Instrumental. Exploring a  theme from a longer work, thought i'd post it. Video from Bolton Castle, North Yorkshire.  Still from Bamburgh Castle, Northumbria. Look them up for 'movie' appearances. 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW3bNKj7LiM

This theme, played on a pipe organ, is the outro to 
                ' How to Rescue a Mermaid ' 
full track here https://soundcloud.com/user-470842881/how-to-rescue-a-mermaid-with-rosesareblue  

 'Seawind', a ghostly mermaid,  dances by the sea with the old sailor...despite knowing he is drunk as usual (and clumsy when sober) delivers the best line in movie history ( when Mr Speilberg gets around to making it) 

'Don't you dare step on my tail'

I knew I'd find you here.

Faerytale.                    Vocals and kazoo
Phil McWalter.            Electrical guitars ( the ones you plug in  )
Lenny Vortex.              Vocals, ukulele, Tin cup and devices.        

https://soundcloud.com/faerytale
https://soundcloud.com/phil-mcwalter


I had a little ditty but it went a little wrong
I prayed for some assistance and you came along    
But you're too sophisticated for my little  song
 Please tone it down 

 That's pretty damn amazing but far too rich for me
I'm hankering for simple rustic harmony
Could you try without the harpsichord French horns and timpani ?
 Please tone it down 

If we stick to ukulele, kazoo and you and me
We could open for King Crimson when they play in Sid-a-ney
It would sound so other worldly Robert Fripp would say to thee......
 Please join the band ?

Please join the band.....with Faerytale and Phil McWalter

This was posted as a private 'joke' track but never surfaced (probably too embarrassed to) so I've set it to 'public' for now. 



How not to rescue a stickleback...Caution : contains strong language. Sorry.

A quick run through couldn't decide on a tempo....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhzUabZt4PU

An ocean of thanks to Soundcloud's premier mermaid, RosesAreBlue♥ for introducing me to the word 'Embasan'. It actually saved my life in the recent 'Great Melt of 2016' when it inspired me to don a wet t-shirt in order  to cool down. Sorry there are no photographs, you'll have to take me at my word that it was all done in the best possible taste.

1
In sunny Calafornee they don't get enough
In Peter Rabbit's garden they get it pretty rough
Oh.....H2O
I don't mind if the sun don't shine
your rain soaked kisses gonna suit me fine
Oh.....H2O

2
Noah said 'Let the flood begin'
I listened to the Lord and brought my washing in...
Go.......go H2O
Typically English Lawrence and Gertrude Bell
 stiff upper lips in a sun bleached hell
Oh No......no H2O

3        Bridge....
Should you find yourself in England on a summer's afternoon
better bring a brolly it will pour down very soon
and if by chance you see the sun from 5 to till 5 past one
it's just a fluke, a songwriter's hook
To reel you in....

4
If you lose somebody and you can't get 'em back
and something leaves your eyes on those special little tracks
…......H2O
It's such a simple molecule with hardly any bits
but when you're camping with your children it gets on your bloody tits
Oh no.......more H2O

5
When you struggle in a heatwave and you don't have a plan
take a tip from R.A.B and  try some Embasan
Oh...Oh...cute H2O

Thanks to Carl S Berg  for his  creative input.

Rain Soaked Kisses

The Mermaid's Tale  

 https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/sets/the-mermaids-tale

Chapter 4.     Soft in the Cradle...

The Sailor...alone and struggling to cope with being recently dead. He watches his own burial at sea.....




Hear the land catch it's breath, at the touch of a snowflake
the leaf and the tree feel the bitter wind blow

Slow, my love, by the dark starlit sea.         
             Walk with me.
Chance, my love, no friend, trading short.    
           Walk with me.
Time, my love, cruel mark, treating false.      
          Walk with me.
Love, my love, shames the stars with constant line.
 Walk with me.

A mermaid would sing, alone in the sea
older than time, as young as she needs to be
to witness the dance round the fire on the shore
ice in her veins, the laughter will burn once more.

Down. Down into the blue, fish are watching you
struggle to let go
Time. Time is standing still, fight it as you will
This is now your home.

The sea now calm, she's almost playful
The sea never means to do you harm
The sea, you're home, now she holds you
Soft in the cradle of her arms.


