New song !!!!!!

Lyrics:
Bare are the bones there
Bare is the land
You grew up old there
Under a heavy hand

You’ve moved around now
Been almost eighteen years
So why’s it when you speak of home
It almost comes out thru tears?

And you’ll blend all the fruit into smoothies
And you’ll crush all the grapes into wine
But you can’t remember where you were when you first heard that 
Somebody you knew died

Tried out the girlfriend thing
It never really fell in line
Talked to a therapist
Made you feel better for a time

Now this here is tricky cuz you
Don’t know if you wanna change
You’re used to your neuroses
Plus, what else should you do?
Take a bath? Go touch grass? Act your age?

So you’ll just blend all your fruit into smoothies
And you’ll crush all your grapes into wine
Still can’t remember where you were when you first heard that 
Somebody you knew died

And now you’re never quite relaxing
Often "up on the stand" in your mind
Cuz they say you didn’t quite react right when you heard that 
Someone you once knew died

And it’s a rocky hill to die upon but
You reserve the right
To live out the rest of your existence
In and out of freeze, fight, or flight
To live out the rest of your existence
In and out of freeze, fight, or flight

Smoothies

Enjoy my cover of the traditional Christmas song "King Jesus Hath A Garden".  A traditional Dutch song originally published in 1633, it was translated into English and published again in 1908.  I found out about it through the Choir of King's College.

Lyrics: 
1. King Jesus hath a garden, full of divers flowers,
Where I go culling posies gay, all times and hours.

Refrain:
There naught is heard but Paradise bird,
Harp, dulcimer, lute,
With cymbal, trump and tymbal,
And the tender, soothing flute.

2. The Lily, white in blossom there, is Chastity:
The Violet, with sweet perfume, Humanity. Refrain

3. The bonny Damask-rose is known as Patience:
The blithe and thrifty Marygold, Obedience. Refrain

4. The Crown Imperial bloometh too in yonder place,
'Tis Charity, of stock divine, the flower of grace. Refrain

5. Yet, 'mid the brave, the bravest prize of all may claim
The Star of Bethlem-Jesus-bless'd be his Name! Refrain

6. Ah! Jesu Lord, my heal and weal, my bliss complete,
Make thou my heart thy garden-plot, fair, trim and neat. Refrain

King Jesus Hath A Garden

I actually found this song before ever watching the cartoon Over The Garden Wall (which I highly recommend).  I came across it in a Sacred Harp Facebook group and loved it and decided to do a recording.  I did the first two verses in the order that Cricket Blue and Friends did their cover, and then added the last two verses that the Redwood Teen Music Camp did for their recording.  Also, listen for the cat meow after the shapes!!
Cover art was created by me and DALL*E 2, a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.  
Pottsfield C.M. is attributed to B. Armstrong, J. Kaufman, and J. Rubenstein.

Pottsfield C.M. (shapenote cover, Over The Garden Wall)

This is song 162 in the Christian Harmony, "Redeemed Singers".  Both lyrics and music written by John B. Vaughan in 1898.  
Recorded using an Audio Technica P48 mic, AudioBox, and FL Studio 11.  I did 4 tracks for each of the 4 parts, so 16 unique tracks total.  The bass is panned right, tenor panned straight, treble panned left, and alto panned both far right and far left (to simulate being behind the listener, as if you were standing in the square!).

Lyrics
My brother, awake, and sing the sweet story,
Soon the day of reunion will come;
Then O, what a wonderful singing in glory,
When all redeemed singers get home. 

Chorus:
Then, O what a wonderful, wonderful singing,
When all redeemed singers get home,
Reunion, reunion thru ages still ringing,
When all redeemed singers get home.

No mortal hath e’er conceived of the beauty,
That awaits the redeemed ones at home;
Be sure, my dear brother, you live up to duty,
For soon our Redeemer will come.

(Chorus)

Keep working and sing, press onward my brother,
Till the Savior shall bid you to come;
How sweet it will be then to meet with each other,
When all redeemed singers get home.

