Joe Mock (Pied Pear, Pied Pumkin)-John Lyle’s songs all contain imagination, sensitivity and earthy stuff; worthy of introduction to someone of special interest.Review of ‘I Know You Rider’ by Paul Dolinsky. Bitter-sweet reflections of life by the singer-song writer, John Lyle. The music is sweet with a Bluesy hook and, as the song says, and it could be about me or you. It is both a lament and a song of comfort. It talks about us not fighting the “rider” on our backs, or not fighting what is beyond our control… The lyrics and words are engaging – and the melody is enchanting. But there is deeper message there, and the song – lyrics and music which work so well together– may be especially helpful to a person who is experiencing hard times. Many thanks for the song, John Lyle.“This is superb poetry. But, better than that, these are beautiful lyrics, meeting all of the rhythmic and melodic demands of the fine music against which they are set. The styles are varied, but have one thing in common- passionate performance. There is folk, an Irish ballad, soul, roadhouse blues, grindhouse rock, an acoustic instrumental; all built around Lyle’s sure-footed guitar and soulful vocals. ‘Known Corners’ is an album about loss, acceptance of loss and getting back to what you had before you had anything. This beautifully sequenced cd is not kid’s stuff. If you listen to this in the car, be prepared to pull over.” - Warner Morgan.Life So Far-Headed for a career as an English professor in the mid 1960’s, John Lyle was ‘broadsided’ by Bob Dylan and The Beatles. His degree went out the window, and so did he, playing in a series of bands and then performing on Canadian network television and radio as a solo act. He was also signed to two record labels during this era, but realized that because of his highly sensitive nature he was not cut out for the performing life.John returned to his home in the Vancouver area, and devoted himself to his family, supporting them with a career that may have been more dangerous than the perfomance stage. He became a postman. John Lyle’s wonderful body of work is evidence of a life lived on the streets and in the home, filled with all the love and loss and joy and despair that are part and parcel of being alive. The songs are vital, not written to imitate a commercial trend or to fulfil a contract, but to reflect the intensity of experience and to remain sane. Feedback -'John's songs are amazing!' Frazee Ford (The Be Good Tanyas),'We love John Lyle. We listen to him all the time.' The Sumner Brothers,'There's lots of nice stuff on there!' Paul Rodgers (Bad Company; Free; Queen),‘Magnificent!’ Robert Altman,'John Lyle will take you gently to your safe place, and then sneak up on you with a song as uncompromisingly ferocious as a grizzly in a maternity ward.’ Dennis Albo, in his reality novel ‘One Bullet Left,’'The James Joyce of folk.' Heywood Banks,'Super, passionate stuff!' Mark SmithKNOWN CORNERS lyrics-WE ALL FALL DOWN You were sitting by a riverLost inside of days gone bySomething came and made you shiverSomething came and made you cryHow much would you beg or borrowFor it to be the way it wasWould you pay the wage of sorrowPretty is as pretty doesLife’s a bed of rosesWhere the magic comes and growsHushabye, we all fall downHumbled as we tumbleOver ruins that have crumbledHushabye, without a soundDid you see your Mother’s imagePainted in a pale, blue skyDid you see the Painter in itClean a brush in tears you cryLife’s a bed of rosesWhere the magic comes and growsHushabye, we all fall downHumbled as we tumbleOver ruins that have crumbledHushabye, without a soundBONE DRYSomeone said that you have gone bone dryThere is not a thing can make you cryYou can sail a painted ship across a silver seaAnd bring it home without a thought of meUp all night, waiting for the rainI might have to dance that dance againShake my fist into the sunAnd beat my feet acrossThe barren face of everything I’ve lostWhosoever built this paradiseForgot to put the light behind your eyesYou can sail a painted ship across a silver seaAnd bring it home without a thought of meIf I live to see the light of dawnI hope that when I wake you will be goneThen I will slip my painted feetInto my painted shoesAnd walk away, bone dry just like youWalk away, bone dry just like youI KNOW YOU RIDERCould be a story or it could be trueCould be about me, it could be about youI’ve lost so many reasons for things I think I’ve doneIf I thought this pride of foolsCalled the shots and made the rulesI’d take a flying leap back to the place from where I cameI know you, rider, but I love you just the sameYou’ve been trying to break a codeYou’ve been trying to drop a loadYou’ve been carrying your own mountainPast the point of no