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Paul J Bolger

by Paul J Bolger

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €9 EUR  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Extremely limited edition CD comes in an environmentally friendly Digipack gatefold sleeve with art and design by PJB.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Paul J Bolger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      €15 EUR or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" vinyl version of the record on 180g audiophile vinyl. Includes inner sleeve with lyrics, PJB self portrait and full credit list plus a digital download card.

    Limited to 300 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Paul J Bolger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      €25 EUR or more 

     

  • Poster/Print + Digital Album

    A signed and numbered 12" x 12" (30cm x 30cm) Museum Quality art print of the painting on the front cover of the album. Painted by PJB in acrylics. The original is the same size as what is on the record cover and the print. It is a completely accurate print of the painting.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Paul J Bolger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 50 
    Purchasable with gift card

      €35 EUR or more 

     

  • Poster/Print + Digital Album

    A signed and numbered 12" x 12" (30cm x 30cm) Museum Quality "gicleé" art print of the painting on the front cover of the album. Painted by PJB in acrylics. The original is the same size as what is on the record cover and the print. It is a completely accurate print of the painting.

    Framed to the highest standard.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Paul J Bolger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      €75 EUR or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    A combined set of the 12" Vinyl record and print for a special price while stocks last.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Paul J Bolger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      €50 EUR or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    A combined set of the record and a signed and numbered 12" x 12" FRAMED print of the cover art while stocks last.

    Framed to the highest standard.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Paul J Bolger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 12 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      €90 EUR or more 

     

1.
Swim 03:19
SWIM Well I know you you know me I know the road you walk And I don’t like to see you shaken I won’t hear that talk The song and dance we memorise Strike a light and it burns their eyes Come on baby tantalise me Drown me in your endless sea It’s all out and so good babe Why do you swim inside my head It’s all out and so sweet babe Why do you swim inside my head Looking great you’re thinking late Wearing your passion dress I just want to see you smiling I won’t fake the kiss A song and dance we memorise Strike a light and it burns their eyes Come on baby tantalise me Drown me in your endless sea It’s all out and so good babe Why do you swim inside my head It’s all out and so sweet babe Why do you swim inside my head People always looking for something They just cannot find I know now they’re searching out answers That come from inside People always been looking for something They just cannot find I know now if we let this love die We’re gonna’ someday cry It’s all out and so good babe Why do you swim inside my head It’s all out and so sweet babe Why do you swim inside my head Why do you swim?
2.
HOW MANY MORE TEARS How many more ways can we try How many more ways can we try How many more tears can we cry If we get lucky in life We find a taste of love that’s real Hope it’s gonna last forever Show us how to feel ‘Til it’s gone like a silent sigh Or high on the wind Give it time let it breathe It’ll find it’s own way in How many more ways can we try How many more ways can we try How many more ways How many more ways How many more ways can we try How many more tears can we cry Tried to sing Ich liebe dich In the key of D But it always sounded weird To you and me So I tried my people’s words That mean a lot to me Is grá liom tú a chuisle mo chroi How many more ways can we try How many more ways can we try How many more ways How many more ways How many more ways can we try How many more tears can we cry Famed three words will testify Do their best to satisfy The yearning the burning We can’t deny In this world of fear and faith Some holy men try to spread blind hate All we can do is free our minds And not take the bait History won’t repeat But it sure likes to rhyme The best I can do is hold your hand And hope that you hold mine How many more ways can we try How many more ways can we try How many more ways How many more ways How many more ways can we try How many more tears can we cry
3.
Wedding Gown 05:06
WEDDING GOWN In the light of rising Spring I watched her sway on the garden swing Recalled how her coming took my wife Out of darkness she brought the light And like a blind man given sight I could finally see the meaning of life She used to play in a wedding gown Cast mother’s shadow on the ground My little princess for her I'd die Bloomed into a beautiful rose In the summer sun she glowed Darkness returned with a boy who called me sir He walked in first left her standing there Asked for her hand and I gasped for air But he called me sir liked to call me sir She always dreamt of a wedding gown A handsome prince and a sparkling crown But the Devil often hides in the light How do we protect who we love most From those who choose to walk like ghosts Moving through this world testing fathers’ fears And we know if we say no Our kids will laugh before they go Leaving us to question how we live with ourselves She always wanted a wedding gown It became her funeral shroud Nothing I said could have turned it around She’d given all for no return Been his fool with her back turned He was running circles round their town Now he could run no more Men like that run out of floor When their castles of sand fall to the ground She used to play in a wedding gown Cast angel shadows across the ground She lost her life to a hand me down She always dreamt of that wedding gown A handsome prince and a sparkling crown Followed mother’s footsteps in her wedding gown
4.
Pillarstone 03:37
PILLARSTONE Don’t know much about the Bayou Never made the move to LA Fell in love in London town Couldn’t wait to get away Now I’m back on my home ground Friends think my numbers came in Or that I live outside the law They only see the feast not the famine Hard to make a living Selling stories and songs Always worked my fingers to the bone And I can weather any storm Like a pillar stone The day that I came home You know the sun started to shine I dreamt I could walk on water And turn it to wine Some said I’m too big for my boots But envy is a well run dry If you don’t like what I got going on Lift your heels and walk on by Hard to make a living Selling stories and songs Still workin’ these fingers to the bone And I can weather any storm I’m the Pillarstone You could say I’m lucky You could say I’m rich Got two times all I need But it’s nothing you can count Hard to make a living Selling stories and songs Still working these fingers to the bone Watch me weather any storm Cos I’m the Pillarstone Out standing in my field You won't hear me moan...
5.
Two Wrongs 02:58
TWO WRONGS Two wrongs don’t make a right I apologised for the other night Say what you want There’s no need to fight Two wrongs don’t make a right I didn’t mean to hurt you so She just smiled it was all for show She grabbed my hand Asked me to dance What you saw Was a confused man Two wrongs don’t make a right I apologised for the other night Say what you want there’s No need to fight Two wrongs don’t make a right Now honey you don’t have to go Stop running round Just come back home I was wrong but it’s not right Since you been gone I can’t sleep at night I see the writing on the wall I know we’re heading for a fall I’m on the other side of a ten cent call And that’s not all well that’s not all Like a dog I always ran to you A blind fool right on cue Made one mistake now You say we’re through What can I do To prove my love to you? Two wrongs don’t make a right I apologised for the other night Say what you want there’s No need to fight Two wrongs don’t make a right I’m on the other side of a ten cent call And that’s not all no that’s not all Two wrongs don’t make a right I apologised for the other night Say what you want there’s No need to fight Two wrongs don’t make a right Say what you want No need to fight Two wrongs don’t make a right
6.
ALL THOSE THINGS Been a traveller all my life dear And I will tell you what I have seen They built us up to fall in dirt dear And twist good words to something obscene There wasn't too much light around here But I have soaked enough for me So when you see me smile at you dear Know it’s love and not pity Do not forget to forgive me For all those things Things that I said Do not forget to forgive me All those things All those things All those things that I did You know the children have no voice dear A soldier less chance to see The hand that leads him to Hell's door dear Is the hand that sets him up to be A nowhere pawn in a game of chess dear A chequered board he'll never leave As I float towards my dreams now I beg of you for me don’t grieve Do not forget to forgive me For all those things Things that I said Do not forget to forgive me All those things All those things All those things that I did There are many here among us now Whose sorry tales wash over me But I have had my share and more dear Please don’t waste your grief on me Do not forget to forgive me For all those things Things that I said Do not forget to forgive me All those things All those things All those things that I did
7.
Unkind 04:15
UNKIND Some are cold some are sly Some will bring a tear to your eye Some are born to be wild Some will treat you like a child Some will treat you unkind Mother said I want to tell you son I want to let you know right now How some pretty girls minds work Might save your soul somehow Some are cold some are sly Some will bring a tear to your eye Some are born to be wild Some will treat you like a child Some will treat you unkind Well if I’d gone just one more round I would not be so down If I’d known then what I know now She might still be around Some are cold, some are sly Some will bring a tear to your eye Some are born to be wild Some will treat you like a child Some will treat you unkind Prison bars as unforgiving As the knife in my hand The night she laughed and told me About her new tall dark-haired handsome man Well I was cold I was sly I brought a tear to her eye She was born to be wild She never treated me like a child I always thought it was unkind Wish I was home and still a child
8.
I Believe 02:31
I BELIEVE Three small words, a telephone A thousand miles from your sigh I knew right then I spoke too soon I almost cried Half my life I’ve been waiting For angel eyes Now I found them they see through me This love I can’t hide I believe in how I feel about you Take your time it’s all right We got the rest of our lives We saved our love for someone special It’s only right ‘Cause I believe in how I feel about you I understand your anxieties I got some of my own No need to doubt or hesitate Heart to heart we’re home The past is gone tomorrow’s calling me Back to your side We found love from heaven falling Feelings can’t be denied I believe in how I feel about you

