Something To Believe In, Ian Hunter, The Artful Dodger

Something To Believe In is a song that takes on one of the biggest topics of life God and faith; the song is related to another look at the topic, God (Take 1) or even Salvation. In short, Hunter is saying that we all need something to believe in. He takes responsibility for hurting others but he has looked for something to believe in or something more solid. He is not attracted to institutional religion nonetheless we still need something more. Ian broadens his view to international affairs as he refers to Sarajevo and the theme of warfare. The reference to Willy and the Poor Boys could be a reference to archetypical American band Creedence Clearwater Revival since that is the title of their fourth album in 1969 and they are lost in America. They might have expressed the sentiment as stranded in Lodi, one of their well known songs. Hunter quotes part of laying down to sleep as a well-known children's bedtime prayer from the 18th Century married to the title, From Here to Eternity, a 1953 American drama romance war film, as part of finding something that you can believe in. A really strong verse states his case:

For every seed of knowledge found

For every grain of reason

For every shred of decency 

There's something to believe in 

It was often performed live, has many verses, and is difficult to learn, but worth it. There is a live trio version of this song as well. 

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Willy and the Poor Boys is the fourth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in November 1969. It was the last of three studio albums the band released that year, arriving just three months after Green River.^[1]

Lodi

After playing in local bars, the narrator finds himself stranded and unable to raise bus or train fare to leave. Fogerty later said he had never actually 

Now I lay me down to sleep is a classic children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.

From Here to Eternity is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Army soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reedportray the women in their lives, and the supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Claude Akins, and George Reeves.

Something To Believe In

(Ian Hunter)

Well I lay underneath an ageless sky
I watched the universe breathing
There's more going on up there than meets the eye
Give me something to believe in

Which way's in and which way's out
Every step is misleading
Well which way is up which way is down
You gotta have something to believe in

Oh, let me dream, let me dream
I spend my whole life dreaming
I've been lucky but I'm still mean
You gotta have something to believe in

I didn't mean to hurt the people I hurt
I was full of fear and loathing
I wasn't up to much, but I was all I had to go on
Couldn't find nothing to believe in

I don't like all them man-made religions
They all need a little spiritual healing
They don't cut across race, they don't cut across culture
But we all need something to believe in

So you believe what you want to believe
Just stay true to your feelings
'Cause one man's god's just as good as another now
Gotta' have something to believe in

Well I lay underneath a royal throne
The gaudy paint was peeling
Half an inch deep and twice as cheap
Oh give me something to believe in

Fat Fred always packing lead
On the corner dealing
Makes more in a night than I can make in forty days
Give me something to believe in

Now people worship what they see
Looks can be deceiving
Violence rages in abandoned hearts
'Cause they ain't got nothing to believe in

The chill chill is a bitter pill
When it comes to leaving
'Cause there ain't no easy way outta here
When you ain't got nothing to believe in

Just woke up in Sarajevo city
I watched all those mothers screaming
Kids getting shot and for what, and for what?
Give me something to believe in

Now there's fire outside, mud that slides
Earthquakes shake the region
Willy and the Poorboys lost in America
They ain't got nothing to believe in

For every seed of knowledge found
For every grain of reason
For every shred of decency
There's something to believe in

Now I lay me down to rest
In the silence of the evening
And the moon road shines from here to eternity
I've got something to believe in

You believe what you want to believe
Just stay true to your feelings
'Cause one man's god's just as good as another
I've got something to believe in.

Something To Believe In	5:46	Originally issued on The Artful Dodger.
Something To Believe In (Trio version)	5:16	This can be found on Tilting The Mirror - Rarities (box set only).

Soap 'n' Water, Ian Hunter, Rant

Soap 'n' Water is a personal song that is direct and right on target against Terence Dale "Buffin" Griffin, drummer for Mott The Hoople who had a big mouth and spreads innuendo. Just as a mother might wash out a child's mouth with soap and water that is what needs to be done to this person. After hearing jibes for years from the former drummer and BBC producer Ian unleashed his thoughts here. The Mott pairing had never been peaceful but Hunter was perplexed by Griffin's slam against Ronson. Despite the personal animosity Ian never doubted Buffs dedication to Mott. 

