Awesome move to tackle this genre on your own. What a catchy & sweet melody with the classic upbeat dancehall feel. Way to go Nat, love it!!

B-Archaic Smile

Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. Written in 1846 it was Verdi's tenth opera and also the first of Shakespeare's plays which he adapted for the operatic stage.

In Act II Macbeth has murdered King Duncan and become king, but plots the murder of Banco and his son Fleance to thwart the prophecy that Banco’s children will rule Scotland. As the assassins lie in wait for Banco outside the castle, Banco sings his recitative and aria “Studia il passo  -Come dal ciel precipita” (Watch your step - How from the heaven falls), in which he warns his son about his feeling of foreboding. The aria’s noble, rich unfolding comes to an impassioned peak just before the coda, when the assassins strike him down but fail to halt his escaping son.

The aria was written for basso profondo (here transcribed for baritone). My attempt had me step out of my comfort zone, both in expression and in range. The piano as always was brilliantly played by Helen Roberts.
I hope you'll enjoy our performance.

Lyrics

Studia il passo, o mio figlio...
Usciam da queste tenèbre...
Un senso ignoto
Nascer mi sento in petto,
Pien di tristo presagio e di sospetto.

Come dal ciel precipita
L'ombra più sempre oscura!
In notte ugual trafissero
Duncano, il mio signor.
Mille affannose immagini
M'annunciano sventura,
E il mio pensiero ingombrano
Di larve e di terror.

English:

Be careful how you go, o my son...
Let’s go out from this darkness...
I feel something unknown
Growing in my heart,
Fraught with sad premonition and suspicion.

How the shade falls from heaven
More and more obscure !
On such another night as this
They stabbed to death Duncan, my lord.
A thousand nightmares
Are foretelling me misfortune,
And are oppressing my mind
With ghosts and dread.

Come dal ciel precipita (Macbeth - Giuseppe Verdi - with Helen Roberts)

Follow your heart (don't let yourself be distracted)

(no genAI involved - my voice and VST instruments)
At 55 years old, I am a grandfather and am rediscovering the magic of a newborn baby. When we see this innocence and fragility, we retrieve in each of us that simple but wonderful thing that is humanity.
(traduit plus bas)
---
It's not another morning
Not anymore
So deep inside me
I'm only starting to understand
Like never before
  
When living is so real
Your tiny hands are dreaming
And my heart is healing
My baby I can feel
Your soul, the meaning
A world arising  

My love,my son
Born of your ancestors
Now you're the sun, I'm your universe
You'll find me always there

I never knew the silence
Could speak so loud
You breathe, I listen
The world now slows just to hear from you
And time itself bows down

When living is so real
Your tiny hands are dreaming
And my heart is healing
Through my chest I can feel
Your soul, the meaning
A world arising

When living is so real
Your smile becomes the meaning
And hope  is softly ringing
My baby, you reveal
These beautiful things
That you imagine

When living is so real
Your tiny hands are dreaming
And my heart is healing
Through my chest I can feel
Your soul, the meaning
A world arising

When living is so real
I'm dreaming
I'm healing
When living is so real
I see the meaning
The world's arising
----
Ce n'est pas un matin comme les autres
Plus maintenant
Au plus profond de moi
Je commence seulement à comprendre
Comme jamais auparavant
  
Quand la vie est si réelle
Tes petites mains rêvent
Et mon cœur guérit
Mon bébé, je peux sentir
Ton âme, le sens
Un monde qui naît

Mon amour, mon fils
Né de tes ancêtres
Maintenant, tu es le soleil, je suis ton univers
Tu me trouveras toujours là

Je ne savais pas que le silence
Pouvait parler si fort
Tu respires, j'écoute
Le monde ralentit maintenant juste pour t'entendre
Et le temps lui-même s'incline

Quand la vie est si réelle
Tes petites mains rêvent
Et mon cœur guérit
À travers ma poitrine, je peux sentir
Ton âme, le sens
Un monde qui naît
 
