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Rhondda St

by The Mams

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Jewel case CD including lyrics with artwork by Karl Morgan, and featuring iconic imagery courtesy of S.A.Brains & Co; Robin Weaver and Robert Haines.

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1.
Old man a-come a-knocking at my door/‘What you up to Friday night?/My bar is failing and I‘m too frail to repair it/Is there a chance that you can make it right?’/Four people come a-walking through the door/The night goes by on cruise control/And then we talk of life and all those dreams that won‘t come true now/And play a little Northern Soul/Better out than in/Apathy‘s a sin/Lost souls sitting with their cheap booze home alone now/That‘s no way for people to live/Word gets out, we keep our prices way down low, yeah/A community, a co-operative/Lock the door we can have a little smoke, yeah/Like it‘s still the good old days/Then we laugh and flirt and wonder, ‘Who‘s the coolest band we‘ve seen?’/It‘s The Mams, we‘ve come to blow you away/With several brands of gin/The majesty begins
2.
Take a little time/U‘ll make it on yr own/Heaven knows I really miss you/But it‘s not for me 2 say/That he cld get in the way/Goin 4 wot yr wantin is different to takin wot u can/ Goin 4 wot yr wantin is different to gettin wot yr gettin right now/Slip from A2B/Slide from B2C/R u sure of wot yr doin?/Coz it didn‘t cross my mind that you‘d disappear from view :-(
3.
Mynydd Mawr 03:58
Green turns to black/Now it’s turning back/Rivers running grey/Now they‘re clear as day/I wanna do what my father did/Live the way he lived/Heroin dealers out on the parade/The jobs have gone but the people stayed/I never learnt an honest trade/The jobs have gone but the people stayed/And I love it/I do/I‘m off to the mountain again/Where it begins and it ends/And I talk to the shepherd, my friend/He’s been here 200 years and he says/'The moneymen have been and gone/You‘re left with ill health and old song/The harsh reality/You are the new peasantry'/Chapels have long gone/Still we know the song/There‘s a brass band in the hall/A maudlin trumpet call/Everything’s been sold/Everyone looks old/I am freakin‘ old/Oh Mynydd Mawr/And I‘m up on the mountain again/Where it begins and it ends/And I talk to the shepherd, my friend/He’s been here 200 years and he says/‘Nature will have its way/Let the moneymen stay away/Go rock the rocking stone/This valley is your home‘
4.
Weakling 03:59
You're looking for your king/A man with shoulders broad as oaks/You‘re looking at this thing/On the pages, dainty strokes/Come the day the poets rise/We‘ll write the better battle cries/The pen is mightier than the sword/The bullet mightier than the word?/So I'm a weakling/And I wanna be so strong/Can‘t you all just play along?/I built a wall for you/You poked a stone out with your shoe/Come the sluggers into town/We’ll rise and bash those buggers down/Made our pencils arrowheads/And fire from beneath our beds/Coz I‘m a weakling/The meek can sing along/Come on join our throng/We’re boyos from the land of song
5.
Homewrecker 03:02
You were so aloof/I wore old blue shoes/I had you down as distant/You had me as bad news/Then a little email/Then a friendly glance/Oh baby, baby, baby/Started our romance/But don’t call me a homewrecker/I just leant upon your door/But the hinges were so rusty/I went crashing through the floor/Your kitchen’s full of woodworm/Your walls are made of straw/Your electrics are a time bomb/Your boiler breaks the law/No, no, don‘t call me a homewrecker/Just passing by that day/Didn't take much huff and puffing/To blow that place away
6.
I Was Fine 03:13
Unnoticed in the shadows/Johnny Average left no mark/Quiet evenings faking homework/Whilst kids partied in the park/Family business/Local girlfriend/Join the golf club/Have a kid or three/But at 23 my nemesis revealed itself/My nemesis revealed himself/My nemesis is me/I was fine, ‘til I met myself/There ain‘t no angel on my shoulder/A fallen voice has mastery/Guilt waves over when we are sober/But when we‘re sober we are not free/And that family business/It went under/And lost loves dog my history/We are a team now/A mean old team now/We play the rough stuff/My nemesis and me/Well it went boom and it went bust/It was mighty now it‘s dust/Boom/Bust/In The Mams we trust/Whatever happens happens/What will be will be/Que sera sera/Que sera seree
7.
Nothing is perfect/Nothing is final/Nothing is everything that I've got/You've sucked in all you can suck/And you want something better?/Tough luck/You see it's all for nothing/Honey nothing/Nothing is vital/To level the lonely/To break down the doorway/To slide out of sight/I drift whenever it hurts/Down in the dustbowl/Down in the dirt/Nothing is crucial/Nothing is coming/Look at the fires/Oh what a sight/We all need something/A little something/Try to find something/To get us through the night
8.
Racehorse 02:51
Barman, friend and confidante/I’ve had great times in here/Once met an angel by the gents/I don’t remember her name/I don’t remember the year/The ghosts of those who smoked to death/The flirting sprites that dance/My mind drifts as I chase my breath/Some long lost dead romance/Are you glass half empty?/Are you glass half full?/It’s not some insight into how we think/It simply means it’s time for another drink/The lock-in and the smoky pall/The subtle straying hands/I raise my glass to those who passed/Forgot all their dreams/Forgot all their plans/Now I’m sitting here just killing time/In a Tesco value shirt/Somehow the work just came and went/Thirty years of hurt/Gonna chip in buy a racehorse/Go racing in our Sunday best/Livin’ the dream/You cannot lose what you never had
9.
Goats 03:05
Goats live on the mountainside/Are nimble on the harsh terrain/We know the caves where legends lie/And dream they‘ll rise again/Brydedd, Madoc, Tudur/Owain, Myrddin, Arthur/Taliesin, Guto’r, Aled/Cadwaladr a Llwyd/Left a gap in our old fences/Diminished our defences/But whinging’s not our way/Waterfalls a-flowing/And Cymric hearts a-glowing/We will rise again/Now the time is drawing near/When the old bards re-appear/We will rise again/And you say, ‘Hiraeth: it kinda means homesickness‘/But you don‘t understand/It means a sense of loss for an ancient land
10.
321 03:02
Well I do my best/You’re here now and you’ve sussed out all the rest/I don’t keep score/Just wanna see you smile as you walk out the door/321/The years go by/Us men should learn the little things that satisfy/Act One’s the start/Acts Two and Three make for a glowing happy heart/First it’s once/Then it’s twice/When it’s thrice that is so nice/When all’s been said and done/321 means everybody’s having fun/If he is slow/You need to educate him how it works below/But just be kind/Tell him his lovin’s always playing on your mind/321 means everybody‘s having fun/321, four or more just adds to the fun/321, you’ve just one bullet in your gun/321, sleep soundly coz your work is done
11.
Gemini Girl 04:35
I love to hold you close when you are sleeping/The two of you are welcome in my bed/One of you is soft and sweet and gentle/The other one is messing with my head/I hope this blissful state can last forever/I hope that we enjoy the bumpy ride/With words of love we’ll get through this together/The three of us here side by side by side/Gemini Girl/So welcome in my world/You blow my mind with all the gifts you bring/As the fire ignites/Your two sides may unite/Tho‘ I really wouldn’t want to change a thing/With one I laugh and smile and blush and wonder/The other one is cynical and bold/Who is the best when daylight’s cast asunder?/Who is the best to comfort in the cold?/I can‘t decide which one will treat me better/For cynicism supplies wit and steel/But softness warms the aging heart I carry/So I think I want you both to stay with me
12.
So many chances/These lives of us/Rusty romances/And cities fled at midnight in the rain/No trade or dwelling/We end up selling/A car salesman I became/Pop dreams went down the drain/There is a shrine to Johnny Boy/It’s just a shelf/There‘s a wooden 1960s Tri-ang toy/And then my novel/My joy, my sorrow/‘A Chandler-esque comic fiction‘/(Thanks Matt for that description)/Whilst ‘No-one Ever Grew Up (Ever) Wanting To Be A Car Salesman‘/I became one/This is the song of the book of the film of the life/I’ll recycle ‘til I am done/‘Into the abyss‘/Mise-en-abyme/Reflected kisses/A dream within a dream within a dream/The idea rises/In myriad guises/Selling is in my bones/Buy one and take me home/We are all salesmen now

