I'm not at home so I can't record anything. But if I could I'd be keen to finally get a tune for this song I wrote about the little train that takes you up into the Himalayas.
In fact, if anyone here feels inspired to write a tune for this and submit it to the season, that'd be brilliant!
Here are the lyrics, in case anyone gets inspired:
Up the Hills to Shimla
When I was young, “The Jungle Book”
Escorted me to bed.
And dreams of ancient India,
Raced swiftly around my head.
Then “Plain Tales from the Hills”
Replaced dreams of the wolf-pack.
And I swore one day, I’d find myself,
On the mountain railway track.
Winding through the mountains up to Shimla,
CHO Climbing through the mist and through the rain.
RUS Exploring the great mystery of India,
A pilgrim rattling skywards on the train.
There are uniformed young schoolboys,
Some with sky-blue turban hats.
There are bureaucrats and businessmen,
Who’ve come up from the flats.
There are honeymooning couples,
With shy love looks in their smiles,
And tourists and train spotters,
Devouring every mile.
CHORUS
There are porters and samosas
That appear at every stop.
Rickety old viaducts,
Breathtaking sheer drops.
The distant Himalayas,
As a backdrop to the scene,
And sights that take me back,
To when Victoria was Queen.
CHORUS
In my mind’s eye there are Redcoats,
Fleeing hot nights on the plains,
Subalterns and fat colonels,
Reliving old campaigns.
Crinolined young ladies
Swapping gossip behind fans,
Ambitious worldly curates,
And that ailing other man.
CHORUS