(Chorus)

CH 162 Redeemed Singers (Christian Harmony)

Another great song from the Christian Harmony tunebook: 23 on the bottom, Evening Hymn!  Really got to belt out cuz the tenor and treble I could sing down the octave as well.  Always find myself recording in F# or F....

Recorded using an Audio Technica P48 mic, AudioBox, and FL Studio 11.  I did 4 tracks for each of the 4 parts, so 16 unique tracks total.  The bass is panned right, tenor panned straight, treble panned left, and alto panned both far right and far left (to simulate being behind the listener, as if you were standing in the square!). 

Lyrics: 
The day is past and gone,
The evening shades appear;
O may we all remember well,
The night of death is near.

We lay our garments by,
Upon our beds we rest;
So death will soon disrobe us all
Of what we here possess.

Lord, keep us safe this night,
Secure from all our fears;
May angels guard us while we sleep,
Till morning light appears.

CH 23b Evening Hymn (Christian Harmony)

This is Peterboro, number 67 on the top from the Christian Harmony tunebook!  

Recorded using an Audio Technica P48 mic, AudioBox, and FL Studio 11.  I believe I did 4 tracks for each of the 4 parts, so 16 unique tracks total.  I say 'believe' because this song was a trial and tribulation to record.   The child who lives above me was stomping up and down the entire length of the apartment while recording one day so I had to rerecord like 3 tracks.  Then another day, some cord was acting up so there was like fizzing and popping sounds on a couple more tracks.  So I fixed those and exported as an mp3, with only like 10 or so tracks though, as a rough draft.  Well I'm glad I did that cuz when I went back to add more tracks, the file CORRUPTED!  So I had to import the draft track.mp3 into FL Studio and then record the remaining tracks (which is why the finished recording may sound more... compressed than my other recordings).  
The bass is panned right, tenor panned straight, treble panned left, and alto panned both far right and far left (to simulate being behind the listener, as if you were standing in the square!).  
Cover art made using Canva's magic AI picture creator thing.  

Lyrics: 
Once more, my soul, the rising day
Salutes thy waking eyes;
Once more, my voice, thy tribute pay
To Him who rules the skies.

‘Tis He supports my mortal frame,
My tongue shall speak His praise;
My sins would rouse His wrath to flame,
And yet His wrath delays.

How many wretched souls are fled
Since the last setting sun!
And yet Thou length’nest out my thread,
And yet my moments run.

CH 67t Peterboro (Christian Harmony)

me and my boyfriend nick recorded a cover of vashti bunyan's "winter is blue" from the album just another diamond day from 1970. i'm playing my little lap harp, and he plays guitar :)

Winter Is Blue (Duet)

From the 1\8\15 album. One of the first songs I shazam'd when listening to WBGU. Actually arranged it for harp initially! 

Blood Line (Way Yes Cover)

unleash your inner sadboy/nostalgistwith this single that I made in a day!!
this song was written by Elliott Smith but it sounded too Eagles-y so he threw it away, Mary Lou Lord found it so he gave it to her to sing, then he covered it later too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pcWGxZeicA
#iwanttobemollynilsson

players: 
Yamaha MM8 keyboard
Lyon & Healy Prelude lever harp
AKG D310 mic (possibly crap)
PreSonus Audiobox
FL Studio 11
Movie Edit Pro 2016
my vocal cords
:)


i figured you out - Mary Lou Lord/Elliott Smith cover

Live versions of five of my songs! Recorded at Artspace in New Haven, CT as part of Make Music New Haven.

Make Music New Haven @Artspace

Self - Sabotage (Live)

Lazytown (Live)

Thanks I'm All Caught Up (Live)

The Veteran (Live)

It's Live (Live) (lol)

a song by Courtney Love (i.e. the Lois Maffeo & Pat Maley band). side B2 from the Uncrushworthy maxi-single from 1990 on K Records. (Snail Mail recently covered this song too! but uh... I don't care for it)

Lyrics: 
She fell down, headfirst in the sound
Tried to stop herself from moving, but it was too profound
Touch her pants, to try to quit your glance
Cuz you just notice the dirty way that American girls dance

Did she go right to your head?
When she danced upon the bed
Is she a dream or is she a drag?
Can she do the shag?

