| En Français |  |
 |
Echoes, Waves or Ricochets
Released: May 2005 This is my first album of songs - 14 self-penned tracks using primarily my faithful old nylon-strung Godin guitar, with a fair bit of orchestration added in the studio. « This is one of those rare albums where the lyrics are as good as the melodies. Griffin combines the dexterity of James Taylor's guitar work with the genius of Bob Dylan's poetry. His smokey voice sings of the joy of being in love, the yearning to follow one's heart, the sadness of a world gone wrong, the desire to make time stand still, the dream of what life could be ... A lovely, romantic CD ... » - Hilary Covington on CDBaby.com « I'm sure Michel has been called the new Leonard Cohen many times, which although flattering is a disservice to his unique talent. He is fact the 1st Michel Griffin. Michel weaves his magic like an artist on canvas, with inspired lyrics set to haunting melodies that reach deep into your soul.» - Ron Gletherow on CDBaby.com |
| Close Video |
Freeze the Moment
Buy on iTunes 
View video 
Hear whole track on Spotify
I wanted to write a song which captured the preciousness of that tiny slice we have of the endless continuum we call Time. Which noted that when we look at the face of a lover or friend, we don't see them just in the present, we see also the past we have shared. And which noted too the fragility of our existence, and how slender are the threads that bind us .....
Lyrics:
Timeless, silent, spinning free, veined by links space cannot see,
Our planet floats eternally - by such a slender thread ...
The here & now is a moving point that digests the future at such a rate
It spits out the past like a comet's tail: such a slender thread ...
Freeze the moment; Take the time to feel alive
Freeze the moment: It's by such a slender thread ...
Lost in the freefall of your look I see you through a kaleidoscope
Of all the pasts we've already shared that are shining from your face.
And when we talk, all the words we use, they resonate in corridors
That are already lined with the echoes of all we've said before.
Freeze the moment; Take the time to feel alive
Freeze the moment: It's by such a slender thread ...
Somewhere, on some distant shore, the children of Hiroshima
Turn their sightless eyes toward the setting of the sun.
Timeless, silent, spinning free, veined by links space cannot see
Our planet floats eternally - by such a slender thread ...
Freeze the moment; Take the time to feel alive
Freeze the moment: It's by such a slender thread ...
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP]
PlayEchoes, Waves or Ricochets
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
A driving beat underpins a narrative that evokes turning-points in the passage from 'the long grass of our childhood, to the loneliness of our end'. Perhaps our real legacy is the effect we have on other people.
Lyrics:
Midnight in the Colonnades
The lamplight casting De Chiricco shadows
On the glistening cobbles beneath her feet;
Her breath hangs in the air like mist in the early dawn
As she turns her face into the keening wind
And strains to hear the sound of his arrival.
Her heart is beating much too fast;
She bites her lip and then at last
She hears him:
The look they share as he rounds the square
Would be etched into your heart if you had seen it.
Echoes, waves or ricochets:
We leave our marks along the way
From the long grass of our childhood
To the loneliness of our end.
In a forest clearing all alone
The couple lie, their clothes undone
The sun the only witness to their love;
In the hazy distance, a baby cries,
The breeze begins to rustle leaves
But the dappled trees stand mute and fold their arms.
He pulls her close, and closer still
She holds his heartbeat to her own
She stretches out her hand
'May I ?' she asks, 'May I ?':
Two tiny words which detonate his life.
Echoes, waves or ricochets:
We leave our marks along the way
From the long grass of our childhood
To the loneliness of our end.
Her bony fingers curling round the cane
She keeps in case the bad men come
She stares as if her eyes could kindle flame;
She listens well, she nods her head
Knows that time will take her breath away
But that Time is the only teacher she has known.
In the slow reverberation
Of a bell which sounded long ago
Every new step we take is old;
'The trick', she says, with a twinkling eye
'Is to remember what you bought, not what you sold.'
Echoes, waves or ricochets:
We leave our marks along the way
From the long grass of our childhood
To the loneliness of our end.
Echoes, waves or ricochets:
They leave their marks along our way
Yet in our lives the parts that others play
We write ourselves.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayAmerica, Come Weep
Buy on iTunes
View video Hear whole track on Spotify
A country ballad about a waitress in a diner, who is longing for the open highway, and lamenting the missed turnings on the country's road toward the American Dream.
Lyrics:
It's a short step from the diner to the highway,
It's a long haul from the mountains to the coast;
From the restless glance she flicked between the distance and the counter,
I'd say our laughter stirred a ghost.
