Track 1 from the 2006 CD 'Interim Reports' - see Links to purchase.
singersongwriter
fingerstyle guitar
acoustic guitar songs
fingerstyle guitar songs
Story behind the song
I was told a tale once by a friend who had tried to chat up a girl in a pub in Paisley, Scotland, by asking her if she would like a drink.
“Yes”, she replied apparantly, “but you’re not getting anything!”
Well there you have it. Such experiences are likely to scar sensitive souls for life. I don’t believe my friend was that type but I would certainly have been seriously injured. Social interaction with girls - especially if I had aspirations - was never my strong suit. In fact, I was so inhibited I rarely even tried.
Red John is a song about a naïve youth, Iain Dearg, who has moved to the big city (I had London in mind because it mirrors my own migration) from the remote Highlands of Scotland and who has the bravado and persistance to match his lust but lacks any experience or sophistication to have any hope of accomplishing his goal.
I’m sure Iain has made it by now. It’s twenty years since this tale was first told, after all.
Lyrics
Oh please come home with me
Have a cup of coffee or a pot of tea
I won't lay a finger on you no I won't
I'll even take a shower before I don't
My name is Red John in the English tongue
But it was Iain Dearg when I was young
Can you tell from whence I come
Oh please come home with me
There's a late movie on TV
I won't try anything on
Even when your last bus is gone
Oh please come home with me
I am a man of integrity
So if I get fresh or out of place
In the morning you can slap my face