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Soap and Water

(Ian Hunter)

I can't believe what you did, you know - you just can't let it go
I'm sick 'n' tired of listening to your innuendo
I can't believe what you did, you know - you sawed me in half
When I was at the end of my endurance
All you did was bite the hand that fed you from the start

Oh - oh - oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water, na na na na na na - would not come amiss
Oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water - a little soap 'n' water, a little soap 'n' water
I can't believe what you did, why - why you stoop so low
Why am I the target for your slings and arrows
I can't believe what you did, when - you showed me no class
Every mirror tells a different story
Who gave you the right to be the keeper of my past

Oh - oh - oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water, na na na na na na - would not come amiss
Oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water - a little soap 'n' water, we're gonna have to wash your mouth out if you persist

You know, I was never loyal to you - you were never loyal to me
We were both loyal to the cause
That cause died - there was nothing left inside
It ain't my fault, let it - it ain't your fault - let it ride

I can't believe what you did, you know - you know how to hurt
All you do is drag old memories through the dirt
I can't believe what you did - you show no mercy
Yesterday don't last until tomorrow
My oh my, what a pitiful cry - you're your own worst enemy

Oh - oh - oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water, na na na na na na - would not come amiss
Oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water - a little soap 'n' water, we're gonna have to wash your mouth out if you persist

I got just what you need, I got just what you need
I got just what you need, I got just what you need
I got just what you need, I got just what you need
I got just what you need

Soap 'n' Water is direct and to the point, being directed at someone else entirely: "I can't believe what you did, you know how to hurt/All you do is drag old memories through the dirt".

Soap and Water

5:18

Originally issued on Rant.

Slaughter On Tenth Avenue, Mick Ronson solo track, Welcome to the Club

Slaughter On Tenth Avenue is a Mick Ronson solo track from Slaughter On Tenth Avenue but also released on Welcome to the Club and there is also a live version from the Rockpalast show in 1980. The song was included on Ronson's first LP when David Bowie came in with his crowd and just took over. Bowie ran out of time although he promised to write lyrics for the tune. As they ran out of time Mick asked about the words but responded he didn't feel like writing and wandered off. What we are left with was Ronson's finishing his record in two days and the pure class guitar playing live as on this record. It was often featured during touring as the Hunter Ronson Band. 

Also recorded at the Rockpalast TV Show, Grugahalle, Essen Germany 19th April 1980 and is on Collateral Damage.

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Slaughter On Tenth Avenue (live 5-11th November 1979)	2:25	Originally a Mick Ronson solo track (on Slaughter On Tenth Avenue). This live version (recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles CA) was originally issued on Welcome to the Club and also on the compilations The Best of Ian Hunterand From The Knees Of My Heart.
Slaughter On Tenth Avenue (live 19th April 1980)	2:51	This live version (recorded Rockpalast TV Show, Grugahalle, Essen Germany) was issued on Collateral Damage. It can also be found on Live At Rockpalast. Not on the box set.

Skeletons (In Your Closet), (Ian Hunter/Darrel Bath/Honest John Plain), The Artful Dodger

The Skeletons (In Your Closet) humorous song would not be out of place on Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry CD, and not surprisingly they were left overs from that effort, and co-writers include collaborators Darrel Bath and Honest John Plain. The song is a bit out of place on the CD but at the time Hunter favored the song's placement. The incessant interest of the paparazzi is the critique here and all the dirt they can gather on the rich and famous. Once the media gets a hold of juicy tidbits they want to spread the skeletons in your closet to the public. This is the stuff of tabloid journalism or snarky talk shows both in the States and across the pond. It's a fun song with a serious point. The light-hearted vocals conveyed sexual undertones, and scandal, innuendo, lurid tales, and gossip all pursued by the gutter press. 

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Skeletons (In Your Closet)

(Ian Hunter/Darrel Bath/Honest John Plain)

Bimbo, flirts, sluts in skirts - muscles brightly glisten
Conversation's full of filth - let's all have a listen
Oh dear oh dear we live in fear
Media bulbs a poppin'
If you're bent, they're on your scent
There can be no stoppin'

Peroxide blondes, vagabonds, into 'eavy metal
Your hair looks like its been done by a dyke with a score to settle
Mud needs raking, photos taken of your murky past
Haunts you, taunts you, love it don't you

Hey hey the gang's all here
Pimps 'n' pervs, straights 'n' queers
Enquiring minds want to sneer at the skeletons in your closet
Sunday morning in the park,
Down the pub or in the bath
We'll all have a good old laugh
At the skeletons in your closet

Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet

It's bloody marvellous - innit?
It's bloody marvellous - innit?

