From the album Shadows, currently only available on Bandcamp but soon to be available in all the usual places...

Blue Skies

how do they sleep at night

the decision makers

covered in blood stained cloth

they sleep fine

their decisions your demise

birds fly across their blue skies

missiles fly across yours

one head above the parapet cries

stop please stop

a nation holds its breath

waiting for the end

millions of voices cry out

stop please stop

they are not listening

crippled with pain

inconceivable brutality

the whole world screams

stop please stop

indifferent to condemnation

a rogue state doubles down

turns the other cheek

the one rampant with rage

they are not listening

having lost all humanity

they unleash their revenge

amidst the crying

stop please stop

you wonder how they sleep

they sleep fine

birds fly across their blue skies

missiles fly across yours

A duet with Marie Saunders. I wanted a country vibe for this track and the only way I could achieve that was with the vocals of Marie, she has really added that all importatnt Country vibe

WAVES is the result of the "emotional rollercoaster" that was 2021, born from watching someone very close to me suffer Postnatal Depression. A time so full of joy for the new life, so full of pain for a life changed beyond recognition.

Tom Robinson selected 'WAVES' for his mixtape, 31st Jan 2022, which went out on BBC 6music. BBC Radio Norfolk selected it as their BBC Introducing 'Record of the Week' that same week.

Credits:

Written: Marina Florance

Vocals/Guitar: Marina Florance

Produced/Guitar: Ben Walker

Strings: Anna Jenkins, Basia Bartz and Jo Silverston

Cover: Marina Florance, Cardiff Bay one misty November morning

Reviews:

"This is a new sound I'm calling Earthy Folk & it's heart aching beautiful, I absolutely love it" Johnno Casson @snippetcuts

"She's got one of those voices like I guess all great folk singers do that just evoke so much feeling..." "...just stunning" Kitty Perrin BBC Introducing Norfolk

"Marina knows her voice so well & writes to suit it – a low register but not quite husky & a deliberate not-quite crack in the last verse as she gets to the end. Superb." Folking.com

lyrics

I sailed on a sea of green

I sailed on a sea of blue

swam in the sea of hopeless

was lost in the ocean of you

I sailed on a sea of sacrifice

where fear of failure abounds

drifted on the sea of broken dreams

as the tides of change howled

short instrumental

I sailed on the sea of lonely

I sailed on the sea of drowned

swam an ocean of fallen tears

when a wall of waves tore me down

I sailed on the sea of loss

where no hope would be found

held fast in an ocean of your love

on fair winds to firmer ground

instrumental

we sail on the sea of green

we sail on the sea of blue

eased in to the sea of hopeful

was saved by the ocean of you

was saved by the ocean of you

This song was written for The Warm & Toasty Club & inspired by

Memory Afternoons at Enoch House, Colchester, Essex.

Words & Music: Marina Florance & Jules Allen

https://www.marinaflorance.com/

Credits:

LVs, BVs, Cajon, Guitar, Keys - Marina Florance

BVs & Whistling - Gary Florance

Bass, Violin, BVs - Mark Jolley

Featuring the voices of residents of Enoch House Colchester

Lyrics:

Chorus

We've all got a tale to tell

Times were not always so well

But putting it all aside

We made it through by and by

Verse 1

It’s warm and toasty in here

Share our laughter, sometimes tears

You'll be welcomed with a cup of tea

And a biscuit, maybe two or three

Verse 2

Wrapped in a little white cloth

Cooking for hours in the old iron pot

There’s a jam roly poly for tea

Enough for you & dad & grandma & me

Break

What did we like the most

a fish paste sandwich

or peas on toast

And nothing could come close

To bubble and squeak

the day after our Sunday roast

Chorus

We've all got a tale to tell

Times were not always so well

But putting it all aside

We made it through by and by

Verse 3

The treat of the day from Mum

A whole penny to buy a bun

Dad was a warden for the ARP

In his shadow & old tin hat

Dennis would be

Verse 4

Porridge on the menu for Jan the Nan

Porridge again, again & again

But what were you gonna do

With a family of twenty-two

Verse 5

Waiting for Sunday tea

Freddie the Shrimp man, what will it be

Herrings, winkles and whelks

From his barrow of the sea

Chorus

We've all got a tale to tell

Times were not always so well

But putting it all aside

We made it through by and by

Instrumental… La La La Laaala

Repeat Verse 1

It’s warm and toasty in here

Share our laughter, sometimes tears

You'll be welcomed with a cup of tea

And a biscuit, maybe two…

Maybe two or three

From Marina's latest album 'fly beyond the border' featuring the voice of Johnno Casson.

