SOTU 585 ... "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!"

[jtsteam]

Hello again. I have a song about foreign travel, which these days is all about trying to find an internet connection without having to pay huge roaming fees. I promise I'm more prepared than the narrator here.

Although, I did write down the title when I nipped into a pub while abroad, hoping to spend half an hour catching up with the news, and finding that I couldn't. I thought there'd be WiFi...

Relatedly, a few years ago I was travelling with a student who laughed at me when I picked up a paper copy of a local public transport map when we arrived at the airport. Half an hour later when he was relying on me because he couldn't get a signal, I didn't say anything. Not with words, anyway. Mostly with eyebrows.

 

[xommen]

That was definitely the first song I thought of, but don't think I could pull it off. Who's Ralph and how can we make this happen? We need to @ him!

Next song I thought of was The Beatles "I Me Mine" but I instead ended up at "Don't Let Me Down." So thankful for the Seasons where I get learn some greats songs I didn't even know I wanted to learn!

I flubbed a line or chord here or there, but went with it since I didn't want to spend too much time driving myself crazy on this one... just having fun! Recording "Feeling Good" yesterday started to feel like too much effort and feeling more like a strain on my vocal chords. This one stayed fun!

Speaking of fun... Now that I've got a 585 entry in, I'll get to the wrap of 584 soon. I'm enjoying re-listening to the playlist and reading through all the comments.

Ralf is @TheOnlyUkeThatMatters, as far as I know he is the only one who has not missed a season yet.

 

[hands_on_lanzon]

Ralf is TheOnlyUkeThatMatters, as far as I know he is the only one who has not missed a season yet.

!!!!!!

That's awesome! Thanks for the name to username connection. I'm still learning and did come across his name in my Season. (Wrap-up coming shortly!)

I hope he gets the De La Soul bat signal. I'd love to hear it! Whaddya say, @TheOnlyUkeThatMatters .. do you take requests?!

 

[Stoneyrun]

 

[Canada Jim]

IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND - Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot died yesterday and I thought that I should do something in tribute to him. I have never played much of Gord's stuff, but I really like it and always went to see him if he was playing anywhere near. I first saw him as one half of the Two Tones in 1962, but the first solo Gord I saw was in the summer of 1964 and I became a fan. He played a few times at McMaster University and I saw him there as well as at a few festivals over the years.
He will be missed.


Mariposa 1964 - Rev Gary Davis, Gord Lightfoot,
Mississippi John Hurt & Tom Kines
The first time I saw Gord he was plaing a tenor guitar and Terry Whelan, his partner in the Two Tones, was playing a baritone ukulele. I decided to grab the tenor guitar/baritone uke for this video.

 

[Barbablanca]

I may get all up close and personal on another song this week, but meanwhile here is a first-person narrative song I wrote to the prompt "Symphony" as part of a FAWM challenge in 2022. The narrator is the dying Frederick Delius, looking back on his life and still desperately trying to write the symphony that with hindsight we know he never will. My melody is far too simple for old Fred, but he did like folk tunes and this one has a bit of a folk feel to it, I reckon.

So, here is your potted autobiography by English Composer Frederick Delius:

 

[LimousinLil]

'Tis late here and I need to go to bed, but I leave you with this thought, which is very relevant to the week's theme. It must be true - Nietzsche said it ....

 

[AlanDP]

When I first heard this song I knew I had to learn it because it's the only song I've ever heard that uses the word "perambulating."

 

[Desert Pavement]

Glad nobody scooped this. I had run through it a couple times when hands_on suggested it.

Thanks for hosting Val. I know you’re always up for some Beatles.

And I love Soul, De La that is. But they hated that song. Ralf would play the hell out of it though.

 

[Canada Jim]

. . . I leave you with a quote from Dorothy Parker ... a woman who knew what she was about:-
View attachment 151639

Dorthy Parker also wrote:
Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses.

To which Ogden Nash replied:
A girl who is bespectacled
May never get her necktickled,
But diaper pins and bassinets
Await the girl who fassinets.

I have heard that Dorothy Parker was the originator of:
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me
Than a frontal lobotomy.
Although it was later said by Steve Allen and later still by Tom Waits, and probably others, Dorothy preceded them.

 

[LimousinLil]

And, again, the sun is shining here in deepest France and the Playlist has been updated ... and again, thank you All! And, Jim, you have reminded me that, in addition to admiring Dorothy Parker, I am also rather partial to Ogden Nash. Here is one of his life philosophies which - sort of - fits in with this week's theme; anyway, I heartily concur with it:-



Please keep those songs flowing today ... you know you have a lot to say about yourselves!

 

[mythinformed]

Thanks for hosting Val. I've opted for the Beatles 'I Need You'..........

 

[DelGriff]

Thanks for hosting, Val!

Here’s a song I wrote a few years back, but for one reason or another I never went public with it. When I revisited it today, I realised that it needed some changes - most notably the tempo was too slow. So here it is - completely reworked this morning, and it sounds all the better for it. Some added synth bass, piano, strings and other bits and bobs, along with some vocal harmonies here and there too.

 

[Ila]

Thanks for hosting, Val. Here's one I've been meaning to cover.

 

[Canada Jim]

I'm Not Saying - Gordon Lightfoot

One from Gord's admitted chauvinistic period. I learned this little opening lick during the Great Folk Scare of the Sixties, but never really learned to sing the song.

 

[mountain goat]

thank you for this week Val
an original song for the season

 

[wee_ginga_yin]

The euphoria of being in love. I could have danced all night.

 

[Strumdaddy]

Any Leon Redbone fans out there????
I could but love him from afar.... (down here in Australia), but I trusted his choice of songs.
Here's one that's "all about me..."
Uke is a Mark Wilkinson bari - look him up!

 

[bobjking]

Hey, Val!

Thanks for hosting, duck!

It's actually all about the girl on this one as Edith joins me for a Taylor Swift song that has both "I" and "me" in the title...

(Also, please note the obligatory Star Wars t-shirt for May the 4th...)

 

[LimousinLil]

Hey, Val!

Thanks for hosting, duck!

It's actually all about the girl on this one as Edith joins me for a Taylor Swift song that has both "I" and "me" in the title...

(Also, please note the obligatory Star Wars t-shirt for May the 4th...)

Who are YOU calling "duck" ... absolute cheek! And, I simply do not understand the Star Wars reference ... is today "Star Wars' Day?" (Sorry, I am joking, Bob ... and it's great that Edith is joining you!)