Manchester - “Alternative Rock” - True Stories
Just Jonnie
Every Song is a Story
Latest songs
There’s a Woman in a Window
I know a woman in an old town in Italy who sits in a window, high above the street below where there is a local street restaurant. She sits in the window and slowly smokes a cigarette listening to the stories of the people below. She loves her window on the world. She had a diagnosis recently which I asked her about and she put her finger to her lips and said “Hush -My Life My Game!”
Saw her in the morning the day the bells refused to chime
Asked her where she was going and how she spent her time
And after a while she looked at me saying… Come with me
There’s a woman in a window
Who sits watching all the world
In her hand she holds a cigarette
Its smoke slowly unfurls
She can hear the many voices telling stories of their lives
She sits and smiles, so knowingly
Sees truth through storied lies
Walk in my shoes
Live with my blues
Then you will feel the way I do
This is my life
Life is a game
These are the words she gave to me
Feel the Breeze
Single
Feel the Breeze
If there is one song I have written, perhaps the only song I have written that I can honestly say is me or about me, it’s the one. This is me! Where I stand, where I view the world from, my thoughts, my feelings, my isolation, myself. This is me! I’m not sure if it’s obscure or obvious but this is my philosophy. This is as near to who and what I am as it gets! 🙂
You stand and stare and look around
Are these the things that always make you feel good
The mellow light conceals the rage the pace of change
I knew that it would
Hear the voices of the new sound
See the footsteps on the old ground
And join with me
And you will see
See the changes on the old ground
Hear the voices of the new sound
And join with me
And you will see
What will be is what you see
Rapunzel & Her Prince
Single
Rapunzel & Her Prince
Every fairy tale is really about something else. This one is about never giving up and there is always hope and there is always a hero out there for someone. You are probably the hero someone else is looking for?
Rapunzel’s in the tower
Her hair full of flowers
She waits for her prince
Who is riding
He’s nearby she knows
Soon they’ll be close
He’ll save the day
She’s not dreaming
Blah Blah Blah (Avant Garde)
I heard Greta Thurberg saying Blah Blah Blah. I’m playing Guitar at Charlies House who is the lead singer with the amazing band Sylvette and they are recording in a back room – Charlie is teaching me the famous Jimi Hendrix Chord. It’s all surreal, creative and a great moment to be in! I said to Charlie, I’ll write this as a song – this is it!
Charlie is teaching
Greta she has no doubts
Hendrix lies sleeping
His legacy chord rings out
Blah blah blah she moves away
Blah blah blah she’s here to stay
Blah blah blah she’s energy
Blah blah blah it’s destiny
I see the world spin round I know that it’s illogical
I read the poets words on scripted page so magical
The artists work in coloured oils - surreal - fantastical
I hear my words ring out why do they sound so - cynical - whimsical - practical - fanatical
I’m sitting in a cafe in cologne
Cologne. A Tuesday. Nothing special on the schedule and everything happening. I had a coffee and watched the world go by and wrote this on a napkin. I had just been in Italy where there had been a large religious festival with thousands of people in procession that walked past my house, high up in a Centro Storico. That provides the counterpoint to the song.
I sit and watch from my high place
I see the hoards queue in a line
They stand in total all belief
They carry weights for the Devine
Upon their heads the cages tall tell stories from another day
They’ll walk for hours to prove their worth with immortality their pay
I’m sitting in a cafe in Cologne
I’m sitting sipping coffee on my own
I’m sitting in a cafe in Cologne
I’m sitting sipping coffee all alone
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There’s a Woman in a Window
I know a woman in an old town in Italy who sits in a window, high above the street below where there is a local street restaurant. She sits in the window and slowly smokes a cigarette listening to the stories of the people below. She loves her window on the world. She had a diagnosis recently which I asked her about and she put her finger to her lips and said “Hush -My Life My Game!”
Saw her in the morning the day the bells refused to chime
Asked her where she was going and how she spent her time
And after a while she looked at me saying… Come with me
There’s a woman in a window
Who sits watching all the world
In her hand she holds a cigarette
Its smoke slowly unfurls
She can hear the many voices telling stories of their lives
She sits and smiles, so knowingly
Sees truth through storied lies
Walk in my shoes
Live with my blues
Then you will feel the way I do
This is my life
Life is a game
These are the words she gave to me
Single
Feel the Breeze
If there is one song I have written, perhaps the only song I have written that I can honestly say is me or about me, it’s the one. This is me! Where I stand, where I view the world from, my thoughts, my feelings, my isolation, myself. This is me! I’m not sure if it’s obscure or obvious but this is my philosophy. This is as near to who and what I am as it gets! 🙂
You stand and stare and look around
Are these the things that always make you feel good
The mellow light conceals the rage the pace of change
I knew that it would
Hear the voices of the new sound
See the footsteps on the old ground
And join with me
And you will see
See the changes on the old ground
Hear the voices of the new sound
And join with me
And you will see
What will be is what you see
Single
Rapunzel & Her Prince
Every fairy tale is really about something else. This one is about never giving up and there is always hope and there is always a hero out there for someone. You are probably the hero someone else is looking for?