Photograph : Venus in the dawn sky from inside Castlerigg stone circle.

Soft In The Cradle

Live ( you noticed ? Good ears )  Classical gtr with capo (my 'uke' ) and vocal into one mic, a Rode NT1A . No post production just the sound of my room..... plus my chair.......:)  
https://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2005/01/05/giggy-moon/

Was a time by the river Tees
Giggy Moon* would wander round
He had his place on the social scene
sartorial style seldom seen
no airs or graces in his cap and braces
baggy pants and a slow tap dance

On the street, light on his feet
walk for miles, talk for smiles
Rain or shine, he'd fare just fine
Hanging round the bustling crowd
share a joke, have a smoke
without a care, if you got one spare

...but that was then and this is now
a different age, sad somehow

Giggy liked his fun, a drink 'Inn The Sun'
Big day out, by the sea
Saltburn Grand, on the other hand, was too refined, 
..never mind
Watch the ships,  cod and chips
ice cream cone, then the last train home.

...but that was then and this is now
a different age, sad somehow
There's no time for those simple things
a few smoke rings, if you got one spare

It's my Drunk !....... and I'm a bit Birthday...:)

Another little tune that would not leave me alone. They can strike without warning... even when you have a cold. This one arrived as I carried out some 'creative map reading' ( Pirates do not trespass ) at Thornborough Henge...... :)

I know that time is tight
not enough day between the nights
and you like to get things right
coz that's your thing
but I love the way you sing
and your songs have got that...........thing
Come up and Collab me sometime...:)

Come up and Collab me Sometime......rehearsals..........(with a cold)

Another rescue.  Remastered to create some 'stereo' Here I am playing a  simple 5 note bass-line on a classical guitar tuned down to C#. Ronnie   https://soundcloud.com/the-secret-red-orchestra on vocals.  Originally the bass was played by our then bass player Chris Hogarth who died recently. 
Recorded in mono because to record in stereo you need 2 tracks and 2 mics and that was not an easy thing to get right in a shed. The deck only had 4 tracks so any 'multi-tracking' had to be mono.
 The song dates back a few years prior to 77, I'm not sure if we recorded it earlier though. Had we done so Chris would have sang harmony and played bass.

The Wishing Tree   (c1977)

The Ballad of Skelbeast Crag...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAkjko4hwCw

Bonus feature....original track 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8EvgNWk1jY

I've posted a few dark ones lately, so I thought I lift the mood with this...

I heard a rumour 'bout some sunshine
an' skies of powder blue
It was summer, it was England
So it poured down, like it do

That rain went in my collar
and it ran out of my shoe
That rain went where it shouldn't
and I gave a little 'oo'

That rain kept on fallin'
like it had nothin' else to do
Precipitation so persistent
I just squelched...
on home
to you........

The Ballad Of Skelbeast Crag  (video )

My date is late
Still, I hesitate
to terminate
my belief in how cute that I am
she must be running some kind of a scam
because I'm such a catch

I can't wait all night 
to prove I'm Mr Right
I'm not her satellite
and she's not the sun

Oh, here she comes
look at those buns
I hope she's not a nun
It could go badly 
or it could go well
it could be heaven
or it could be hell
She drops her rosary...

Lenny Behaving Badly

Just Good Fiends

We're just good fiends
strolling in the moonlight
we don't hold hands
we lost those years ago

We're sophisticated spectres
we insist that you respect us
Don't dis the disembowelled 
Lady by my side

When bats fly out
its our favourite time for dancing
She will fix her grin
like a boil beneath her nose

We're not your common ghouls
we've made Royalty lose their stools
and we love to see you panic
when the sun goes down

So when you 'Trick or Treat'
note the shadows in your street
we'll be in there somewhere
and we'll be watching you

We're sophisticated spectres
we insist that you respect us !

Just Good Fiends

Never run away from a good honest fight.

