The title of this track came before the song was written. I'd originally thought of calling my second album "Ups and Downs" because most of my songs are about emotional highs and lows. However, Stephen "Tintin" Duffy had beaten me to it back in 1985 so I decided to call it "Up on the Downs" instead and I liked the ambiguous multiple meanings that this title conveys. The song also reflects my love for the South Downs in England which I have known all my life - my father was born in Brighton.
The tune couldn't be simpler: just a simple scale going up from doh to soh and then back down again. The strongest song melodies are those which are centred around the notes doh, me and soh and this is something I am always aware of when writing songs. I also like to have the chorus and verses in different keys. This can create a tremendous feeling of lift when the chorus arrives if the keys are carefully chosen. In this song the verses are in D and the chorus in E. This "lift" occurs, appropriately, just after the lyrics "I'll be way up there".
It was only when I'd finished writing the song that I realised that it had a strong samba groove so I used a virtual samba band for the last minute of the song. Maybe not traditional South Downs music but it fits the sentiment of the song perfectly.
The video (on YouTube) was probably, at the time I made it, my most ambitious. I shot most of the backdrops very early (6.00am) on a Sunday morning in the deserted streets of Petersfield and at two local beauty spots on the South Downs Way (near Butser Hill and Old Winchester Hill). The green-screen technology that I used nearly foundered when I realised that my anorak (chosen in homage to Paul Whitehouse's "Brilliant Kid" in the "Fast Show") had green stripes on it. So I turned it inside out - problem solved!
Instrumentation: All instruments played or programmed by Brian Parks: Line 6 Variax bass guitar (simulating 1963 4001 Rickenbacker), Line 6 Variax electric guitar (simulating 12-string Rickenbacker), programmed nylon string guitar, programmed Steinway grand piano, programmed Hammond B3 organ, programmed bongos, programmed vintage 1930s drumkit recorded at Abbey Road Studios, programmed samba drums, lead vocals, backing and harmony vocals, programmed female backing vocals.
Lyrics
If you wanna walk the way I walk
And if you wanna talk the way I talk
You won't find me in some crowded city street
I don't dance to no suburban jungle beat
If you wanna know what turns me on
And if you wanna sing my favourite song
You won't find me in some urban city sprawl
Won't find me busking in that busy shopping mall
I'll be way up there. In the cool, cool air
I'll be up on the Downs just foolin' around
Chasing rainbows in the misty morning sun
I’ll admit that's not the choice for ev'ryone
But for me it's still up there at number one.
If you wanna feel the way I feel
And if you wanna taste of something real
You won’t find me hangin’ round the city hall
Not for me the crowds who pay to watch football
I'll be way up there. In the cool, cool air
I'll be up on the Downs just foolin' around
Watching kestrels soaring through the downland sky
I’ve seen sunsets that would make you wanna cry
And all around you time is slowly slipping by
I’ll be up on the downs. I’ll be up on the downs.