It was 1975 in Cherry Hinton at the Cambridge folk festival. The girl and I stood close together as the 12 string sounds of Leo Kotkke floated across the air. It was Leo’s wonderful version of Tom T Halls Pamela Brown. Later we would sit with friends and sing softly into the early hours. Despite everything we did to make it work our love affair was destined to fail and later that year we went our ways. In the years to come our paths would sometimes cross and we would reminisce about our times together and the great musicians we had seen and heard. Still in our hearts was the great Leo Kotkke and the time we stood and listened to his beautiful music that day in Cambridgeshire. Recently the sad news arrived that my good friend had passed away.

I Guess I Owe It All To You

Its visible now like never before
A vision of beauty that’s for sure
You offered it all, a moment to last
But soon all the beauty had been surpassed
I loved you I loved you and for that there is no cure

In the houses of ghosts we spent our days
The words that you uttered sounded like praise
But inbetween something was fading away
We could not admit it we couldn’t be saved
I loved you I loved you and for that I am amazed

You wore Ferragamo in your hair
And a coat from Mcqueen that made people stare
The shine on your shoes made you look so devine
I was simply entranced I could say you were mine
I loved you I loved you and that should not be a crime

In the halls of the king the humblest can smile
The secrets once buried they will appear in time
And the people will cheer when they see our plan
They’ll offer us hope when we feel we are damned
I loved you I loved you though now I walk on quicksand

Can we talk now of days that are gone
The times when we sang those beautiful songs
You in vermillion and bursting inside
Eager to tell me how you had arrived
I loved you I loved you for holding my love with pride

The years that we lost they softened the blows
The hurt and the anger the pain we had known
I’d offer you change that’s smooth to the touch
I’d try to be strong when the going got tough
I loved you I loved you but maybe that wasn’t enough