Rapunzel’s in the tower
Her hair full of flowers
She waits for her prince
Who is riding
He’s nearby she knows
Soon they’ll be close
He’ll save the day
She’s not dreaming
Single
Blah Blah Blah (Avant Garde)
I heard Greta Thurberg saying Blah Blah Blah. I’m playing Guitar at Charlies House who is the lead singer with the amazing band Sylvette and they are recording in a back room – Charlie is teaching me the famous Jimi Hendrix Chord. It’s all surreal, creative and a great moment to be in! I said to Charlie, I’ll write this as a song – this is it!
Charlie is teaching
Greta she has no doubts
Hendrix lies sleeping
His legacy chord rings out
Blah blah blah she moves away
Blah blah blah she’s here to stay
Blah blah blah she’s energy
Blah blah blah it’s destiny
I see the world spin round I know that it’s illogical
I read the poets words on scripted page so magical
The artists work in coloured oils - surreal - fantastical
I hear my words ring out why do they sound so - cynical - whimsical - practical - fanatical
Single
I’m sitting in a cafe in cologne
Cologne. A Tuesday. Nothing special on the schedule and everything happening. I had a coffee and watched the world go by and wrote this on a napkin. I had just been in Italy where there had been a large religious festival with thousands of people in procession that walked past my house, high up in a Centro Storico. That provides the counterpoint to the song.
I sit and watch from my high place
I see the hoards queue in a line
They stand in total all belief
They carry weights for the Devine
Upon their heads the cages tall tell stories from another day
They’ll walk for hours to prove their worth with immortality their pay
I’m sitting in a cafe in Cologne
I’m sitting sipping coffee on my own
I’m sitting in a cafe in Cologne
I’m sitting sipping coffee all alone
Single
Great Expectations
I think sometimes, whatever our hopes, whatever our dreams,whatever we’d like to happen, we need to rise above it! Live in your world and see the best in all things. Close your eyes, what a wonderful world!
I never took you down this road
I never promised you my soul
I never offered you a life of unbridled love
I always thought you understood
And were you standing there in the station on the platform
With the wind in your hair
Did you stand ever so still — hope against will that he’d come
Oh and great expectations, tomorrow is bright not a cloud in the sky
And this is the time — the time of our lives
Yes this is the time — the time of our lives
I only know how to be myself
I’ve tried so hard to change but no
I just cannot go on like this
All I say and feel, just gets dismissed
The skies spin and spiral now, they sing with the light of the afterglow
As the cosmic dust rains on us
It seems that our limited time’s unjust
Single
Trust in Me
I was strolling through an old English town, needing nothing. The air went cold. The sky turned red. There was a figure waiting by an old wooden shack. You don’t always know who’s talking to you until it’s too late.
I was strolling along in an old English town looking for nothing to do
I’d had a long day and just needed a break
To walk and maybe think of you
As I rounded a corner it seemed things had changed
The people looked different there too
The air seemed so cold and it felt kind of strange
The sky was a red not a blue
Trust in me
You will see
Come with me
You will see
Trust in me
Saw an old wooden shack just ahead on the square
With a figure who was waiting for me
Trust in me I’m always here, Trust in me my dear friend
Trust in me I’m always here — the devil on your shoulder
Trust in me
Single
I Am Myself
I often work in isolation, unaware of our own impact. For me, the breakthrough happened in Rome. It was the first time I received genuine feedback on my work and who I am as a person. That experience completely shifted my worldview, proving that my voice perhaps matters. It taught me to be proud of my independence and my achievements—reminding me that being authentically myself is my greatest strength.