Later on, to find out she was on
There's nothin' so unbearable as knowing that she's gone
Dream awake to try and make her stay
You know that you give her everything, but she does it anyway

Did she go right to your head?
When she danced upon the bed?
Is she a dream or is she a drag?
Can she do the shag?

La-da-da, la-da-da
There's one thing that you will never know
It’s how she got to be so oh oh oh
Beautiful

She's unreal, that’s exactly how you feel
I think they've got a line for it, she invented sex appeal
You’ll undress, and try to get some rest
But you'll just dream of her summer hair and her wintry caress

Did she go right to your head?
When she danced upon the bed?
Is she a dream or is she a drag?
Can she do the shag?

La-da-da, la-da-da-da
There's one thing that you will never know
It’s how she got to be so oh oh oh
Beautiful
So beautiful...

the 2nd most beautiful girl in the world (cover)

A tune from "The Sacred Harp, or Eclectic Harmony", first published in 1835. I recorded 3 of each part. I also made a rhythmic error in the tenor & alto parts on the 1st verse but by golly did I commit to it! It's correct in the 2nd verse tho. I found this tune through looking up the hymn tune Linstead, which was based on the Jamaican mento tune Linstead Market. Couldn't find a recording of this shapenote so that's why I just made it myself!

Lyrics: 
Mine eyes and my desire are ever to the Lord;
I love to plead his promises, and rest upon his word.
Lord, turn thee to my soul; bring thy salvation near:
When will thy hand release my feet from sin's destructive snare?

Linstead (90b, Eclectic Harmony)

One of my favorite Christmas-themed shapenote songs!  Found it from the Tudor Choir's "An American Christmas" shapenote album.  It gets called often during the Christmas season in my shapenote group (Yale-New Haven Regular Singing).  
Lyrics:
While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

All glory be to God on high
And to the earth be peace,
Goodwill henceforth from heaven to men
Begin and never cease.

Sherburne (186, The Sacred Harp)

This lovely lullaby is from the album "Songs Children Sing: Italy" by Bob & Louise DeCormier.  I tried to keep my arrangement as close to the original as possible.  Just my voice and the harp!

The Doll (Italian children's song)

A rendition of the classic Christmas song, a cappella with "drums" (which is me slapping the soundboard of my harp).  I based it on a version I heard of a youth & children's choir.

Gaudete!

Happy Easter 2020!!  Definitely the weirdest Easter I've ever experienced, but hey.  This is a nice themed shapenote song called Jesus Rose, number 156 in The Sacred Harp (1991).  I encourage listening with earbuds/headphones because... the tenors pan far left,  altos pan left, trebles (sopranos) pan right, and basses pan far right.  The audio was ecorded in my humble apartment into FL Studio where it was lightly edited.

Lyrics: 

Go and tell His disciples,
Go and tell His disciples,
Go and tell His disciples,
He has risen from the dead.
Jesus rose, brethren,
Jesus rose, brethren,
Jesus rose! Brethren,
He has risen from the dead,
Through the earth and through the sky!

156 Jesus Rose (Easter shapenote song)

arranged this great and sad song for the harp!  played my Salvi pedal harp and recorded my voice.  each flower stands for a vocal part when it comes in and the side it pans on.  (best with earbuds)

change - harp cover of r. l. kelly's cover of (sandy) alex g

This is a fun cover of a rather sad song that I like!  You'll hear my lever harp and Wurlizter Funmaker Sprite organ.  And, of course, my voice :)

Lyrics:
If I listened long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

If I gave you time to change my mind
I'd find a way to leave the past behind
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

Someone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
Never thinking of myself

If I listen long enough to you
I find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

Reason To Believe - cover of Karen Dalton cover of Tim Hardin

I write songs & do covers on piano and harp :)

michaelanatal

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