Juicy bits, saucy snips, there's gold in them there gutters
Blue rinse mob on the job, curtains all a-flutter
It's cheapo culture, bleeding ulcers, burnt out by the score
Lurid tales never fails to shock you to the core
Kinky boots 'n' rubbber suits,
It's all going on next door!
Caught you, taught you, love it don't you

If you've had your face re-done
If you spank your girlfriend's bum
We can all join in the fun
At the skeletons in your closet
What's the world coming to?
Ain't we got nothin' better to do?
To spend all day sifting through
The skeletons in your closet

Hey hey the gang's all here
Pimps 'n' pervs, straights 'n' queers
Enquiring minds want to sneer
At the skeletons in your closet

Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet

Skeletons (In Your Closet)

4:02

Originally issued on The Artful Dodger.

Silver Needles, Ian Hunter, Welcome to the Club

Silver Needles could be about almost any victim of the rock star lifestyle so speculation has centered on who it could be about. Silver needles are the downfall of so many stars in the limelight; Hunter is saying he understands the pressure that public figures experience but he is not dead and is still standing. Ian identifies that the song is loosely based on Deep Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin who did not heed Hunter's advice after he had signed a book for him. Bolin died in 1976 from an overdose of heroin and other substances, including alcohol, cocaine, and barbiturates. Ian adds that it might have Sid Vicious in mind as well since he passed in February 1979 and someone else who died but believed what the music papers said about him. He thinks that the papers would mirror and not lead music. For example, if the New York Dolls had not been pushed out too soon, stayed away from drugs, and allowed to develop, they would have been more long lasting. 

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Silver Needles

(Ian Hunter)

You're just a stranger in the past
Just another mug that could never last
You came up slow but you burned out fast (didn't ya)

Oh growing up was your sole excuse
Your body was tight but your head was so lose
I guess I could have told you but what's the use

It ain't Silver Needles on the run
No it ain't Silver Needles on the run
It ain't Silver Needles on the run
Shh you make me feel so bad

You thought you was the only one that got messed up
Me 'n all the others never had it so rough
Well how come you're dead and I'm still stood up

Well it ain't Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
No it ain't Silver Needles on the run
Oh I remember....

All your plans were made on some PR floor
'N all your bags were packed, they never reached the door.
All over in your thought exchange
All your brains were acting strange
You never lied in dreams before
There must be more to life than getting sore

(What do you think?)

I seen in some music paper that you was gone
And I went right out and wrote you a farewell song
Boy, they had you dead before you was born
And it's a shame - you were such a great mover

But it ain't Silver Needles on the run
No it ain't Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
(Next)

Silver Needles

5;56

Originally issued on Welcome to the Club, also on the compilations From The Knees Of My Heart and The Collection.

Silent Movie (Corky Laing/Ian Hunter), The Secret Sessions

This is a co-written song by Corky Laing and Hunter and it is a love gone wrong type of song in that the couple has nothing to say to another as in a silent movie. It is about communication that breaks down.  

Silent Movie

(Corky Laing/Ian Hunter)

Well the school bell rings
I carried your things
Getting on the yellow bus
With the whole world watching us

And our love was like a silent movie
Ain't got nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
I wish we could have kept it that way

Now the door bell rings
I'm gonna get my things
Take another bright (?)
At the lion's side

Cause our love was like a silent movie
Ain't got nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
That's the all-American way

Silent Movie

And our love was like a silent movie
There's nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
And that's the all-American way

And our love was like a silent movie
There's nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
I wish we could have kept it that way

Our love was like a silent movie
Silent movie
Our love was like a silent movie
I wish we could have kept it that way

Silent Movie

3:20

This collaboration (Laing/Hunter/Ronson/Pappalardi) can be found on The Secret Sessions (not on the box set).

