Nemo James

When He Calls

Song Not Yet Released

And when he calls, where will you be
Somewhere far away, overseas
Endlessly searching for the truth
Finding questions in all that you do
The world is full of traps and stairs
And well-worn paths that lead nowhere
The truth is simple and doesn’t care
If he calls and you’re not there

And if he calls while you are there
Will you see him and be aware?
He may not be dressed in finest silk
Or bring you gifts of honey and milk
He may repulse, and you look away
Without listening to a word he says
The truth is simple and doesn’t care
If he calls and you are not there

He did call once while you were home
But you were busy with your phone
If only you had raised your head
You might have heard the words he said
Would you have listened anyway?
To words not sung in cabaret
The truth is simple and doesn’t care
If he calls and you are not there

THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG

I once heard a great line from a country song, “When my ship finally came in, I was waiting for a train.” Unfortunately, I have no idea what the song was or who wrote it.
I was nineteen and getting offers from lots of bands. I was out most of the time, so my brother used to get annoyed at having to take so many messages for me. One day he shouted at me, “This is the fourth time this man has left a message and you still haven’t called him back. This is the last time.” I took a quick look at the message which had a phone number and the words, “Call Peter Gabriel,” written on it. I called him and he told me he had seen me playing somewhere and had taken my number. He thought I would be perfect for his new band and asked if I would go along to see them. I must have had a dozen similar offers that week so I politely rejected the offer.