Dunkirk Despatch Rider - Original Song

As Dunkirk is topical, with the film coming out recently, here is my song "Dunkirk Despatch Rider".



I have written up the story behind the song and the instrument (Baritone scale steel-strung wooden resonator) here:

https://ukulele-allsorts.com/2017/0...-original-song-on-baritone-resonator-ukulele/

I have been working on playing this song with less "thrashing"!

Liz,

This is quite a lovely and such a meaningful song, and delivered with such true feeling and connection to the story of the lyrics.

After reading the story on your web site, I would also like to compliment you on such a fluid, and expressive writing style. I found it very easy to read, and was very touched by your story of your father, as well as your account of the collaboration process with Kevin.

If that were not enough, the sound of this instrument is also wonderful and you play it so well.

I am very inspired by your work here, as it seems a true labor of love for you.

Thanks ever so much for sharing. :music:

Thank you so much for your kind words, Booli! I am very glad that you enjoyed the song, the sound of this instrument and even the story on my blog!

The instrument is, of course, the mighty "Argentinian Bandersnatch Squillum" (!) that you first heard about in the thread about Long Necked Baritones

When I posted the video here I decided not to write the usual, "I hope you enjoy it" because sometimes it affects people, making them sad or churning up their feelings. The tragedies of "boat people" lost at sea or abandoned by "people traffickers" were much in the news when I first performed it at a ukulele session. Two people cried and told me afterwards that it was because they related the song to the plight of those refugees fleeing from war. So I am never quite sure how it will be received.

In Kevin's mind's ear it is still a "heavy rock" song on electric guitar! He would have to play the guitar, or course. I have been playing bass guitar for about a year and we have just started working out the bass line for this this song. What is brilliant is that we can use the bass guitar to reintroduce the lurking background impression of those "motor bike sound effects" that I mentioned on the blog - the ones that I discovered when I was playing around with the Tenor Banjo.

The guitar version will be in G rather than Ab so I will have to re-record this song in G, in order to use it to practice the bass line at home. Then I will add the bass line to the new recording. Such fun!!! So exciting!!! A labour of love is no labour at all

MolegripVonMousetrouser said:

...The instrument is, of course, the mighty "Argentinian Bandersnatch Squillum" (!) that you first heard about in the thread about Long Necked Baritones...

Click to expand...

Yep. It's a done deal now and I'm a goner for that Squillum - gonna add that near the top of my wishlist and when I'm ready I will ask you for Kevin's contact info so I can see if he would be so kind as to make one for me too...

That time will be off in the future though, but you should tell Kevin that some folks in the USA are really digging the sound of his creation via your videos.

Booli said:

Yep. It's a done deal now and I'm a goner for that Squillum - gonna add that near the top of my wishlist and when I'm ready I will ask you for Kevin's contact info so I can see if he would be so kind as to make one for me too...

That time will be off in the future though, but you should tell Kevin that some folks in the USA are really digging the sound of his creation via your videos.

Click to expand...

I will certainly tell him, Booli! He is very modest about his creations. When it was finished he actually said, "If you don't like it, don't feel that you have to have it." I am afraid that I said that I would have to kill him if he let anyone else have it!