw you smiling,
dancing to the London song, crying in my mind..
It is so quiet now that the music has faded into night
now that the hymns have gone away, the gardens broke in two

Hold me in the wild winds, calling in the night
tomorrow all these angels gone away
And who we love and what we love, don’t mean a thing to me
it’s just the lights and how they rumble in your head

Iris deeping blue and closing
wrap your body round me mind
drying drowning slowly falling
gentle show me the unwind...
.
.
.
.
.

[I wrote this song a long time ago, back in the ‘80s when I was living in London and signed up to EMI... it was not a ‘suitable’ song for recording back then... heh, no hooks and a loose groove.. but I unearthed it the other day and it just seemed to flow in my own wee studio. It’s virtually all acoustic, with a light layer of synth... and a few sonic gaps filled here and there... I played my upright piano and blended that together with the vst piano, kicked a few bottles around and then pretended my poor cello was a jazzy bass... it gave me a great blister to play it that way!

It feels like quite a journey, to remember this song from back in another very different part of my life and now to re-claim it... as all my own work.  :-)]

]]>

There was an iris in the way that I saw you smiling,
dancing to the London song, crying in my mind..
It is so quiet now that the music has faded into night
now that the hymns have gone away, the gardens broke in two

Hold me in the wild winds, calling in the night
tomorrow all these angels gone away
And who we love and what we love, don’t mean a thing to me
it’s just the lights and how they rumble in your head

Iris deeping blue and closing
wrap your body round me mind
drying drowning slowly falling
gentle show me the unwind...
.
.
.
.
.

[I wrote this song a long time ago, back in the ‘80s when I was living in London and signed up to EMI... it was not a ‘suitable’ song for recording back then... heh, no hooks and a loose groove.. but I unearthed it the other day and it just seemed to flow in my own wee studio. It’s virtually all acoustic, with a light layer of synth... and a few sonic gaps filled here and there... I played my upright piano and blended that together with the vst piano, kicked a few bottles around and then pretended my poor cello was a jazzy bass... it gave me a great blister to play it that way!

It feels like quite a journey, to remember this song from back in another very different part of my life and now to re-claim it... as all my own work.  :-)]

]]> 1512387 no no Wed, 08 Apr 2015 00:35:28 +0200 2015-04-08T00:35:28+02:00 2:47 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/and-now-as-you-stand-here-in-silence/ Written sung played and mixed up by Emma. This is all mostly acoustic with a smudge of synth strings... I’m playing piano, cello and crooning...

and now as you stand here in silence...

and now as you stand here in silence,
watch the tree shadows moving with the sun,
and now you’re aware of the beat of your heart,
at last there is nowhere to run

as the blood in your veins turns to amber,
as the birdcall awakes bids you fly,
you turn with the colours all dancing,
hope leaps with the lights in the sky

come with me and stand on the platform
for the rocket is leaving real soon,
I’ve a flight in my mind and a song in my heart
for I’ve tasted the dark on the moon

back here in the deepening shadow
where all things have turned into one,
I can sense the wild joy of beginning again
the sense of things yet to be done

just when you had thought it’s all over
when the hole you’d crawled in seemed too small,
when the smile wouldn’t fit and the feet turned to lead
there’s no spaces left and you’re tired and half-dead

come with me and stand on the platform
for the rocket is leaving real soon,
I’ve a flight in my mind and a song in my heart
I’ve tasted the dark on the moon
]]> Written sung played and mixed up by Emma. This is all mostly acoustic with a smudge of synth strings... I’m playing piano, cello and crooning...

and now as you stand here in silence...

and now as you stand here in silence,
watch the tree shadows moving with the sun,
and now you’re aware of the beat of your heart,
at last there is nowhere to run

as the blood in your veins turns to amber,
as the birdcall awakes bids you fly,
you turn with the colours all dancing,
hope leaps with the lights in the sky

come with me and stand on the platform
for the rocket is leaving real soon,
I’ve a flight in my mind and a song in my heart
for I’ve tasted the dark on the moon

back here in the deepening shadow
where all things have turned into one,
I can sense the wild joy of beginning again
the sense of things yet to be done

just when you had thought it’s all over
when the hole you’d crawled in seemed too small,
when the smile wouldn’t fit and the feet turned to lead
there’s no spaces left and you’re tired and half-dead

come with me and stand on the platform
for the rocket is leaving real soon,
I’ve a flight in my mind and a song in my heart
I’ve tasted the dark on the moon
]]> 1512388 no no Tue, 10 Mar 2015 21:35:14 +0100 2015-03-10T21:35:14+01:00 2:59 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/wrong-dream/ Not all dreams are soft and fluffy...
this is a dark dream that traps you inside as it travels around and around and...

Wrong Dream...


On a train ripe with tomatoes
rippling red in cages sway,
He takes my hand to better balance
but the reds get in the way - wrong dream!