I posted a comment on FB about re-posting songs without listening to them. It was not well received. Things went a bit frosty. 
PS. I was wrong, jumped in with both feet.  A few days later I did apologize and it was agreed that i could continue breathing .  :) 

I feel good 'bout my sel' 
Look this old world in the eye
I speak true to my word
aint so slick when I lie

I stand up for my song
Warts an' all, that's my call
An' I breeze thru the storm
of the luke warm, Oh yeah

Thinkin' back to a time
held your gaze for a while
looking up at a star so far
away

Staring down at the page 
where the words wait their turn
frozen in line, marking time
for a note to pursue

I viewed your invitation with excitement
Beautifully worded 
but we've been here before
More fool me, failing to see

I undertook to overlook the silence
This is not the first time
you called and then cooled
More fool me, failing to see.

What we've got here is failure to communicate.

Background ideas and 'musical dead ends' intended for chapters 6 and 7 of The Mermaid's Tale.  https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/sets/the-mermaids-tale

I was not able to finish this project the way I wanted so you will need to read these track notes to follow the storyline. There is a 'Romantic Advisory' in place for the final scene, set in the stone circle at Castlerigg ( pictured)


Oh by the way, the following is taken from my notes. I ramble, therefore I am :) 

Norbert Casteret's book  Ten Years under the Earth. Page 38  'One of the most astonishing discoveries is that primitive man knew, and practised, magic. '  archive.org/details/tenyearsunderthe009257mbp

Inspiration.   Castlerigg / Mayburgh  / The Devil's Arrows / Avebury / Thornborough / Stonehenge.  

Concepts.   Music /dance / magic/ empathy/ betrayal/ enslavement/ rescue/ friendship 

The opening line of chapter 1 reads .'The mermaid she sings, alone in the sea. Older than time, as young as she needs to be'. The story reveals why in chapter 5 when the Tale jumps back in time to the end of the last Ice Age.

This was not just thrown together you know.

Songs featured.  Figure in the Landscape / The Green / Dressed by Crows / I knew I'd find you here / Walk With Me / Figures in the Landscape (reprise) 

The Green and Figure in the Landscape represent Seawind's time alone wandering the land as a spirit, occasionally glimpsed by people and a source of dread.

Dressed by Crows is a conversation between Seawind and her daughter.  I had two female singers in mind but there is never a guarantee a collab will be accepted or will even work. 

Chapter 6  'The Mermaid's Daughter' storyline...

The sailor's ghost encounters one of the last remaining mermaids. Who, by shocking use of a 'Hollywood grade' co-incidence, is The Mermaid's Daughter....the mysterious witness in Chapter 1. Her testimony sealed  her mother's fate.  The sailor reveals  Seawind's  account of the storm...

This is fresh evidence to the surviving mermaids.

Chapter 7   'The Perfect Witness' storyline... 

In chapter 1 the ship's crew drowned because Seawind, so weakened in the fight with the second mermaid, could not save them. She  held each drowning sailor in turn and gave him comfort by creating the illusion that she was whoever he loved most in his life and to hear his final words. The Danse Macabre. 'Her face was the face of a sweet-heart'. 

With the luck of the devil given Seawind's daughter as her perfect witness, it was easy for the second mermaid to lay the blame for the storm on Seawind. There was no trial. No-one heard Seawind's defence. she dies of a broken heart and is turned to stone.

Three thousand years later mermaids, now so few in number, cannot call Seawind back from the dead after all this time. Drawing their magic from the Winter Solstice they bring the sailor back to life instead. He must search the land for Seawind and deliver a pardon. He must find her quickly for their spell is weak and will soon fade. 

He emerges naked and shivering, gasping for air in a bighting north wind. Close by on a low hill surrounded by snow capped mountains is the stone circle. 

As he stands,  humming 'The Mermaid's Attraction' a voice comes from behind him. A voice he knows. 

'You do it deliberately, don't you '  

His face cracks into a smile.  'I knew I'd find you here' 

A ghostly distant waltz  begins...   

 'Shall we ?' He asks. 

 'Only if you put some clothes on'  

 After all the magic had faded to nothing and the last musical note settled soft in the cradle of the lengthening shadows there were two more stones in the circle.

The Anorak's Companion to The Mermaid's Tale. Part 2. 'Only if you put some clothes on'

Singing the blues is like making love to a beautiful woman

link.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxWnQBbIDgQ

I recently bought a new car. Saying a tearful farewell to my rusted companion of 14 years. 

