The best way to get from the heart of Tokyo to the main international airport is by the Narita Express, the smooth-as-glass train that glides through the concrete cityscape to break into the open countryside and paddy fields of Chiba prefecture, where Narita Airport is set. I made several journeys to and from Narita on this train, and although it is a slightly more expensive ride than the other options for getting there, it is by far the most comfortable and allows time and space for a nice doze before arrival.
One such journey on the Narita Express was to meet my sweetheart when she returned from a business trip to Hong Kong. I arrived in ample time, bouquet in hand, only to get a message on my phone that her flight was going to be delayed by several hours. There was nothing for it but to camp out in the cavernous expanse of the airport and wait it out. I helped myself to a good Thai meal and killed an hour feeding coins into a massage chair I came across. After a while of wandering and vainly glancing up at the arrivals board for a glimmer of news, lines of verse started coming to me.
When Shelf Life started writing the material for our debut album ('Best Before End'), I turned to my notebooks for salvageable scraps that could make their way into songs. What had originally been written as a waiting poem turned out to be the basis for this song.
After many years of trying to be clever and wordy in my songwriting, I made a conscious decision to try and go for something simple and direct. Given the story above, they are fairly self explanatory. There is a little nod to The Beatles (unsurprisingly) in it, inverting the Sgt. Pepper ballad of a daughter running away from 'She's Leaving Home' to...
The song itself was often used to open our shows with and is a positive-looking, rolling Stonesy blast. It can be heard on our MySpace page and purchased from
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One such journey on the Narita Express was to meet my sweetheart when she returned from a business trip to Hong Kong. I arrived in ample time, bouquet in hand, only to get a message on my phone that her flight was going to be delayed by several hours. There was nothing for it but to camp out in the cavernous expanse of the airport and wait it out. I helped myself to a good Thai meal and killed an hour feeding coins into a massage chair I came across. After a while of wandering and vainly glancing up at the arrivals board for a glimmer of news, lines of verse started coming to me.
When Shelf Life started writing the material for our debut album ('Best Before End'), I turned to my notebooks for salvageable scraps that could make their way into songs. What had originally been written as a waiting poem turned out to be the basis for this song.
After many years of trying to be clever and wordy in my songwriting, I made a conscious decision to try and go for something simple and direct. Given the story above, they are fairly self explanatory. There is a little nod to The Beatles (unsurprisingly) in it, inverting the Sgt. Pepper ballad of a daughter running away from 'She's Leaving Home' to...
The song itself was often used to open our shows with and is a positive-looking, rolling Stonesy blast. It can be heard on our MySpace page and purchased from
. She's Coming Home
I speed through rice fields
And bamboo clusters
This is how it feels
Waiting for her return
The train moves smoothly
Like water down glass
I drift and slumber
And dream of lucky stars
Departure lounge blues
Held up on the arrival board
If you could be in my shoes
Sweet landing such reward
It's a new feeling
I never had before
From floor to ceiling
What I was waiting for
Yes, she's coming home
I've been living alone
For so many years
At last I'm in the zone
Departure lounge blues
Held up on the arrival board
If you could be in my shoes
Sweet landing such reward
Hong Kong's only
A few hours away
She's coming home
It's gonna be a better day
Hong Kong's only
A few hours away
She's coming home
It's gonna be a better day
I speed through rice fields
And bamboo clusters
This is how it feels
Waiting for her return
The train moves smoothly
Like water down glass
I drift and slumber
And dream of lucky stars
Departure lounge blues
Held up on the arrival board
If you could be in my shoes
Sweet landing such reward
It's a new feeling
I never had before
From floor to ceiling
What I was waiting for
Yes, she's coming home
I've been living alone
For so many years
At last I'm in the zone
Departure lounge blues
Held up on the arrival board
If you could be in my shoes
Sweet landing such reward
Hong Kong's only
A few hours away
She's coming home
It's gonna be a better day
Hong Kong's only
A few hours away
She's coming home
It's gonna be a better day
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