2025 Competition Entry:
Richard Neuberg by Richard Neuberg
- Submitted:
- No Comments
Genre
Folk
Artist
Website
Co-writer(s)
no
Performer(s)
RICHARD NEUBERG – guitar and vocals
Description
Bells and Whistles has several meanings, but some of it is about being an artist, and about the courage required to keep going and making one’s art, to keep ’stepping into the ring’. It’s also about the struggles of being a human being, and how the true prize of one’s efforts in life isn’t to be found in any trophy, but in the process of becoming a better person.
My wife is an artist and when I saw her struggling with her vocation, I wrote this song as a kind of testament to her bravery and to her talent.
My wife is an artist and when I saw her struggling with her vocation, I wrote this song as a kind of testament to her bravery and to her talent.
Bio
I was the front man and principal songwriter in the band Viarosa from 2002-2010. We released an EP and a couple of albums (see below), and we toured quite a bit in the UK and in Europe. Our releases were met with critical acclaim, but it was difficult to make much money from the whole thing, so in a bid to try and find an income through music, I started producing other artists in 2009. I then set up Strawhouse Studios in 2010, and I became very busy recording and producing and mixing a number of artists until 2020. During this time, my own music took something of a backseat, although I was slowly working on a solo album. Sadly I became unwell with a chronic illness at the start of 2020, so much so that I had to stop working, and I haven’t been able to return to work since then. My own album has been on hold too, but with the help of some friends I am hoping to be able to finish it later this year. The songs I am submitting for the competition are some of the songs from this as yet unfinished album. And although they have actually been produced with a more instrumentation, I am submitting the songs in their most elemental form, just voice and guitar, in order that the song itself can be the focus.
Lyrics
BELLS AND WHISTLES
I found you hanging on a string
Bells and whistles ain’t your thing
You stepped out of the blue and into the ring
Melt your fist to find your kin
So we move into the fog
Wake the brutes, lose the plot
It’s not what you learn but who you’re not
Throw your trophies to the dogs
I fell out of the book while turning a page
How I wanted to be praised
How can you count on your food when the bird isn’t weighed?
Nothing cooks the mind like a bitter taste
So we move into the fog
Wake the brutes, lose the plot
It’s not what you learn but who you’re not
Throw your trophies to the dogs
It’s not what you learn but who you’re not
Throw your trophies to the dogs
I found you hanging on a string
Bells and whistles ain’t your thing
You stepped out of the blue and into the ring
Melt your fist to find your kin
So we move into the fog
Wake the brutes, lose the plot
It’s not what you learn but who you’re not
Throw your trophies to the dogs
I fell out of the book while turning a page
How I wanted to be praised
How can you count on your food when the bird isn’t weighed?
Nothing cooks the mind like a bitter taste
So we move into the fog
Wake the brutes, lose the plot
It’s not what you learn but who you’re not
Throw your trophies to the dogs
It’s not what you learn but who you’re not
Throw your trophies to the dogs
Leave a comment