Joan Keating's 9th Month Monthiversary Song! 
INTRODUCTION (JOAN):

I was never conceived
In the way that’s believed
To be standard and tested by time;
A flash of inspiration
Was all my gestation
From nothing, to meter and rhyme.
Such a life is a mystery
Unrecorded by history
Only seen in these fictional tales
But for your information,
I’ll make an oration
And skip all the tedious details!

VERSE 1:

The conception was nine months ago
I was feeling quite low
When Joan Keating was started.
I required a voice or a muse,
But I didn’t know whose,
Till my hero departed.
Then I said to myself, That’s the one
Who could get the job done
Art can last, but life’s fleeting
And there was my mouthpiece with ardor,
A classic self-starter,
My hero, Joan Keating!

BRIDGE:

So I said to her,
Joan, thanks for coming
Guitars started strumming
The music was swelling
So Joan and I put our heads together
And it was when, not whether,
We’d have tales for telling.

VERSE 2:

It was nine months ago, as you know, 
Since we started the show
Since we pulled up the curtain,
And we started gangbusters,
Full steam, on all thrusters, I trusted
This team’s great, for certain!
Yeah, but then little Joan became shy; 
Was it her, or did I
Scare her back to the shadows?
Or maybe her spirit was tired
Maybe I had been fired?
Should I head back to the meadows?

Should we call the thing off?
Did the crowd start to cough?
Did the critics all pan the production?
I was scared to ask Joan–
If the fault was my own–
If we sucked, maybe I’d caused the suction!

B SECTION:

But then I faced the issue,
And I said, Joan, I miss you!
Is it possible to patch things up?
I’ve been busy and distant,
But I’m not resistant
To apologize…Cheers, bottoms up!

And as we raised our glasses,
Two consummate asses,
I caught her eye–as she caught mine
As we sat hand in hand, 
I could now understand:
She’d been scared that she had crossed a line….

VERSE 3:

Well, we both have our lives,
But our friendship survives
And our partnership’s back in the running
Well, I’m tellin’ ya, Chief, 
It’s a blessed relief
Joan is smiling again, and it’s stunning

And when we’re immersed in
Creating a verse, 
We just flow in our collaboration
It’s so rare and so sweet
It’s a bonding complete
And good cause for a swell celebration.

It’s been nine months, it’s true,
Since our Joan joined the crew
And the teamwork is better than ever
But there’s still room for YOU,
We can be buddies, too
And our arms [are] open to you forever!

CODA:

So come on, let’s all go out
Grab hat and a blow-out
Let us sing all the lovely old ballads
You know? Joan and I love you
We both think the world of you
Let’s paint with each hue of our palettes–

It’s our Nine-Month Monthiversary,
Me and Joan,
So come on, welcome home
You are never alone
There’s a family true
And it’s made for us all, darling: Joan, me, and you!

Joan, me, and YOU!

~~~

Written June 13, 2015 for Joan’s 9-Month Monthiversary (June 12, 2015)
by Joan Keating

Recorded and mixed August 6-8, 2015 
Vocals by Joan and Counterpart

"Making Amends" Monthiversary (Mix 8E)

A bit of a Dramatic Monologue a la Robert Browning...

Finding His Voice - - Dramatic Poetry Reading

Gift in music for a net friend: A parody of Drive my Car, about a gorilla butler.

Ballad Of San Simian - Parody Of Drive My Car

This won't be the final version of the song, but it's my best combination of takes from before, mixed to the full instrumental that I just finished last night. I'll do a whole new vocal now, with the right timing and everything, and some textual changes. The persona is Joan Keating, inspirational teacher.

The Wayside (Monthiversary 8) Draft vocals

This is the mock-up vocal line along with the other instruments, just for what it's worth. It's not set in stone, but this is approximately what the vocal line should be....

Chris O'Brien