Down the way, lights prickle at the edge of town,
As the cowboys gather, to watch the sun go down;
There's smoke and fire and laughter and hope for the ever-after
But I'd say that Destiny wears a frown.
America, come weep, for what's been lost and what's been stolen,
America, come weep, for all your pioneers of old;
For somewhere on the way, between dream and realisation,
I'd say you've gone and lost your soul.
With her elbows on the counter, and her eyes out on the highway,
The waitress in the diner watches the drivers come and go;
They all have destinations emblazoned on their faces,
Like the old heroes on horseback who made the horizon their home.
The evening news flickers from the TV in the corner,
Images of blood and death that'd make your stomach churn;
The waitress starts to wonder, as she polishes the glasses,
How a nation of refugees took to killing in their turn.
America, come weep, for what's been lost and what's been stolen,
America, come weep, for all your pioneers of old;
For somewhere on the way, between dream and realisation,
I'd say you've gone and lost your soul.
It's a short step from the diner to the highway,
It's a long haul from the mountains to the coast;
From the restless glance she flicked between the distance and the counter,
I'd say our laughter stirred a ghost.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayThe Valley Time Forgot
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
A lilting hymn of praise for the lovely Lot valley in France. Musically, it's a cross-fertilisation between country-folk and baroque, with soaring strings, and even a hint of harpsichord.
Lyrics:
You can hear the candles burning in the churches of the Lot;
There's a stillness there that takes you by the arm and bids you stop
And watch the swirls of dust caught in the slanting shafts of light
Like atoms dancing captive in the molecules of Time.
Each stone has its story, in the churches of the Lot:
Brought down from those distant hills above the valley Time forgot,
Finely carved, or roughly hewn, they watch gravely in their turn,
As we stream by like meteors in our hurry to be gone.
Those distant hills are not so far away
The sunlight spills across the canvas of another day.
The pink cliffs shimmer above the morning mist
And then the sun peeps into the canyon, shy as love's first kiss.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] As evening falls, the shadows form, in the churches of the Lot;
Twilight spreads her velvet cloak over the valley Time forgot;
If there is a God, then this is where we can feel his presence smile,
As the stars begin to sparkle and the moon begins to shine.
Those distant hills are not so far away
The sunset spills across the canvas of another day.
The pink cliffs shimmer above the evening mist
As the sun tiptoes out the canyon, shy as love's first kiss. PlayFur Elise
Buy on iTunes
View video Hear whole track on Spotify
A love-song for a very special person. Two guitars trade riffs that evoke the hook in Beethoven's piece by the same name.
Lyrics:
As a boy I always heard the Für Elise,
A necklace of notes inside my head;
I'd sit and watch the sun float through the trees,
Always wishing to be somewhere else instead:
In my dreams, the open road -
I'd be flying like a bird.
Arms outstretched to catch the sun
And those fleeting notes I heard .....
All my life I've tried to rearrange those notes
Into a melody so clear:
Trying to coax some kind of harmony
Out of contradiction, out of fear ....
And then you came, an open heart,
Flying like a bird.
Arms outstretched to hold me close
To those fleeting notes you heard .....
So here's the song I always meant to write for you,
I'd like to say: your Für Elise.
You finally fused the notes inside of me,
Into this tune to which we dance beneath the trees ....
You are my dream, my sweet Elise,
I'm flying like a bird,
Arms outstretched to hold you close
To those fleeting notes we heard .....
As a boy I always heard the Für Elise,
A necklace of notes inside my head;
I'd sit and watch the sun float through the trees,
Always wishing to be somewhere else instead.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayDeep Inside the Night
Buy on iTunes
View video Hear whole track on Spotify
'Deep Inside the Night' paints a portait of a vulnerable lady looking to the horizon for a better deal. The musical treatment (acoustic guitar, cello and violin) is very spare, and hauntingly beautiful.
Lyrics:
Sad face, staring out into the sea;
Waiting for the tide to turn around her feet,
Killing time until the dawn.
Old face, much too old for one so young,
For she has known the damage done by pain,
Has had scant joy in the love she's made.
Somewhere, deep inside the night
There's a longing, trying to be found;
Somewhere, deep inside her heart
There's a love which knows no bounds.
Young face, with eyes to catch the coming sun.