returnYou’ve been living where the sun goes downWhere what goes around, comes aroundThey say a storm is brewing but they won’t give it a nameI know you, rider, but I love you just the sameWaves are lapping like a big dog’s tongueJust like it happened back when we were youngYou’re not here to solve the problems of the worldStanding on the corner with your wings pinned backBarefoot and pregnant on a mountain pathScreaming to the heavens like a keeper of the flameI know you, rider, but I love you just the sameI know you, rider, like a dreamer knows his handLike a rose that grows you’ll come to know I’m your biggest fanIn the velvet afterglow of memory I goFootloose and funny in the shadow of the showI hear you whisper there ain’t no wind at allYou made it here without a mapAll the stars smile behind your backYou tremble at the mention of the One who has no nameI know you, rider, but I love you just the sameBOUND AND DETERMINEDI must have missed itCause you sure had it ready to goYou had it all sewed upLike a head on the wall for showYour ducks were all in lineYou must have went to ColumbineBound and determined You will keep what you have not got Is that a purse you hold so closeTo your cardboard heart?I try to stand stillWhen your dead eye begins to dartThe crowd down on Slaughter RowThey’ll watch a child see the red blood flowBound and determinedYou will keep what you have not gotYou take it so personalLike it’s something you think you ownSomething to hide behind when you get back homeNo, no, no, no!FUNNY FUNNY ANIMALYou’re a funny funny animal, But I forgot to laughThey think you’re togetherBut you’re cut right in halfI see you prowlin’, like a god of the deadI hear you howlin’ like a wind in the headYou’re a funny funny animalPretending to be kindAll the while, you been double-dealin’ from behindI see you prowlin’, like a god of the deadI hear you howlin’ like a wind in the headWith a begging bowl in one handAnd a knife behind your backYou hide like a jackalWith kittens in a sackI see you prowlin’, like a god of the deadI hear you howlin’ like a wind in the headYou’re a funny funny animalLoathsome to yourselfDirty, and unwanted, but you can’t be no one elseA BREATH OF LIGHTLove lies bleeding, in the death of nightSomething needs a breath of lightBirds are feeding, they are hoarding for a flightTo where the wild things lose their sightTribal drums are beating rhythm out of timeWhat it is, is not mineJust missed meeting a meeting of the mindsBeing half a double bindA lonesome wind-chime beating on itselfLike a hollow, empty shellNot even this time, could there be any helpThat’s all she wrote that I can tellAll the boulders standing in the wayHave turned to dust and blown awayBoth the shoulders they cried on every dayHave grown wings and flown awayWe fly so slow and low we almost touch the groundWith laughing children all aroundIt’s always touch and go on the borderlineWith so many ways to be kindLIKE A BLANKMy guts are tied in knots my eyes are filled with clayI’ll get there when I leave when I get my wayLike a blank I missed it Guess I better roll it back one more timeBranded like a long horn on the down hill dragDrunk on my reflection like an evening stagLike a blank I missed itGuess I must have had a hole in my mindThere’s a fire on the mountain, there’s a fire belowThere’s a fire in the garden where the wind won’t blowLike a blank I missed itGuess I better roll it back one more timeI guess I better roll it back like a big old stoneNothin’ gonna stop it on its way back homeLike a blank I missed itGuess I better roll it back one more timeLike a blank I missed it Guess I better roll it back one more timeI better roll it back down the railroad track There ain’t nothin’ at the end of the lineThere’s a fire on the mountain. there’s a fire belowThere’s a fire in the garden where the wind won’t blowLike a blank I missed itGuess I better roll it back one more timeCITY OF LOVEIn the city of love, the cops don’t use a gunThey catch you with the stars in your eyesThe sun don’t shine, it radiatesThe mystery train is never lateClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveIn the city of love, all change comes from aboveSinging like a stone in the seaWe stand and pray for who knows whatBut every case is open shutClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveIn the city of love, I’m glad for what I gotFlashing like a bolt from the blueShining as my own true face Laughing down this bitter placeClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveIn the city of love, I dreamt I never wasDrifting like a ghost in the windBacking down a faded stair Past a clock I can’t repairClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of loveClouds don’t hold no rain in the city of love