Today’s post is in celebration of some rather exciting news. Exciting, that is, if you’re a fan of the ornithological enthusiastic Oxford band, Stornoway. Because, having gone their separate ways six years ago, the band today released a new song (the wonderful Trouble with the Green), announced a new album, AND an autumn UK tour. A good day, indeed.
Stornoway have only cropped up on these pages once before, and that was as the inspiration for The Only Way Is Up post, a song that the band covered in a chilled out acoustic vein as part of their (then) final album, Bonxie. Something of a throwaway at the time (although it was a regular fixture in the setlists at the time), that recording has found it’s way to being one of their most popular songs. But there is so much more to Stornoway than that cover, and so its time to put their omission on these pages right.
Stornoway first came to public notice in 2006 via. BBC Oxford Introducing, and over the next few years gradually built a reputation and following, including becoming the first unsigned band to appear on Later … with Jools Holland. Eventually signing with 4AD records, the bands debut album, Beachcomber’s Windowsill, was preceded by a couple of singles (I Saw You Blink and Zorbing), and whilst neither was successful chart-wise, the album did debut at number 14.
Fuel Up is a song taken from that album. It’s a gorgeous song about growing up, about nostalgia, and about friendships. It’s immediately relatable to anybody who has moved away and returned – to people, to places – where things are at the same time different and unchanged, where the past can never be reclaimed, but knowing that we have to move on, and that the future will also be full of good things. So much depth for a little song.
And now to the songsheet. It’s quite a wordy song, so sprawls to a couple of pages. But it’s a relatively easy play, waltzing along in 3/4 time. I’ve transposed it down a semi-tone to make it easier from a chords perspective (capo 1 if you want to play along to the original), and whilst there are a few unusual chords in there, none of them are tricky. Enjoy!
Uke Tunes 