I took a plane the other day
I flew to Rome to stay - In an old town - far-away
Just one small bag is all I need
No pocket full of mumbles
Prick me I don’t bleed
And so I sit within these walls I contemplate their meaning
I feel the blood of years come coursing through my veins
I’m here to stay - hey hey hey
A bowing head a vow of silence, solemn, beckons
A statue high upon a church’s wall looks down on me
I gaze the gates as Peter looms above the columns
The rock of ages stares supporting all to see
I stand immortal at the bridge of my abrupt awakening
I see no rules no laws to force me to comply
I am myself
Single
Manchester
There’s a sense in the air in Manchester that exists nowhere else. I’ve been to Switzerland, New York, Tokyo, Thailand. And I always come back to this. Not because it’s the most beautiful city. It’s not. But because it’s mine. It’s always had its arms open.
t's night I'm alone on an old city street
In the cold slightly damp
Yet I feel so complete
There’s a sense in the air
It exists nowhere else
Only here in my home town
it’s arms always open to me
Manchester Ah Manchester
Your name hardly rolls off The tongue
When I’m on your streets you care for me
Protect me my whole life long
Single
Rage
So I’m trying to buy tickets for an Oasis Gig and I’m on-line all day waiting from 9:00am until 4:30 when the tickets suddenly change from £75.00 to £750.00. I was trying to get them for my son and his friend and was totally disappointed so……… I write my own Oasis type song called RAGE to get myself out of my disappointment. The gig is long gone but hopefully my song will live on!
I guess what’s there I look around
The institutions on the ground
I see the signs up on the wall
I try to stand up high and tall
She looked at me
My Thoughts confused
I just don’t know
Where this will lead
Where this will go
Do I control
My own direction
Selfishness or introspection
She looked at me
She looked at me
I was screaming for a saviour
To become my sage
Felt the anger building
Then the desperation then THE RAGE
Single
Lesley Is Walking
This song was inspired by a touching story shared by an Artist from my senior school. Here are her words and her story that inspired me to write the song……………………………..
I want to tell you a story
Many years ago my Mum and I spent her birthday at a beachside kiosk.
During the morning….along came a man I knew, an artist , with a friend.
My mum ( a true Mancunian) gripped my hand and gasped that the man looked like Jesus. I laughed as he came over to greet me and my mother’s jaw dropped open.
I introduced him to my Mum and mentioned we were celebrating her birthday.
He sat with his friend and took his guitar out and sang all afternoon
Wonderful country songs
After the impromptu concert
He showed my mum a lovely book of his paintings
Some of the paintings hang in the TATE gallery in London. Some were of my friend who was called Lucy
His muse.
She was amazed at this majestic work
On my mother’s death bed
As we held hands and talked about our times together
She told me
One of her most beautiful memories was her birthday when the man who looked like Jesus sang to her and she found out he was a great artist. We laughed
Remembering her wonder at seeing
JESÚS walkeing towards her with his guitar and her pleasure at seeing such fabulous works of art.
35 years later
Another friend found the same book in her house
At one time they had lived near this beach where we had been that day
She gifted me the book
The book that illuminated the special birthday
The day my mum met Jesus
Thank you Luz
Thank you Cornelis
Lesley is walking through a life full of miracles
When Jesus rocks up — says “Guten Tag – hey hey
chords on his guitar - folkie and relevant
Cornelis your mark is left in so many ways
Smiles as we sit there, chimes in the summer air
Looks from a master we sit and admire
Crowds in the distance wonder and magical
Cornelis your turning our hearts into fire
We’re all waiting on that
Time when we stand posing
Naked, as the muse upon the stone
When we start the journey
To that sacred turning
Where we will return
In dreams to roam
Single
It’s Christmas Time
I wrote this remembering my Christmas with my mum when I was 3 and the magic of this time of year
You breath the air
You touch the sounds
You feel the magic all around
It’s Christmas night
The snow falls to the
ground
You touch your breath
Wrapped in… a cloud
The gentle breeze - it’s frosty shroud
Slowly drifts without a sound
Away
Single
Lying Naked on the Bed
Watching someone you love look for the way out. Feeling everything. Saying nothing. The complete exposure of lying there — emotionally stripped — while keeping every single feeling locked inside. ‘I show no emotion’ is the most emotional line I’ve ever written.
I watch you time on time
Looking for the way out
Looking for the door
It’s open all the time
I see your face
Watch you crying
I touch your tears
I scream my head inside —
But I show no emotion
I show no emotion
I show no emotion
I’m lying naked on the bed
I show no emotion
I show no emotion
That said
And if I were to live again
And if I were to choose again
I would never be in this position
Never live in these conditions
No, oh oh oh
So time will move on
A story over
Assignations may be gone but not forgotten
I see the road
I share its secrets
And they will echo
Forever in my soul
Single
Daisy Chained
Daisy is my LTD Evertune Guitar which leads me into all sorts of adventures because of the work I write with it. I’m tied to it, and it’s tied to me and we love looking at the world and its stories and putting it to music together. Daisy, I’m chained to you!
