Season 367 - A Simple Gift

this one is for leigh - she is the wonderful person who so kindly made this uke (and a shed load of other ukes and cbg's!) for me

as a rule, she is much more keen to make a uke for me, than to listen to me play it............... what's THAT all about? :uhoh: but you never know, she might take her ukulele ear plugs out just long enough to listen to this one, it is one of her most fave songs ever

"dirt" by the stooges

 
Linda, you asked for some Keb Mo songs, and I am happy to be able to share one with you! A friend introduced me to this song, and although I had played it a bit with him, he sang it for the most part. So this is my first time singing it, and I really like the tune!

 
This one is for our glorious host - Linda!

Having hosted a couple of seasons myself now I must admit that, however much I enjoy all of your submissions, I sometimes find it a challenge to come up with original and relevant comments for each and every song. Linda is a fantastic host and is able to comment with such constructive insight and depth and individuality on every single song every single time. I’m sure you’ll all agree as participants that it’s hugely rewarding to know that every one of your songs has been heard and appreciated so fully by the host.

I chose this song because a few seasons back I did another song by Depeche Mode and Linda remarked that she’d like to hear more of their stuff. This was one of their earlier hits when Vince Clarke was their main songwriter and their music was distinctly more ‘poppy’ than it became after his departure.

 
Season 367. Submission 2. "Falling In Love Again" Words by Sammy Lerner and music by Frederick Hollander (1930).


This one is dedicated to all those people whose love of music got its start in the films and albums that their grandparents and parents had.
And anyone out there who remembers and still swoons over the Marlene Dietrich performance in "The Blue Angel."

Tenor uke tuned down 2 steps here.


 
Good night, Seasonistas, from a Long Island that will dip down to 17F degrees tonight, with perhaps some snow on the way tomorrow.
But I am oh, so warm here, having had another fantastic evening of listening. Day 3 has been outstanding, with each entry a passionate and thoughtful reflection on the theme and the Seasonista performing.

Oh, I've been thinking. Know who I don't recall seeing much of the Seasons lately? Crowded House, Patti Smith, Talking Heads
and yes ...... REO Speedwagon. Did I mention Leadbelly? Michael Martin Murphy? I meant to. Jes' sayin.

So, as I leave you for the evening, I offer one of my favorite Doors songs ever. Thank you for everything! Linda :)


 
I guess this is a gift, of sorts. It's a tribute inspired by a photo. I follow a Facebook page called Traces of Texas. The man who created the page just uses it to share historical photos of people, places, and things in Texas. This was a photo of a small tombstone out in the prairie near the community of Kleburg, which is southeast of Dallas.

Instruments used: tenor ukulele, tenor banjolele, melodica, claves, and various reverb settings in Audacity.



We found her a-lying on the wide empty plain,
We knew not her story, we knew not her name.
'Twas the year 1900, out by Kleburg-town,
With the prairie wind moaning and the sun going down.

Did she wander from home, all alone and forlorn?
Did she have a family somewhere to mourn?
How did she come here? There was no way to tell;
Did she lie down to rest, or did she walk 'til she fell?

Did she leave any friends as she wandered the earth?
We knew not, nor knew we the day of her birth;
Did she cry in her sorrow, or peacefully die
Out on the lone prairie, 'neath the wide Texas sky?

Where did you come from in this lonely world?
Where were you going, little Pioneer Girl?

She had a small Bible and the clothes that she wore,
But the clothes and the Bible couldn't tell us no more;
There was just a short message written on the front-page:
"To our precious daughter, on her fifth birthday."

So we dug her a grave and gently lowered her down,
And we left a plain marker on her tiny mound,
But it seemed not enough, we agreed with alack,
With a proper-made stone, we would be coming back.

Where did you come from, in this lonely world?
Where were you going, little Pioneer Girl?

The moon was a-rising and the sun going down,
We'd still miles to go, and we headed t'ward town,
But we could not forget the little forsaken lass;
We swore we'd return ere much time had passed.

No we did not forget her, nor where she'd been found,
We put a proper-made stone atop her place in the ground:
"In the years that's gone past, her name it was lost;
We buried her at nightfall, she lies beneath this cross."

