Caspar
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- 243
Fixed!! Sorry bout that.
Season 616: December Will Be Magic Again
- Thread starter jtsteam
- Start date
ukulele extra cheese
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- Joined
- Feb 22, 2015
- Messages
- 286
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- 246
I have actually been meaning to learn this one for about fifty years or so.
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2023
- Messages
- 430
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- 1,036
"Take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship"
I'm doing the Byrds' version of Bob Dylan's epic 'Mr. Tambourine Man" because:
1) WAAAAAY fewer lyrics to remember
2) I just got an 8 string!!!
The strings are still settling...I like to think the tuning isn't off - it's just "jangly"
I'm doing the Byrds' version of Bob Dylan's epic 'Mr. Tambourine Man" because:
1) WAAAAAY fewer lyrics to remember
2) I just got an 8 string!!!
The strings are still settling...I like to think the tuning isn't off - it's just "jangly"
When the canteen at my work place is closed, I walk to a nearby food centre for lunch. There are some nice street names along the way. I took some photos the other day thinking I would do something about them. And today I did.
I imagined a wizard is planting magic bombs (surprises of different kinds such as turning your dog into a frog...) along the way....
Words:
I go up Burghley Drive with my banjo
(with my banjo I go)
No crows coerce me at Crowhurst Drive
(no crows coerce me)
At Chartwell Drive I run into a wizard with a banjo
(Oh Suzanna! Don't cry for me!)
The wizard is planting magic bombs at every spot where a dog has pooed
(maybe he is Santa planting a surprise)
I invite him for a jam at Chartwell Park
(what sort of jam do you have on your toast?)
But he has to hurry to Bloxhome Drive to herd his fleas circus home
(his fleas play the banjos too)
As I approach Carisbrooke Grove a cool breeze brushes against my face
At Cooling Close angry birds are having a conference
(never attend a birds conference)
A guard dog turns into a frog after stepping on the wizard's bomb
(it makes no difference to the postman)
Someone has removed his arm holding the banjo
(oh, Kermit!)
I guess this story is going no where, just like this song
So I'll stop at Chartwell Park and sleep under a tree.
I recorded this really quick and dirty. Lots of muddy/dirty parts. My singing can be more expressive too. And boy, I think I can also slow down a little bit! It is a walk not a run. I might record another version with my low G tenor another day. it sounds better.
Anyway, this is what I did with the time I could afford today.
I imagined a wizard is planting magic bombs (surprises of different kinds such as turning your dog into a frog...) along the way....
Words:
I go up Burghley Drive with my banjo
(with my banjo I go)
No crows coerce me at Crowhurst Drive
(no crows coerce me)
At Chartwell Drive I run into a wizard with a banjo
(Oh Suzanna! Don't cry for me!)
The wizard is planting magic bombs at every spot where a dog has pooed
(maybe he is Santa planting a surprise)
I invite him for a jam at Chartwell Park
(what sort of jam do you have on your toast?)
But he has to hurry to Bloxhome Drive to herd his fleas circus home
(his fleas play the banjos too)
As I approach Carisbrooke Grove a cool breeze brushes against my face
At Cooling Close angry birds are having a conference
(never attend a birds conference)
A guard dog turns into a frog after stepping on the wizard's bomb
(it makes no difference to the postman)
Someone has removed his arm holding the banjo
(oh, Kermit!)
I guess this story is going no where, just like this song
So I'll stop at Chartwell Park and sleep under a tree.
I recorded this really quick and dirty. Lots of muddy/dirty parts. My singing can be more expressive too. And boy, I think I can also slow down a little bit! It is a walk not a run. I might record another version with my low G tenor another day. it sounds better.
Anyway, this is what I did with the time I could afford today.
Canada Jim
Well-known member
THE MAGIC OF THE DOLLAR by Duncan M. Smith was published in the Goldsboro Headlight in 1903. It had no tune, but seems to work with Home Sweet Home by Henry Bishop in 1823. Thanks to Jim Dixon for showing me this poem.
The same message as Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out.
I have no idea what "Spodulix" means.
The same message as Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out.
I have no idea what "Spodulix" means.
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Edwin, what a genius Thackray was!!!!
I have never heard of him and his songs before. After checking out some of them I just loved everything I have listened to!
Fantastic writer and performer. I LOVE LOVE LOVE his work.
