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Not sure where Gainesville is? I not a native, but I am now a Virginian. I have lived here for 10+ years, my wife is from here, and I will be buried here. I love the weather, the geography, and the people. Great state!

Midnight -

I made the lyrics change in the song posting.  Nice job fitting that in!

I really like the way this one sounds when fingerpicked. I've been playing it for two days now, it makes me think of a smokey poker parlor (and, of course, it's raining outside). I'd love to hear you record it.

Cool song.

I guess the subtitle "I got flushed in Denver" doesn't work anymore!? 

For the first six months I called my guitar *%#@!! &%#$!

I have since apologized, and hope to be back on speaking terms soon.

Nice, Jets.

I thought it had kind of a haunted, melancholy sound to it. I love the Em - Am change, I use that a bit.

The lyrics were poignant, too. Really makes you think about priorities, and how we tend to put first things last.

well done.

You put more thought into that one than I did!  Good catch, Mr. Down! (and thanks)

I am finding out that many Chordians are rather prolific.

That would be one big, and awesome, songbook!

I'm a novice, too, but netzcoyote makes a good point. watching, and listening to others play has really moved my playing along tremendously.

Nothing can teach you better than hanging around folks who play better than you do.

No question about it.

Yeah, I get kind of upset when I see poker on ESPN, which is supposed to be for sports.  Poker, while a lot of fun, is NOT a sport! 

Slang is "improper" English.

upyerkilt is talking about two things: accents and dialects.
We have a profusion of both here. too.

Most notably, the southern "drawl", and the New York accent.

We also have some dialects.

I have traveled just about every region of this country (except the Pacific Northwest), and I have found several dialects:

In southern Texas, many folks, especially in small towns along the boarder, speak what I have heard called "Texican", which is a blend of Spanish and English.

The folks in the Northwest, and Northern Midwest (The Dakotas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota notably) have a large scandanavian (?) influence on their culture and language, while, in Charleston, SC (and possibly Beaufort, SC, and Savannah, GA) some of the old-timers speak what is colloquially called "geechy". This is a combination of Gaelic and English mixed with bad grammar and poor pronounciation (and enunciation) which results in a language that is hardly recognizable to those on the outside.

Language fascinates me.

Scrimmy,

I've only been playing for a couple of years. There is a coffee house near me that has an "open mic" on Saturdays.

I went for a long time before I got enough nerve to jump in, but I learned some things when I did:

1. I don't suck as bad as I thought I did.

I don't think any of us do

2. Musicians are the most accepting group of people I have ever met.

All the folks there have been playing for "nigh on-ta 20 year", but they didn't ridicule, they applauded me, because they knew what it was like.  Everyone who does it has a first time. They had pointers for me, and some great advice, and I have to say, I learned so much more hanging out and playing with folks who were better than me than I could ever have learned at home in my basement. Even if you have no desire to play publicly, I think you would be missing a serious opportunity if you don't do it.

Good luck on Sunday!  I am sure it will go well!

Very interesting topic, Gitaardocphil.

Here's my take:

Slang is one of the things that makes the American language such a cool medium.

We have so many ways of saying things. This, I would assume, makes "Americanese" harder to learn, but also adds to the poetic quality of the language. A writer can lend an emotion or a mood to a passage by the slang which is used. Much of our (American) slang is regional and its use can identify where someone is from.

For example, in the midwest, if you were thirsty, you might order a "pop". If you were from the south, you would order a "soda". If you ordered a soda in the north, you would be given an antacid (baking soda and water). 

Some of our slang is used purely for "color" in our language. We say things like "cut the rug" "get your groove on" and other (and more current) phrases which mean to dance. Certainly all of our slang is not sexual, but I suppose a lot of it is.

I think the sexual slang is usually a social courtesy. It would be considered rude to say certain things publicly, so we use inuendo and inference to get our point across. This has become so profuse, that some people try to be as obscure in their references as possible, but the point is still taken. In this manner, ANYTHING can be construed as inuendo. (i.e. "I'd like to butter her muffin" or "We really 'cleaned the carpet' if you know what I mean")

This kind of stuff, in my opinion, is the hot sauce on life's chicken wing. What would language be without slang? Boring, stiff, and much less fun!

Great topic. I would love to see what others have to say about it.