Season 341 - L'esprit de l'escalier

This is a song, I started for some season (can't remember which really) and then abandoned because of reasons I really can't remember. I shaped it a little bit more yesterday, and this is what came out, an original called Alien.

I only have to go back a couple of weeks for this one, Del's Season 338, songs of Light.
As you may recall, for half of that week I was away at a festival. I had picked out a few songs to take with me, some of which matched the theme, including this one - "the lights are much brighter there" - printed them out, and away I went. Except I forgot to pack this one. I had the lyrics & chords on my phone, but as that was being used to do the filming, I was going to have to write them all out again - and there's a lot of words. And then I heard "At The Indie Disco" on the radio, and decided to give that a go instead. So, here's the Light song that got away.

"Spirit in the Sky" was one I attempted to do for a long-ago Season - in about 2014 - I don't remember the theme though! Last night it was part of the playalong at the New Jersey UkeFest, the first of which launched me into ukedom 5 years ago (this year's was #6!). I didn't play on it last night though - I was wielding the camera - but I thought it would be fun for you to get a peek at our UkeFest.

It does feature Seasonistas FiL (on stage), Mark / Marco D (who leads the Morristown Uke Jam), Neil / Linear, and Tommy from PA - hopefully you can spot them all somewhere in the crowd - I tried to get everybody in.

We didn't get it together to do a group Seasons entry this year (and really, what would we choose for this theme? - we didn't have a lot of time to figure it out) ... so you get the other Seasonistas (and everybody else) playing a song on my woulda-coulda list.

I first participated in Ylle's Season 272, "Like it was, Charley". Alan did this Statler Brothers song that week I instantly loved, had never heard before, and wanted to do, but then I forgot about it. I'm a sucker for this type of a song. Finally doing it now thanks to Ryan's nifty idea! Thanks Ryan! I asked Alan if he wanted to sing on this, and he kindly provided excellent quartet type vocal backing for me. It sounds great I think, what he did I mean, but you be the judge!

THe story is in the song.

Ryan, this is SUCH a genius idea - thank you so much for giving us all a second chance!

Due to a number of excuses including a lot of travelling and a general lack of organisation, I have very often managed to miss the season deadline for things. This is going to be very cathartic.

Season Regret 1:
298. Rustyy - Walking to New Orleans - songs about New Orleans

I don't know if anyone else has been watching the TV show Preacher or read the graphic novels, but it's one of my favourite shows, (as I may have mentioned since it's the not the first time it has influenced my songwriting. ) The show and main character have very strong links to Louisiana and as a result so does the song I wrote about it. Can't remember why I missed entering it now but it has haunted me for quite a while so glad to get this off my chest lol.



Sparky

I've always liked short songs so I was disappointed that I didn't get the chance to write something for Jon's shorts not trousers season about 5 weeks ago, just way too busy. Anyway, thanks Ryan for giving me the chance to be extremely silly with this one.

Hi, Ryan! And this is another one which was intended for Jon's "Shorts Not Trousers" Season ... I sort of made the vid, but never got round to singing the song. It was intended to celebrate that wonderfully tongue-twisting football score, dreamt up by the late and great Eric Morecambe - East Fife 4 Forfar 5 - which became a reality during the week of Jon's Season. Even though there are no longer any time restrictions, I decided to keep it short as my attempt at a Scottish accent is absolutely APPALLING! (Sorry, Rob!)

Ryan, I know what song Id like to bring. It was one I worked all week on for Del's theme. As much as I worked on it I just couldn't get it there. I will continue to practice it and if it comes along Ill bring it. If it doesn't come together, at least I got another weeks of practicing it in

This theme is kind of a head-scratcher for me, because I use almost every idea I come up with. But here's one. I first picked this out for kolibri's "Three Three Three" season because it was in 3/4, but then I re-read the rules and saw that that was not a qualification for the theme, so the chord sheet has been sitting on my desktop ever since.

Several months ago, I heard a fiddle player do that instrumental part as a separate piece. Apparently, Throckmorton "borrowed" it for this song. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the name of that waltz, so if anyone knows what it is, please let me know.

Also, this is audio only. I just got lazy and didn't feel like syncing up everything this time.

This is one of those songs that the cover is much more famous than the original.

