I wrote this on the day I heard about Johnny Edgecombe’s death. I was in the South of France on holiday at a place called Banyuls Sur Mer and sat in a bar drinking pastis and thinking about the 1970’s when Johnny and I had a lot of adventures in his vintage Volvo. Recorded at Red Kite Studios with Dave Sutherland on Guitar and Marc Gordon on Roland Guitar Synth and on The Chilly Dogz 2nd album.
OLD RED VOLVO CAR
Playing chess with Johnny Edge
In The Tolly public bar
We spoke of blue nosed schooners
Sailing Caribbean seas
Johnny dreamed one day that he
Would journey there from Africa
He brought me a brown leather jacket
From the market in Amsterdam
He said “Harry man this fits you
Much better than it fits me,
I think that you should keep it
It won’t cost you a damn.”
Now Johnny had become a gentle man
In spite of his violent past
He loved his three children
Truly with all his heart
He was always a father
Right up to the last
Bringing Greenwich and Bermondsey
The finest in jazz
From Dudu, Django and Stan
Not forgetting Paraphernalia
The Edges were smooth, the music so cool
Johnny had living p’zazz
Now, no more pints of Guinness
Downed in one, by the jar
No more tastes or toots
To brighten up our days
No more midnight cruising
In that old red Volvo car……..
Goodbye Johnny
My Brother!
Copyright: Harry Rogers – Banyuls Sur Mer – 03/10/2010
harri seeing red 