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about

I’ve spent a lot of time living abroad. My fondest memories are of being up before the dawn and seeing the market streets come alive. From Nagasaki to Jeddah, the sounds have stayed with me. Regardless of language, those first morning greetings are messages of goodwill and love. It’s the best time of day to experience a new city. A song for my wife.

lyrics

At the age of just 22
I discovered my calling
Watching streets as they come alive
At five or six in the morning
You can really define a town
By the first light of day
Like a face before the paint goes on
Shadows carved out of grey

I’d been given a tape machine
It lived here in my satchel
I’d sneak it out to a cheap cafe
I’d hide it under the table
From Nagasaki to old Soho
Greetings cast on the rise
Voices hewn in the analogue
And there I severed my ties

In Jeddah I taped the prayer call
In Porto, Christ on the breeze
In Singapore, well I caught them all
Floating in from the seas

From a Tokyo window ledge
I heard the morning begin
Same way it does everyday
From Tokyo to old Medellín
Won’t you please take good care of yourself
And without words understand
Because I love every part of you
Because you’re all that I am

credits

from Before I Knew What Had Begun I Had Already Lost, released May 5, 2023
Written by Jon Wilks
Produced by Jon Wilks
Mastered by Nick Cooke

Jon Wilks - acoustic guitar, bass, vocals
Jon Nice - electric guitar, electric piano, backing vocals, tape thunk

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Jon Wilks Whitchurch, UK

'The sort of performer folk circles mean when they talk of the living tradition' - Mike Davies, Folking.com

“One of the best of the New Wave of Folk Blokes. As a guitar player and arranger of traditional songs, Jon Wilks already deserves speaking of in the same breath as your Simpsons and your Morays.” – Ian A. Anderson, fRoots Mag
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