about

Paul J Bolger began writing and performing his songs at an early age. Moving between the arts since leaving college he has made a successful career in publishing and film, most recently as Art Director on the forthcoming animated Riverdance movie. Latterly however, he's returned to recording and releasing new music for the first time after a number of years. Like a musical fox PJB has returned to his song-writing den.

The songs contained on this album are a mix of old and new. They were worked up from ideas and demos PJB brought with him when he went to visit producer Hugh Christopher Brown on Wolfe Island, Ontario in summer 2018.

While the songs are not connected as such the underlying motifs of personal loss, tongue in cheek bravado and astutely observed stories tie the album together. Whether the writing reflects hidden or slightly vague truths or flights of fiction the songs work on singular concepts. The lyrics are clear and often conversational – a person recalling a past event, asking a question or speaking direct to a loved one lost or won.

If there any recurring themes to the record they might be love, life, death and most important of all - survival.

Celtic Rock legends Horslips coined the term “Bog Gothic” to sum the genre PJB explores with his song writing. This album is a testament to that – even if we are not quite sure what the genre is other than to say it more than tips its hat to Old World sensibilities set to New World sounds.

credits

released October 2, 2020

Written by PJB with Hugh Christopher Brown
Recorded, Mixed and Produced by Hugh Christopher Brown for PillarStone Productions

PJB - Vocals / Acoustic Guitar
Hugh Christopher Brown - Piano / Organ / Wurlitzer / Guitar
Elijah Abrams - Electric Bass
Michael Mormecha - Drums / Percussion
Alex Soikans - Electric Guitar
Joey Wright - Electric Guitar / Mandolin
Burke Carroll - Pedal Steel Guitar
Craig (Rocky) Roberts - Lap Steel Guitar
Jason Mercer - Arco Bass
Stephen Stanley - Backing Vocals
Hadley McCall Thackston - Backing Vocals
Sarah McDermott - Backing Vocals
Kate Fenner - Backing Vocals
Martha Hillhouse - Organ
Jake Bury - Acoustic Guitar

Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtletone Studios, New York.
Digital Editing by Cohen Boo Sansom and Liam Fenlon.

Label: Wolfe Island Records

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Paul J Bolger Waterford, Ireland

Chasing the cream, not the competition!

www.paujlbolger.com

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