Dig deeper into This is my book:
1. Blue
2. Bright Side Of Town
3. Mona Lisa
4. How Brave Am I?
5. Valentine's Day
6. The Song Lives On
7. Rumour Mill
8. This Old Town
9. You're Never Alone

4/ How Brave Am I?
Imagining my grandfather as an old man, looking back on his reasons for leaving Ireland as a young man..

This is the only song on the album written and performed on ukulele.
It's a simple 3 chord song, given a lovely Celtic-folk melancholic lift by father and daughter dynamic-duo ☺ Dave and Meg Cox, (who perfectly nailed my brief - to the imaginary ship masts).

Lyrics: How Brave Am I?.
In a place of saints & sinners
This charmed-land called our home
Where an emptiness within us
Means you can’t live on love alone
In the morning we’ll be leaving - in the dank & the driving rain
In the morning we’ll be sailing - never to return again
How Brave Am I?

Scattered on the winds like wild geese
We set a course for pastures new
Where our minds and hearts could flourish
But our paths would stray from you
In the mornings we’ll be singing - all the ballads of old times
In the evenings we’ll be drinking - to the loved-ones left behind
How Brave Am I?

Well I’ve seen a lot of things, crossed so many oceans in my time
Over seas and land & skies, I still have ties - pulling on my lines
All aboard you say, should I leave or stay, are we dreamers?
Can we cross this bridge of tears, & never count the years lost between us
How Brave Am I?

Well I’ve seen a lot of things, climbed so many mountains in my time
Over seas and land & skies, I still have ties - pulling on my lines
All aboard you say, should I leave or stay, are we dreamers?
Can we cross this bridge of tears, but never count the years lost between us
Passed between us, passed between us...
How Brave Am I?

From the album This is my book.
Beatnick, Nick Fowler: Vocals, ukulele and bass.
Meg Cox: Violins. (Web: Coxee)
Dave Cox: Bouzouki and Bodhran. (Web: Marcus Music Wales)
Recorded & mixed by Phil Smith at One Louder Studio