So you open the door take a deep deep breath take a peek inside
on a Saturday
You’ve spent the week trying to build your inside strength the Adrenalin’s kicking in
and your on your way
It’s a daunting step as you can see the drop, it seems real real high
You’ll to take it anyway
(yes you will)
You know there’s no way back, once you take the plunge, as you hold her body tight -
She’s with you all the way
(yes she is)
Oh Daisy I’m chained, I’m chained to you!
Single
Lady in Bosnia
I’d had a good day. Friends. Sun. Nothing much happened. And there on the TV was a woman from Bosnia with blood in her hair. And I lifted my drink. This song is about the distance between the world on the screen and the world outside the door.
Well I’d had a good day, I’d been talking with friends
In the sun as we lay getting a tan
And nothing much happened
Single
Valletta
She needed to escape. Not from something specific — from everything. She went to Valletta. Those narrow streets, unchanged by centuries. In those streets she found something she’d forgotten she was looking for.
She wanted so much to feel safe and secure,
find a place with serenity.
to sort out her thoughts to untangle herself from the wreckage she saw
A place that had seen so much more than she had
To the streets of Valletta
There was no where better
She took with her a/the letter
Took a plane the next day
Single
Happy New Year
Bolton FM asked me to write a Happy New Year Song and this is it! I hope it does what I intended it to do and provides a good “sing along song” to bring in the new year.
I don’t know what time it is
I look at the clock on the wall
I’ve been here a long long time
But it seems like no time at all
In the distance I hear them
The songs of the crowds in my ears
The whole world will sing and hold hands
They’ll be singing and/out loud cheers
It’s a Happy New Year
Happy new year ere ere
It’s a Happy New Year
Happy new year
Single
Count to Three
From a playground wall to the present day, “Count to 3” is a true story about the passage of time—and the things that remain untouched by it. It’s a look back at a kid dreaming about the future, paired with the realization that the years might advance, but the fire inside stays exactly the same. The dreams are still there, kept safe, waiting for the count.
Whatever age we are now, we are all the same at heart!
So I’m sat by the wall in the playground
I’m thinking of all that could be
I’m looking around at the sky and the ground
And I’m wondering what one day I’ll see
Fast forward a long time to meet me
and you’ll see I’m no older inside
I still have the thoughts and the dreams that I had
Kept hidden so safely inside
Count to 3
Single
The Devil on His Back
Every rock star starts as a kid in a bedroom surrounded by posters. Set deep in the chill of winter, this track captures what everyone wants at some point in their lives. Lost in his own world with David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Mott the Hoople staring down from his walls, he found a space where his thoughts belonged entirely to him. It’s a song about the spark of ambition, the magic of teenage idols, and the moment you realize that to make the world listen, you have to be bold enough to stand out. It’s also about collaboration as if you have someone else of the same mind, anything is possible!
On a cold day
Deep in Winter
Little Jonni thinks alone
In his bedroom
He’s the master
All his thoughts are all his own
They’re his
No one to take them all away
All around him he sees the posters
All his heroes on the walls
David Bowie, a guy named Stewart, Mott the Hoople says it’s all for him
And all the young Dudes ah ha
He thinks - Grow my hair - Dye it red - then they’ll listen - Jonnie said
Single
Waiting in the Wings
Two people standing side by side. Close enough to touch. And yet. The tenderness is real — the years have shown it. But something — timing, choice, cowardice — means they cannot reach for it. They’ve thrown it all away.
We’ve waited years and years
The tenderness the years have shown
We’re standing side by side
Yet each of us alone
We’ve thrown it all away
Single
The Rolling Stones (Off the Cuff)
I listened to an Interview with Nick Cage – musician – who said now he was older it took him ages to write a song whereas when he was 17 he just did it! He was being interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine on their Off The Cuff programme.
As soon as I heard this I wrote this song as though I were 17 very quickly and Off The Cuff! 🙂
Well I’m walkin
Looking Chic
Pretty sick man
In the clique
Look at my Colours
They’re so bright
I’m so hip man
Looking tight
Single
Defending Angel
There are people in your life who stand between you and the worst of it. Who absorb the blows so you don’t have to. Without being asked. Without wanting recognition.
Look beyond the lines of sin
A thousand epitaphs in quarried stone are crumbling
The Darkest age is yet to come
Its voice of ignorance and lethargy is deafening
Single
Joyce
This is a song tribute to a woman that was the bravest and most inspirational and wonderful person I have ever known! My Mum, and her name was Joyce!
You saw the horizon
I saw where the flat world ends
You smiled as our ship slowly sank to the floor
I swam while you glided
You smiled as you watched me try
We laughed as we splashed as we both reached the shore
Single
Heroes
Heroes aren’t always obvious. Most of them are just people getting on with it quietly, without anyone noticing. The ones who deserve the songs most are the ones who’d never expect one.
