Be All Right

28 August 2026

Stream: Be All Right

Be All Right was written during one of the many heat waves in the summer of 2026 and recorded using Logic Pro. The video was made using iMovie and CapCut (free version).

This year we had problems with Vine Weevils in the garden. A couple of trees looked seriously close to dying and other plants were riddled with holes in their leaves. Weevils and their larvae really are evil. The answer is nematodes - to be specific Nemesys Nematodes.

There are links to more songs by Jalodrome here: jalodrome.co.uk/p/music.

Video: Be All Right

Lyrics: Be All Right

I know I’m near the bottom, but I fell from the top
Now I’m wondering if this falling is ever going to stop
I guess that I’ll do anything to make it through another day

If I take all my tablets, then the future looks bright
They’ll help to keep me regular and I’ll sleep through the night
I could be a happy man if I do what the doctors say
I ‘m going to be all right!

It’s the weevils that are evil and they’re inside my head
The way they’re going at me, I’m bound to wind up dead
I’m going to get some nematodes to help me sort the problem out

The neighbours think I’m crazy, they live round the bend
But I know I’m not stupid I just need this mess to end
Why should I be suffering when all I want to do is shout
I ‘m going to be all right!

It always gets so dark when I turn out the light
It seems my self-esteem just isn’t winning the fight
I’ve got to make it better and live some life before I die

I used to be so confident there must be a cure
One thing that’s for certain now I’m really not sure
I hesitate and obfuscate and I can’t say I really know why
I ‘m going to be all right!

Chords

Verse: Am Em Dm Em7
Bridge: F Em x4

Logic Pro Screenshot: Be All Right

One More for the Ocean

2 March 2026

jalodrome · One More For The Ocean

I wrote this song some years ago, during the Syrian refugee crisis, probably 2012 - 2014. Thousands of Syrians were fleeing the civil war, getting to the coast by any means they could and then embarking on dangerous sea crossings in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. They were travelling to Greece or Turkey. The original working title for the song was 'Syrian Divorce'. I recorded the song in 2026 using Logic Pro.

The video was made using iMovie and was taken from a Hotel Castille window in Valletta, Malta.

There are links to more songs by Jalodrome here: jalodrome.co.uk/p/music.

One More for the Ocean

There is nothing left, I am leaving
I will walk this rocky road to the sea
I know there will be struggle, I know there will be strife
Like any body dying to be free

I have been living in the desert with no sustenance
And all of my possessions cast aside in the fray
I was walking with a stranger, I was lying with a thief
Who stole my heart and took my dreams away

One more for the ocean
Another ship run aground

For all that we know
For all this cold wind blows
There will be a spark to light this life again

This kingdom lies in ruins with our castles turned to dust
Beneath our feet the rivers have run dry
Our economic situation has no relevance at all
We pay the price if we live or we die

No time for emotion
Another soul to be found

For all that we know
For all this cold wind blows
There will be a spark to light this life again


Chords
Intro
Bm///F#m///G///A///

Verse
Bm///F#m///G/// x4

One more for the ocean
Em///Em9///A/// X2

Chorus
G///A////
F#m///G///
G///A///


Screenshot from Logic Pro

Click on image to enlarge

Islands

25 March 2024

jalodrome · Islands

This song was written in the late 1990s and recorded on a P.C. in the early 2000s using Cubase or Reaper.

The video was made in 2024 using iMovie. The water is the River Aire in Bingley, taken from Island Bridge in Myrtle Park. The video also features our house, Lancaster Railway Station and Avignon.

There are links to more songs by Jalodrome here: jalodrome.co.uk/p/music.

Islands

I am an Island in the sea
I have it all, I am the man I need to be
Men in suits still build their houses in the sand
I am an island in the sea

I am an island in the sun
Warming in the dawn of the day that's just begun
Nine to fives still build their castles in the air
I am an island in the sun

What of tomorrow
It's still there
All it's troubles
I don't care
I am an island in the sun

Islands©John Allen/Richard Varey

The Killing Room

January 2022

jalodrome · The Killing Room

'The Killing Room' was written in 2012. It started by playing around with the run down from The Em chord - Em/E -> Em/Eb -> Em/D -> Em/Db and the usual progression to Am and B7. It's a 50's noir, Chandleresque tabloid story - faithless woman shot by the shady boyfriend. Deliberately dark.

