Season 406 "The Right to Reply / Setting the record straight"

I've got a couple "right to reply" ideas, but they're turning out to be pretty challenging for me to get together. Same with my ideas for "setting the record straight."

Luckily, Melanie wrote a perfect theme song for this Season, so I thought it'd be good to get a version up early, yeah?

Melanie covered the Randy Newman song I think its going to rain today
https://glosbe.com/fi/en/safka

bird's eye view of my ukelele said:

for anyone wanting to check out melanie safka's music, there is a nice 26 minute TV "in concert" programme vid on youtube...

Click to expand...

Now, anyone listening to this would surely know why I was head over the heels in love with Melanie as a 15 year old hippy songwriter.

The Scots Guard's Song

John's wonderful song about Joan of Arc's sister reminded me that I have a song of my own (which I hadn't yet sung for the Seasons) dealing with Jeanne d'Arc that fits nicely into the second category.

It is an obscure, but true, fact from history that Jeanne's personal bodyguard were all Scotsmen. So the narrator of this song is one of her loyal bodyguards lamenting the fate that lies in store for Jeanne as he too languishes in jail. Sadly, the tune is not my own, but is borrowed from a wonderful Gaelic song. "An Cluin thu mi mo nighean donn" by Iain McColl.

I hope Rob (and any other Scots viewers) can forgive my Scots accent here and I hope you all enjoy:

Options 1 & 2 will no doubt require some thought and time. In the meantime, I decided to learn this classic Rolling Stones tune that Melanie had some success with when she covered it. I hope I can bring something within the confines of the writing challenge this week. I think the primary reason I always marvel at your ability to come of with great songs on short notice is perhaps due to the fact that I don't have any confidence in my ability to do it But, that doesn't mean I will not try. Thanks for hosting ~

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how good it feels to have the forum back up and running!

here is a response song to "missing" by everything but the girl - original song here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAkY5m00rpY



i know you're hanging round
where i used to live again
i know you're always down
always in pain

i know you miss me
but i had to move on baby
i know you miss me
but your love was too strong baby

i had to be free
had to be me
you held me too near
i had to get out of here

i know you miss me
but i had to move on baby
i know you miss me
but your love was too strong baby

i can't say more
i know you'd find me
but i've closed the door
left you behind me

i know you miss me
but i had to move on baby
i know you miss me
but your love was too strong baby

i know you miss me
but i had to move on baby
i know you miss me
but your love was too strong baby

This is for option 2. I always wanted to follow in the long tradition of writing a song about Billy the Kid. I figured I might as well go ahead and follow in the long tradition of writing a historically inaccurate song about Billy the Kid as well. But...

Paulita Maxwell's father was one of the richest and most powerful men in New Mexico. Why would she hook up with someone who probably had no future, was wanted dead or alive (mostly dead) by the authorities and lots of other people, and had some of the most famous lawmen in the country trying to track him down? We could say maybe it was some kind of revenge against her respectable father, but then, her father was allowing Billy to stay on his property after Billy's arrest and subsequent jailbreak, during which he could have immediately escaped, but allegedly intentionally waited and ambushed two deputies, killing them before he took off.

The line about him escaping to some little Texas town is a reference to a character known as "Brushy" Bill Roberts, who lived in the town of Hico, Texas and died there in 1950. He claimed to be Billy the Kid in his later life. I don't believe he was. Anyway...here's the song.

We're back! "Honey Pie" was told from the perspective of a forsaken suitor, left in the bleak north of England whilst his beloved faffed around in Hollywood. In this version, the woman needs to be taken down a peg or two and the man is just ... hopeless!!!

Melanie's Nickel Song

Jolene responds to Dolly - I found out that there are many response songs already, but hopefully none has used these exact words.

So happy to see the Forum back and even happier to hear the latest entries. Some great response songs and originals and cool covers too!

Keep them coming!

Now, budding and established songwriters, please don't be scared of the themes, folks. My idea was to really challenge you this week and that definitely seems to have inspired some great stuff from those who have submitted so far!

I am proud to have played my small part in the creation of these great new songs. :music:

Some mistake happened when uploading. See the real post below...

Sell Your Soul (At the Crossroads) - An Ukulele original

Hi seasonistas,

When I read Berni’s intro I immediately thought that I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything but a (long) shower later and this idea had formed...

In blues folkore a young aspiring musician would go to the crossroads, meet the devil and exchange his soul for the power to play any song he wanted. There are various blues songs around this theme and one of them is ‘Cross Roads Blues’ by Robert Johnson which I covered in season 358 (link here: https://youtu.be/ysa6GU_K2t8)

In this song we see the whole deal from the point of view of the devil. Maybe for him it is just business as usual, maybe he isn’t even too bothered… So here it is “Sell Your Soul (at the Crossroads) – an ukulele original by yours truly. I am playing the Big Island electric tenor on the rhythm part and the Risa LP steel string electric uke for the solo parts. Lyrics below the video on youtube.



