FAWM: "Her Nightingale Floor"

Her Nightingale Floor

4 days ago by @berni1954 · @alain_the_chef

Her Nightingale Floor

berni1954 +1

00:00

Liner Notes

I was intrigued by Alain's lyrics and offered to try and do an arrangement of them.

As the lyrics are far from my usual style, it was quite a challenge. I have also been playing keyboards a lot recently - but I am still an absolute beginner. But as I'm among friends, I thought I'd try adding some keyboard accompaniment along with the basic track which was recorded using a Tenor Ukulele.

There were quite a few drop-ins and drop-outs made during the recording on a BOSS Micro-BR. I hope they don't spoil the song. If I had learnt to use the version of Ableton that came with my keyboard before FAWM - I could have recorded and edited each track easily, but on physical recorders, it's always a bit of a hit and miss. I seem to have a lot of bad luck with D.A.W.s The learning curve is so much steeper these days than it was when I dabbled in electronic music with Voyetra in the early 1990s ☹.

Of course, it would have been easier had I not chosen a key with sharps and flats 😁. But it came out of my head in that key and it is one I have been obsessed with recently.

Instruments: Kala FM-TE Tenor Ukulele Arturia Keystep 37 driving an Arturia CZ V

#fuc #synth

Lyrics

Intro: (Bb) (F) (Gm)

Verse 1. (Gm) Calculate the distance from (F) here up to the stars The path of least resistance, (Gm) easier by far There’s no knowing, how you (F) trip and fall She’s got a (Eb) nightingale (F) floor and she (Gm) breaks the 4th wall

Chorus She’s got a (Eb) nightingale floor And a (F) web of informers A (Eb) cast iron door And a (F) lot of insurance (Cm) Brave adventure, fear no (Gm) ills I (Eb) long to ex(F)plore, (Gm) valleys and hills

Bridge An(Bb)gelica climbed the (C) grapevine When (Bb) she was prepared to (C) come She (Bb) smashed the glass (C) ceiling Now she (Bb) burns beneath the (F) weight of the (Gm) sun She (Bb) burns beneath the (F) weight of the (Gm) sun She (Bb) burns beneath the (F) weight of ...

V.2 (Gm) A hazy memory, and a (F) curious dance Talking with her is like (Gm) hiking on glass Walking on eggshells, (F) hung on tender looks She (Eb) didn’t use (F) Google, she (Gm) read a lot of books

CHORUS

Comments

@ruby 2d

It’s giving me Space Oddity vibes. What a great collab. Fab.

@berni1954 2d

Someone else mentioned Bowie to me with regards this song. As I was a massive fan of the man up to the Berlin works, I wouldn't be surprised if there were sub-conscious Bowie influences in this one.

@alain_the_chef 2d

Hey Berni congratulations on a beautiful and complex song. Thanks for collaborating with me and bringing my words to life. I never offer interpretations of my lyrics, I think it's far better, and much more fun, for people to find their own meaning. In fact, the more inpenetrable the lyric is, the more different interpretations people seem to come up with! I initially write with word connections, meanings and sounds, and then focus in on a cadence and rhyme. :-)

@berni1954 2d

I missed this when you first posted it. It was the mystery that attracted me to these lyrics. Your approach is so different from mine. I tend to tell stories in plain English. There is room for both approaches.

PS where are you from? And ate you indeed a chef?

@coolparadisoMod 4d

Yeh a different Berni - well except vocally! The piano is fine . A good bunch of lyrics (very poetic) with good flow!

@berni1954 3d

I am hoping to improve my keyboard skills over the coming months. That's my personal challenge for 2026. I am desperate to prove that Old Dogs can indeed learn New Tricks! 😁

@billwhite51 4d

i like hearing berni in a different style from the usual, and the lyrics are compelling, but i dont understand where the nightingale floor fits into it.

@berni1954 4d

One of the reasons I asked to put music to these lyrics was that I found them virtually impenetrable and that is the polar opposite of what I normally write, so it was a challenge.

From the comment on the lyrics only version, people were fine to leave it open to interpretation. It is no more obscure than a lot of Dylan's Mid-Period or the entire catalogue of REM's songs 😉

If I had to offer an interpretation, I'd say the female protagonist is either on the run, a spy or else she is terrified of some past lover finding her. Hence the fact she has a Nightingale Floor in her bedroom to advise her of an approach.

@kahlo2013 4d

This is such a wonderfully poetic and powerful lyric, Alain, - love the image of hiking on glass - and your approach to the music, Berni, is perfect! I love the emotion in your vocals and keys sound great!

@berni1954 4d

Thanks Liz. Alain's lyrics are so open to interpretation - they are the other side of the coin from most of my output. That's what fascinated me.