Tried my puppy dog eyes
But it seems you was wise
to my macho machinations
I admit to some fascination
What you see, when you see
when you see thru me

Thought I was so subtle
with my faux designer stubble
Talked you into dinner,
playing saint, not my usual sinner
But you see, I didn't see
You'd see thru me

Should have been myself
But it was never meant to be
Pretty as a picture,
You were way out of my league

I got your telephone number
But you got my number first
Loved your sparkling conversation
The offside rule and Geoff Hurst
I was impressed... the way you wore that dress
It was rude to drool,
but I drooled...

Should have been myself
But it was never meant to be
Pretty as a picture,
You were way out of my league

Then I knew, from the way you didn't kiss me.
 I'd screwed it up...

Singing the Blues is like making love to a beautiful woman...

Gooseberry Wrong with Little Lone Waltz and The Secret Red Orchestra

Video added during 'Lockdown'  I'm 5 miles from home checking out  a Roman road I've driven past countless times....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1vhxkbDLbc

A shed load of thanks to Little Lone Waltz  https://soundcloud.com/little-lone-waltz for her delightful cameo as the mysterious 'Girl'  and to Mr Millions  https://soundcloud.com/the-secret-red-orchestra for his shedwork on extra piano, trombone and vocals.

It is not often I struggle to get to sleep but if I do I read a book that I've read before. In this case that book was 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll.

Sleep did not come,  and the moon would not talk to me.
Something began, in the gloom, or so it seemed...

I read a book, I'd read before,  maybe not, I wasn't sure.. 

A rabbit ran past,  flowers in his fist, 
for a date he wouldn't miss, not for the world.
I tagged along, (very very wrong)
'gooseberry wrong', ( very very wrong)
heard a song, 
there was a girl...  

He's late again / make my heart ache again
Moon on the lake again, hurry bunny home...

Sleep would not come.. and the stars looked away from me
Desperate to dream, to return to that forest scene...

So I read that book, I'd read before, pinned my hope, to the bedroom door..  

A rabbit ran past,  smile on his face.
He'd never trade that place, not for the world.
I tagged along, (very very wrong)
'gooseberry wrong', (very very wrong)
heard a song,  
there was a girl...

My heart melts when you kiss me like that...
and my Cheshire Cat smile will return
when we step out to dance...

Sleep would not come and the birds began their morning song.
Back in the real world, get the shopping done

I had a list,  parked the car, hurried past the caviar...

Bread and potatoes, beer and tomatoes
checking out, there was a girl
I tagged along (very very wrong)
'gooseberry wrong' (very very wrong)
she hummed a song, 
she was the girl...

'Sad ? 
Let's dream...
Now ! '
bonus feature....a trip around Croft on Tees boyhood home of 'Lewis Carroll'..
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=569449483231493&

Gooseberry Wrong            with Little Lone Waltz and The Secret Red Orchestra

Halloween….I felt a dare coming on :) 

I was 'musically challenged' on FB to use my 7 guitars on a song and only guitars. No samples or keys. I looked round for a suitable song to cover as that would save me the extra headache of writing new material. 

Only anoraks should proceed beyond this point because I'm gonna waffle.

I chose  'Moonchild' by King Crimson for it's Halloween feel and the 'cobwebs' and 'ghosts' in the lyric. 

I recorded a basic guitar /vocal with a classical gtr via single mic as a guide track, freehand – no click/tempo defined. Then recorded the classical and vocal separately and faded the guide track in and out at low level here and there. 

Next a bass using a Tanglewood acoustic which I dropped an octave.

Next I created a 2 pads with a Fender F3 acoustic, an Echo 12 string set up  'Nashville'' ( remove the standard six strings). Not by 'traditional' sampling but  by recording a single note  to each track, reversing, then to a buss with a reverb set at 'infinite' to create a drone. 

I avoided creating 'chord' pads to help with clarity. You can form chords from the notes if  you want to though I find 2 note intervals work better.

Crunchy guitar is a Squier Strat, via Native Instruments Guitar Rig.   

On the last verse I added a little bit of detail with two acoustics, a Taylor and Gibson J45. 