Quand la vie est si réelle
Ton sourire devient le sens
Et l'espoir  sonne doucement
Mon bébé, tu révèles
Ces belles choses
Que tu imagines

Quand la vie est si réelle
Tes petites mains rêvent
Et mon cœur guérit
À travers ma poitrine, je peux sentir
Ton âme, le sens
Un monde qui naît

Quand la vie est si réelle
Je rêve
Je guéris
Quand la vie est si réelle
Je vois le sens
Le monde qui naît

When living is so real

"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings." - Lao Tzu

"It's strange, but true, that the most important turning points of life often come at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways." - Napoleon Hill

A weekend improvisation, dedicated to the turning points in our lives that often show up unexpectedly, after heavy, difficult times.  As you listen to this piece, you will hear the "turning point" emerge in the music around the 3:22 mark.

A companion piece to "Starting Again."

The Turning Point

Spring is here
Life come out the ground
Get a sense of a lot going on
Plants and animals know it

Sun’s up, fun’s up, let’s go
Nobody gonna beg
Sun’s up, fun’s up, let’s go
Get my body young again

Breathe in deep
Brown become green
Wake up from winter slumber
Lots of action, get in

Sun’s up, fun’s up, let’s go
Nobody gonna beg
Sun’s up, fun’s up, let’s go
Get my body young again

When the season get ahead of me
When my common sense abandon me
When I feel like it’s gonna be too much
Sweat it out, burn it out, let it all go

Warmth in my body
Lesson from the earth
On the move, feeling groovy
Lesson from the earth

Sun’s up, fun’s up, let’s go
Nobody gonna beg
Sun’s up, fun’s up, let’s go
Get my body young again

When the season get ahead of me
When my common sense abandon me
When I feel like it’s gonna be too much
Sweat it out, burn it out, let it all go


Sun's Up, Fun's Up

The State of Israel was created almost 80 years ago in response to an attempted genocide. We are now watching a genocide of the Palestinian people in real time on our tv screens. This is happening with the collusion of democratic  governments. How did we descend to this?
This acoustic guitar improvisation is by 3 guitars based on '4+ 20'. I had intended to write a protest song about the war, but I cannot find the words. This is inadequate, we should all speak up to condemn this barbarity however small our voices are. 
We "grow weary of the torment, can there be no peace?"

Almost 80

      Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by and listening! This song I wrote back in 2013 and it was just another love song with my favorite color in it for my wonderful wife! Can anyone guess what my favorite color is? Blue is correct! I've written many songs with the color blue in the title like: "Blue, Blue"; "Somewhere In Blue"; "Heavrnly In Blue"; "Big Blue Tree",  ect, ect, well it goes on and on. It's jazzy and easy listening and with NO A.I. can you dig it? I think the inspiration for this one was me asking my lovely wife why she is seldom in blue, or something like that. This is another of my jazzy love songs with a Latin rhythm to it. Charlie sang it beautifully. This song was written in the tradition of "The Great American Songbook". You know, like Gershwin, Berlin, Porter used to write. Very old fashioned but I remember I added a Sitar to it to give it that dreamy sound and I think I used heavy echo on Charlie's vocal at some point in the song too! 

VIDEO - https://youtu.be/XxGVYr1urs4

      The video I put together last year at some point in time but can't recall too much about it, just a beautiful woman in a beautiful blue dress. It drops tomorrow on YouTube, be there or be square! Not too much audio or video effects in this one. After "Broken Mirrors" I think we needed a light fluffy little love song with my favorite color in it! One can't get too depressed, you know! Thanks again and take care!🙏😎✌🏼

“SELDOM IN BLUE”

TAKE THE STARDUST FROM THE SKY,    
TWINKLE IT AND SPRINKLE IT IN YOUR EYES,   
WHY IS IT I,     
SELDOM SEE YOU IN BLUE? 
     