Lays her head upon his faithless lap
And sleeps, clothed in kisses 'till the dawn.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayDont Step on my Smile
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
'Don't Step on my Smile' changes the mood: a jaunty, upbeat tongue-in-cheek duet. 'When the newscaster casts his news, it's enough to give an optimist a dose of the blues ...'
Lyrics:
Don't step on my smile, don't step on my smile ...
Could be the only thing between me and destitution,
The only thing that links me with my mind;
And when everything else falls due for restitution
At least they'll have to leave my smile behind.
Don't step on my smile, don't step on my smile ...
When the newscaster casts his news
It's enough to give an optimist a dose of the blues;
If you really took in everything he said
You'd just go mad, trying to ease your head.
Don't step on my smile, don't step on my smile ...
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayTravelling Man
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
'Freedom is only for the strong'. A song for everyone who feels the tension between the lure of the open road, and the safety of a loving relationship.
Lyrics:
I know those mornings when you wake up tired,
See your life as some kind of compromise;
I know you're going to pack some things,
Tiptoe quietly out, and try not to say goodbye.
Oh yes, I've seen your face,
You've been misting up the windowpane;
Daydreaming of a better place to be -
But no matter where you take yourself:
Take a tip from a travelling man,
Take a line out of one of his songs:
No amount of running is going to make you free,
Freedom is only for the strong.
Your eyes seem aching for the sight of an open road;
You're only waiting for the wind to run its fingers through your hair;
Oh but don't you see, no matter where you choose to roam;
Restlessness, like loneliness, it's just a state of mind.
And yes, I've seen your face,
You've been misting up the windowpane;
Daydreaming of a better place to be -
But no matter where you take yourself:
Take a tip from a travelling man,
Take a line out of one of his songs:
No amount of running is going to make you free,
Freedom is only for the strong.
I know those mornings when you wake up tired
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayShe
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
A bouncy love-song which tries to capture the flamboyance of the lady whose life I once shared.
Lyrics:
She's a pirouette, an arabesque, the swallow's swirl around its nest;
She's the moment just before the smile breaks into a laugh.
She's a fountain playing in the summer sun, each bead a world that's just begun
She's the bubble in the Perrier winking in the glass.
And my love is like a river: deep, and wide and calm;
And my heart, oh so tender, she's holding in her palm.
She's the butter in the croissant; she's the honey on my tongue;
She's the summer breeze at midnight: She's a song that's just begun.
She's the deep red of the cherry; she's the pale dusk of the peach;
She's the rosy apple on the branch, just beyond my reach ...
And my love is like a river: deep, and wide and calm;
And my heart, oh so tender, she's holding in her palm.
She's a harlequin, a spark of light, a rainbow-coloured dragonfly;
She's the girl who put the lick into electricity.
She's the hint of jazz on the city street, she's the solo that's right on the beat:
She's the music, she's the music, she's the music of my life,
She's the music, she's the music of my life.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayMan and Boy
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
As every woman knows, there's a boy that walks behind the face of every man. This somewhat dark song summarises some of his more fragile moments ...
Lyrics:
There's a boy that walks behind the face of a man,
Every step he takes is on shifting sand;
The dreams that once he'd sail like boats
Are all beached or badly broken.
There's a boy that walks behind the face of a man
Once the strings were gathered in his hand;
But now the strings seem to be working loose
And a noose is the shape they're forming.
There's a boy that walks behind the face of a man
The sun used to shine through the songs he sang;
But now he's forgotten all the words he used
To make the noose a shadow.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayDreamer
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
An affectionate portrait of someone who is always waiting for someone else to take the initiative. Swirling organ, crystal 12-strings and a gentle beat.
Lyrics:
Little crowds of people forming cliques around the tables,
And the man with the TV grin says 'This is your life',
And you know you don't want to follow,
But you can't pick up tomorrow just anywhere.
Girls with accents, wreathed with smiles and smoke,
Sit cracking acid jokes about everybody that they seem to know;
Stirring coffee with the rest,
You know this isn't quite what you expected.
The dreamer sits by the window,
He's been waiting for the world to ask him out;
His eyes look somehow cheated, but his face so full of love,
He's tried so hard to please the world,
But always acted so slowly, too cautious, too kind
The dreamer comes to the window,
There are lines upon his face,
He's offering you a pack of cards,
But he never seems to deal the ace.
He's never denied anyone,
But always expected so much, the dreamer with a grin.