Tell my dear friend, my very dear friend
thank you but I cannot see you
for the light is much too bright
by the window where she stands

And the Russian in inflection
overtakes the sharp direction
place my hand upon her shoulder
then she smiles and turns away...

As the old man smiles so sweetly,
“So you have two little girls?” he grins
but there’s a sudden smell of urine
and the blanket’s scratchy thin

Tell my dear friend, my very dear friend
thank you but I cannot see you
for the light is much too bright
by the window where she stands

I walk a wild and dreaming darkness
I sing my Wild and dreaming song
Track the Traces – knot my laces
but there’s something very wrong..


written performed and mixed up by Emma]]> Not all dreams are soft and fluffy...
this is a dark dream that traps you inside as it travels around and around and...

Wrong Dream...


On a train ripe with tomatoes
rippling red in cages sway,
He takes my hand to better balance
but the reds get in the way - wrong dream!

Tell my dear friend, my very dear friend
thank you but I cannot see you
for the light is much too bright
by the window where she stands

And the Russian in inflection
overtakes the sharp direction
place my hand upon her shoulder
then she smiles and turns away...

As the old man smiles so sweetly,
“So you have two little girls?” he grins
but there’s a sudden smell of urine
and the blanket’s scratchy thin

Tell my dear friend, my very dear friend
thank you but I cannot see you
for the light is much too bright
by the window where she stands

I walk a wild and dreaming darkness
I sing my Wild and dreaming song
Track the Traces – knot my laces
but there’s something very wrong..


written performed and mixed up by Emma]]> 1512389 no no Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:05:35 +0100 2015-02-25T21:05:35+01:00 3:19 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/green-bird/
it was a green bird, quite strange, I never seen a bird
it flew through the window and landed in my heart

she stood in the doorway with the ocean in her eye
a parachute of silk, blue billow falling
she stood half through the doorway to the land of bitter dreaming
sparks of gold fall down and scorch, like the burning rain

you’ve been down the tunnel and you’ve walked past the lake
you’ve watched the wild geese flying, free flying in the brightness
you’ve been on down the tunnel, heard the chains drop down
this release, is this another kind of cage?

and the ball rolls through, the endless ball of silk
unravelling the dreaming, the magic ways to fly
you take up the end to travel, find its pulling you apart
unravelling the fibres of your soul

you’ve been down the tunnel and you’ve walked past the lake
there’s no geese left and the moon hides her face
you’ve been on down the tunnel but there’s no way back
and the rain’s closing in to all shadows

got a magic talking stick, a feather stick a dreaming
driftwood way to clear the beach of muddy waters
now you’re lying there naked with the wind crooning close
it’s a joke, an illusion, just a bloody sick joke

she stood in the doorway with the ocean in her eye
a parachute of silk blue billow falling
she stood half through the doorway to the land of bitter dreaming
sparks of gold fall down and scorch, like the burning rain

Written sung played and mixed up by Emma...
]]>
it was a green bird, quite strange, I never seen a bird
it flew through the window and landed in my heart

she stood in the doorway with the ocean in her eye
a parachute of silk, blue billow falling
she stood half through the doorway to the land of bitter dreaming
sparks of gold fall down and scorch, like the burning rain

you’ve been down the tunnel and you’ve walked past the lake
you’ve watched the wild geese flying, free flying in the brightness
you’ve been on down the tunnel, heard the chains drop down
this release, is this another kind of cage?

and the ball rolls through, the endless ball of silk
unravelling the dreaming, the magic ways to fly
you take up the end to travel, find its pulling you apart
unravelling the fibres of your soul

you’ve been down the tunnel and you’ve walked past the lake
there’s no geese left and the moon hides her face
you’ve been on down the tunnel but there’s no way back
and the rain’s closing in to all shadows

got a magic talking stick, a feather stick a dreaming
driftwood way to clear the beach of muddy waters
now you’re lying there naked with the wind crooning close
it’s a joke, an illusion, just a bloody sick joke

she stood in the doorway with the ocean in her eye
a parachute of silk blue billow falling
she stood half through the doorway to the land of bitter dreaming
sparks of gold fall down and scorch, like the burning rain

Written sung played and mixed up by Emma...
]]> 1512390 no no Thu, 29 Jan 2015 19:14:46 +0100 2015-01-29T19:14:46+01:00 4:04 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/christmas-murder-ballad-theres-something-festive-in-the-air/
There’s something festive in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year,
Things are peaceful all around, I listen out for sleigh bell sounds
It’s been a struggle, through and through, The shopping rush, there’s more to do,
But try I must to make things right, Christmas Day’s within my sights,

There’s something feral in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year
The eve it comes, the plans are done, They all complain, this should be fun,
Presents are all piled high, We gather round, a child cries
That’s it, that’s it, the final straw, My nerves are cooked, my feelings raw,

There’s something frightening in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year
I serve them all their Christmas lunch, But no, thank yous? They sit and munch
The Christmas pud, the final bit, I dish it out, I smile and sit.
Everyone is in one place, No one complains as I clear their plates,