I used two non-guitar samples. A stone flower pot dragged across flagstones and  grandfather clock chimes from Washington Old Hall in County Durham ( ancestral home of George Washington). 


Simples :)  Never dare a Pirate !

Moonchild  ( King Crimson )

The Devil makes work for idle hands
I stand up for my songs, warts 'an all. That's my call...

RosesAreBlue / Faerytale / Little lone Waltz  /The Secret Red Orchestra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBCdykdVHvQ

A mix of four songs, recorded over four years, played simultaneously and NOTHING MOVED BACK OR FORWARD IN TIME, just fades in or out and some panning. All tracks in original tempo and key. Just let 'em collide. 

I used a similar technique in 'How to Rescue a Mermaid' placing the vocals from Rose alongside my earlier piano / vocal sketch which was different to the mix I'd sent for her to work on. 

I tried to have at least two songs playing at any one time but couldn't keep that going for the entire track but  pretty close. 

You can see in the pic how it worked. Four by Four....check out the links

Track 1     Purple     https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/oswald-and-cyneburg 
Track 2     Green      https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/gooseberry-6-mix-1  
Track 3a   Red   alternate intro to 3b 
Track 3b   Blue      https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/rose-and-lens-christmas-special?in=gibson-j-4-5/sets/komplete-kollabs
Track 4     Blue      https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/in-a-lovers-stormwithrosesareblue?in=gibson-j-4-5/sets/komplete-kollabs

I added a 2 dB shelf at 8k just brighten things a touch. The original songs are fine but the 'combo' took some top off.

The Devil makes work for idle hands...(video)

Abigail Craister was a witch who fell into the bottomless Gormire Lake whilst trying to escape a mob. She emerged some nine miles away, unscathed they say. I present a different version...

https://justbod.blogspot.com/2018/01/-folklore-myths-gormire-lake.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1L1h0LwqUA&feature=youtu.be

Two robbers lay
by the road 
with midnight schemes

Blade and throttling wire
in their hands
gold in their dreams

There may be witches near
are we safe ? 
Beneath this moon?
There will be riches here,
Thank the fool
the lonely traveller.

She's old, an easy mark
a lark, for such as we
I've taken down bigger
I've taken down prettier
I've taken down many
smaller than me

Be quick, be bloody
Oh, the gleam of that gold
Yet, who would travel through
such a storm, so bold ?

Abigail Craister's life  hung by a  thread
Wishing no harm to a soul  Abigail said
'All of God's creatures should get along
live or dead'. 
Abigail smiled and uncovered
the horns on her head...


If you followed the link above you will know that Abigail Craister lived in a cave on 'Black Hambleton' a dark broody looking hill in the North York Moors National Park. Even on sunny days the place has no cheer and walkers hurry past to the more welcoming 'Fangdale' or 'Skelbeast Crag'.

For a view of 'Black Hambleton' without the risk of going there, follow this link...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAkjko4hwCw

Cut-throat's Moon  (two takes on video)

Video   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGv-Jgzp0uc
shot on the North York Moors near the 'Bridestones' and at the 'Piano in the Woods' which is just off the Yellow Brick Road. 
thanks to      https://soundcloud.com/su-da-nym            for the dare to write a follow up to a song.....https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/moving-train

As love songs go, this one's a little late...
truth be told I did deliberate
Would it ever fly ? Would it ever fly ? 

Looking back, is it advisable ?
Dreaming back, is that desirable ?
Does it ever fly ? Does it ever fly ? 

Chorus 
I can't say how I feel right now.  I just can't
Crowds may see me but they don't see me
Because they can't...I'm playing it close

Hand on heart, I almost didn't show
Pulled apart, this chewed me up you know.....
Little white lies, little white lies

Take a slow train to the coast, they said
Clear blue skies...I see a ghost instead
Running on the sand
running on the sand

Chorus 
I can't say why I can't see blue sky, I just can't
Crowds may hide me, but I can still see
What they can't....I'm playing it close

As love songs go, this one's a little late...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnS8rHHN0a0&list=PLN8-952ojO9wCRP3GTFY9k1hA-84cnLc6

This is a video project. To hear all the music you will need to head on over to YouTube and wade through 7 ( yes 7 ) impossibly dull  videos of stone circles, castles, pubs, mountains, ancient bridges, dancing pigs, studio tours and two not very convincing ghosts. 

