1 Reply by Dirty Ed

(16 replies, posted in Acoustic)

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything but this thread caught my eye.  I've always had a knack for remembering lyrics and at age 72 I'm surprised that the ability hasn't left.  When I play out I only carry  a notebook with names of songs that I play.  I just looked through it and have a list of 65 of the songs that I've written and 68 covers that I like playing.  Some of them I haven't played for a long time but I estimate I could play 58 of my songs and 64 of the covers and remember all the lyrics. My issue for some songs is remembering what key to play it in and the chord progressions.  sad

When I learn a song I first concentrate on remembering the chorus/hook. Nearly all the songs I play have verses that are similar to chapters in a book or story that relate to the hook, so  I then try to remember some key words in each verse that are easy to recall and trigger my memory of how the story "flows".  Works for me. Your mileage may vary.     

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2 Reply by Dirty Ed

(30 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Its not about goals but I think you'll enjoy this song I found on youtube a few years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yn6sik-fkc     

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3 Reply by Dirty Ed

(11 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Brilliant!     

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4 Reply by Dirty Ed

(28 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Although I registered several years ago, I never felt like I had much to contribute and seldom posted.  During this past COVID year I've posted more often on this  forum, but much like another site I've been a part of for years, this style of communication doesn't seem to appeal to the younger generation.     

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5 Reply by Dirty Ed

(2 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Grah1 wrote:

I  think  it  works  very  well Ed  and  I  love  the  picking   ,Something   I  struggle  with these  days ,Arthritic    fingers .Cest  la  vie

I know what you mean. Due to the arthritis in my left hand I've had to go to wider necked guitars so finger placement isn't as critical. And some days playing barre chords are nearly impossible due to pain in my left index finger.     

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6 Topic by Dirty Ed

(2 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Graham's recent song "Ship of Life" got me thinking about a song I wrote years ago comparing life's journey to a kayaker floating a river.  We both used floating on water as a metaphor for our songs, but approached it differently.

I may have gotten a little carried away as my intention for writing the song was to use floating a river as a metaphor but then used a rolling train as a metaphor for a flowing river, thus wrapping a metaphor inside a metaphor. roll

https://soundcloud.com/user-198880521/lifes-river 

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7 Reply by Dirty Ed

(13 replies, posted in Songwriting)

I just played the version of the song I have in my head again three times - once using Dbm as written, once using C as Graham had suggested and once using Bm. Each added a slightly different "flavor" to the song. It's a lesson-learned for me about how much just changing one chord in a progression can affect the "mood". Now I'm curious about how much the "mood" is changed  between strumming and finger-picking it.

What I really need is to hear how you intended it to sound Jim. smile

Ken     

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8 Reply by Dirty Ed

(13 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Lol.......I tried playing it and found I kept going to a Bm instead of the Bbm, and also changing the 6th line of the chorus to "We sometimes lose our way" and substituting "don't" instead of "never" in line 7 to reduce the number of syllables so I could sing it easier in my finger-picked rendition. I hope you record the song so I can hear how you intended for it to sound.

Well written and thoughtful song Jim.     

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9 Reply by Dirty Ed

(4 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Another good'un Graham.     

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10 Reply by Dirty Ed

(7 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Hope to hear a recording soon Jim. I've never been able to write serious songs about relationships. I've written two about divorce but they're both funny songs.

BTW Peatle, "My wife ran off with my best friend and I sure do miss him" was a song written in 1996 by a songwriter named Wayne Carter. I don't know much about him, but years ago I heard it on the radio.     

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11 Reply by Dirty Ed

(18 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Good news Derek     

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12 Reply by Dirty Ed

(18 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

I wish I could convey how bad I feel for you Derek. It seems lately that you have had many of your loved ones go through terrible ordeals and due to your empathic nature you also suffer their pain. If I could, I'd be sitting near a campfire with you, sharing some bourbon and trying to ease some of the load you're bearing old friend.

Sorry to hear about your sister also Mojo.     

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13 Reply by Dirty Ed

(25 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Good one Peatle. That  commercial adds new meaning to the term "cattle drive".     

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14 Reply by Dirty Ed

(25 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Thanks Phill     

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15 Reply by Dirty Ed

(25 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

https://soundcloud.com/user-198880521/t … -the-truth     

In some area of the US, the facility the Brits refer to as a "loo", we call a "john",  and the best known brand of tractor is John Deere.

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16 Reply by Dirty Ed

(6 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Thanks for all the comments and kind words everybody.     

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17 Reply by Dirty Ed

(23 replies, posted in Poems)

Poetry about a poet - how poetic!