Little crowds of people forming cliques around the tables,
And the man with the TV grin says 'This is your life',
And you know you don't want to follow,
But you can't pick up tomorrow just anywhere.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayPour la Premiere Fois
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
'When that look of yours first cut through my heart, I wanted so much for that look to last a lifetime ...' A french love- song that starts softly and climaxes with a wild horn solo set against lush strings.
Lyrics:
Quand je t'ai vu, pour la première fois,
J'ai reconnu, pour la première fois,
Ce que j'avais en moi,
Qui était aussi en toi.
Quand ton regard, cette première fois,
M'a transpercé le coeur, pour la première fois,
J'ai eu tellement envie
Que cela dure toujours.
Tu m'a liberé, pour la première fois,
Quand on s'est rencontré, cette première fois,
Tu m'a fait explorer, pour la première fois,
Ce monde inconnu qui est en moi.
Quand ton regard, cette première fois,
M'a transpercé le coeur, pour la première fois,
J'ai eu tellement envie
Que cela dure toujours.
Tu m'a liberé, pour la première fois,
Quand on s'est regardé, cette première fois,
Tu m'a fait découvrir, pour la première fois,
Ce monde inconnu qui est en toi.
Quand je t'ai vu, pour la première fois,
J'ai reconnu, pour la première fois,
Ce que j'avais en moi,
Qui était aussi en toi.
Which, roughly translated, means:
When I saw you, for the very first time,
Then I knew, for the very first time,
What I had inside me,
That was also in you.
When that look of yours, that first time,
Cut through my heart, for the very first time,
I wanted so much,
For that look to last a lifetime.
You set me free, for the very first time,
When we met that first time,
You made me explore, for the very first time,
The hidden places I keep locked inside.
When that look of yours, that first time,
Cut through my heart, for the very first time,
I wanted so much,
For that look to last a lifetime.
You set me free, for the very first time,
When our eyes met, that first time,
You made me explore, for the very first time,
The hidden places you keep locked inside.
When I saw you, for the very first time,
Then I knew, for the very first time,
What I had inside me,
That was also in you.
Words & Music © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayAlice in Dixieland
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
A light-hearted series of caricatures, with a Dixieland feel.
Lyrics:
Casanova every morning puts on a brand new car,
Thus encapsulated, he looks every last inch the star.
He dresses to be noticed, he notices every dress that comes to view,
And when he's taken off the dresses, he notes down the address for future use.
Alice tosses out smiles as if each smile tossed saved a life
She is looking for the lover who will one day make her into a wife;
She might lack the wit to realise just what should lie behind her face
But all in all conveys a certain petulant grace.
Oh, the butcher, the baker, the candle-stick maker, their lives all overlap
But where does she find the place marked 'Me' on the map ?
In the morning, in the evening, every time she turns the TV on
There are people coming on to her, the patron saints of charm:
They sell with such conviction, preach with such velvet aplomb,
They all seem capable of talking the intentions out of a bomb.
Oh, the butcher, the baker, the candle-stick maker, their lives all overlap
But where does she find the place marked 'Me' on the map ?
In pride of place strut the ageing politicians we elect:
We all have walk-on parts in the movies they'd like to direct;
When they get up to speak, it all sounds mighty fine,
But I'm afraid it's a case of the deaf leading the blind.
Oh, the butcher, the baker, the candle-stick maker, their lives all overlap
But where do we find the place marked 'Me' on the map ?
Where do we find the place marked 'Me' on the map?
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] PlayEvensong
Buy on iTunes Hear whole track on Spotify
A gentle, laid-back song for the end of a perfect day.
Lyrics:
Now it is the evening, the day is dying fast;
Curtains closing windows, lights behind the glass.
All the promises of the morning have now been laid to rest;
I think it's time to follow: for I'm tired, and you're warm.
The day broke with a fanfare, and ran on like a hymn;
And now the final chords are drawing what's left in.
The sun shone like a Sunday, the dusk is as pale as dawn;
I think it's time to rest now: for I'm tired, and you're warm.
Copyright © M.J.C. Griffin [ASCAP] Play
- BUY ALBUM ON
iTunes
This site describes and contains Michel Griffin's videos, songs, piano, orchestral,
New Age and guitar music in MP3 format. The site and all the music and videos it contains and describes are copyright ©
M.J.C. Griffin. All rights reserved.
Background image © James Worsham Representation - US :  email
or  (+1) 310 270 8782
France : email
or (+33) (0)581 70 18 15 The jukebox pages on this site were created by adapting PagePlayer |