We could be heroes in our brave new world
We could be characters straight from Shakespeare
Oh In the dark of day
We can be Gods at play
just doing our thing
Single
Throwing Stones
A friend likes the Beatles so I said I’d write a song in that genre: A Psychedelic Journey Through TimeWith a nod to the trippy, philosophical songwriting of the late-60s Beatles, this track is a daydream put to music. It follows a lonely wanderer searching for truth as generations come and go like ebbing mountain torrents. Blending vivid imagery of fading rainbows, warm sunshine, and a lover’s timeless whisper to “let it be,” this song is an invitation to stop overthinking, choose your ride, and see where the river takes you.
I wandered slowly down this road
Picking up and throwing stones across the river of my life
And in the end what will I find
Will it be a valley full of green and pastured peace of mind
I watched the colours of the rainbow fade
Felt the sun upon my face
Saw the silhouette of you my love
I take your hand, you whisper
Choose-rides why don’t you
Take sides and let it be
And you will see
Single
Let’s Talk!
Love at First Sight!
And long into the night without a feeling of time we sat and talked, discussed debated
We talked of all that we knew, our fears and our hoped we covered bad times, and dreams
We talked of that gone before and those things to come and we smiled and laughed and giggled
Then we felt the warmth of the sun penetrating the walls and you tired to me and said you said
Let’s talk
Single
Merry Christmas (Santa’s Arrived)
Imagine if Santa believes in you when you didn’t believe in yourself!
Wouldn’t that be amazing. Especially if he told you in person!
I find myself on a street
I’m lonely and tired and facing the wrong direction
I’m just not complete I’m broken and sad
Am
I had all these plans
To hold the world in my hands
And then/ a heard this voice say,
in a magical whisper.
Just Jump up with me
I want you to see, how easy it is
just believe in me
You must believe in me
My Elphick warrior……
Single
See the Girl with the Black All Saints Tattoos
So, It’s a Friday night and I go shopping at a centre called Cheshire Oaks in Cheshire, UK. I walk through the door into one of my favourite clothes shops “All Saints” and there, stood at the back of the store, is a shop assistant who has amazing tattoos, all of which seem to be designed around her “edgy” clothing. I ask if they have any flared jeans for men and she says no, and then asks me if I have seen a youtube Video called “A Universe from Nothing” by a Physicist called Lawrence Krauss. Oddly enough I had, and we started talking about life, the universe, her tattoos and lots and lots of things. I came away knowing this was a song I had to write and I just hope it does justice to the amazingly interesting and inquisitive Jess, “The Girl – With The Black AllSaints Tattoos!”
The banshees wailing
The sword of Damocles crushes you
Open your eyes
See In the morning dew
All is green
All is new
Only Zeus can grant exemptionFrom this torrent of redemption
It’s a Friday night
I walk through the door
Stands in half light looking
Over, artwork shows a four leaf clover
If looks could turn to stone
She’s dressed to kill
So it’s a normal day (for her)
Her hands are poised
Expressive fingers -
Tapping on the rail
I’m sold and I want to stay
See the girl
With the black all saints tattoos
Single
Coming soon
Feeling My Way Around
New single · In production
What's the Rush
New single · In production
England
New single · In production
About Just Jonnie
The man & his alter ego — Manchester
The songwriter
A lifetime of paying attention
The Musician
I’ve been singing as an Operatic Tenor at functions and charity events for a number of years and for a change, I decided to do an Open Mic night at The Whisky Jar in Manchester. Stepping outside my normal genre I wrote a song on my guitar. about the Whisky Jar open mic night (the nights called “Shut The F*** up and so is the song!)
The audience seemed to like it and a DJ from a local radio station, Bolton FM came up to me at the end and asked me if I’d write a Christmas song for them. “Do you think I can?” I asked “My instincts say yes,” she said. I went home and wrote “Merry Christmas Santas Arrived” and I’ve not stopped writing since!
Every song is a story. Mostly a true story. The woman in the window in Italy. The lady on the TV news in Bosnia. The girl with the All Saints tattoos on a Friday night whom I met and talked with shopping at AllSaints (her name is Jess). “I write about what I’ve seen, what I feel and what moves me. If I get an idea I tend to write the song in minutes, it just flows. I sometimes think if I didn’t write straight away, at the time, and emotionally, the songs would never get written.
The cartoon alter ego — the mohawked character on every record — is the younger, louder version. The one who says the thing out loud. Just Jonnie is both of them at once.
"I write about what I've seen. And I've seen a lot."