Thank you for your introduction!
wee_ginga_yin
Well-known member
We all can have fantasies, that we could wear the right clothes , drive the right cars, and have everyone laugh at our jokes.
Most adverts sell us an impossible dream, something that is never likely to happen.
If only smoking the right cigarette would make me a man, if only I wore the correct perfume I would truly be a woman.
Life is a magical mystery tour dictated by unrealistic adverts, in reality it is a bare knuckle ride on a ferris wheel where we grab on to the safety bar for dear life.
Most adverts sell us an impossible dream, something that is never likely to happen.
If only smoking the right cigarette would make me a man, if only I wore the correct perfume I would truly be a woman.
Life is a magical mystery tour dictated by unrealistic adverts, in reality it is a bare knuckle ride on a ferris wheel where we grab on to the safety bar for dear life.
Hi again Edwin,
I have a song I wrote in 2015 that mentions a "witch's spell". I have been wanting to re-record that song but I never got motivated to do so. Well, today I did, straight after I got home from work. I used the original video I made in 2015 for the new recording.
I dunno what i was thinking when I wrote it.
Lyrics here:
FAKE ROSES
He wanted to surprise her, bought her a pot of roses. But the roses turned black when he stepped inside his home.
He thought water would revive the flowers...Well, obviously not...
So he called up the florist, but they were closed.
Maybe ice cubes would be better, he thought, the weather was so hot.
But he sat there sulking as the ice water flowed out of the pot.
Still black!
The clock went ticking away, she'd be here very soon.
She was never very fond of surprises, especially if roses turned black.
She liked flowers very much - but only if they were red.
They'd been dating for 2 months now and he really liked her a lot.
So he called up his buddy Tommy who knew everything under the sun.
Tommy said : why not play a love song to the roses, that might break the witch's spell.
So he grabbed his little uke and started playing a tune he knew, but nothing happened.
He played another love song from long ago, but the witch's spell remained unbroken.
Still black!
He grew desperate and strummed harder. And guess what? He broke a string! (how's that possible?)
Frantic, he grabbed his guitar and sang another tune. It seemed the roses turned blacker.
He remembered how Tommy got outraged every time someone called his ukulele a small guitar,
so he grabbed his 3-string uke again, and sang more tunes he knew.
Still black!
The clock went ticking away, she'd be here any minute soon.
He dashed to the convenience store downstairs and bought a pot of fake roses.
The fakest, reddest roses he had ever seen.
So red! (so fake!)
The rest was history, just like in those movies. And they lived happily ever after. And he never restrung his ukulele.
Hmm. I will stop bombarding everyone with weird songs I wrote. I will watch some videos and comment.
Jake Thackray's songs remain a challenge. His songs are so cool. There is a musician I really like called Benjamin Clementine whose style is a little like Thackray's, except he is very mournful whereas Thackray was dark but funny. I just read that Clementine did mention Thackray as one of his influences.
I have a song I wrote in 2015 that mentions a "witch's spell". I have been wanting to re-record that song but I never got motivated to do so. Well, today I did, straight after I got home from work. I used the original video I made in 2015 for the new recording.
I dunno what i was thinking when I wrote it.
Lyrics here:
FAKE ROSES
He wanted to surprise her, bought her a pot of roses. But the roses turned black when he stepped inside his home.
He thought water would revive the flowers...Well, obviously not...
So he called up the florist, but they were closed.
Maybe ice cubes would be better, he thought, the weather was so hot.
But he sat there sulking as the ice water flowed out of the pot.
Still black!
The clock went ticking away, she'd be here very soon.
She was never very fond of surprises, especially if roses turned black.
She liked flowers very much - but only if they were red.
They'd been dating for 2 months now and he really liked her a lot.
So he called up his buddy Tommy who knew everything under the sun.
Tommy said : why not play a love song to the roses, that might break the witch's spell.
So he grabbed his little uke and started playing a tune he knew, but nothing happened.
He played another love song from long ago, but the witch's spell remained unbroken.
Still black!
He grew desperate and strummed harder. And guess what? He broke a string! (how's that possible?)
Frantic, he grabbed his guitar and sang another tune. It seemed the roses turned blacker.
He remembered how Tommy got outraged every time someone called his ukulele a small guitar,
so he grabbed his 3-string uke again, and sang more tunes he knew.
Still black!
The clock went ticking away, she'd be here any minute soon.
He dashed to the convenience store downstairs and bought a pot of fake roses.