Where did you come from, in this lonely world?
Where were you going, little Pioneer Girl?
"In the years that's gone past, her name it was lost;
We buried her at nightfall, she lies beneath this cross."
 
what a beautiful week this is, Linda.
thank you.
this, a gift for my wife.
 
We first played "Ukulele Lady" on a trip with our friend Kirk (who gave us our first ukuleles, and whom our older daughter used to refer to as "my grown-up friend, Kirk.") None of us had heard it before, but we saw it in "The Daily Ukulele" by Liz and Jim Beloff, and started playing it. Later we learned that the Muppets, Bette Middler, and Arlo Guthrie all covered it. We understand why - it's a fun tune, and we sing it whenever Kirk comes to visit.

 
DelGriff said:
This one is for our glorious host - Linda!

Having hosted a couple of seasons myself now I must admit that, however much I enjoy all of your submissions, I sometimes find it a challenge to come up with original and relevant comments for each and every song. Linda is a fantastic host and is able to comment with such constructive insight and depth and individuality on every single song every single time. I’m sure you’ll all agree as participants that it’s hugely rewarding to know that every one of your songs has been heard and appreciated so fully by the host.

Heartily agree with you, Del ... Linda always makes the most thoughtful, constructive and informed comments, and leaves you with the impression that your efforts have been appreciated. THANK YOU, LINDA!!!
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I third that notion. Linda is a wonderfully attentive host. And she has also, in her infinite wisdom, requested some Crowded House so allow me to oblige. Not the first time I've played Crowded House for one of your seasons Linda, I also did Don't Dream It's Over a couple years ago.

 
Ahoy good people
I decided to do a song for my wife this week. This song was the 1st song that I learned specifically to play for her - this is also a song that we often sing together.
 
LimousinLil said:
DelGriff said:
This one is for our glorious host - Linda!

Having hosted a couple of seasons myself now I must admit that, however much I enjoy all of your submissions, I sometimes find it a challenge to come up with original and relevant comments for each and every song. Linda is a fantastic host and is able to comment with such constructive insight and depth and individuality on every single song every single time. I’m sure you’ll all agree as participants that it’s hugely rewarding to know that every one of your songs has been heard and appreciated so fully by the host.

Heartily agree with you, Del ... Linda always makes the most thoughtful, constructive and informed comments, and leaves you with the impression that your efforts have been appreciated. THANK YOU, LINDA!!!
Click to expand...

Good morning, Seasonistas! :)

Thank you, Val,Del, and Ryan for your wonderfully supportive comments. I'd like to offer a few thoughts on hosting, if I may.

The wonder of SOTU exists because 8 years ago a small group of people decided to share their love of the ukulele and music in a very unique way. Over time, traditions evolved and encompassed the idea of each Season having a host.

And the different personas brought to the Seasons by their hosts have kept SOTU the vibrant part of our lives that it is. Some hosts provide wonderful jokes and humor on the threads. Some inspire by their own performances. Some bring us to artists and kinds of music we hadn't thought much about before. Some enable us to rediscover our favorite artists in new ways. Some bring us the most challenging themes ever. And always we rise to the occasion! Every host touches our lives differently.

Some are not native English language speakers, but they provide exciting Seasons that we adore. Some are very busy with work or family commitments, yet they remember to make room for enabling us to participate. Some choose to give prizes. Some like random drawings. Some give each participant the wonderful gift of their gratitude. Some have been in SOTU for a long time, but they remind us that there is always something to be learned and gained from our interaction. Some have just joined SOTU, but they want to give back to those who have encouraged them via listening and comments.

We need hosts.

Each one of us, of course, loves to play and sing our own stuff. But we need to take time for those who spend lots of time listening to us along the way.

Our hosts need hosts.

This is the only way that SOTU will continue.

I am so taken by the love I feel in hosting this Season. But here's the thing - I hope that others will realize that they don't have to have an unlimited Season. They don't have to comment on vids right away. They don't have to offer others lengthy comments.

All they have to do is be themselves.

I've a request. If you are having a good time this Season, please sign up to host. Please help us to keep this amazing and wonderful experience of the SOTU going for another 8 years. It's up to us.

Thank you all for being with me here this week. You are each a source of inspiration to me in your own way. You mean so very much to me.

And I apologize for getting long-winded here, so I'll not offer another post this morning. Wishing you all a wonderful day! Love, Linda :)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Beautifully put, Linda!

