ElenaDuff
Well-known member
Great Theme! Argh I have so much catching up to do. Need to devote a day to seasons vids!!! I'll get writing something for this, any excuse and its lovely to be provided with a theme from the offset 
Season 250 Private but Universal
- Thread starter Barbablanca
- Start date
AlanDP
Well-known member
Thanks for the tip!
OP
OP
I thought I'd take a back seat this week, but the muse had other ideas. I wrote this song yesterday under compulsion.... I was not to be allowed to sleep until I got it down on paper!
It draws on an incident from my youth when I must admit I was not the besotted faithful lover I am these days. Among the things I am not proud of having done back then is the fact that I kept a tally on the number of girlfriends that I had been intimate with (often forgetting their names and only remembering "Oh, she was number 19!" etc.)
I was also not averse to having meaningless flings while apparently holding down a long term relationship. One day this behaviour came back and bit me on the bum when by sheer chance me and my then current lass met two of my ex-lovers (who did not know each other) on a train and the mad idea came up that we should get together for dinner. This song tells what happened next. (Though maybe there should be a final verse to detail what happened after the last line )
Lyrics and Chords in the YouTube description.
PS The Ukulele I am playing is the one I want to offer as a prize this week to the best original song that fits the theme.
It draws on an incident from my youth when I must admit I was not the besotted faithful lover I am these days. Among the things I am not proud of having done back then is the fact that I kept a tally on the number of girlfriends that I had been intimate with (often forgetting their names and only remembering "Oh, she was number 19!" etc.)
I was also not averse to having meaningless flings while apparently holding down a long term relationship. One day this behaviour came back and bit me on the bum when by sheer chance me and my then current lass met two of my ex-lovers (who did not know each other) on a train and the mad idea came up that we should get together for dinner. This song tells what happened next. (Though maybe there should be a final verse to detail what happened after the last line
)Lyrics and Chords in the YouTube description.
PS The Ukulele I am playing is the one I want to offer as a prize this week to the best original song that fits the theme.
Auni
Well-known member
I35
I wrote this one in June on a road trip with the family. Drove one highway, Interstate 35, all the way north from Texas to Duluth Minnesota (home)! Had to take it to the uke from guitar, which I originally wrote it on, think it came out alright! This is probably one of my favorite songs I've written. Lyrics are posted in the comments on youtube page.
I wrote this one in June on a road trip with the family. Drove one highway, Interstate 35, all the way north from Texas to Duluth Minnesota (home)! Had to take it to the uke from guitar, which I originally wrote it on, think it came out alright! This is probably one of my favorite songs I've written. Lyrics are posted in the comments on youtube page.
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AlanDP
Well-known member
Looking for something when I found something else
Inside an old book gathering dust on the shelf
Flipped through the pages, looking for what I didn't know
Came across an old memory I'd left there long ago
Lost in a rush of wonder and returning memories
Hit by surprise so hard I forgot to breathe
Just a slip of paper that should've been thrown away
But your face filled up my mind like I'd seen you yesterday
Keepsakes and memories
What-if-I'ds and what-might-bes
Footprints crossing through the drifting sand
They say life is a mystery
But we write it down as history
And pretend that all along we've had a plan
Call it God, or random chance, or call it destiny
Maybe destiny is sometimes destined not to be
If I hadn't known you, would I have ever known someone else?
Would you have ever seen me if I hadn't insisted on standing by myself?
Keepsakes and memories
What-if-I'ds and what-might-bes
Footprings fading in the drifting sand
They say life is a mystery
But we dare to call it history
And pretend that all along we've had a plan
Looking for something when I found something else...
bonesigh
Well-known member
Hey, this is nice info. Wish I'd have seen this before I spent forever figuring out all the chords for "New Siberia" I deleted my posted cover of this song because I just was not happy with it. I'll post another soon.
I deleted my posted cover of this song because I just was not happy with it. I'll post another soon.
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SOTU 250: Private But Universal - Listen To The Night by Dennis Danner
I wrote the first draft of this song in September of this year. It was in 6/8 time then, and I wrote it to be a personal description of many a night-time walk that Evelyn and I had made over the years. The lyrics were obviously written from a husband's POV with declarations to his wife.
As I worked on it more in October, I decided I preferred it in 4/4 time, and I tried to edit the lyrics to make it more universal with a non gender specific POV which required the deletion of one of the more personal lines which included, "your my best friend, my lover, my wife." Hated to cut it, but it also didn't fit the rhyme scheme for the rest of the song.
In the latter part of November I shared the song for critique at our monthly Southwest Virginia Songwriters Association and got some excellent analysis and suggestions. What was once the chorus has become a verse. What was once a verse is now the chorus. And, I've added a new verse to provide more imagery relevant to "listening" to the night.
