Faulkner began playing guitar at the age of 11-12 with session guitarist Bob "crazy guy" Cranham and also attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, where he spent 2 years gaining both diploma and the higher diploma award under the tutelage of Eric Roche.
His first band was a Green Day cover band, in which he played bass guitar. His experience on the stage grew as he formed Half a Guy, a funk rock group with a quirky edge, with fellow band mates Matt Buchanan, Dave Elvy and Nicola Crawshaw. Half a Guy recorded two demo CDs and managed 2 years before splitting. He then spent time recording and gigging under the name Newton Battenberg Faulkner, where he played the Lapagestock festival on the 11th June 2005.
Recent appearances on BBC Radio 2 as well as a publishing deal with Peermusic UK compelled the Independent on Sunday to tell its readers to "Watch this face". Faulkner performed at the 2006 South by Southwest music festival and at Guilfest 2007.
In 2006 he had a support slot for Steve Forbert at The Spitz in London, England.
Newton has recently been signed by [labelSony BMG records and on the 30th of July 2007 he released his debut album Hand Built By Robots. He supported James Morrison on his February UK tour as well as Paolo Nutini on his UK tour in April, and also John Mayer on his September dates in the United Kingdom. He also supported The John Butler Trio on a number of European dates.
In June 2007 Newton's second single Dream Catch Me was selected Jo Whiley's 'Pet Sound' on her daily Radio 1 show. This gave the track much exposure and was highly commented on by listeners to Jo's show.
Newton appeared twice at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2007 - once on the Friday on the Acoustic Stage and once on the Sunday on the Leftfield Stage. He appeared at V Festival 2007 in August where he played in the Virgin Mobile Sessions Tent - a venue much too small as people overflowed outside. He also appeared at the Connect Music Festival at the end of August 2007 on the Guitars and Other Machines stage
On July 29, Dream Catch Me entered the UK Singles Chart at number 16. The following week it had risen to number 7 with Hand Built By Robots entering the album charts at number 3. The song rose to #8 on 12 August, the album to number 1 on 26 August.
Eric Roche is undoubtedly one of Newton's biggest influences, both from a stylistic point of view (vis a vis the percussive use of the guitar's body) and through the use of tapping, uncommon tunings and inventive chord changes, such as in I Need Something and Ageing Superhero, from his debut album. This method of playing also shows heavily in the work of Jon Gomm and Pete Wailes, although with a slightly different feel in both.
Brick By Brick
Newton Faulkner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But it keeps on getting worse
Time and time again
People running as the earth shakes
Just another earthquake coming in
To break my faith in this
Wind blowing off the rooftops
Looking like lightning strikes again
Story ends and another begins
And they will keep on coming
They will keep on coming
Every single flame burns bright and fades
But that's okay
My best-laid plans are washed away
No time to make 'em all again
Sometimes life gets in the way
We've got to keep on breathing
Look how far we've come
Look what we've made
Started from nothing, building
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick
So we're back to broken hearted
Back to where we started
Everything we built gone down again
If this was in the movies
It's said to be the truth
Bet no one would believe a word of it
Far reaching on the hillsides
Losing by a landslide
Everybody's patience wearing thin
The drama ends and another begins
But if everybody loses, everybody wins
Every single flame burns bright and fades
But that's okay
My best-laid plans are washed away
No time to make 'em all again
Sometimes life gets in the way
We've got to keep on breathing
Look how far we've come
Look what we've made
Started from nothing, building
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick by, brick by
Brick
All we have is us
To build back up
What we have lost
But that's enough
Every single flame burns bright and fades
But that's okay
My best-laid plans are washed away
No time to make 'em all again
Sometimes life gets in the way
We've got to keep on breathing
Look how far we've come
Look what we've made
Started from nothing, building
My best-laid plans are washed away (Brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by)
No time to make 'em all again (Brick by brick)
Sometimes life gets in the way (Brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by)
We've got to keep on breathing (Brick by brick)
My best-laid plans are washed away (Brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by)
No time to make 'em all again (Brick by brick)
Sometimes life gets in the way (Brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by, brick by)
We've got to keep on breathing (Brick by brick)
The lyrics to Newton Faulkner's song Brick by Brick are about the struggle of life, the pain of loss and the hope to rebuild despite the odds. The earthquake and natural calamity are metaphors for the unexpected setbacks and difficulties that arise in life that can shake our confidence and destroy what we've built. The artist expresses his frustration with the constant recurrence of pain, but also his determination to keep going despite it all. The chorus "Brick by brick" represents the artist's conviction to rebuild his life, bit by bit, despite the constant struggles and setbacks.
The lyrics convey a sense of resilience and a belief in the human spirit's ability to rebuild, even when faced with the most challenging situations. While the song acknowledges the pain and hardship that people experience, it also highlights the beauty of the human spirit and our connection to one another. At its core, Brick by Brick is a song about hope, perseverance, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm hoping it'll all get better
Despite everything that has happened, I am still trying to remain optimistic about the future.
But it keeps on getting worse
Unfortunately, things aren't improving and are in fact deteriorating.
Time and time again
This is a recurring problem that keeps happening.
People running as the earth shakes
In the face of disaster, people panic and run for their lives.
Just another earthquake coming in
Another crisis is on its way and it feels like there's no end in sight.
To break my faith in this
All these disasters are slowly eroding my belief in the future.
Wind blowing off the rooftops
A strong gust of wind has blown off the rooftops of houses.
Water in the basements
The flooding has reached the basements of buildings and houses.
Looking like lightning strikes again
It seems like another disaster is about to hit and everyone is bracing for impact.
Story ends and another begins
Despite the difficult times, life continues moving forward and new stories are constantly being written.
And they will keep on coming
Disasters will keep happening and there's no way to stop them.
Every single flame burns bright and fades
Everything comes to an end eventually, and that includes bright moments.
But that's okay
Even though things may end, it's important to keep going and not get bogged down by the past.
My best-laid plans are washed away
All the plans I had for the future have been ruined by this disaster.
No time to make 'em all again
It's difficult to pick up the pieces and start again when there's so much to be done and little time to do it.
Sometimes life gets in the way
Life can be unpredictable and throw obstacles in the way of our plans.
We've got to keep on breathing
Despite everything, we still need to keep going and living our lives.
Look how far we've come
We've made it through so many obstacles and have come a long way despite everything.
Look what we've made
Despite everything that has happened, we've built something and that in itself is a victory.
Started from nothing, building
Even though we began with nothing, we managed to build something worthwhile through hard work and perseverance.
Brick by, brick by...
Incremental progress and hard work is how we managed to build something from nothing.
All we have is us
In times of crisis, all we can rely on is each other.
To build back up
Even though everything was destroyed, we can still start again and rebuild what was lost.
What we have lost
As much as we may have lost, there's still something left that we can work with and rebuild from.
But that's enough
Even though we don't have it all, we still have enough to start again and rebuild what was lost.
Contributed by Blake Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.