Such an emotional version. Here the violin feels even more expressive than any voice could possibly be, perhaps even Julie London's. A truly majestic collaboration David. My best wishes to Julie too

Beautiful cover and great performances! Bravo!

Lovely tone on that violin. Excellent David

oh yes David - so much emotion above your fine guitar and bass

passion, style and elegance - a beautiful version and listen David

How very beautiful this is David, enjoyed listening to this great collaboration….

Beautiful David. The noice of the cassette makes it special!

My words are always wrong
I don’t know what to say to you
i’ve tried to put them in a song
i hope that it's a way to break through

I think we’re stronger than you know
More than you give it credit for
yeah,there’s a long long way to go
But first we have to open up the door

So we’ve had our share of tears
You think the dream has gone
We are fumbling through the years
We can find a way to carry on

How can you say that i’m not here
I’ve been right here all along
How can you say that i don’t care
When everything i do is for you, right or wrong

Look straight ahead, don't look back
We both know what we’ve been through
Please don’t mind those hard times
Because they led me here to you

I’ll hold on
And you’ll stay strong

Now it’s good to see you smile 
you haven’t felt like smiling for a while
And the feel of your hand in my hand
It makes everything worthwhile

we’ve had our own share of the dark 
But all of those hard times are gone
And the road ahead is long
But we don’t have to walk alone

Look straight ahead, don't look back
We both know what we’ve been through
Now i don’t mind those hard times
Because they led me here to you

I’ll hold on
And You stay strong

Looking Ahead

PS Perkins: Guitars, bass, lyre, vocals
Ron Thomas: Autoharps, Drums

Production notes:
---------------------------------------------
Very early on we wanted to use autoharps on this song to create a sort of swirling backdrop, reminiscent of the harps in Indian/Bollywood soundtrack songs of the seventies.

Right away there were challenges because the song is in B flat and is not wholly diatonic to begin with, utilizing a chord built on the augmented lydian scale in the choruses. So rather than transpose the song to a more amenable key (since the chromatic bits weren't going to work no matter what key we used) we instead re-tuned the autoharp. Moving through the strings one by one we tuned them either up or down a half step where applicable to bring them into key. Where the augmented chord hit in the choruses, we excluded those notes so that the autoharp was filling the diatonic parts of the chords and omitting the accidentals. It took us several tries to get it right. In the end we arrived at a chord progression that could be strummed on the autoharp and the modified chords could be played with existing dampers.

We also tuned the lyre so that the top half of the strings included the chromatic augmented notes while the lower register of the lyre was tuned using the diatonic, so the lyre could play the melody all the way through both parts of the song.

The inspiration for this song was essentially fourfold:
--------------------------------------------------------
First, H.P. Lovecraft's terrifying necromancer Joseph Curwen (from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward") who masked his true identity in order to thwart suspicion from his fellow townsfolk. He has many secrets lurking in his underground catacombs where he performs acts of necromancy most foul, extracting the "salts" of the dead in order to raise them at will and learn the secrets of ancient eldritch deities.

Second, a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled "En-Dor" which was a warning against the rise of spiritualism and the cost of communion with the dead in the early 20th century.

Third, the biblical Saul who traveled in disguise to visit a witch at the city of Endor in order to summon Samuel from the dead and garner advice on defeating the Philistines, but who only prophesies doom for Saul. Saul dies later the next day in the battle of Gilboa.

Lastly, the story of Odysseus communing with the underworld where he enlists the help of Tiresias to have a chat with the dead and secure for himself a safe journey home.

They all seek communion with the dead for one purpose: to gain knowledge which only those who have crossed over between realms might possess. 

Lyrics:
-------------------------------------
A mask may reveal what it’s meant to conceal
From those who are standing beside us
Armor of pride, so we learn to abide
By the monsters which hide deep inside us
The monsters which lurk deep inside us
Oh, how they scratch and they bite us
The monsters which lurk deep inside us

Only to know what the professor knows

Eating black bread, wearing clothes of the dead
The soil soaked in honey around us
For fear if we failed, leave the ogre unveiled
And it’s back in the grave where they found us
Back in the grave where they found us
Freed from the ties which had bound us
Back in the grave where they found us

Only to know what the professor knows

In the catacomb vaults, we extracted the salts
From cadavers to lengthen our youth
Chanting the names at the edge of the flames
And a mirror to show us the truth
A mirror which speaks only truth
See how it seeks not to soothe
A mirror which speaks only truth

Only to know what the professor knows

In the underworld maze, in the night of no days
Concocting the plan we’re devising
Much to endure on the road to En-Dor
And to snatch from Elohim arising
To snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising
Snatch from Elohim arising

BARDS: Of the Shimmering Seraphs

The Professor

I'm sorry y'all--this is another downer of a song with preachy lyrics but it's an idea that came up and demanded to be completed. 

The only side I take is the human one, but I couldn't have more contempt for the ostensible leaders of both Gaza and Israel who seek their own interests at the cost of so much suffering among innocents. Nothing good comes out of "Let's go kill some people."



You Let This Happen

have you understood that this is the final warning call
abandon hope all those that linger here

you lived the diamond life and could not lend your ears
and now the sand is wet with blood beyond our wildest fears 
how could you let this happen here

we plant the seeds of death beside the seeds of life 
so they can pay the price and have the will to fight

the bloodied face that no one could identify
now here's the news that was a mother's precious baby
how could you let this happen here

so how do you think this story ends
when it begins with the death of innocents
another thousand years of war is in the cards
another generation with daggers in their hearts

and you let it happen

You Let This Happen

chorale

Pulled from the archives, Julie Evans brings the Blues to her exquisite violin playing in this cover of the famous Arthur Hamilton song.  I had the privilege of backing her up with acoustic guitar and bass.  Remastered from a cassette tape recorded in 1997.  Thanks to Harvey Twyman for bringing our cover to mind with his own recent and very fine cover @harvey-twyman.

Cry Me A River (Arthur Hamilton) Julie Evans; violin, David; Guitar, Bass

Whether you're lost for sleep, or stuck in a haze...

Lost For Sleep

Haze

Original composition, electric guitars and bass by Neno J.

Beware of distortion! Listen loud!

Turbulent Times

An Unfilled Void

雲は流れる

Composed by myself in 2005, I had the pleasure to record it once more in a new fresh vision today, 25 April 2024.

Enjoy!

Dedicated to all of you but especially to my wifey Meem and my mom who have been my strongest supporters.

Thank you!

Undulating in the Sunshine. April 25'th 2024 version

(French cover) Version française de la chanson  ♥ Lava ♥
Vidéo sous-titrée en anglais (Eng subtitle video) :
http://xanylovem.free.fr/vidos/lava-reprise.html

Arrangement guitare et scie: XanyloveM
Voix: XanyloveM et FaDe https://soundcloud.com/fa-d-1

LAVA Cover French (original Pixar vidéo link with Eng Subtitle)

I am a finger-style guitarist living on the Texas high plains.  At the core of my music is melody that is inspired and informed by my Christian faith, family, friends, and countless influences through the years from the great composers, to jazz, folk, rock, Latin, Celtic, and the many fine musicians I have come to love on the Cloud, some I have been privileged to collaborate with.  Thanks for stopping by to have a listen. Comments are always welcome. Feel free to click on the picture of any track to learn more about it.

Cry Me A River (Arthur Hamilton) Julie Evans; violin, David; Guitar, Bass

David Dunham

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