Shrunken Heads, Ian Hunter, Shrunken Heads

We're all at the mercy of Shrunken Heads and in the topsy turvy world we are in everything is inverted. When you are born on the wrong side of the tracks there is not much you can do about it. The song was written about a visit to the beach in Blackpool where nobody smiled. Many British are scruffier than they were formerly and drugs have robbed people of their dignity. With Tony Blair a good number of people are worse off than they were before. With people self-absorbed it has taken a toll on British society. In some ways, this is a Springsteen like observation about the decline of England. The electorate and the elected are not doing their jobs and the Western leaders are just not clever enough. An indicative line is: "The rich get richer and poor get sorer." 

There is a live version from 2008. 

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Shrunken Heads

(Ian Hunter)

Concrete steps, never swept
It used to be fear, now they call it respect
Sad old walls fallin' down
On the shattered skulls in the battleground
Absent fathers, weary mums
The old, the sick, the dying
And the isolated ones
Ancient language turns obscene
Between the goal posts of a circular dream

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
This house is haunted and the streets are dead
We're all the mercy of shrunken heads

Bells are ringing of a cleaner time
There ain't no washing hangin' out on the line anymore
Something died and I don't know when
But it's funkier now that it ever was then

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
The heart of the city is dilapidated
Who's gonna save us from these shrunken heads

On a windy day where no one smiles
On a pleasureless beach on a go-go-golden mile
In a sad café eating day old bread
And I tip the angry actress
With pockets full of shrunken heads

Windows barred, exhausted dull
The smell of decay is miserable
Dangerous streets where the dealers rule
Lie litter strewn around a frozen school

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
You took our loyalty and you tore it to shreds
We're all the mercy of shrunken heads
Nothing matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor stay sorer
And the heart of the city is red-carpeted
Freaks of nature, shrunken heads
Shrunken heads decide my fate
It used to be 10, now it's 10:08
We ain't got the answers, it's complicated
I wouldn't bet any money on shrunken heads

Where you're born is the luck of the draw

Shrunken Heads is a great track, with a distinct Springsteen-ish touch to it - close your eyes and it's easy to imagine the E-Street Band accompanying Ian on this one.

Shrunken Heads	7:45	Originally released on Shrunken Heads.
Shrunken Heads (live 2nd March 2008)	6:38	This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only).

Ships, Ian Hunter, You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic

Ships is one of the most well known, sensitive, and autobiographical songs in the Hunter catalog reprised by No Hard Feelings. The song describes the intense relationship and conflict that he had and worked through with his father: Walter Patterson. Ian understands that his father had a rough life as a soldier, policeman, and in the British Secret Service before a stroke floored him. As a youth Hunter viewed himself as a typical post-war idiot. The intensity of the conflict lessened as Ian matured and he grasped what his father had to deal with in life. 

Musically there was little chance that they would see eye to eye but his father appreciated his book Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star. His father aspired to be a writer and he was proud of Ian's talent. He even tried to dissect his son's talent in his songwriting. One issue that father Hunter used was reverse psychology by telling Ian that he would not amount to anything thinking that would motivate him. The song relates actual events. Hunter bought his parents a Sheltie dog, Kayla, and when she had pups his parents kept all three. They took walks by the sea in Bispham on the Fylde coast. Both his parents thought Ian more of a writer than performer but this song went a long way to mending bridges and his father heard it before his passing at home on Caxton Avenue in Bispham in 1980. Father and son had made peace by then. Ian's mother was a bit miffed, though he honored her on Strings Attached, since she felt that her family contribution was downplayed and Ian's father got all the credit. After her husband's passing Ian's mum moved back to Shropshire. 

The song was not easy to write and it took years to come out. Hunter began the song about the time of the John Cale workshop demos. Ian had the verses but no hook. However, sitting with Max Weinberg, the drummer, one night he happened to say `ships that pass in the night.' It was the original title. That provided Ian the impetus that he needed to finish the song. Hunter felt the song was just average; however, managers Steve Popovich and Sam Lederman thought more highly of it and encouraged him to finish the song. Good thing he did. The song became a Top Ten cover at #9 by Barry Manilow with key changes and modulations that had never occurred to Ian. When he was asked if he minded the different musical direction and mellow Manilow covering the song he responded that it made him a pretty penny; there is nothing to complain about that. 

The theme of the song was explored again with No Hard Feelings. 

There is also an early version, a Take 1 cut, and several live versions recorded throughout Hunter's career.  

Also recorded at My Father's Place, Roslyn NY 12th June 1979 on Missing In Action.

The song is included in a medley on Rick Derringer & Friends. 

