My Old School

[Ray Brookes]

It seems so funny; seems so strange
Everything's the same, nothing has changed
In my old school
Been so long. So long ago
Can't see anybody I know
In my old school

The tutors old plodding beaten tracks
Just papering over the cracks
In my old school
Never gave enough; nowhere near my best
My initials carved in the desk
In my old school

And when I finally left those walls
Oh my God what a wake-up call
A whole new set of rules
In a whole new different school

[ODH]

That's deep, I felt it.

Thanks for that. 

[Pete C]

Nice song Ray with a touch of melancholy ! I left my school 44 years ago..the building is unchanged from the outside but is now a NHS (National Health Service) site. Whenever I walk past it it seems like just yesterday. The school had a clock tower which was out of bounds but when I was in my last year we used to sneak up it during free periods as the caretaker sometimes left it unlocked. In the room where the clock mechanism was, there were initials chalked on the wall of other boys, including me, dating back to the 1930's when the school was built. I'd love to see if they're still there. Then we'd climb the ladder up to the top of the tower and sit on the roof being careful not to be seen over the parapet as that would result in a right bollocking if the headmaster saw you. Sorry for rambling on but music does bring back memories.

Pete

Pete

[Ron D Bowes]

Great lyric and fine picking on the acoustic. I lIke the click - almost sounds like a water droplet. Slide is a nice touch. A very atmospheric song.

[Hook]

Dude, this took some unexpected turns that really caught my ear. Those middle eastern sounds are really captivating and there is a note in your arpeggio after the 1st 2 verses that just really floats my boat.
Rock on!

[DarrenG / The Devil's Toupee]

You got me reminiscing about my old school now..some of your words ring so true with me too. Outstanding song ray..the lyrics and the music is just perfect. Awesome fingerpicking and i really love the key changes and the slightly psychedelic sound it goes into. some great percussion in there too.

Darren

[kenny mac]

Usual top notch recording.
Slide is excellent and gentle percussion work is so effective

Finger picking is fantastic.
Nice one Ray.

[StephenM]

The master strikes again!
What a song, story, sentiment.
Soulful and feels so melancholic it could bring tears to the eyes. 
And also tells the bloody truth about the real school

[Zoltan]

There is a certain kind of ageless feel to this song, and yet there's an air of reminiscing to it also. It's comparable to those scenes in movies where they show sepia tinged glimpses of old times and days gone by.

The playing is great and the instrumentation fits the mood and there's an aussie vibe to it also. The story is easy to relate to. I studied hard when i didn't have anything better to do. Which i often did. Still i would consider myself as well read. I always had a comic book at hand.

The structures stay, people change, or move. Sometimes even the structures disappear, but some important ones can really stay a long time...

I'm sure the school you got in the later life was still a lot more enjoyable. Even with all the salt.

I was going to start this post by saying something along the lines of "The Master songwriters is at it again", but Stephen did that for me I can only echo the sentiments of Stephen and others. This is quality songwriting and when you've got the whole package covered like this it's a joy for the listener!

[Trist]

This is very melancholy and dark i like it, nice instrumentation as always . you capture a lot of feeling just with the instrumentation you use. the lead parts give of a very lonely feel to the music, a dark nostalgia . i like the last lines on the track. very true

i used to go to school an the whole class would clap soon as i walked in just for showing up as i rarely went lol
think they tore it down not too soon either