There’s something fatal in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year
They’ve made their beds and now they lie, All quite still with glassy eyes,
I raise a toast, one just for me, The lights flash on the Christmas tree
Things are peaceful all around, I listen out for sleigh bell sounds


Sounds by Emma - Words by my son Flint - Created in some manic haste for a Christmas songwriting competition.... http://forum.recordingreview.com/f175/rules-prizes-reindeer-ruckus-2014-christmas-songwriting-contest-65579/ We WON the competition!!!! YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!]]>
There’s something festive in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year,
Things are peaceful all around, I listen out for sleigh bell sounds
It’s been a struggle, through and through, The shopping rush, there’s more to do,
But try I must to make things right, Christmas Day’s within my sights,

There’s something feral in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year
The eve it comes, the plans are done, They all complain, this should be fun,
Presents are all piled high, We gather round, a child cries
That’s it, that’s it, the final straw, My nerves are cooked, my feelings raw,

There’s something frightening in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year
I serve them all their Christmas lunch, But no, thank yous? They sit and munch
The Christmas pud, the final bit, I dish it out, I smile and sit.
Everyone is in one place, No one complains as I clear their plates,

There’s something fatal in the air, It’s that Christmas time of year
They’ve made their beds and now they lie, All quite still with glassy eyes,
I raise a toast, one just for me, The lights flash on the Christmas tree
Things are peaceful all around, I listen out for sleigh bell sounds


Sounds by Emma - Words by my son Flint - Created in some manic haste for a Christmas songwriting competition.... http://forum.recordingreview.com/f175/rules-prizes-reindeer-ruckus-2014-christmas-songwriting-contest-65579/ We WON the competition!!!! YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!]]> 1512391 no no Thu, 27 Nov 2014 18:49:21 +0100 2014-11-27T18:49:21+01:00 4:28 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/elegy-rest-now-in-autumn/

In the lemon of leaving, a bright disbelieving
the dull of deception, the way that we whisper,
Of kindness unspoken, yet something has broken
a part has snapped off and lies just beyond reach...

And I hold to the hope to the sweet endless dreaming
of shy possibilities, bright dreams that shine,
In my autumn of fruitfulness, deeply I harvest
all fruits, all richness on which I have dined

Rest now in autumn, rest now...

We break as we’re breathing in bright disbelieving,
we talk of the weather, the plans we have made,
As you drift through the thickness of air you are breathing
the struggle, the twisting to gasp and to swallow we
shudder exhausted, we shunt... and we break...

]]>

In the lemon of leaving, a bright disbelieving
the dull of deception, the way that we whisper,
Of kindness unspoken, yet something has broken
a part has snapped off and lies just beyond reach...

And I hold to the hope to the sweet endless dreaming
of shy possibilities, bright dreams that shine,
In my autumn of fruitfulness, deeply I harvest
all fruits, all richness on which I have dined

Rest now in autumn, rest now...

We break as we’re breathing in bright disbelieving,
we talk of the weather, the plans we have made,
As you drift through the thickness of air you are breathing
the struggle, the twisting to gasp and to swallow we
shudder exhausted, we shunt... and we break...

]]> 1512392 no no Thu, 30 Oct 2014 08:07:24 +0100 2014-10-30T08:07:24+01:00 4:42 https://hearthis.at/emma-caiman-hs/summer-winds/ Summer winds are weaving runnels through the grass
echoes of a melody, the sound of children laughing
the smell of hay, the molten smell of sweet golden sun
silence in the spaces in your heart

In a dream, a dream of dancing, in a space we tuck away
all the treasures all the bitter fruit, the deep and endless pain
as we try to paint a photograph of someone that we knew
but she has run too far away to hear me calling

Fruit is falling drunken from the trees
the wasps are biting buzzing on the rotting fruit beneath
I am standing waiting darkly for the rain that never falls
to cool the dark and raging ocean soothe my storm

In a dream, a dream of dancing, in a space we tuck away
all the treasures all the bitter fruit, the deep and endless pain
as we try to paint a photograph of someone that we knew
but she has run too far away to hear me calling
]]> Summer winds are weaving runnels through the grass
echoes of a melody, the sound of children laughing
the smell of hay, the molten smell of sweet golden sun
silence in the spaces in your heart

In a dream, a dream of dancing, in a space we tuck away
all the treasures all the bitter fruit, the deep and endless pain
as we try to paint a photograph of someone that we knew
but she has run too far away to hear me calling

Fruit is falling drunken from the trees
the wasps are biting buzzing on the rotting fruit beneath
I am standing waiting darkly for the rain that never falls
to cool the dark and raging ocean soothe my storm

In a dream, a dream of dancing, in a space we tuck away
all the treasures all the bitter fruit, the deep and endless pain
as we try to paint a photograph of someone that we knew
but she has run too far away to hear me calling
]]> 1512393 no no Wed, 17 Sep 2014 00:43:10 +0200 2014-09-17T00:43:10+02:00 4:06