An imaginary journey with a  A HOST of STARS none of whom have any idea they are taking part. 

Samwise Gamgee  
Frodo Baggins  
Benjamin Bunny
Pigling Bland
Mr Tod
Orsen Welles          
Gollum 
Aragorn                 
Catherine of Aragon   
Ginger Rogers
Fred Astaire
and my special guest stars
RosesAreBlue ( as the voice of Pigling Bland ) 
Faerytale

directed by Orsen Carte
produced by Carl S Berg
musical contributions from
The Irate Pirates' Steering Committee  ( T.I.P.S.Cee.)
The Bagdale Players
and a breathtaking 'wundersong' from Faerytale ( not available anywhere else in the known universe )

We shared a cigarette outside of the launderette...

Started as a Piano test. Reason Pianos : Steinway Upright model K  'Elegant' minus the  'ambient' mic leaving 'close' 'jazz' and 'ribbon' then out to two helpings of Waves Aphex exciter / Piano B / Waves Aphex exciter /Dark mix.
No treatment on the vocal, just my room and some German Lager...mmmm ( that's the room, not the lager, bringing you the dulcet tone of my central heating)
Piano and Vox into Waves SSL Master Bus Comp. ( obviously ) 

She looked so cute
in her lemon swim suit
tartan Doc Martin boots...

None of the guys 
could tear their eyes
from the uplift of her cheroot...

She effortlessly crushed 
all that casual lust
burnt it to dust
as she swanned...

Written under the influence of the aforementioned German Lager and possibly Sid James. You can tell, can't you :)
Merry Christmas ! As you can see, I've started early... :))

Casual Lust...a work in progress

SWAN       (live into one mic).   The original 'sketch' here 

https://soundcloud.com/gibson-j-4-5/casual-lust

It was that kind of party, you know the score
too many people but they're crowding in more
You find a cosy corner, you get cornered by a bore...
You call upon Beelzebub, 'Lord, open up this floor ! ' 

Into the room to dispel the gloom
a creature emerged, none too soon
The face in my face invadin' my space
was invited to lunch on the moon.

The room gets hot but you keep your cool
Pray for a meteorite to strike this fool
In that situation, I got me this... golden rule
Never take your hat off, 'till you're safely in the pool. 
Splash..  ( home made sample) 

She looked so cute in her lemon swim suit
Tartan Doc Marten boots
None of the guys could tear their eyes 
from the uplift of her cheroot. 
She effortlessly crushed all that casual lust
Burnt it to dust as she swanned. 

I was drawn like a moth to the flame of her charm
convinced myself there could be no harm
and with Lucifer's help, we'd go arm in arm
Down 'True Lover's Walk' by the river at Yarm. 

It was pie-in-the-sky to think that I 
would be the one she would smooch
I caught her eye, she ghosted a smile
My heart rate went through the roof..
She effortlessly crushed all my juvenile lust
Burnt it to dust as she swanned...


Up river from my home town of Stockton-on-Tees is the small market town of Yarm*  https://girlvsglobe.com/things-to-do-in-yarm-romantic-english-town/ where you will find the church of St Mary Magdalene and inside lay the tombs of an unknown knight and his good lady. Hence the path along the riverside is known as 'True Lovers' Walk' ...

Local boy John Walker (1781-1859)  invented the friction match but never took out a patent. Some cockney wide-boy whose name I refuse to look up stole the idea and marketed the matches as  ' Lucifers '. Just what you needed to ignite a Lady's 'cheroot' in ye olden days. Remember that as with beauty, smut is also in the eye of the beholder. 

This song evolved from a sketch on piano but when I got the line 'Into the room to dispel the gloom'  I kept bumping into 'Jake Thakray' so I switched to guitar. Check out Jake on you tube. 'Isobel Makes Love Upon National Monuments' would be a good place to start. Classy smut from a master. NB 'Isobel' is a different song.

Swan

Live piano vocal.

This is a remix. I first used the Yamaha CFX ( in Abbey Road ) to record this one coz I'd just  bought it. The sample library, not the actual piano or  Abbey Road...

