After posting the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Boots Made of Spanish Leather", I thought "What type of letter would I write if I were to make a song of it?" So here's what I came up with.
Not the Same
Dear son, how are you today?
Your Mom and I are fine.
The last letter you wrote,
your mom has read a dozen times.
CathyAnne dropped by to say hello
Your mom and she talked a while
She got around to asking of you
And managed to hide a tear with a smile
She comes by here often
Brings me a pie that she's baked
I know you meant no harm, my son
But you left a hole in her life
Chorus:
She badly misses you, my son
And although she hasn't said it
It seemed after you left
She hasn't been the same
Ol' Dakota was havin' trouble
These last several weeks
It got to where he couldn't get up
Son, I'm sorry, but he died in his sleep.
He stayed by the door
And still slept by your bed
And only got up
When he thought he heard you
Chorus:
He badly missed you, my son
And although he couldn't say it
But it seemed after you left
He was never quite the same
Your Mom is out shoppin' now
She's writing you another letter
So I thought I'd slip in a page
To let you know I miss you too.
And I thoughtfully wrote it poorly enough where y'all could make lots of suggestions for improvement. :)
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
I'm thinking Country - missing son, tearful mom, sad ex-GF (she should be pregnant, surely!) and dead dog......
This is the kind of song that keeps you guessing - where's the son? Not dead, he's writing letters - or was the last letter the final letter? Why did he leave? Where is he?.....Seems to work, though, but I'll have to wait for the official video to make things clear.....
One little point -
"She badly misses you, my son
And although she didn't say it
It seemed after you left
She hasn't been the same"
Cathyanne's still coming round - in the present tense - so the second line, I feel, should be present tense, not past - something like "Although she won't admit it" or "Although she hasn't said it."
I'm guessing -
And I thoughtfully wrote it poorly enough where y'all could make lots of suggestions for improvement.
- that this isn't the finished article yet......
:D :D :D
Vic
EDIT - just noticed - Week 35????? Do you know something the rest of us don't? Can I borrow your time machine for a quick trip to Saturday night and back, to get the lottery numbers?
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
I put week ? in my title because I didn't know what week this belonged.
I'm guessing DH changed it.
I'm thinking Country - missing son, tearful mom, sad ex-GF (she should be pregnant, surely!) and dead dog......
Yes, a country song with steel guitar (like in that vid) was what I had in mind.
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
Hey KR :D
Great song.
I found no improvements to make.
I'm sure that when you put it to music that you'll end up streamlining the lyrics a bit here and there.
Letter format.... great device.
Kerouac wrote On the Road as a letter to a friend.
It can be formal (as your song is), or more informal like a detailed story telling (such as On the Road).
Good choice.
I can see it as a country song.... The last verse resonates with the same feeling as that country song
where the dad writes that letter to his son over in Iraq.
I can also see it as a folk or folk/rock song, like Chapin's 'Cat's in the Cradle'.
When I got to the "Ol' Dakota" line, I immediately pictured an early Springsteen-like character....
I must admit, I was a bit dissapointed to find that is was only the dog! :wink:
Aside from that small upset.... I thought it was a wonderful song!
Thankx,
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Hey KR :D
Great song.
I found no improvements to make.
Ken
Thank you, Ken.
Oh dear. Now what am I supposed to do?
I think I'll start picking out a melody for it.
I just starting guitaring 9 months ago so I'm limited on what I can do
but I can put a melody to it . . . I think.
Thanks again.
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
A classic country song to my inner ear, well done KR.
I'm looking forward to the mp3
cheers
Paul
I think I'll be an echo today :wink:
Really, a good song, Ken!
I was a bit dissapointed to find that is was only the dog!
Don't be patronising, dogs can write (great) books, too! (see "Timbuktu") :lol:
I thought "Dakota" is a beautiful name for a dog. Cleverly written verses, too.
It got to where he couldn't get up
I'm sorry, son, but he died in his sleep. nice! :)
Not that I would've noticed on my own, but I'm with Vic on the tense thing :wink:
Otherwise, at lyrics+I´m looking forward to the music.
cheers,
straycat.
"oh, eventually it will break your heart" - anders wendin
OK, if I'm going to do this, I need to know how.
So, Vic, maybe this question is for you.
If I download Audacity and record into my laptop, I use the headphone output on the amp to go into the microphone input on the laptop, yes?
And I would need to split the input so I could still use my headphones so I can hear what is going into the computer.
I'm assuming I can get a splitter at the guitar store . . .
they'll know what I'm talking about if I tell them what I'm trying to do? Yes?
I read somewhere recently someone asking about audacity. I can configure it for line input which I believe was the problem he was having.