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At 48:21 the song starts on the Derringer version:

https://youtu.be/NvQ79Bx26rs

Ships

(Ian Hunter)

We walked to the sea, just my father and me
and the dogs played around on the sand.
Winter cold cut the air, hanging still everywhere
dressed in gray did he say hold my hand?
I said love's easier when it's far away
We sat and watched the distant lights.

We're two ships that pass in the night
And we smile when we say it's alright.
We're still here, it's just that we're out of sight
like those ships that pass in the night.

There's a boat on the line where the sea meets the sky.
There's another that rides far behind.
And it seems you and I are like strangers a wide
Ways apart as we drift on through time.
He said it's harder now you're far away
We only read you when you write.

We're two ships that pass in the night
We both smile when we say it's alright.
We're still here, Oh it's just that we're out of sight
like those ships that pass in the night.

We're two ships that pass in the night
We're two ships that pass in the night
We're two ships that pass in the night

(Repeat and fade)

Ships	4:11	Originally a single and album track, originally issued on You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic, also on the compilations The Collection, From The Knees Of My Heart, Old Records Never Die, Once Bitten Twice Shy, Shades of Ian Hunter and The Singles Collection 1975-83.
Ships (early version)	5:24	An 'early version' can be found on From The Knees Of My Heart. It is also on the 30th Anniversary mp3 issue of You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic (download only).
Ships (take 1)	5:24	A slightly different version is on the 2009 (30th Anniversary) and 2016 issues of You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic.
Ships (live 12th June 1979)	6:49	This live version (recorded at My Father's Place, Roslyn NY) can be found on Missing In Action, and on If You Wait Long Enough For Anything, You Can Get It On Sale (box set only).
Ships (live 11th September 1981)	(9:20)	This live version (recorded Dr. Pepper Music Festival, Pier 84, New York NY) was originally issued on the Ian Hunter Rocks video (VHS/Laserdisc only). The video (DVD) can also be found on It Never Happened (box set only); the audio can be found on From The Knees Of My Heart (not on the box set). It is part of a medley that also includes All The Young Dudes, Honaloochie Boogie and Roll Away The Stone.
Ships (live 29/30th January 2002)	6:10	This live version (recorded Sentrum Scene, Oslo Norway) was issued on Strings Attached.
Ships (live 2nd March 2008)	(10:08)	This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only).
Ships (live October 2010)	5:07	This live version (recorded at an unknown UK venue) was issued on Live In The UK 2010.

Shallow Crystals, Ian Hunter, Overnight Angels, Stranded, Vol. 3

Shallow Crystals began life as I Think You Made a Mess of His Life and was a relaxed but acidic piece. The target is not clear but it is possible that he refers to Guy Stevens, David Bowie, or Verden Allen, and is similar to off-hand references in Boy. 

This is an unusual take on the show business mom phenomenon. Mother pushes the kid to be a star but she doesn't really seem to care after all. She makes a mess of the child' life. 

Hunter worked closely with Earl Slick to create the guitar solo at his house in Chappaqua. Often this was his procedure with Mick Ronson where he worked out a solo for hours. Ian knew what he wanted but he can't score or play it so he collaborates with a guitarist to get the sound he wants. Possibly this is just a collection of words and ideas that clicked but Ian likes this song more than others on the LP. 

There is also a version from 2010 of this song. 

Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

Shallow Crystals

(Ian Hunter)

Her life gets smaller in his eyes
And he wonders if he thinks he should cry
Oh mother the colour's gone and left your hair
And he wonders if he thinks he should care
She told him how to play a guitar
She told him how to be a star
But mother were you really there

My friend don't speak he's such a mixed up boy
I wonder if she sold him his toys
A kiss on the cheek a conversation decoy
In his cute little corduroys
Oh she taught him how to win the game
She taught him everything is your name
Oh mother did you have to destroy
Mother if you really cared
You'd talk to him cry for him
All you every did was dream
All you ever said was be cool be cool be cool
And I think you made a mess of his life
And I think he made a mess of your life
And I think it made a mess of my life

Mother if you really cared
You'd talk to him cry for him
All you every did was dream
All you ever said was be cool be cool be cool
And I think you made a mess of her life
And I think she made a mess of your life
And I think it made a mess of my life
I think you made a mess of my life
I think you made a mess of my life

Shallow Crystals	3:58	Originally issued on Overnight Angels, also on the compilations Gold, Once Bitten - the CBS Collection and Once Bitten Twice Shy.
Shallow Crystals (live 11th October 2010)	3:54	This live version (recorded at The Journal Tyne Centre, Newcastle England) was released on Bag Of Tricks (Vol 3)(box set only).

