Saqqara, my fifth studio album, is particularly special to me during the Covid 19 pandemic as it's a memory of journeys taken before global travel restrictions. Saqqara is the oldest necropolis pyramid in Egypt and its silhouette became the inspiration to record a collection of songs recollecting images of the art and artefacts I saw en route down to Aswan.
I travelled by road, following the Nile, pausing at the wonderful sites along the way, and each time falling more in love with the beauty and majesty of these ancient creations. The hot dusty desert is a bleak but romantic setting for the looming pyramids and the sumptuous brightly painted wall art inside.
As I recorded each song, back in my north London studio, I was happily transported back to that glorious hot summer, with visions of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Tutankhamun, and earlier still, King Khufu. Processions around the newly built pyramids, then clad in sun-gleaming limestone, became the location for my own personal film song sound-track.
MY LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDS
Your breath, a breeze from the dunes,
Your kiss, a jewel from the sky,
An embrace with the warmth of sun,
My love knows no bounds.
To prove my love,
I'll lay me down with the leopard,
No fiercer beast lives
To tear my heart from you.
I'd take the fiery viper,
And hold him in my arms,
No piercing fangs of poison
Could kill my love for you.
My love knows no bounds.
CARRY ME AWAY
Carry me away,
With arms of steel so soft
I'd swear the wind was holding me.
EYES OF BLUE
In the half-light I can nearly see,
Could it be reality?
Eyes, eyes of blue.
Fleeting glimpses of a hidden dream,
Wishing that it could be true,
Eyes, eyes of blue.
Drawing closer to me into view,
Closer still, I nearly see,
Ceaseless search was not in vain now
As you come closer to me.
Eyes, eyes of blue.
Eyes of grey and eyes of brown,
Dark and deep they cannot be,
Eyes, eyes of blue
Hide behind a smouldering soul,
Closed from where the world should be,
Eyes, eyes of blue.
Drawing closer to me into view,
Closer still, I nearly see,
Ceaseless search was not in vain now
As you come closer to me.
Eyes, eyes of blue.
I'LL FLY
Out of the cold of morning,
I see a ray of light.
As the day is dawning,
Relinquish death of night.
Held like a leaf in the palm of a breeze,
I'll fly.
So, like a bird who has longed to be free,
I'll fly.
Soar on the wings of freedom,
I'll spread my wings one day.
Lifted to the mountain
With skies no loner grey.
Held like a leaf in the palm of a breeze,
I'll fly.
So, like a bird who has longed to be free,
I'll fly.
PAINT THE MOON
View the moon with desert eyes,
Drawing love from our hearts.
Midnight cool with twilight stars,
Lunar meeting words are our bond,
Words are our bond.
Paint the moon red,
With tears of pain,
You're calling my name,
You're calling my name.
BEDOUIN PRINCE
Your midnight sun eclipses my love,
Your midnight sun gives light from above.
Bring in the night.
Night sky to dawn, you're waiting for me,
Shadows can't hide the love that you see.
Passion of love Is waiting for night,
Passion of love,
Wait for the night.
Bedouin Prince.