Anything else?
IOW, help!
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
OK, if I'm going to do this, I need to know how.
So, Vic, maybe this question is for you.
If I download Audacity and record into my laptop, I use the headphone output on the amp to go into the microphone input on the laptop, yes?
And I would need to split the input so I could still use my headphones so I can hear what is going into the computer.
I'm assuming I can get a splitter at the guitar store . . .
they'll know what I'm talking about if I tell them what I'm trying to do? Yes?
I read somewhere recently someone asking about audacity. I can configure it for line input which I believe was the problem he was having.
Anything else?
IOW, help!
Hey Ken.
I don't know if I would run the cable from the phone out on the amp to the mic in on the pc....
I asked Smokindog about doing that a while back; He said not to try it.
So, of course I had to try it somehow.... and ran the phone out on the amp to the input on my JVC tapedeck....
worked well; If you like static and buzzing!
Tried it the other way - phone out from my stereo reciever/amp (that powers my JVC deck) to the input on the guitar amp.... same difference.
So, I'm guessing Ken (Smokindog) was right.
And since pc hardware is a bit touchier.... :|
I did try what John (Celt) suggested.... just running the cable from the guitar jack thru a pedal, and then into the soundcard/mic input on the pc.
Worked great!
Or if you have an electric guitar/amp.... you can run a mic to the pc.
Or just mic an acoustic.
Ken
ps.... some pc's/keyboards have built in mics with phantom power and such; if you have that, it may work fine for a demo.
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Ah - all becomes clear - psychic powers indeed!
Ken (Rogers2, that is....) when I record I do everything through a PC mic - if I'm playing electric, I simply place the mic in front of the amp. The way I record a song now is:
1 - record acoustic guitar and vocals - call this track A. Don't worry about quality, it's just a rough guide.
2 - play back track A through headphones, while recording new guitar track. Let's call this track B.
3 - play back tracks A and B through headphones, whilst recording track C - new vocal track.
4 - ditch track A. What I've got now - hopefully! - is track B, guitar and track C, vocals. Any other tracks can now be added.
And a tip for recording vocals, which Smokehouse gave me a couple of years ago and I've found very useful:
Get an old pair of tights, or stockings. If you don't have any, ask the wife/GF/mother....get a wire coat hanger, twist it into a diamond shape with the hook at the bottom. Wrap the tights - stretched thinly - around the frame. Place this filter between mouth and mic. It'll cut out 90% of plosives and percussive popping (try saying "plosives and percussive popping" into a mic without the filter!) and a lot of sibilant esses. (Who wath the thadithtic bathtard who dethided "lithp" thould be thpelt with an "eth?")
Good luck, Oh Psychic One! Now about those lottery numbers for next week......
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Ah - all becomes clear - psychic powers indeed!
Ken (Rogers2, that is....) when I record I do everything through a PC mic - if I'm playing electric, I simply place the mic in front of the amp.
Come on guys, give me a break.
I uploaded my post with the title "SSG Week ?". I didn't know what week my lyrics fit.
Thanks for the info, Vic.
You won't hear me singing though.
I'm just going to record the melody (what would be sung) by picking the strings - no chords or strumming.
Just concentrate on the basics which will be challenging enough for me and because I wouldn't know what chords to play with the melody (yet).
Some day I'll get that far. I've got the first two stanzas done so far.
I still like the idea of recording directly out of amp headphone to computer microphone input though.
Does anyone know how that is done?
I'm assuming Audacity software will allow me to cut and splice so I can record maybe one stanza at a time?
I still haven't downloaded it yet. I guess I better do that to see what it looks like.
Thanks for any help with this.
KR2
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
A friend sent me this with lyrics:
"I was surfin' the net and came across this former #1 country song by Jessi Colter. I had no idea that she was married to Duane Eddy and then Waylon Jennings."
I'm not Lisa, my name is Julie
Lisa left you years ago
My eyes are not blue
But mine won't leave you
'Til the sunlight shines throughout your face
She was your morning light
Her smile told of no night
Your love for her grew
With each rising sun
And then one winter day
His hand took her away
She left you here drowning in your tears, here
Where you've stayed for years
Crying Lisa, Lisa
I'm not Lisa, my name is Julie
Lisa left you years ago
My eyes are not blue
But mine won't leave you
'Til the sunlight shines through your face
I'm not Lisa
Since visiting Texas a few times, country music songs have slowly started creeping into my iPod list.
The steel guitar, to me, has an amazing sound.
Just thought I'd share my friend's good taste with y'all (and didn't want to start a new thread - we have enough of them being generated)
KR2
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