I did post the original but the more I listened and played the  song on other pianos I realised I'd made a mistake. Not the wandering pitch of my vocal, you always get that from me, but the piano 'character' was not what was in my head when I wrote the song. So blindingly obvious...I swapped the CFX for the 'writing piano' ? Walla ! As they say overseas in France... my song came home to me warts 'an all. 

The 'writing piano' ?  An August Foerster in Native Instruments Kontakt player which is the best so far I've found that sounds like I'm sat at the piano and not just near to one...


I miss the sound of her key in the door
don't get that anymore
No more  touch of her touch as we sleep
I don't sleep 
Sometimes in the moonlight
something in the half-light...

No fun running on fumes every day
sad state of play
Storm cloud, constantly over my heart
Never blows away
Sometimes in the moonlight
something in the half-light...

I keep a photograph, you and me from yesteryear
we looked so cool, despite my t-shirt with the polar bear...
You pinched my bum and said, Can't take you anywhere !

Sea-scape. Man overboard that's me
in the cruel sea
Life-line, find what you need to get by
stay alive
Sometimes in the moonlight
there's someone in the half-light.
With me.

 Photograph taken from Goosewell Farm in the English Lake District on the night of the Blood-moon September 27th 2015. I shot  video too and you can find some of it here....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S4PqUeMLEQ

In the Half-light

Work in progress. Usual rules apply. Posting on Halloween. 

The Sailor....... a ghost 
Seawind.......... a ghost 
Moonstar.........Seawind's Daughter
Heartsail..........falsely accused Seawind of sinking a ship

One day the truth will come out.

The Mermaid's Daughter

Timeless
the ocean
that we swim through
Midnight blue
Love is
the moment
that we swim to
Compass true

In vain
All in vain

Souls lost to the sea
they have no rest
they have no peace
they have no grave
where flowers save
their memory

This began life as a series of  piano 'quotations' from the various songs that comprise The Mermaid's Tale. While I was faffing about some new material developed which what you find here.

If this goes to plan ( mice permitting)  the three mermaids will have their themes played by an associated instrument. Orchestral manoeuvres in the deep ? See you at Halloween then.

The Mermaid's Daughter

Photo...Greek chorus from a tragedy...


A quick sketch... had my head buried in some pompous prog all day ( Mermaid stuff ) and decided to take a break. 

Mabel left home when she hit 14
found a position on her hands and knees...
She scrubbed floors, she buffed doors
polished up the silver till it was gleaming

Mabel loved the movies, that Hollywood thing
spent all her money learning how to sing and dance, 
she'd get her chance

chorus 

Mabel was able
to light up the room with her smile
Mabel sent a cable
'Dear Ma and Pa, I'm fine'

Mabel got a break on her 16th birthday
waiting on the  table of a Hollywood Big Wig
Mabel was pretty, he was a 
shitty Walter Mitty,
he sold her to the city
on the dream she had...

Mabel makes it into the chorus...

Thicker than water.    An alternative ending to The Mermaid's Tale. 

Somewhere in the labyrinth of The Mermaid's Tale an act of betrayal took place. A jealous Seaflame falsely accused her sister Seawind of sinking a ship. As a result Seawind was imprisoned in a stone circle on a hilltop where she died of a broken heart. (Chapter 2. In a Lovers' Storm) Now Seaflame begs hers sister's ghost for forgiveness. 

Cast in order of appearance

Seaflame.....a mermaid.  Seawind's sister

Moonstar....a mermaid. Seawind's daughter

Seawind......a ghost

Seaflame ...

Sister, forgive me, Sister
This painful history
my mischief stains
Sister, forgiving Sister
Tears for the love we lost... to my jealous heart  

Moonstar  ...

Souls lost to the sea             
have no rest
they have no peace
they have no grave
where flowers save
their memory.

Seawind ...

Sister, forgiven Sister  
a given, Sister
Blood flows thicker than the sea.  
Sister, forever Sister 
Tears for the years we lost... 
To swim side by side..

All...

Timeless the ocean, that we swim through
Midnight blue                      
Love is the moment, that we swim to
Compass true...