Fiddle & Bass – Mark Jolley

LV/BVs - Marina Florance & Johnno Casson

All other instrumentation - Marina Florance

Recorded/Produced: Marina Florance

Written By: Marina Florance, Richard Pierce, Jules Fox Allen

Album Cover, Photography - Jon Clifton

Lyrics:

Life goes on, that’s all they say,

To close our eyes is the only way,

There’s a woman and a child with a familiar face

they can see no sense in going on at all

They don’t know what all the fighting’s for

They could be any one of us

But they’re invisible

Will we be losing any sleep tonight

Will we be losing any sleep at all

Life goes on, that’s all they say

To close our eyes is the only way

There’s a man, gun in his hand, revenge in his heart

He looks at you from some wartorn place

A desperate man painted hate on his face

He could be any one of us

But he listened to their lies

Will we be losing any sleep tonight

Will we be losing any sleep at all

Life goes on, that’s all they say

To close our eyes is the only way

There’s a child with luck on her side, or so it would seem

Her future resides amongst those who have died

And those who have seen

She could be any one of us

But she’s invisible

Life goes on, that’s all they say

To close our eyes is the only way

There’s a woman, head in her hands, she falls to her knees

And where she used to live is razed to the ground

Her life’s possessions scattered around

She could be any one of us

Still listening to their lies

Will you be losing any sleep tonight

Will you be losing any sleep at all

Life goes on, or so they say.

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/79EKPC75ayNxXg6AWQ8WGg

Buy: https://www.marinaflorance.com/shop

From Marina's latest album 'fly beyond the border'

LV/BV/Cajon/Mandolin/Guitar/Harmonica: Marina Florance

Bass/Fiddle: Mark Jolley

Lead Guitar/BVs: Ben Smith

Guitar: Chris Bullen

Recording/Production: Marina Florance

Album Cover, Photography - Jon Clifton

Lyrics

Gonna take a ride back to the start

to the place where my heart wasn’t broken

and it’s hard for me to leave

but I know it doesn’t make it right for me to stay

Chorus

Cause I just heard you speak the words

that I longed to hear you say

oh I heard you say I love you

but you weren’t talking to me

so I’m gonna take a ride back to the start

to the place where my heart wasn’t broken

and I’m not yours to have and not to hold

from this my first day forward

Chorus

and I just heard you speak the words

that I longed to hear you say

oh I heard you say I love you

but you weren’t talking to me

mid 8th

I tried hard to believe

And I stayed when I could have walked away

Now it’s only yester me that was made for you

if we were ever meant to be

chorus

so I’m gonna take a ride back to the start

to the place where my heart wasn’t broken

cause I’m not yours to have and not to hold

from this my first day forward

Cause I just heard you speak the words

that I longed to hear you say

oh I heard you say I love you

but you weren’t talking to me

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/79EKPC75ayNxXg6AWQ8WGg

https://www.marinaflorance.com/

Live sound recording taken from gig at St Pancras Old Church 28/04/2016 also playing that night was headliners Brian Willoughby & Cathryn Craig and providing support apart from Marina Florance was Ben Smith & Jimmy Brewer.

From the album 'This, That & The Other' released Jan 2016

Written By: Florance/Fox Allen/Kennedy

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/79EKPC75ayNxXg6AWQ8WGg

https://www.marinaflorance.com/

From the album This, That & The Other

Written: Florance/Fox Allen

Recorded/Produced: Marina Florance

Guitar/Keys/Vocals: Marina Florance

Bring Me That Sweet Thing Called Love

lately I've been down, so many things on my mind,

felt like the clouds were falling from the sky

and all I've ever known, everything that was precious to me

just blew away on a Summer breeze, hmmmm

Life never promised an easy ride I know

but when the rain falls hard we'll shelter from the storm

wait for the sun to shine a little light along the way

give us the strength to carry on

Chorus:

And if I push you away when I really long for you to stay,

one thing will always be the same

one constant thing in this crazy sea of change

and its that sweet thing, oooh that sweet thing, oooh

bring me that sweet thing called love

You say that you can't see a side to me that's real

that I'm just a shadow of all I used to be

you think that I've become afraid to feel

that I'm always looking for yesterday hmmmm

And so you tell me it all happens for a reason

part of a plan that we'll never see,

and all those times that I changed my direction

always you came back, always you came back to me

Chorus

But if you hold me strong, hold me for as long

and if I push you away when I really long for you to stay

oh bring me that sweet thing, bring me that sweet thing oooh

please bring me that sweet thing called love

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/79EKPC75ayNxXg6AWQ8WGg

https://www.marinaflorance.com/

Side By Side

Written by: Mick Kennedy

Lyrics

Side by side, face to face

We both have our cultures, we both have our faiths

and despite all of our differences

no matter what we say, we have so much in common

As we live day to day, side by side

First you were a neighbour, then you were a friend

Though we lived our lives in different ways

We shared a common sense

Chorus

And we shared in the good times

Helped each other through the bad

You laughed when I was happy

and I cried when you were sad

Chorus

Then something came between us

As the years went marching by

we fought with each other

An eye for an eye

Side by side

face to face, we both have our cultures

We both have our faiths

and despite all of our differences

no matter what we say

We have so much in common

As we live day to day

Side by side

But the points of contention

Between you and me

Will be the seeds of our destruction

If we refuse to see

That Side by side

And face to face

We both need our cultures

We both need our faiths

Despite all our differences

And no matter what we say

We have so much in common

As we live day to day

Side by side

So here’s a hand to you brother

It’s time for war to cease

We know our true enemies

Are famine and disease

But side by side, face to face

We’ll always have our cultures

We’ll always have our faiths

Despite all our differences

And no matter what we say

We have so much in common

As we live day to day

Side by side