I feel that what started out as a personal conversation between a husband and wife is now a universal statement regarding the sharing of love and memories within the context of a shared listening to the sounds of the night. It is now a song that many more can relate to and sing the lyrics from a personal point of view (POV).
With many thanks to Evelyn, MaryLou and David for helping me perform this one, I hope you enjoy:
The lyrics and chords are listed in the YouTube description and in the coded box below:
I wrote the first draft of this song in September of this year. It was in 6/8 time then, and I wrote it to be a personal description of many a night-time walk that Evelyn and I had made over the years. The lyrics were obviously written from a husband's POV with declarations to his wife.
As I worked on it more in October, I decided I preferred it in 4/4 time, and I tried to edit the lyrics to make it more universal with a non gender specific POV which required the deletion of one of the more personal lines which included, "your my best friend, my lover, my wife." Hated to cut it, but it also didn't fit the rhyme scheme for the rest of the song.
In the latter part of November I shared the song for critique at our monthly Southwest Virginia Songwriters Association and got some excellent analysis and suggestions. What was once the chorus has become a verse. What was once a verse is now the chorus. And, I've added a new verse to provide more imagery relevant to "listening" to the night.
I feel that what started out as a personal conversation between a husband and wife is now a universal statement regarding the sharing of love and memories within the context of a shared listening to the sounds of the night. It is now a song that many more can relate to and sing the lyrics from a personal point of view (POV).
With many thanks to Evelyn, MaryLou and David for helping me perform this one, I hope you enjoy:
The lyrics and chords are listed in the YouTube description and in the coded box below:
LimousinLil
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Um, well, believe it or not, this is actually based on a real incident that caused me an enormous amount of hurt. However, I have discovered that I don't DO gravitas ... so, I present perhaps the first ever country song written about the Dewey Decimal System.
Auni
Well-known member
I wrote this song in the spring. I got married the first time around when I was 19. He ended up being a very abusive husband, and I ended up isolated, and pregnant. This song is about how the birth of my son gave me joy again, and how my new, and now husband of 15 years, gave me back my heart...
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Auni
Well-known member
And my last entry. This one I wrote this past weekend. I must be feeling nostalgic because this is the second song I've recently written about getting older and memories! Any who, I call this one "Then we grew...". About youth... Interesting to note that while I was writing this I realized part of the reason I love the uke so much is because it brings back so much of the fun and freedom I felt as a child...
Tootler
Well-known member
All of our children were born prematurely. The first one, a boy, was unfortunately not viable and he only lived two hours. We subsequently had two girls but every now and again, over the years, I would have a brief welling up of grief for the one we lost. This song is about that and that although things worked out well overall, you still have those moments of grief.
I took the opportunity to give my new baritone ukulele an outing.
Lyrics & Chords (also in the YT description)
The Shadow
Geoff Walker
One [G]Sunday af[D]ternoon at [G]home
It's a [C]day off, [G]no need to [D]work
He [C]watches a [D]girl struggle round the room
Helping [G]his daugh[C]ter learn[D7]ing to [G]walk.
He [Em]sees a [D]shadow behind her [Em]head
The ghost of a [D]brother she never [Em]had.
Nows there's another little girl
Who giggles and tugs her Daddy's beard
She snuggles in as he picks her up
And gently carries her up bed.
He sees a shadow behind her head
The ghost of a brother she never had.
Time passes, two girls at school
And then into young women they've grown
Until one day there comes a phone call
The Elder has a girl of her own
He sees a shadow behind her head
The ghost of an uncle she never had.
It happened one day so long ago
A boy was born very premature
So early he could barely breathe
And he only lived for just one hour
He is the shadow behind their head
The ghost of the brother they never had.
I took the opportunity to give my new baritone ukulele an outing.
Lyrics & Chords (also in the YT description)
The Shadow
Geoff Walker
One [G]Sunday af[D]ternoon at [G]home
It's a [C]day off, [G]no need to [D]work
He [C]watches a [D]girl struggle round the room
Helping [G]his daugh[C]ter learn[D7]ing to [G]walk.
He [Em]sees a [D]shadow behind her [Em]head
The ghost of a [D]brother she never [Em]had.
Nows there's another little girl
Who giggles and tugs her Daddy's beard
She snuggles in as he picks her up
And gently carries her up bed.
He sees a shadow behind her head
The ghost of a brother she never had.
Time passes, two girls at school
And then into young women they've grown
Until one day there comes a phone call
The Elder has a girl of her own
He sees a shadow behind her head
The ghost of an uncle she never had.