This might be a bit "up close and personal", but there is someone to whom I owe a debt of gratitude which I shall never be able to repay, because he saved my life! As some of you already know, I am a "cancer survivor", having been diagnosed with a (very!) rare form of blood cancer in 1999. After vast quantities of chemo, to beat my system into submission, I received an autologous bone marrow transplant, meaning that my own stem cells, having been "cleaned up", were replanted inside me. This transplant kept me in remission for four years, at which time the cancer returned. This time, the only option was to have an allogeneic (donor) transplant. A donor was found through the auspices of the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust, which has been doing marvellous work since the early 1980s, matching donors with patients. A year post-transplant, I was allowed to make contact with my donor, who, it transpired, was a young man. From this wonderful young man, I gained a new blood type and a sudden strange yearning for pork pies (which diminished after a while). So this is a gift for my (apparently) pork-pie-loving saviour ... a "thank you" for all the "Days" which I would not otherwise have had.

 
Last edited:
Thank you, Linda, for a fine theme. A year ago, in February 2018, Estonian singer Heli Lääts passed away at the age of 85. Her many songs were the soundtrack of my childhood. Here is an instrumental version of one - "Ei kunagi" (Not Ever) by Evald and Erika Vain.
 
YorkSteve said:
I think I have just found out which song I have to do this week. We are away in the campervan, and walking through a mostly deserted market place we found a busker, playing a clarinet. He asked us if we had any requests - "anything but bloody Stranger On The Shore" were his exact words. And my wife asked for something, her favourite song ever. He played it perfectly. No pressure then...Back home in a couple of days to see if I can do it.
Click to expand...

OK - a few run-throughs later, here it is - the one my wife Sam asks buskers to play.

 
This one is for brother Yukio. I love what he does. I've told him in the past that the energy he brings is infectious. He plays each video like it's the Superbowl Half Time Show except it's held at Glastonbury OH and there's also a Live Aid Anniversary concert they've shoehorned in too. I love that energy but what I love more is that instead of using that energy to hide a lack of talent, like I do whenever I get the electric uke out, he uses it to augment some serious musicianship.

Here's a song by Little Willie John (who also did a brilliant version of Fever) that I've chosen because it's the sort of thing I could picture him playing, and definitely a song I would love to jam with him one day if ever the planets aligned. I first heard this song as a Jack White cover on his first solo album, so that's a nod to another musical hero of mine and one who always brings raw energy when he performs.

 
8 stringer and a 4 stringer in an original simple gift for mine host.

When I was about 14 I first heard the Mikis Theodorakis tune "Zorba's Dance" and immediately was captivated by that stunning slow, quicker, faster, blindingly fast style (known as Sirtaki). This is not one such tune ,it is I trying for the Greek feel to this beautiful instrument which took another 45 years to get into my life, despite listening to Greek music on and off throughout. I can't believe that I put it off so long !! It's my big Bouzoukilele ,tuned CFAD ,same intervals as a uke it makes so much sense. Of course ,I now have to learn some Greek and the Greek alphabet to go hunting for music,especially that of Mikis Theodorakis. So it's my gift to Linda , inspired by Mikis Theodorakis.

 
It's not always easy, when you want to express yourself with music, to find the right song that says precisely what you want to say. This one isn't perfect but gets close enough.
The gift of reconciliation.
Maybe It's Time
 
Ok ..... some of our friends across the pond have had some trouble posting of late.

Here is a post from Birdie! She'll fill us in on the details, as soon as she can!

Surprise - some T Rex, starring a certain Marc Bolan!


 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

bobjking
Season 636 - One for sorrow...
3 4 5
Replies
80
Views
2K
Flatbaroque
F
DelGriff
Season 634 - Love Your Larynx!
5 6 7
Replies
133
Views
5K
frisbee fred
frisbee fred
mountain goat
Season 631: I Mist You
9 10 11
Replies
203
Views
7K
One Man And His Uke
One Man And His Uke
Barbablanca
Season 630
4 5 6
Replies
114
Views
5K
mythinformed
mythinformed
hands_on_lanzon
Season of the 'Ukulele (SOTU) 629 - Season of the Cuckoo'lele
9 10 11
Replies
206
Views
10K
hands_on_lanzon
hands_on_lanzon
Top Bottom