My first fully-formed song, this work began in the hedonistic backyard squalor of a friend's home. It was a party day, and the headline band 'Pissed, No Thumper' were taking a well-earned break. I ventured onto the weed-choked concrete stage and, beneath a canvas-covered Hills hoist, unwittingly triggered a sequence of events that would change my life. Though little more than a recorded stream of consciousness, one can discern in the lyrics allusions to various themes of my life. This song works best using minor chords and a choppy reggae tempo.


Cecil the Radioactive Sheep

I've got a bit of a story now, to tell to you.
Outrageous, amazing, bizarre, kinky, but true
About a man who never had a girlfriend or wife
Who had a very special woolly friend... in his life.

A while ago in Russia, in 1988,
The Chernobyl power station exploded and sealed the fate
Of all the poor dumb animals living in its shadow
The radiation spared not one, not even the meadow of

Cecil, the radioactive sheep.
I said Cecil, the radioactive sheep.

Cecil was just standing there, eating grass,
When all of a sudden, he was up to his arse
In filthy, green and gold Chernobyl slime
Cool to the touch, but after a time
It corroded his wool and burnt into his flesh
The very fabric of Cecil began to unmesh
'Til all that remained, in a nearby trench
Was the disembowelled carcass, and the stench of

Cecil, the radioactive sheep.
I said Cecil, the radioactive sheep.

Phil Smith was a concreter, construction was his trade.
Phil was brought in when the decision was made
To bury the Chernobyl fires of Hell.
'Bury the town! Bury the reactor! Bury the farms as well.'
Phil set to work with tears on his face,
For as far as he could see, all over the place
Were scenes of animals ripped apart
And one scene in particular broke Phil Smith's heart, it was

Cecil, the radioactive sheep.
I said Cecil, the radioactive sheep.


To be continued...