Sunny days wandering the streets of Notting Hill, meeting friends in cafés for breakfast on Saturday mornings hoping to fend off the nagging remnants of a heavy night. The sounds of a city suburb softly impregnating the air with a culture mix of reggae, pop, rock, house, garage, you name it. Pop stars around every corner. W11 was my home for nearly ten years. The first time I ever went there I thought it must be the centre of the known universe. And I nearly left my heart there.
Dedicated to Katy.
Image: Damiano Baschiera on Unsplash
11:20
Took a tube to Notting Hill
To see if she knew me still
I had that sense of coming home
A ten year spell of working out
What on earth this was all about
I coloured in the monochrome
Were you the one that got away?
Did all my joking just get in the way?
CHORUS
Yeah yeah my intentions laid bare
Every time you laugh
You take me there
Yeah yeah if I still feel this way
Don’t you know?
Love wasn’t built in a day
My memory was never good
But I won’t forget this neighbourhood
Every story has a tale
Did you think I wanted you?
I just assumed you knew
I was spinning off the scale
I thought our passion was mutual
Drowned my senses like a waterfall
CHORUS
Things cooled down you went away
From Ladbroke Grove to LA
Left me close to empty
With just my dreams of 11:20
If there’s a lesson to be learned
When you get your fingers burned
Just be grateful for the time
The Electric Cinema
192 and the Market Bar
And kissing you was so sublime
If I had all those days again
Would I still treat you just the same as then?
CHORUS
© ANDY BARKER FEBRUARY 2017
