Song by Song
01 No Captain Sails This Ship:
I wrote this song back in 1977, meant for a Salt & Pepper record we never made. Actually it’s a greeting to my bandmate Steinar Horn, who rather would play gigs in the Norwegian countryside than hunt for the big breakthrough in England.
02 Better Than Any High:
Just another silly lovesong, to quote a musician from Liverpool. The text was given to me by my friend and classmate from high school, Hans Løken, in 2005. It took me an hour to write the melody on my Martin OMC 28, as I sat at the kitchen table in Fougstads gate.
03 Somewhere:
Hans’ lyrics once more, slightly philosophical about life as he sees it. I just put it in front of me on the piano. This tune also came easely and quickly.
04 Avatar:
This one I made during one of several admissions at Lovisenberg Psychiatric, probably in 1995. The words are inspired by a newspaper article about the internet. Hans wrote the second verse, which improved the whole song.
05 Girl, We Can Make It:
I really can’t explain it, but Hans’ lyrics just make tunes to appear in my head. This one also came quickly and easely, an easy going McCartney-like melody.
06 Passages of love:
A poetic description about life, love and nature. This time the melody came first, slightly inspired by Traffic and Steve Winwood, then Hans wrote the words. The complete song was recorded for the first time in 1974, as part of the first Salt & Pepper-album “Krydder” (Spices).
07 Queens of Yesterday:
This is the first song I ever wrote, on my acoustic guitar, at my boys room in Markveien. As the years went by it has ended up as a song about Tine and all the other girls I once loved in my life.
08 Let’s Cross Another Borderline:
Wrote it in 1975, strongly inspired by Paul McCartney. Should have been on the second Salt & Pepper album, but since I wrote a lot of new songs at the time, this one went into oblivion. Found it again and completed it in 2012, and here it is, for the first time on record.
09 Peace on Earth:
The influence of The fab four can be heard in almost everything I do, but this is more inspired by the great Bach. Text and melody were written one night at Lovisenberg.
10 Nede på bunnen (Down at the bottom):
Written during another admission at Lovisenberg. Very autobiographical about my life at the time. All I wanted was to be released from the cage I was locked in. If not today, maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow…
11 Sola kommer opp (The sun is rising):
Tune and lyrics was made an early morning when a new and less depressive day dawned outside the windows at Lovisenberg, in the midst of the 1990s.
12 Alltid ung (Forever young) :
In 2005 I got hold on a book of Bob Dylans lyrics, among them «Forever Young». I kind of expanded the lyrics and made my own tune, slightly influenced by The Kinks, and here it is, the last song on this album.
13 Per Aspera Ad Astra (Ernst Urbach)
I was no more than a kid, marching around in our living room, playing my clarinet, when my father told me about this special piece of music. The meaning of the words, “through hardship to the stars”, made a strong impression on a little boy, and even stronger now, after all these years. They kind of symbolize the story of my life. That’s why I wanted this to be the last track on my album.
I wrote this song back in 1977, meant for a Salt & Pepper record we never made. Actually it’s a greeting to my bandmate Steinar Horn, who rather would play gigs in the Norwegian countryside than hunt for the big breakthrough in England.
02 Better Than Any High:
Just another silly lovesong, to quote a musician from Liverpool. The text was given to me by my friend and classmate from high school, Hans Løken, in 2005. It took me an hour to write the melody on my Martin OMC 28, as I sat at the kitchen table in Fougstads gate.
03 Somewhere:
Hans’ lyrics once more, slightly philosophical about life as he sees it. I just put it in front of me on the piano. This tune also came easely and quickly.
04 Avatar:
This one I made during one of several admissions at Lovisenberg Psychiatric, probably in 1995. The words are inspired by a newspaper article about the internet. Hans wrote the second verse, which improved the whole song.
05 Girl, We Can Make It:
I really can’t explain it, but Hans’ lyrics just make tunes to appear in my head. This one also came quickly and easely, an easy going McCartney-like melody.
06 Passages of love:
A poetic description about life, love and nature. This time the melody came first, slightly inspired by Traffic and Steve Winwood, then Hans wrote the words. The complete song was recorded for the first time in 1974, as part of the first Salt & Pepper-album “Krydder” (Spices).
07 Queens of Yesterday:
This is the first song I ever wrote, on my acoustic guitar, at my boys room in Markveien. As the years went by it has ended up as a song about Tine and all the other girls I once loved in my life.
08 Let’s Cross Another Borderline:
Wrote it in 1975, strongly inspired by Paul McCartney. Should have been on the second Salt & Pepper album, but since I wrote a lot of new songs at the time, this one went into oblivion. Found it again and completed it in 2012, and here it is, for the first time on record.
09 Peace on Earth:
The influence of The fab four can be heard in almost everything I do, but this is more inspired by the great Bach. Text and melody were written one night at Lovisenberg.
10 Nede på bunnen (Down at the bottom):
Written during another admission at Lovisenberg. Very autobiographical about my life at the time. All I wanted was to be released from the cage I was locked in. If not today, maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow…
11 Sola kommer opp (The sun is rising):
Tune and lyrics was made an early morning when a new and less depressive day dawned outside the windows at Lovisenberg, in the midst of the 1990s.
12 Alltid ung (Forever young) :
In 2005 I got hold on a book of Bob Dylans lyrics, among them «Forever Young». I kind of expanded the lyrics and made my own tune, slightly influenced by The Kinks, and here it is, the last song on this album.
13 Per Aspera Ad Astra (Ernst Urbach)
I was no more than a kid, marching around in our living room, playing my clarinet, when my father told me about this special piece of music. The meaning of the words, “through hardship to the stars”, made a strong impression on a little boy, and even stronger now, after all these years. They kind of symbolize the story of my life. That’s why I wanted this to be the last track on my album.
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