WHEN YOU SMILED AT ME THAT WAY,     
SPARKLING SAPPHIRE AND OCEAN SPRAY,     
WHY IS IT I,   
SELDOM SEE YOU IN BLUE?   

COOL AS A SOOTHING SUMMER RAIN,        
OR A HAUNTING REFRAIN,         
A CRYSTAL MIST FROM HEAVEN,           
YOU ENVELOPE ME IN BLUE, 
                  
STRANGE WHENEVER I’M WITH YOU,  
MY GREY WORLD TAKES ON A DIFFERENT HUE,    
WHY IS IT I,   
SELDOM SEE YOU IN BLUE?    
PLEASE TELL ME WHY,   
ARE YOU SELDOM IN BLUE,
IN BLUE,     
IN BLUE,    
WHY ARE YOU SELDOM IN BLUE?     
             
BY JIM VALDES
 © 2013

"SELDOM IN BLUE" (VIDEO - https://youtu.be/XxGVYr1urs4)

Face Towards the Sun, with the Shadows Behind You (Piano Improv)

This sweet song was penned by Nat and has a country nuance telling the simple story of the lasting purity of true love.

Nat Daniels: vocals, piano & production/instrumentation
Craig Durgy: vocals & guitar
All music written and performed by Daniels & Durgy
Produced by Nat Daniels of Gentle Rain Records
©2025 Daniels & Durgy


Lyrics: I Could Never Walk Away

Shadows fall on this broken road
My tears flow like a heavy load
I didn't come this far to let you go
To let us burn without letting you know 

The seasons may change 
But my heart won't wane
The miles between us won't dull this light
It shines like a beacon in darkest night

No matter the distance, 
My heart remains...If love's a fire, 
Then we're a roaring flame 
In spite of all that we've been through
How the goodbyes tore us in two,  
I could never walk away ... from you.

Holdin' on to the memory of you 
Oh I'll be strong, and let it see me through
Let every memory of our moments fill my mind
Until the day I hold your hand in mine

And even though the world may change 
My heart remains the same
The miles between us won't dull this light
It shines like a beacon in the darkest night

No matter the distance
My heart remains...If love's a fire, 
Then we're a roaring flame 
In spite of all that we've been through
And how the goodbyes tore us in two, 
I could never walk away ... from you.

No matter the distance, My heart remains..

I Could Never Walk Away

I was watching an episode of Cowboy Bebop and were inspired by the futuristic cities and their nightscapes.  a Part of me wanted to capture the feeling of looking for someone loved, and the undying need to never let them go until time itself would lie down and be still.  a Little part of that was for me too I guess..    Until we meet again she said..  Spike watched her walk away as the neon lights hummed like a restless dream he couldn't wake up from, and the sidewalk kept whispering her name, like an endless scream...   

Copyright 2025 GRR/ Nat Daniels
Written performed and Produced - N Daniels

Until the world stops turning 

[Verse]
Neon hums like a restless dream
Sidewalk whispers in this endless scream
Your shadow fades into a blur
The city pulses like thunder

Every echo feels like you
Every corner hides a clue

[Chorus]
I’m tracing footsteps
Chasing time I see you
On every face that passes by
And I'll keep looking 
Until the world stops turning
Until we make it right 

[Verse 2]
This Wind hits hard
It cuts through my coat
Your name’s a song I barely wrote
Streets point each way but never say
Where to find the ghost of yesterday

Every skyline burns your name
Every heartbeat feels the same

[Chorus]
I’m tracing footsteps
Chasing time I see you
On every face that passes by
And I'll keep looking 
Until the world stops turning
Until we make it right

Until the world stops turning

Need help with your Backing Vocals, Time Alignment, Pitch Correction, Production or Mixing?   Message me.   I'm Singer/Songwriter/Instrumentalist and Producer focused on many Genres.  Co Owner of Gentle Rain Records and Part of the Duo https://soundcloud.com/DanielsDurgy

Until the world stops turning

Nat Daniels

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