<TCK>I know you asked for brief...not really my strength but I will try as I drop a little true history of the region on y’all.
I really think it started with the now legendary “train songs thread”. It was a funny video post that quickly blew up into many pages of outstanding train songs being posted...and my first foray into posting videos on the underground really. About two weeks into that fun I got a PM. “We are doing this thing called “The Seasons of the Ukulele” and it will be a host that pics a theme, after which we have a week to play songs in that theme...you in?”
HARD NO. At the time I was not good enough or fast enough to even consider a contest atmosphere at such a break-neck pace, and had no intention of making more of a fool out of myself than I was already making. So I passed...though intrigued, and watched.
Season 6 came and went...and well look? Jon is doing a season seven. Huh...that is cool. Back then we had actual judges, like a panel, and point systems, and we really took ourselves rather seriously. Glad that soon changed.
My first foray was season 14 I think, and only as a judge. Jon hosted a Ukulele Ike week and knew I loved Ike almost as much as he does. I stuck around for 15 commenting, and by 16 I had to play a song.
I regret not jumping in on those first seasons because this has been a lot of fun. I think Ralf has played in every one...
Anyway, this is my entry for season one of the ukulele. I played it then and did not post it...might as well at some point. The theme was Grammy award winners- this was best song in 1970. <\TKC>

I found Season 328 - Croaky Keith's "My three most favouite tunes" to be incredibly challenging. How do I pick a "favorite tune? And, in retrospect, how did I miss this Paul McCartney classic?

Season 341. Submission 1. "People Used To" (Written by Donovan Leitch and recorded by him on Donovan's Open Road album.


I love this theme, Ryan, and immediately had songs I hadn't gotten to come to mind. Here is the song I didn't get to in Geoff's Season 331: It's Folk Jim but not as we know it. This has been a favorite song of mine for ages and I'm glad to bring it first this week.

Thank you for hosting and your great theme!

ryan, please let me know your new address so i can send you a letter from my mum, saying i have a good reason to be allowed to bring songs for season 332 (alphabet week) seriously... my first thought for this week, was to bring songs for 3 letters i skipped/ducked/tacked on to other letter's songs, as the season approached its end, and i was running out of time! at the start of the week, i'd thought i might get as far as G??? but by the second sunday i was tantalisingly close to Z!!!!!!! but i didn't quite have time, and so i totally cheated, and did one song called "VW", and an instrumental called "X,Y and ZEE", covering the last 5 letters, in two vids. although i looked through the list of past season themes, my mind kept coming back to the 3 letters i didn't do properly for alphabet week, so i'm gonna give them a go this week. every song/instrumental that i did for alphabet week was a homemade-y, so i wanna try to bring homemade things for W, Y and Z this week... my mind is boggling at the thought of Z, but W and Y seem more do-able... here's W...

"Wishes"

Great t-shirt, Lynda!

DelGriff said:

Great t-shirt, Lynda!

Click to expand...

thank you!!!! it's lovely! i especially like that it's not too heavy, for what's left of the summer. it's nice and LIGHT *groan!*

I forget why exactly (probably away without a uke), but I missed Pa’s Season 329, Nothing Major. pretty sure this is in a minor key. Regardless, I’ve been working on it off and on since then. From Wilco’s 1999 album Summerteeth.



I already liked Wilco at this point, but this is the album where I fell in love (which is why I play them so often).

UkeCan1 said:

It does feature Seasonistas FiL (on stage), Mark / Marco D (who leads the Morristown Uke Jam), Neil / Linear, and Tommy from PA - hopefully you can spot them all somewhere in the crowd - I tried to get everybody in.

Click to expand...

I was keeping my eyes peeled for Tommy but I did not spot him... has he shaved his beard off?
Great to know he is still kicking around. Could you say when he shows up in the video since I would
like to have a closer look.

I tried hard to work this song up for TCK's Season 273 "Going to the dogs", and by try hard I mean I tried to get a take on two different days, dozens of takes in total, and it was a failure. Just couldn't get anything usable, and man is that frustrating, especially on a song like this that might not seem difficult on the surface, but it sure was for me. So this was finally my chance to try again, and I had a goal of totally reversing things this time and getting it in 1 take, and this is my first recorded take. Not perfect, but somewhat usable at least, so I hit my goal, and got thru this song! Whew. Marvin Gaye took this to the top of the charts in the mid 60's, and Smokey Robinson was one of the co-writers of it. I, being a weirdo of course, know it more from the country version Penny DeHaven did in the early 70's. This is sorta a hybrid arrangement I came up with.

Well yesterday was fantastic. We had 4 originals, some fantastic covers and some great stories. And hopefully catharsis.

Here's one that got me twice. I fell foul of the song limit in Robin's death season which was really annoying as I'd been building this one up and then wasted my third song on a throwaway video. Put it on the Island but it didn't get many views.

Then Wim brought it late in Del's light week and I couldn't believe I didn't of it. So here it is. Bedhead and all.