The song was also recorded in 2012 using Logic Pro on, what was by then, an old iMac. Images of the recording are shown below.

The video was made with iMovie, using clips from a holiday in Prague.

There are links to more songs by Jalodrome here: jalodrome.co.uk/p/music.

Killing Room

©John Allen/Richard Varey

They caught it in the photograph
Front page, local news
Lipstick on a broken glass
A pair of blood stained shoes

Powder on the tablecloth
Flowers on the floor
Looks like Jackson Pollock
Painted red across the door

Ooh
So now we’re really through
What was I supposed to do
You kill me
So darling I kill you

They didn’t show the scream you made
The way you lied to me
They didn’t show the heartbreak
How easily we bleed

Ooh
So now we’re really through
What was I supposed to do
You kill me
So darling I kill you

The chord sequence repeats throughout:
Em - - - Em/Eb - - -
Em/D - - - Em/Db - - -
Am - - - - - - -
B7 - - - - - - -

A few screenshots from the recording of 'The Killing Room' on Logic Pro X.

Click on an image to enlarge.

 

 

Restless Summer

January 2022

Stream Restless Summer

I wrote and recorded 'Restless Summer' in the first lockdown in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. It was recorded using Logic Pro as it was written.

The video was made with imovie using open source, royalty free video clips.

There are links to more songs by Jalodrome here: jalodrome.co.uk/p/music.

Video Restless Summer

Restless Summer

©John Allen

You can probably tell from the smile on my face I’ve been drinking
But in this daze of disgrace I’m only searching for light
And when everything’s said, we know all that we did was probably wasted
Now I’m flailing and floundering, condemned to the night

The BBC say a storm is coming
The depression is deep and the trouble near
Could be a restless summer

Now I don’t know why, but recently I have been dreaming
Beleaguered by demons, frightened, lost, insecure
Traces of moments past with no future
Mesmerised by a look that proved premature

The weatherman says a north wind’s blowing
There’s a deepening low and it’s on the way
Could be a restless summer

All we have are photographs and memories
Those endless days just letters in the sand

Chords

Intro/Instr
Em /// Bm /// C/// Bm/// x2

Verse
Cmaj7 /// Bm7/// x4

Chorus
Em /// Bm /// C /// Bm /// x2

Bridge
C /// D /// Em /// D /// x2


Screenshot Logic Pro Recording Restless Summer

Click on image to enlarge

Standing in the Rain

January 2022

jalodrome · Standing in the Rain

The song 'Standing in the Rain' was written in 2016 and recorded in 2019 using logic pro (see image below)

The video was made with iMovie using open source, royalty free video clips. The lyrics were added using iMovie 'Titles'- 'Expand Lower Third'.

There are links to more songs by Jalodrome here: jalodrome.co.uk/p/music.

Standing in the Rain

©John Allen/Richard Varey

Verse 1
She’s been saying you’re a loser
She says you’d better mend your ways
Too much fighting, too much boozing
You don’t hear anything she says

Chorus
It’s been going wrong for years
You don’t even feel the tears
Out in the rain (Out in the rain)
Out in the rain (Out in the rain)

Verse 2
You’re looking older than you should do
The colour’s gone, your skin is grey
You only go out when you need to
You never see the light of day

Chorus
It’s been going wrong for years
You don’t even feel the tears
Out in the rain (Out in the rain)
Out in the rain (Out in the rain)

Bridge
Out in the Rain

Instrumental

Chorus
It’s been going wrong for years
You don’t even feel the tears
Out in the rain (Out in the rain)
Out in the rain (Out in the rain)

Bridge
Out in the Rain

Chords Capo 5
Verse: Em B7 (x4)
Chorus: Am C B7 (x2)
Bridge Am B7 C B7

Chords OPEN
Verse: Am E7 (x4)
Chorus: Dm F E7 (x2)
Bridge Dm E7 F E7

Image of the completed Logic Pro recording before mastering:

Click on image to enlarge