Ma Musique

The best of Singer and Songwriter 2021

Scotty: rhythm, percussion, harmonica, lyrics, vocals
Tommy: lead, bass

Presently This Is An Untitled Song

A zany celebration of jaw harp, steel guitar and Aussie wildlife, travelling from Berlin to Tasmania.

Rick on jaw harp, chanting, and video-making
Chris on steel guitar, vocals, eye-rolls & audio
c  2021 Ellis & Okunbor
Here's the video: https://youtu.be/cwkF6MZ8E4k

and here's the lyrics:

Possums in the pumpkin patch,
Possums up the tree.
Clogging in boots on the ole tin roof,
Rattling through my sleep,
Rattling through my sleep.

Wombat digging in the underground,
Soft paw shuffle at night.
Hide inside a hollow log,
Lord those Devils can bite,
Lord, those Devils can bite, whoo, they can bite.

Cane toads hanging at the riverside,
Cane toads at my door.
Nobody loves ‘em, everybody hates ‘em,
Ain't gonna sing no more.
Ain’t gonna sing no more, 
Ain’t gonna sing no more!

Nobody loves me, everybody hates me,
Ain't gonna sing no more.
Whoo!

Ein kleiner moondance - Rick Ellis & Chris O

I wrote this song when I met my lovely wife...

Beautiful Rose Of America

lyrics

(VERSE 1)
think there’s something wrong with me
i break hearts as a hobby
usually dont feel a thing
but, breaking this last heart, broke me

& i,
guess thats fair
guess thats fair
after what i did
i snapped ur heart like a twig

i hate, 
that i care
that i care
wish i never did
why’d u have to be different?

(HOOK)
so can we
plzzzz, just try again
i could be so much more
than what i am

u made me wanna
beeee, a better man
now that ur gone
i dont know if i can

i deserve this misery
i deserve u hating me

(VERSE 2)
if i had a time machine
i would only change one thing
i’d, make it so we never meet
so, maybe we’d still be happy

no but,
that’s not fair
thats not fair
after what i did
i deserve my heart broken

i bet 
u dont care
u dont care
probably never did
but if u do, then scream it

(HOOK 2)
so can we
plz, just try again
i could be so much more
than what i am

u made me wanna
be, a better man
now that ur gone
i dont, know if i can

plz trust me babe,
i know,
i fucked up bad
that doesn't mean i cant
learn from my past

i’m just trying the
very best i can
but u wont give me one, more fucking chance

i deserve this misery
i deserve u hating me
u deserve to be happy
even if that’s without me

(BRIDGE)
& even if u 
don’t, love me, plz try
& even if u 
can’t, see, 
yourself with me, lie
& even if u
dont, love me, i’ll still try
& even if u hate me
i’ll call every night

(LAST HOOK)
so can we
plz, just try again
i could be so much more
than what i am

u made me wanna
be, a better man
now that ur gone
i dont, know if i can

plz trust me babe,
i know, 
i fucked up bad
that doesn't mean i cant
learn from my past

i’m just trying the
very best i can
but u wont give me one, more fucking chance

i deserve this misery
i deserve u hating me
u deserve to be happy
even if that’s without me
i deserve this misery

THE END

sad brad - i deserve this misery

BIG BLACK CAR - Gregory Alan Isakov (slowed)

The Story of Pendle Witches is sad tail. The Devil rides out? Mass hysteria in 1612? Or Rich men pandering to their new King who had already written a book on Witches? There are many sides to the story and novels new and old to tell them. In all 10 people were hanged because Alizon had asked a Tinker (John Law) for a little pin one night. He said no, then something happened that led to his illness. From there it escalated.

You can read the trial in notes here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18253 for free. In the excellently titled "Wonderful discovery of Witches". The more you read the more you see women trusting in a system of law that is too young and too managed by "clever" men to do them true justice.

So this is my song of Alizon Device, I hope I have worded this song as ambiguously as I can. Alizon confessed, but do we all agree that she was capable of unpressured confession? She had a hard life and did not have many capabilities to create income. So this is a little of her story as I imagine it and a little bit of folk rock into the bargain.

The tune was inspired after seeing Martin Simpson this weekend in Blakeney. Try a different tuning he suggested. CGCGCD... I'm sure that's what he said.

I'm working on a couple of other songs on this topic (The Song of James the 1st and the Song of Alice Nutter). I hope they'll all have different feels to them. If you have suggestions let me know.


THE SONG OF ALIZON DEVICE
(Pendle Witch Song No. 1)

Just a pin Johnny Law, just a pin I asked,
A pin for my blessing and then you can pass.
But your heart was closed, Black and bleak.
And as I cursed you, we found, it was also weak.
And as I cursed you, we found, it was also weak.

I never meant to harm you or your son,
I came to say sorry for what I had done,
But you wanted revenge, oh why was I surprised
And so I stand trial, at Lancaster Assizes.

For I learned the power at Demdike’s knee
How to heal, how to hurt and how to charm thee
And I’ve made many a deal that have left a mark,
We Christian like men who turned ugly after dark.

Rich men, Poor men, Beggar men, Thieves,
There’s always a man spinning fear into belief
And it’s a woman’s lot to find a crust to earn
And for that in Lancaster, you can burn
And for that in Lancaster, you can burn

Just a pin Johnny Law, just a pin I asked,
A pin for my blessing and then you can pass.
But your heart was closed, Black and bleak.
And as I cursed you, we found it was also weak.
And as I cursed you, we found it was also weak.