about

'Lyrical, insightful pop. A brilliant, brilliant record'
Adam Walton BBC Radio Wales

The Mams 2nd album 'Rhondda St', is the 12-track follow-up to 2007's 'Wam Bam!', which you can hear on Soundcloud.

The Mams hailed from Llanelli in South Wales and were active from 2006 to 2017. Jon and Mike now record as Locations, and Matt is concentrating on his long-term band, The Hepburns.

'Lyrical pop for barflies everywhere.'

credits

released February 9, 2016

Jon Tregenna - Vox/Gtr/Keys
Matt Jones - Lead Gtr
Mike Gibson - Bass
Pete Mason - Drums

Also featuring

Huw Rees - Percussion
Charlie Francis - Keys
Liam Ward - harmonica
Thanks to Rox and Manuela

Lyrics by JonTregenna
Music by The Mams

Recorded and Produced by Huw Rees at Rhondda St Studios in Swansea

Additional Production, Mixing and Mastering by Charlie Francis in Cardiff

Official release on Gonzo/Muso April 18th 2016

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The Mams Llanelli, UK

The Mams are Jon Tregenna & Mike Gibson. The band formed in Llanelli, South Wales in 2006 and have released 4 albums - Wam Bam!, Rhondda St, Scraps and Locations - adopting a variety of musical genres from disco to pub rock to R'n'B. Various musicians have come and gone, but Jon and Mike regrouped to produce 3 singles for Spring 2020. ... more

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