I spent a pleasant afternoon last week with Sue Fountain, a friend of the family and mum and dad’s neighbours before they moved to Presteigne. TO demonstrate midi input I played a simple theme. Since then I have worked on it to come up with this little piece. Despite Bill Henderson’s best efforts I remain a pretty ragged musician. Never give enough time to practice. Its as if everything has to be done at breakneck speed. Hope you can enjoy it even in its rough condition.
Sue’s Theme
Some Prophetic Songs from America
When The Ship Comes In
One for the current American Cabinet
The Times They Are A-Changin’
And one for the war mongers in Gaza
Blowin’ In The Wind
I don’t claim to be any kind of decent musician. Many are far more versed than I am in modern music.
Some of these songs was released in 1964 on the Album The Times They Are A-Changin’. They seem to me to be so relevant today.
Blowin in the Wind was released as a single in 1962 on the album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan.
I don’t claim these to rival the originals, my purpose was to draw attention to them, not to improve on them in anyway. Just to do my best in the moment.
Recorded by me in a makeshift studio at home in Cubase in a single take and doctored with various effects. Played on a tenor Mandoline – viola tuning and a irish Bazouki. As always I am a little too heavy on the strumming. Following the suggestion from Rob Fountain I have added sea and gulls to When The Ship Comes In.
One I could not possibly emulate. But it seemed sort of relevant.
I have a number of friends whose birthdays fall in the first part of Pisces, as does mine. One good friend I have known many lifetimes is Sverre Koxvold, a financier and a seaman. I sent him Patton’s poem Through A Glass, Darkly. He responded with this song which I then set to a soundscape.
Sverre’s Birthday Song
I Have Sailed Many Seas (Sverre Koxvold)
Watching Reacher the other day it ended with a song by an artist new to me. Mondo Cozmo. I offer this rendition of his song Shine. No doubt he does it better, but if I can draw attention to it all the better.
Shine
As we enter the fourth week of the American Israeli war on Iran I find myself recording this song. An oldie but a good’un. 3rd verse particularly applicable to the present crisis. As for the rest Tagashala is spinning the Great Wheel and will soon sort the wheat from the chaff.
People Get Ready
Not sure why this song came to mind but I looked it up and practiced a little and on getting deeper with it saw what Dylan had done. Clever old Son that he is. There is a beautiful chord sequence Cmaj, C maj7, C7, F maj, Fmin, C, G, F, C G C. this allows for a chromatic descent from the initial C, through B, B flat, to A, A flat and G. A Simple Twist Of Fate. Such a clever song.
A Simple Twist of Fate
A change of direction. i have been working on Evey Grain of Sand for days and don’t arrive at a satisfactory production. As a result and a relief fom it I turned to the Sunny Side of Life. Not entirely happy with it, but I don’t think it will get better. Like painting colours eventually get muddy. Bit too chunky chunky for my liking.
The Sunny Side of Life
Watching Sharpe the other day reminded me of early days at school in England and singing lessons using Old English Folk Songs. A joyful time for me at school. I had the good fortune to find a ton of midi files from Barry Taylor and among them Over the Hills and Far Away. I added instruments to his original rendition, for which I am most grateful. A fine piece of work Barry. I recently bought a zither from Ebay and have highlighted it here amidst my rather rough voice. I am coming down with a cold. I chose the traditional version for the mention of Queen Anne, last of the Stewarts and favorite of the pirates.
Over The HIlls And Far Away
This is another I sang in my childhood. Once more admirably scored by Barry Taylor. thank you Barry. I have changed the instrumentsand added the Zither accompaniment. It is rather faster thanb I remember.
Barbara Allen
Here is another from the same stable. Barry puts an unrecognised frill in the third line of the song – unrecognised by me that is. I have done my best, but stumble in several places. Hope you can enjoy it nonetheless. An 18th Century example of cross-dressing. Though it remains firmly ‘straight’ in its bias.
Sweet Polly Oliver
This one is dedicated to Louis Duncan, my nephew. I am using Johnny Cash’s chords. The rest is ‘all my own work’. Such as it is. Nonetheless we shall meet again.
I watched a concert given by Andre #Rieu in honour of the Veterans of World War 2. The man is so enthusastic with music it left me singing. I have recently received a mandolin that had been kicking around the EVRI depot for a fortnight or more. It arrived out of tune and very unhappy. First thing I noticed was that the bridge wass too low and the strings were stricking frets further up the neck than they should have been. Being a firm believer in instruments having a soul I worked to release theinstrument of the unhappiness that surrounded it during the time it was lost. I had ecome extremely angry with the courier firm when they registered it as received at minight and it should hae been on the delivery next day. But they kep messing about, changing the record of its being received. Eventually it arrived. The latest thing I have done is to put new strings on it. Here it is to my joyful singing. Thanks Andre.
Lala Rieu
I was so moved by this song as it appeared in the movie Fishermans Friends: One and All. it brings me to tears. i have looked hard at why that should be and came to the conclusion that it is because the song is a celebration of the Earth, even if one part of Earth. It speaks of the love of a man for his homeland. It is so sad to see the desecration modern weapons and their wielders are wreaking on the planet who, as the holder of life, is herself so tender. If you would see the values that Life holds on this planet look at the relationship between birds and their families, or rabbits or sheep. If you can see past your own ambition and prejudidices it is evident that family is of the utmost importance to all living things – with the exception of mankind. So engrossed is he with his own self-importance that he will destroy everything to make his point. It is rife in the acadmic world and even more so in the world of politics. The hatred that is shown for life on this planet renders me speechless. I want to say those who adopt these attitudes don’t deserve to share in it. Sadly so much of it is spread by the Bible and the notion that the planet suffered a fall when some part of mankind was made outcast from the Garden. Nature and Life did not Fall. Nor even the whole of humanity. Just some whose objective appears to be domination of the world by fair means or foul. Largely by commercial exploitation enforced by might of arms under the pretense that this is god’s will.
As for me I echo the chorus of this song ‘For this is my Eden…and this is My Home’.
In the words of Peer Sellers – you played a bum note there. Or rather sang one (or more). Enjoy a bit of love for Earth and her Oceans.
Cornwall My Home
This is the unofficial Cornish National Anthem. It is called Trelawny but is often known as The Song of the Western Men. It relates to the arrest of Bishop Trelawny in the battlebetween the low church and Catholicism of the Stewarts. At least according to some.
Trelawny (The Song of the Western Men)
This next is a song dear to my heart. Another unofficial Anthem, this time of Scotland. Flower of Scotland written in the mid 1960s by Roy Williamson of The Corries. It rapidly gained general ascent and is now sung at the start of any fo the international matches of both Rugby and Soccer to announce the Scottish team.
Flower of Scotland
Each of these songs sing to me of the love people have for the land. It is a powerful sentiment, not to be confused with nationalism which is a frenzied hatred of anything deemed foreign by a section of a population who claim to be defending values they determine represent their nation. A sorry condition that lead the German people into decades of guilt after the misappropriation of their land and culture by Hitler.