Shooting From The Heart Hardcover – March 22, 2026

Shooting From The Heart – Lyrics / 2026 – An anthology of all the known lyrics by the Irish singer/songwriter Paul Murphy created during his final writing spell, January-April 2026.Despite being severely disabled by a muscle-destroying auto-immune condition at this point, in the space of just 120 days an astonishing 125 works were crafted, including the epic (and unfinished) 111-verse novella, 'Stowaway'.Written and recorded during the ‘No Road Left’ sessions, the material here is some of the harshest even this chronicler of the society’s shadows had crafted.Among the topics covered, many of the lyrics unsurprisingly deal with ruminations on life, and mistakes made during it [‘Not That Sorry (To Leave It All Behind)’, ‘Would Anybody Care’, ‘A Life In 2 Pages’, ‘I Gave All I Could’]; other subjects placed under the spotlight of the caustic pen of this long-time social campaigner include rising divergency in England and Trump’s America [‘Past The Point’, ‘Values ‘26’, ‘Sacrificial Lambs’, and ‘Have A Nice Day’, a swingeing excoriation of the tactics of ICE]; domestic abuse [‘The Illusion Of Love’ ‘Malevolent Torment (A Strong-Stemmed Rose)’, ‘It’s Not Love’]; some of the darkest-eversongs onbrokenrelationships [‘Mercury Kiss’, ‘Open Wounds Closed Exits’, ‘If Only We’d Never Met’, ‘Gallows Of Love’]; and, experienced first-hand, the contemptuous attitudes of society, and charities, to the disabled [‘Here To Help’, ‘The Letters After Your Name’].As ever, several allegorical tales and ‘mini-movies’ were composed [‘The Ballad of Old Luke Moore’, ‘The Demon’s Lair’, 'Always Just Love']; and also included is a re-written/re-nuanced version of the epic 1994 song ‘Sadly; As A Storm’, looking at the two lovers therein from a distance of several decades on.This collection presents a stunning series of narrative works – thought-provoking, heartbreaking, tumultuous, angering, caustic and inspiring – all told in the unmistakeable lyrical style of a true master of cinematic poetry. . - - x - - .In additon to the works, there is also a fascinating song-by-song essay, ‘Even If No-One’s Listening, You Still Have To Speak’, in which Paul discloses the back-story to each lyric, and the circumstances to its creation.Also included as bonus material are reproductions of all the existing handwritten manuscripts, and images taken from online performance videos. - - - - - - - -Her Veil Of Eloquence [excerpt]She was awaiting my arrivalIn a white flowing gownTrying to project innocenceBut she’d run that to groundWedding band on her finger, there under false pretenceYet everything about her exuded eloquenceShe smiled when she saw meAnd glided down the stairs“I’ve told him,” she whispered“And I’m glad that he cares”“I’ve only been making love to him in the past tense”Harsh words spoken, but she said them with eloquence“I can be packed in an hour”“I don’t have much to bring”Her arms tightened around me“I’ll give you… everything”One look at her face, and you forget all consequenceHer pressing body confirming the remark with eloquenceA cough broke the momentAnd as one we looked upHe stood waving his drink“Don’t let me interrupt”“You think I didn’t know? That I had no sense?”“Everything was crystal clear beneath your eloquence”“There’s nothing you can say”She told him direct“I need a man who can give me”“What a woman expects”“Soft kisses to me are a sign of subservience”He smiled “Only you could say such things with eloquence”.... Read more