I like the way you describe  the "fishing net made of words drawing his audience into his boat".     

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18 Reply by Dirty Ed

(6 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Thanks Peatle!     

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19 Topic by Dirty Ed

(6 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Today is my 71st birthday, or as I like to say, I'm just 18 with an extra 53 years experience. Back when I turned 58 I wrote a song about getting older called "Wild Oats". I played it one evening at an open mic venue and someone recorded it and posted it on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHsenGdNw2g

A few years later I decided to record another CD (my 4th) with 15 originals and decided to include Wild Oats. I'd asked by old paddling buddy John Victor to play harmonica on some of the songs. We were recording at another friends home studio which he had made out of an outbuilding in his backyard. It was summer and it had a window air conditioner which had to be turned off whenever we were ready to record. The song seemed a little long when recorded, I decided to drop the last verse and make a couple changes so the air had been off for a while. Finally John started yelling "Turn on that damn air conditioner" in an old man's voice that cracked up me and Jeff. I was hit with an idea and asked John if he could just ad lib and do the "Old Man" voice throughout the song. Here's how it ended up:

https://soundcloud.com/user-198880521/p … -way-again

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20 Reply by Dirty Ed

(6 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Excellent!     

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21 Reply by Dirty Ed

(6 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Another great tune Jim and a message that is important to remember.     

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22 Reply by Dirty Ed

(5 replies, posted in Songwriting)

mojo01 wrote:

little disappointed, no big foot encounters?

Somewhere I have a picture taken of me with a big foot.

It's actually a buddy dressed up in a gorilla costume sitting on my lap. smile     

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23 Reply by Dirty Ed

(5 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Thanks Phill. The longest I've ever done a solo trip was 7 days. I've had some issues in the past with bears getting a little close, have had wild hogs come around a campsite  and one foggy night on a Canadian canoe trip I heard a pack of wolves howling and chasing  an animal (pretty sure it was a deer) and downing it on the other side of a hundred yard wide inlet. The final screams of the animal and then snarls and sounds of flesh ripping were pretty spooky in the fog. Worst scare I ever got was by a pack of feral dogs on an overnight hike I did just 50 miles from my home. I heard them snarling and growling outside my tent. When I took a peek , it appeared to be about a dozen animals. What bothered me is they sniffed my tent, knew I was a human but didn't seem to care. All I had on me was a pocket knife and I was determined to slash the throat of the first one that chewed through the tent wall. They finally left but returned about two hours later, growling outside my tent again.

But I've never had problems with ghosts. smile     

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24 Topic by Dirty Ed

(5 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Phill's song "Night Terrors" got me thinking about the first few times I went solo backpacking. After a day or two alone I'd become more attuned to night noises but sometimes couldn't identify the sound and would have fun imagining it was some kind of woodland ghost.

https://soundcloud.com/user-198880521/the-whisper

The Whisper Ken Willis



[Em]Shadows lengthen on the ridge, the [D]sun is sinking low


[C]One side's bathed in darkness, the [D]other's all aglow


And you [Em]camp there at that border 'tween the [D]darkness and the light


[C]Waiting for the coming of the [D]night


And you think you hear a [Em]whisper




[Em]Is it a spirit from the darkness [D]whispering soft and low


Or a [C]voice still inside your head from [D]many years ago


Or an [Em]angel trying to warn you, you don't [C]know[D]




[Em]The glow from the fire is [D]holding back the night


As you [C]wait for fitful slumber and the [D]dawn and the morning light



Then your [Em]eyes begin to close and your [D]mind begins to dream


Of [C]ghosts and spirits that cannot be [D]seen


And you think you hear a [Em]whisper


[Em]Is it a spirit from the darkness [D]whispering soft and low


Or a [C]voice still inside your head from [D]many years ago


Or an [Em]angel trying to warn you, you don't [C]know[D]


[Em]You wake up in the morning to a [D]softly blowing breeze


[C]Clearing out the morning mist and [D]rustling the leaves


And the [Em]ghosts and the shadows of the [D]lonely night are gone


Re-[C]placed by the coming of the [D]dawn


With its gentle [Em]whisper


[D]Yeah with its gentle [Em]whisper [D] [Em]


 

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25 Reply by Dirty Ed

(7 replies, posted in Songwriting)

Well done! Eerie song that evokes a lot of nightmarish images, and the choice of chords really support the theme of the song.  The verses prior to the solo use an ABCB rhyme scheme and after the solo change to  ABCC. Was there a reason you made a  change in the rhyme structure?     

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