I write songs and tunes, play a few instruments, and like singing. To earn a living I run a website about languages and alphabets (Omniglot). I also make a podcasts about words and language on Radio Omniglot.
Latest episodes
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2 min
Delays Expected
This is a little song I wrote in June 2026. Here are the words: Your train is late don't get in a state please patiently wait for another up-date There are leaves on the line and w…
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2 min
Perde Le Nord
This is a little ditty I wrote in April 2026 inspired by ways to say that someone has lost their marbles (gone crazy) in French such as perdre le nord (to lose the north). The reco…
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2 min
Reaching For The Sky
This is a song I wrote in March 2026 based on the saying 'to throw in the towel', and other ways to say that you give up, quit, etc. The accompaniment is played on the baritone uku…
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2 min
What's Holding You Back?
This is a little song I wrote in Feburary 2026 for no particular reason. It's about feeling frustrated that you're not managing to do the things you want to do, and the internal an…
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1 min
When The Cat's Away
This is a song I wrote in October 2025 based on the saying 'when the cat's away, the mice will play', and similar sayings in other languages. Here are the words: When the cat's awa…
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3 min
It's All Greek To Me
This is a song I wrote in August 2025 based on the phrase 'it's all Greek to me' and other ways to say that something is incomprehensible in various languages. This recording was m…
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2 min
Discombobulation
This is a song I wrote in June/July 2025 for no particular reason. It plays with the word discombobulation, which means an embarrassing feeling that leaves a person confused, or a…
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1 min
Pie In The Sky
This is a song I wrote and recorded in June 2025 based on the phrase 'pie in the sky', which refers to something unobtainable, and comes from a 1911 song by the American labour lea…
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2 min
Mind The Gap
This song is about minding gaps that I wrote in May 2025. You can hear announcements advising you to 'mind the gap' on trains and stations in the UK, especially on the London Under…
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2 min
What Are You Waiting For?
This is a little song I started writing in November 2024, and finished and recorded in March 2025. Here are the words: Chorus What are you waiting for? Oh What are you waiting for?…
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1 min
Llamas In Pyjamas
This is a song I started working on in November 2024 and finished in March 2025. It was inpsired by hearing a friend talking about llamas and pyjamas, as you do. In the recording,…
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2 min
Terms & Conditions
This is a song I wrote in October 2024 about all the pesky terms & conditions that few of us ever read, and even fewer understand. Here are the words. The chords are Dm, A and Gm.…
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2 min
Cats and Dogs
I wrote this song in August and September 2024 inspired by some rather heavy rain that we enjoyed during that time. Here are the words: When cats and dogs fall from the sky And you…
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2 min
Off To Sea
This is a song in the style of a sea shanty that I came up with in May 2024 for no particularly reason. Here are the words: On a wet and windy day in the month of May We set sail a…
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1 min
Noodling
This is a silly little ditty I came up with in March 2024 while noodling around with the word noodle. I'm just noodling away quite happily and nothing can get in my way I could noo…
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2 min
Colourless Green Ideas
This is a song based on the sentence 'Colorless green ideas sleep furiously', which was coined by the linguist Noam Chomsky in his 1957 book, "Syntactic Structures", to demonstrate…
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2 min
The Other Side
This is a little ditty I came up with in October 2023 based on the saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence'. Here are the words: The Other Side The grass…
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2 min
Ruith Air Falbh / Run Away!
This is a song I wrote in September 2023 inspired by some of the silly phrases that come up in the Scottish Gaelic lessons on Duolingo. It's in the style of a waulking song, a type…
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1 min
Stuff and Nonsense
This song came to me in August 2023 when I was playing with words related to stuff and nonsense. This recording features me singing and playing the baritone ukulele. The chords are…
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2 min
Farewell
This is a little song I wrote in August 2023. Here are the lyrics: Farewell, Farewell It's time to go Goodbye, Goodbye It's time to fly So long so long It's time to run So find you…