So, am I a mother, witch, or a daft wife?
Is a man’s fear enough to brand a life?
10 of us were hanged for the rabble there to see
But the Black Dog of Pendle she still runs free
But the Black Dog of Pendle she still runs free

Just a pin Johnny Law, just a pin I asked,
A pin for my blessing and then you can pass.
But your heart was closed, Black and bleak.
And as I cursed you, we found it was also weak.

Rich men, Poor men, Beggar men, Thieves,
There’s always a man spinning fear into belief
10 of us were hanged for the rabble to see
But the Black Dog of Pendle she still runs free
But the Black Dog of Pendle she still runs free

Words and Music by Sean Doran

The Song Of Alizon Device (Pendle Witch Song No 1)

Flume

What a lovely surprise Debra came up with when I asked if she would like to collaborate on an earlier released song "Nice to See You".  She couldn't get past "Ode to Joy" when she first started, and I told her "Let's just run with it and see what other Christmas music might go with the song".  Her genius for counterpoint is full of charm and wit and on full display in this song.  Hear more of her beautiul music @debra_buesking.  We wish you all a very merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years:)

"Nice To See You" Holiday Mashup (with Debra Buesking, piano)

Je m’en allais, les poings dans mes poches crevées ;
Mon paletot aussi devenait idéal ;
J’allais sous le ciel, Muse ! et j’étais ton féal ;
Oh ! là ! là ! que d’amours splendides j’ai rêvées !

Mon unique culotte avait un large trou.
– Petit-Poucet rêveur, j’égrenais dans ma course
Des rimes. Mon auberge était à la Grande-Ourse.
– Mes étoiles au ciel avaient un doux frou-frou

Et je les écoutais, assis au bord des routes,
Ces bons soirs de septembre où je sentais des gouttes
De rosée à mon front, comme un vin de vigueur ;

Où, rimant au milieu des ombres fantastiques,
Comme des lyres, je tirais les élastiques
De mes souliers blessés, un pied près de mon coeur !

Arthur Rimbaud, Cahier de Douai (1870)

----------

I went off with my hands in my torn coat pockets;
My overcoat too was becoming ideal;
I travelled beneath the sky, Muse! and I was your vassal;
Oh dear me! what marvellous loves I dreamed of!

My only pair of breeches had a big whole in them.
– Stargazing Tom Thumb, I sowed rhymes along my way.
My tavern was at the Sign of the Great Bear.
– My stars in the sky rustled softly.

And I listened to them, sitting on the road-sides
On those pleasant September evenings while I felt drops
Of dew on my forehead like vigorous wine;

And while, rhyming among the fantastical shadows,
I plucked like the strings of a lyre the elastics
Of my tattered boots, one foot close to my heart!

Ma Bohème (by Denis Lavant)

This song is dedicated to Joe Luby and all Vietnam veterans.  

Karl Paulsen - pedal steel guitar
Andrew Sharp - upright bass
Paul Stephanides - acoustic guitar and vocals

Paul Stephanides

Joe is Still in Vietnam (demo)

Two years ago today, on Rudi's birthday, we released "Dream of Hebrides", our first collab. We decided to release another version, we had created, at a later date, but where does the time go, Rudi said this morning.... as it is 2 years later, on this anniversary, that we now give you that version.
A big happy birthday Rudi, and thankyou for letting me share your beautiful music, always magic to work with you <3 
Keep safe and well everyone!

Rudi  - Music, Lyrics, Arrangement and Mixing
Lizzie - Vocals and guitar
Cover picture - Lizzie Pentland " The Starry Selkie"
Lyrics
We are all just grains of sand
But together we form the shore
And we are all just tiny sparks
But we fill the sky with stars

And we are all just breath
But it forms the wind that cradles the grass
And we are all just tiny streams
But together we fill the Sea

An we are all just a moment in time
Just a moment in time
But together Eternity
But together Eternity
But together Eternity

Dream Of Hebrides - Anniversary    (Rudi & Lizzie)

Something Memorable is Sean Doran's SoundCloud Name. 

Hi there. Go on.. push a play button and re-post something....while you read....

I've been on Soundcloud since Dec 2011 and it still amazes me how this community has helped me to improve my music and continue to write and play. It's the balance between the making music and the listening to the inspiration that the rest of you create, that makes it work. Thank you for sharing and thank you for listening.

I'm song writer and singer, continuing to learn and play, create and expand my capabilities. I'm very happy to write and record with others here on Soundcloud, I've enjoyed the collaborations that I've been involved with and they are where I learn the most. So, if you want a lyric or a vocal or fancy trying to collaborate on a complete track please let me know. 

My songs tend to be lyrics driven and my lyrics tend to come from ideas hinted at by words or phrases I hear or read. Once I'm writing I tend to start off in one direction and soon find the lyrics choosing their own. No matter how hard I push towards that pop, chirpy track.... I tend to come back something a little slower. Through I've been experimenting more lately. 

I truly believe everyone can write and should give it a go and so I'm happy to work with anyone.

I'm currently recording a combination of N2 pencil mics for acoustic guitar and a Aston Original mike for vocal. I have an M-Audio interface to my Mac and Logic X.

Born in Belfast, N. Ireland, but currently living and working from (Malaysia, India, Netherlands)North Norfolk in the UK.

I hope you'll like some of what you hear and that you'll leave a comment. Even if you don't like it, I'd love to hear why and what would make you listen again. Your comments make me better. 

शुभ कामनाएँ

Sean