Over the past thirty years and more, songwriting has been one of my great enthusiasms. I've produced work for the professional theatre and community dramas, and even written a song about the Right to Work for the Open University. Most of my songs, though, have been written to be performed live and put on LPs and, more recently, CD. The Gothic narratives of the folk-rock band Mr Fox, originally made public in 1970-71, have been reissued twice, most recently in 2004 by Sanctuary (Mr Fox: Join us in Our Game - CMRCD-1049). Other 1970s recordings - until recently available only on the rare vinyl market - have recently were reissued in 2006 on a 2-CD set by Sanctuary (BobPegg: Keeper of the Fire - the Anthology - CMDDD1387). They include Bob Pegg and Nick Strutt, The Shipbuilder, and Ancient Maps, as well as 40 minutes of rare or unreleased material.In 1996, Rhiannon put out The Last Wolf (RHYD5009), hard to get hold of now, but worth the effort.

I like songs which tell a story, whether directly or obliquely. Recently I've been fascinated by the stories of the last wolf in Scotland. Here are the lyrics to the song The Last Wolf, from the CD of the same name:

I remember we were running through the shadows in the trees
With the young ones close behind us, snapping at the bees.
Smell of Spring among the birches, scent of bear on the breeze,
And we found him in the clearing, and we brought him to his knees
- I remember we were running through the shadows in the trees.

I remember we were running, when the wind began to blow
Across a frozen hillside, where the sun was lying low.
Then the whining and the whistle of the arrow from the bow
And the blood we left behind us bloomed like roses on the snow
- I remember we were running, when the wind began to blow.

I remember we were running to a place we thought we knew,
But the sky above was empty, where once the eagle flew
And the ground was burned and blackened, where once a forest grew,
And the old, familiar pathways were no longer straight and true
- I remember we were running to a place we thought we knew.

I remember my companions, and how we used to run
Chasing bees among the shadows, chasing shadows in the sun.
Like the forest they are gone now, and the running is all done.
I am old, and I am cold, and I am waiting for the gun,
But I remember my companions, and how we used to run.

Songwriting workshops can be great fun. An easy way in is to take a familiar tune and put new words to it. This one came out of a children's session in Nottingham, back in the 1980s. We took the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, and decided to produce a lyric that included hairy monsters from Mars, a library, a car park and a cup of tea:

Hairy monsters came from Mars
Landed on a pile of cars
Tried to find a cup of tea
Right outside the library
Hairy monsters came from Mars
Landed on a pile of cars

When they found the café shut
Monsters really did their nut
Smashed the cars to smithereens
Went round eating human beans
Hairy monsters came from Mars
Landed on a pile of cars

Human beans had smelly feet
And they were not good to eat
Fed up with the human race
Monsters flew off back to space
Hairy monsters went back home
Never more the stars to roam