Some of you may recall reading Shakespeare  at school and it is probable that your teacher pointed out that the plays were written to be performed by a troop of actors and viewed by an audience. You had to imagine the different characters speaking as you read through the dialogue. Do the same here and imagine female vocals from the three characters. 

A little confession. I borrowed the concept of a hateful act as 'a mischief' from Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' where the Sorceress invites her 'Wayward sisters' to 'Share in the fame of a mischief ' .

Thicker Than Water

Lucifer Uncrowned.  

Apologies to John Milton ( Paradise Lost ) but the recent fall from grace of 
President Trump and The Witchfinder General Cummins drew my mind to the wickedly unfair demise of Lucifer.  

Live. One mic. No excuses. Had a few beers tho.....

A sweet voice said, 'Bless my soul,  
gotta get back into heaven
cuz I left my phone...
If the Big Guy finds it, turns it on
I got some dirty pictures of me dressed up as a swan...

Down, cast down, hungover, uncrowned
Set to to drown at the bottom of a bottle
with my tu-tu twisted round...

An old angel said 'There's a secret door
...l got a  key, 
in my sock drawer
In the good old days, it was one of the ways
to smuggle in a girl and gin in time for Hogmanay '..

Down, cast down, hungover, uncrowned
Set to drown at the bottom of a bottle
with my tu-tu halfway down...

The Dark Lord said 'Sad to report there's been some Revelations
I'm overdue in court...
It was an honest mistake, I love Swan Lake
I was suckered by a witches' brew 
of Granny Smith's and snake...

Down, cast down, hungover, uncrowned 
Set to drown at the bottom of a bottle ........
Oh Lord, snake news brought me down.

Lucifer Uncrowned

Live piano vocal  using Native Instrument's 'New York' Steinway D concert grand. Then some work with NI's 'Berlin' piano, a Bechstein D 280, for the 'third hand' also a live take.  

Content with a small Sea.

Still under the curse that keeps her from returning home to the ocean  Seawind's ghost wanders the land. She finds a lake in the mountains.

No tide, no wave, no salt on the air
No blue water to flow through her hair
No song, nor spell
No dance for the moon
Just a sigh on the breeze, passing by

She drifts, through the green...
look you close, she won't be seen
The moment you think you do
the dream takes you.

You drift in her wake
to a moon silvered lake
The moment you see her true
the green takes you...

No tide, no wave, no salt on the air
No blue water to flow through her hair
No love, no storm, no kiss for her cheek
No heart nor flame
burn to the wild. 

Re-visiting an earlier incomplete version 'The Green'  inspired by the mysterious 'Gormire Lake' in North Yorkshire.

link. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/04/country-diary-wild-swimming-in-the-eye-of-the-beast

Content with a small Sea

This is now a basic 'Free' account.  A number of old songs are no longer available. 


Huge 'Thank You'  to the following people for their  help on some of these songs and their inspiration on others. 


http://soundcloud.com/the-secret-red-orchestra

https://soundcloud.com/vangabriel

http://soundcloud.com/the-acoustic-grill

https://soundcloud.com/bluecherrykiss

https://soundcloud.com/faerytale

https://soundcloud.com/phil-mcwalter

https://soundcloud.com/little-lone-waltz

A few ( printable ) quotes.

 "  Masterpieces "-----Dolll
 "Shit, you got me crying"----RosesAreBlue
  " A Legend".....RosesAreBlue
 "I brought my kazooo"------  Faerytale
 " Unaffected Eccentricity"-----Gil Gillespie
" Uniquely Mad "----- Phil McWalter
" F*ckin' space chords man" ------Phil McWalter
 "Unhinged seriousness"----Wheelwright
 " Slightly Deranged".......Superhowl
"F***ing Hell "  ----Man on a Grill
"Chaos and Beauty"-----Steph Casey
" Nutter" -----  Kim Guy
" F**K's Sake ! LOL "------Bekah B
" You are definitely Cool " .......lola-demo
" A bloody good racket"   ,,,,,,Steph Casey 
" Intelligent, uniquely beautiful music " .  Kerijohnson.
" Devastatingly cute"  Aerogene 070. 
" Cool husky crooner at play "   Soundboard tinkerers.
"Keep your knees together"      RosesAreBlue.

The Irate Pirates

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