PS. While working on this song, I realised that maybe the song could also be about the music industri of today.

PPS. I dedicate this original song to Randy who I have just read has passed away. I will surely miss him even though we didn't meet in real and can feel that I am getting emotional here. So sad. RIP.

Melanie really outdid herself with her 2001 cover of this, and that's saying something. I present my own halting attempt.

Melanie covered both my favourite Stones songs. This one and Ruby Tuesday.

thank you Berni for this week.
an original song for the season.
Bathsheba's voice is silent in the Old Testament.
Jesus Himself came from the line of David and Bathsheba even after the sins confessed to in Psalm 51.
Amazing how, with contrite and repentant hearts, God can take the vilest of sins and make new.



BATHSHEBA'S SONG

I felt his eyes upon me as I bathed
Flesh of my flesh
Death of my husband, death of my son,
Death of my name
Blood of my blood
He's not to blame
Flesh of my flesh

Sin lay in wait at my door
I took him inside of me
Thinking that I needed more
How I cursed that poison seed
Oh Lord, won't You hide Your face from me
He's not to blame
Flesh of my flesh,
Blood of my blood

Who'd have thought that He might come through shame
Flesh of my flesh
From the ashes of that sin we made
Flesh of my flesh,
Blood of my blood
Oh Lord, he's not to blame

Create in me a clean heart, oh Lord
And renew a right Spirit within me
Cast me not away from your presence, oh Lord
And renew a right Spirit within me

an original song for the season.
last year i wrote Cain's song:
this, his brother's reply from the grave.
a song of forgiveness.



EAST OF EDEN (ABEL'S SONG)

I worked my flocks, you worked the soil
+ oh the fruit it came, given unto the Lord.
The sheep are lowing, now that I'm gone
+ blood it flows like a river.

The Lord he will watch over you

in this bed you made, where sleeping dogs lie down
in the mess they made with no tears left to cry
in a foreign land, with that mark on your face
+ blood it flows like a river.

But the Lord He will watch over you.

+ I'm watching over you in this place you don't belong,
where you wander, east of Eden.
Brother, I forgive you + He forgives you.
See His blood it flows like a river.

+ what you did was wrong.
What you did was wrong.
What you did was wrong, but I forgive you.

His blood it still flows.
See? His blood flows.
See His blood flow.

"maybe someday" - a response to the song by the incredible string band

from the perspective of the girl with the teeth



maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along
maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along

are we all just waiting for someone
dreaming of the perfect girl or man
what if they never come?

maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along
maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along

oh the days go by
they turn into years
all that time lost to waiting, just waiting

maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along
maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along

once there was one young man
but all he did was stare at my teeth, of all things
can you believe it?
he was no good at all

maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along
maybe someday he will come, come along long
maybe someday he will come along

what if all this time i've been looking in the wrong place?
what if all these years i've been searching for the wrong face?
maybe i should try something new...

maybe someday she will come, come along long
maybe someday she will come along
maybe someday she will come, come along long
maybe someday she will come along

maybe someday she will come, come along long
maybe someday she will come along
maybe someday she will come, come along long
maybe someday she will come along

an original song for the season
and probably the last from me this week, brother.
inspired by a song from Grand Salvo's 2008 LP, "Death", titled 'Bird'.
the original here. a recent cover from myself and my wife here.
this, the reply from the man to his feathered friend.
baritone ukuleles, voice.



THE BEAR, THE FISH, THE MAN

I remember when once I held you
in the palm of my open hand.
You came to me just like a dog,
like sunrise to the day.
I would wait for you there
until the sky shed its skin.
All fledglings leave the nest;
the ending is just the begin...

begin the begin
the bear the fish and the man
begin the begin
with you in my open hand

I used to feed you grain
as the winter it brewed like a storm.
And I saw you there in your nest
as a mother sees over her young.
I will wait for you
until my days they have all disappeared.
To hear your wings beat like the heart
that faded into what it feared.

begin the begin
we will begin again
the bear the fish and the man
and you in my open hand

[G]Went to court in Nashville [C] Tenessee
[D]I got papers that say you cant see [G]me
[G]Breaking them would be a Federal[C] crime
[D]Stay a 100 feet from me at all [G] times

I got a restraining order on you (x4)

Long ago, I blocked you on my phone
Now I think you’re sneaking round my home
Old Ben Harper you try and laugh this off
Stealing kisses is sexual assault

Now it’s not like it was in the old days
"Me too" taught me you can’t grab away
No means no and that is that
I hate the way you think and I hate the way you act

*CHORUS* No ukulele
*CHORUS* with uke