Shades Off, Ian Hunter, 1st LP Ian Hunter (as a coda to It Ain't Easy When You Fall), Stranded

The spoken word poem Shades Off is the coda to It Ain't Easy When You Fall. It was written as a poem on a short tour of Scotland with Mott The Hoople in early 1973. Note that Ian sent off the words to be published but it never made it into print; however, Hunter was inspired by the countryside as he is half Scot and in the tour bus he looked out the window and the words just started coming. The entire poem took maybe ten minutes. Poems had already appeared on Mott with a D.H. Lawrence contribution and Baudelaire on Mad Shadows. The poem was included when the album was running short of material. It served the purpose of getting a poem published and it helped the sequencing of the album. It is clearly a self-conscious personal poem of Hunter's. The "uncontrollable light" phrase in the poem is when songwriting emerges perfectly; Ian has felt that maybe half a dozen times in his career. 

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Shades Off (spoken)

(Ian Hunter)

Where do you go when you've somewhere to run
But the time isn't right and there's things to be done
And you're trapped half-way up, you don't want to go back
So you keep going on - compromising the lack

And you see the green fields as you travel on by
And you look at the things you'd forgotten to try
And you wish you were young and you wish you were old
For the songs always sung and the stories been told

And you thought you were different but what did it mean
For you tricked yourself trying - life's still unseen
As it is, as it was, as it always will be
Will you find out at all what it is to be free

See it never was easy to live with a head
So I kept to the back room and I live there instead
What comes from the front-room is only for "Friends"
I have a bay window but that's where it ends

And it's here I see pictures and my madness is clear
And there's no longer logic so therefore no fear
And I'm almost dead with uncontrollable light
Sometimes when I've written a song - it's alright...

Shades Off	(5:46)	Originally issued on Ian Hunter (as a coda to It Ain't Easy When You Fall). It can also be found on the compilationsGold and The Journey.
Shades Off (live 19th May 2000)	(9:56)	This live version (off tape, which segued into Boy, recorded at The Robin 2, Bilston England) can be found on Bag Of Tricks (Vol 1) (box set only).
Shades Off (poem)	1:37	Released on the compilation Once Bitten Twice Shy. It can also be found on the 2005 (30th Anniversary) and 2016 issues of Ian Hunter.
Shades Off (live, unknown date)	(0:22)	An uncredited live version can be found on Bag Of Tricks (Vol 3) (box set only).

Seein' Red, Ian Hunter, Originally an 'incentive' download-only track with initial orders of Fingers Crossed. It is also on Japan-only copies of that album.

This outstanding song Seein' Red honored the memory of American investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb and his 1990s story chronicling the LA cocaine trade funding the Nicaraguan contras. His meticulous research received little support and following an orchestrated campaign to cancel him Webb lost his career, family, and then he committed suicide. When his body was found Welcome to the Club was in the CD player. 

Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

https://youtu.be/p06Ae_ZtTg0

Seein' Red

3:14

Originally an 'incentive' download-only track with initial orders of Fingers Crossed. It is also on Japan-only copies of that album.

Seeing Double, Ian Hunter, All of the Good Ones Are Taken

Some have argued that Seeing Double is the standout track of the album. Hunter's reverie is bolstered by Peter Frampton band member Bob Mayo and Clarence Clemons The penultimate song of the LP is about a mixed up sad character that is along the lines of All of the Good Ones Are Taken. It is a live improvisation in the studio and was recorded live in the studio as well. Bob Mayo is the standout on the keyboards for this organic song and Hunter has a soft spot for the tune seeming like a memory about a hangover. He likes the song and it is the only organic song on the release. It is a sad little song about feeling that you are at the end of your rope. 

Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDRvvzFX_4M

Seeing Double

(Ian Hunter)

Doctor, doctor, am I alright?
I keep on stayin' up - all through the night
Smokin', drinkin', watchin' T.V. 'til the light

It's been a long time since I slept
All I seem to think about is what I ain't yet
I'm seeing double

Doctor, doctor, am I in need?
Seems like there's somethin' wrong with me
Underneath this stone lies a different guy

My head says yeah - my body says no
I can't seem to get up - I can't seem to go
I'm seeing double

In the middle of my life - it's just a little strange
All those people - they're alright - if they'd stop messin' with my brain

I remember when the world was new
Doctor, doctor, what can you do?

I'm tired of runnin' - give me something to slow down

Ain't been to bed in over a week
I can't catch up son sleep - it's playing hide 'n' seek
I'm seeing double

Seeing Double

4:24

Originally issued on All of the Good Ones Are Taken, also on the compilations Gold, Once Bitten - the CBS Collection, Once Bitten Twice Shy and The Very Best of Ian Hunter.

Sea Diver (live October 2010), Ian Hunter, Mott The Hoople, Live in the UK 2010

Sea Diver was the last one released on the LP All The Young Dudes and a live version exists here from Hunter's solo career in 2010. The song is written from the perspective of a songwriter. One verse is about trying to get into the studio and the other verse about being in the studio. At one point Ian asked Mick Ronson for a string arrangement and he said twenty quid or a pittance. The orchestra leader understood Ronno's arrangement written on a Players cigarette packet; nonetheless, Hunter does not think Mick was ever paid. Ian says it is an intense song predicting his future as a songwriter decades down the road. He was hoping not to be one of those types falling about on stage; he is not and is doing just fine. 

Ian Hunter for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

Sea Diver

(Ian Hunter)

On morning shadows you were ill-spent
"It's time", you said, or is it time you went
I tried so hard to leave you
I tried to sleep
The hours you keep
Oh Lord I wish I could escape this iron veil
Ride on my son
Ride on my son
Ride until you fail
Something comes and something goes
And something dies before it grows
And I'm like a sea diver
Who's lost in space
Sweet savage grace
Oh Lord I wish I could escape this iron veil
Ride on my son
Right on my son
Ride until you fail

Sea Diver	2:54	Originally released on All The Young Dudes, also on Ballad of Mott - A Retrospective, Gold, The Golden Age of Rock n Roll, The Journey and The Very Best of Mott The Hoople. See also Ride On The Sun.
Sea Diver (live 29th November 1972)	3:29	This live version (recorded Tower Theater, Philadelphia PA) can be found on All The Way From Stockholm To Philadelphia, the In Performance box set, A Tale Of Two Cities and on the compilations Concert Anthology, Essential Young Dudes - Live And More, Greatest Hits Live and Live Dudes.

Sea Diver (live October 2010)

2:51

Originally a Mott The Hoople track. This live version (recorded at an unknown UK venue) issued on Live In The UK 2010.

Scars, (Ian Hunter/Darrell Bath/Honest John Plain), Ian Hunter, Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry, Acoustic Shadows, Stranded In Reality

Scars is a collaborative effort and a standout although it was quickly recorded in about an hour while Darrel Bath and Hunter wrote three or four songs in one day. It's a song about a painful break-up. The entire record was done quickly although Ian felt this song and Never Trust a Blonde were the stand out tracks. There are beautiful keyboard touches by Blue Weaver who toured with Mott The Hoople on their 1973 US tour. 

There is also a live version of the song from 2008 with just Steve Holley on drums and James Mastro on guitar. 

Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

1973 and toured with Mott the Hoople on their US tour

Scars

(Ian Hunter/Darrell Bath/Honest John Plain)

Well I still got your blood running through my veins
I still got your blood running through my veins
And even though the circumstances change
I know we never got along - the pieces would not fit
And I still got the scars to show for it

Staring through the window at the rain
Is it me or have all the colours changed?
I was sick with jealousy
I know why you had to split And you still got the scars to prove it.

I can't see them, but I can feel them
They're tearing me up inside
I feel them kicking - I feel them sticking
Like something in me died
And it's all right - I wish you the very best
I just had to get it/this off my chest
People tell me on the street that you don't give a I took that kind of hard
It's just another kind of scar I got to show for it
It's just another scar I got to show for it
I still got your blood running through my vein But I still got your blood running through my vein
I still got your blood running through my vein I say I still got your blood running through my vein 

Scars	4:47	Originally issued on Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry.
Scars (live 2nd March 2008)	4:38	This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only).