It happened one day so long ago
A boy was born very premature
So early he could barely breathe
And he only lived for just one hour
He is the shadow behind their head
The ghost of the brother they never had.
wee_ginga_yin
Well-known member
Love for three oranges
What hurts the most is being misunderstood.
When someone takes what you hold sacred
and makes a profanity out of it.
A Bukowski poem I set to music... is that considered original... you tell me.
It is a soft and gentle song... done some time ago.
What hurts the most is being misunderstood.
When someone takes what you hold sacred
and makes a profanity out of it.
A Bukowski poem I set to music... is that considered original... you tell me.
It is a soft and gentle song... done some time ago.
turtledrum
Well-known member
Season 250. Submission 2. "Found A Dream" (An Original) (Words and music Copyright Linda Opyr, 2016).
lelouden
Well-known member
Here is a great song IMO by Antje about her landlady that would walk in at any time unannounced. She was married to a quiet man that Antje figured gave up long ago. She felt it her duty to write a song about them.
Berni, I decided to stop all that I was doing this morning and get what is really important done ;-)
Berni, I decided to stop all that I was doing this morning and get what is really important done ;-)
pabrizzer
Well-known member
Well I've written several songs this week. Hopefully this will pass muster as my third official submission.
lelouden
Well-known member
I find writing a song to be a great challenge. I am not like those of you that has them spilling out of me. TurtleDrum did her best to encourage me this week. My reply was that I simply do not have time to even try and force my brain into such a task, explaining that its just not my thing.
She then reminded me of a small poem that I sent her in response to finishing one of her beautiful books of poetry. We have some real talent here within the seasons and there are several published authors. I envy them all. It is quite a gift to be able to express oneself so easily.
I dug through my emails and found that poem and used it for my assignment this week. Berni personally inviting me to take on the challenge made it all the more difficult to do nothing. Here it is Berni.
She then reminded me of a small poem that I sent her in response to finishing one of her beautiful books of poetry. We have some real talent here within the seasons and there are several published authors. I envy them all. It is quite a gift to be able to express oneself so easily.
I dug through my emails and found that poem and used it for my assignment this week. Berni personally inviting me to take on the challenge made it all the more difficult to do nothing. Here it is Berni.
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thank you for this week Berni.
where the ground is level
where the road does not divide
where we are in rhythmic step
where the future cannot hide
where the past won't drip and stain
where you make my coffee better than I do
where I rub your shoulders and you sigh
where we are
where we love with our hearts open
where we speak with our eyes closed
where I smile and gaze at you sleeping
where you kiss my eyelids awake
where we begin a new day
where we are naked and blameless
where we forget what caused our scars
where we are
where the ground is level
where the road does not divide
where we are in rhythmic step
where the future cannot hide
where the past won't drip and stain
where you make my coffee better than I do
where I rub your shoulders and you sigh
where we are
where we love with our hearts open
where we speak with our eyes closed
where I smile and gaze at you sleeping
where you kiss my eyelids awake
where we begin a new day
where we are naked and blameless
where we forget what caused our scars
where we are
UkeFoote
Well-known member
For Season 250 of the Ukulele, we're asked to play an original that is both personal and universal in its outlook. This is a tune I wrote on guitar. It was a real challenge to adapt it to ukulele (I had to use a slack key tuning on the uke to get close to the original harmonies). You can hear the open tuning on the last chord.
This is "Anybody Else", played on tenor ukulele with singing. Overdubs were made of Ubass, secondary vocal, and synth.
All day long I sing a nervous song
that's all so wrong and deluded.
Holding on to my confusion
I'm so far gone I've lost the key
Anybody else got this problem? Anybody else sing this song?
Anybody else?
All life long I've heard a voice that's called
that's all just noise and steam.
I never know what's really going on,
I only notice the shadows.
Anybody else got this problem? Anybody else write these words?
Anybody else?
All night long, I walk an empty hall,
my mind a flame of fear.
The tell tale signs of misery are on
and all hope gone I watch the silence.
This is "Anybody Else", played on tenor ukulele with singing. Overdubs were made of Ubass, secondary vocal, and synth.
All day long I sing a nervous song
that's all so wrong and deluded.
Holding on to my confusion
I'm so far gone I've lost the key
Anybody else got this problem? Anybody else sing this song?
Anybody else?
All life long I've heard a voice that's called
that's all just noise and steam.
I never know what's really going on,
I only notice the shadows.
Anybody else got this problem? Anybody else write these words?
Anybody else?
All night long, I walk an empty hall,
my mind a flame of fear.
The tell tale signs of misery are on
and all hope gone I watch the silence.
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