song: Nightmare
(© 1996/2025 Gudrich/Gudrich)
Lyrics
In the dark end of winter, under mud and dead leaves,
There’s a world in your garden that gives you the creeps.
In the fog there are woodlice under the shed
Where dwells many a mouse that you never have met…
Why is this your nightmare? Who stepped into your mind?
Who left all their fears there when you were just a child?
There are shiny white bee eggs, deep in the ground.
There are larvae of beetles that you never have found.
There are rats on your compost, gnawing at night.
There are slugs on the stone walls that hide from the light.
Why is this your nightmare? Who stepped into your mind?
Who left all their fears there when you were just a child?
You can shake off your fears, find your trust.
You can dance in the dark,
You can dance, dance, dance in the dark.
Liner notes
Xavi: vocals, guitars, bass
Sunny: lead guitar, bass, recorders, backing vocals
Recorded at Catfish&Crow Studios, UK
℗ 2025 Gudrich/Gudrich
Engineered, mixed and produced by Sunny Gudrich
Story
We wrote the original version of this song in 1995 or 1996, inspired by Alice Cooper's "Welcome to my Nightmare" and by H.P.Lovecraft. The lyrics dealt with stepping into the "dark side of [the] mind" and losing yourself there. Maybe a nod to depression, maybe just indulgence in dark imagery. Probably a mixture of both. The song was a staple of our live shows in Hollywood and a crowd favorite.
The recent incarnation of the song keeps the original music but completely reimagined the lyrics - it is now - as we like to announce it when playing live - “a dark hymn to wildlife gardening”. It also asks a question: Why are so many people creeped out by the more clandestine wildlife in their gardens - like rats, beetles or slugs - and feel compelled to kill these harmless creatures rather than just trusting the natural balance? “Who stepped into your mind? Who left all their fears there when you were just a child?”