Listen

Here is today’s song post:
Listen

I had trouble loading it yesterday, but I posted a little information about the song, including a brief explanation of what inspired it on my last post labeled “Vacation.” I thought I’d also post the lyrics here, but you can also find them and the lyrics to all songs posted here on the tab above labeled “The Songs.”

Here it is…hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a great New Year’s!

Listen

Crash, bum, bang, drum
Fe, fi, fo, fum
I smell the red coming down from the skies
Red from the small, and red from them all, and the red rain it falls
And it stings my eyes

And it’s on our heads
And it’s in our beds
Covering the ground
Can you hear the sound

Listen, listen, listen, listen to the sound of the storm//

Who said red rain
Wouldn’t leave stains
Who said that their pain wouldn’t seep in our soil
Lie to us then, now
Lie once again how
The lies can not plow through a rain thick as oil

And it’s on our heads
And it’s in our beds
Covering the ground
Can you hear the sound

Listen, listen, listen, listen to the sound of the storm//

Vacation

Hello! Well, I know today is Wednesday and that usually means it’s time to post a new original song, but due to technical difficulties it looks like I’ll be posting the new song tomorrow. Let me give you a little teaser, though.

The name of the song is “Listen.” And it was partly inspired by a recent rainy night in Mississippi. I am on vacation right now, visiting family here in the South. Two nights ago it was raining…or should I say “rainin’,” because the rain here in MS is nothing like the rain back in Cali. Skies could be blue all day, then…BANG! You find yourself in a torrential downpour. And the rain falls so hard and so fast, yet leaves just as quickly. Even the feel and sound of the rain is different here–a big, thunderous roar that shakes the frame of your house. That is the sound that got me thinking about the content of this song. It is about a storm that’s been going on for a long time in a place that is a world away from Mississippi, yet it has reached over across the ocean and has touched every one of us, here, in the USA.

As for the music… I used some more new instruments. I’ve been listening to some music from Afghanistan recently and came across the Rubab (or sometimes, Rabab). It is similar to a guitar in that it is a stringed instrument and is plucked. Another new instrument is the African Rain Caxixi and the African udu drum. I think the two ended up working well together in this song to add to the feeling of the building of a storm.

Well…hopefully tomorrow there will be no more issues with posting the song…make sure you come back and visit tomorrow so you can hear it! Have a great night all!

Merry Christmas!

It’s Christmas!….well, Christmas Eve anyway and in my family that’s when we celebrate.  Instead of an original song, today I thought I’d share a Christmas classic.  There is a special featured artist on it….an up and coming rising star :)…..Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Little Star

I remember when I was younger, I would go out in front of our house at night and stare up at the night sky for a looong time.  It never got old to me how beautiful they were….it still hasn’t.  This song — Little Star — was written as sort of a lullaby for a little star that came into my life  four years ago.  He reminds me of the star, Polaris, that I saw on those nights as a kid that was a comforting constant.

Back to the Grind

A few things brought about today’s song post.  First, as mentioned in the last post, I am really into these African drums right now.  Second, the song “The Dog Days are Over” by Florence + The Machine features the same kind of percussion and I was really inspired by her hypnotic voice and the feast of interesting images in the video.  Lastly, I noticed many comments on social networking sites these last couple of days about the “countdown” to vacation and it made me think of what everyone is going to say when they have to “go back” when vacation is over.  It just seems like down time offers people the greatest possibility for catching glimpses of beautiful visions for their life and for humanity.  But, the visions slip away when the time comes to go ….Back to the Grind.

Dear Faythe,

I don’t want to give any anecdotal notes on this one.  I will simply say it is a letter to an old friend.  Also, I wanted to share that I have recently fallen in love with the kind of percussion you’ll hear in this song–Dear Faythe.  So much so, that you will most likely be hearing them again very soon.  I think they add drama and everyone needs a little drama now and then:).

One More Sunrise

I have lost two friends to suicide and have known several others who have attempted suicide.  You never see it coming….or maybe, you just were too busy and missed it.  I always think…man, how lonely must they have felt, how hopeless, for them to think that death was better than life.  And then, of course, the thought comes…”if they felt so lonely, how good of a friend was I to them?”  They were so young, so full of life.  I sometimes wonder..what if they would have waited for just one more day….one more sunrise?  Would they have found the answers they were looking for?  Would they have seen a way out of where they were?  I wonder.  Life can be messy….it can be lonely, at times….but, if you wait it out…just hold on….then maybe the skies will clear and the heaviness will be lifted.  This song is dedicated to the memory of two young people who never got to see what a new day would bring. It is called…Life is But a Dream.

Over

You can know someone loves you, that they would do anything for you, and vice versa–but when there is a misunderstanding ….a hairline fracture….it can sometimes FEEL like a small break is an enormous chasm between you and the one you love.  This song…Over…is my attempt at expressing that feeling.

Roller Coaster

Ever feel like your life is getting away from you….like someone else is driving you and making your decisions? This song…Roller Coaster is about someone in that position and realizing that no one put them into that position–he/she, alone, is responsible and he/she, alone, is the one who can regain control of his/her life.

Side note:  I don’t really like roller coasters…it has to be a really, smooth, not too crazy one for me to actually enjoy it.  But, I have much respect for those true thrill seekers out there.  If it weren’t for them, I probably would have never been dragged onto my first roller coaster!  Have a great weekend everyone!