The fakest, reddest roses he had ever seen.
So red! (so fake!)
The rest was history, just like in those movies. And they lived happily ever after. And he never restrung his ukulele.
Hmm. I will stop bombarding everyone with weird songs I wrote. I will watch some videos and comment.
Jake Thackray's songs remain a challenge. His songs are so cool. There is a musician I really like called Benjamin Clementine whose style is a little like Thackray's, except he is very mournful whereas Thackray was dark but funny. I just read that Clementine did mention Thackray as one of his influences.
Stoneyrun
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2021
- Messages
- 397
- Reaction score
- 861
I kept wanting a uke to appear.
UkeCan1
Well-known member
I've been in a Tony Robbins course the last 6 days - ~16-hour days on Zoom starting at 1 or 2am my time, with little break. I totally forgot there was even a new Season coming out until my 7:58pm Sunday (midnight Hawaii time) alarm went off.
(In case you were wondering how I'm so effective at posting on the dot when the Season starts, now you know. Magic!)
The course ended just in time to get myself to the monthly Thursday night open mic at the nearby Brisbane River Golf Club, but not in time to do much preparation - like picking out songs and learning them and stuff. (Or, you know, sleeping.)
So with all that going on, I'm pleased with how well this went. Local 14-year-old guitar whiz Ben Collins was onstage right before me, so I invited him to stay up there and add his particular brand of magic, on the fly. I'm really happy you get to "meet" Ben, because he is awesome.
I made the mistake of checking the thread here just before I went on, and discovered that apparently all three cover songs I had planned have already been done. So I made a last-seconds substitution, dropping "Puff the Magic Dragon", having suddenly remembered that "Moondance" is all about the magic and is a way better vibe for 9pm at the open mic anyway.
For all this spontaneity and total lack of rehearsal, I think Ben and I created some magic tonight. I hope you like it.
"Moondance" - Van Morrison
"Abracadabra" - Steve Miller Band
"Do You Believe in Magic" - the Lovin' Spoonful
"Natural Magic" - original about compost tea, a subject you didn't realize you need to know about!
(In case you were wondering how I'm so effective at posting on the dot when the Season starts, now you know. Magic!)
The course ended just in time to get myself to the monthly Thursday night open mic at the nearby Brisbane River Golf Club, but not in time to do much preparation - like picking out songs and learning them and stuff. (Or, you know, sleeping.)
So with all that going on, I'm pleased with how well this went. Local 14-year-old guitar whiz Ben Collins was onstage right before me, so I invited him to stay up there and add his particular brand of magic, on the fly. I'm really happy you get to "meet" Ben, because he is awesome.
I made the mistake of checking the thread here just before I went on, and discovered that apparently all three cover songs I had planned have already been done. So I made a last-seconds substitution, dropping "Puff the Magic Dragon", having suddenly remembered that "Moondance" is all about the magic and is a way better vibe for 9pm at the open mic anyway.
For all this spontaneity and total lack of rehearsal, I think Ben and I created some magic tonight. I hope you like it.
"Moondance" - Van Morrison
"Abracadabra" - Steve Miller Band
"Do You Believe in Magic" - the Lovin' Spoonful
"Natural Magic" - original about compost tea, a subject you didn't realize you need to know about!
chris667
Well-known member
Hello! Some great stuff this week - I will catch up this weekend!
I was hoping to meet up with my friend to do a bit of piano accompaniment this week - it may or may not happen. So I thought I'd do a quick and very dirty recording of Black Swan by Jake Thackray. I might have done the Castleford Ladies Magic Circle, but @kolibri has beat me to it and this one is my favourite.
Thackray was very young when he wrote this and I feel you can imagine him thinking this is how it will turn out for him.
I love the way it captures the self-pity of the alcoholic. "Think of me kindly, but don't try to find me/I'm lost, I'm lost/heart and eyes are both crossed". What a genius.
Anyway, here it is. I had to take a lot of liberties to make it work on the ukulele, but I hope it's an appropriate tribute.
I was hoping to meet up with my friend to do a bit of piano accompaniment this week - it may or may not happen. So I thought I'd do a quick and very dirty recording of Black Swan by Jake Thackray. I might have done the Castleford Ladies Magic Circle, but @kolibri has beat me to it and this one is my favourite.
Thackray was very young when he wrote this and I feel you can imagine him thinking this is how it will turn out for him.
I love the way it captures the self-pity of the alcoholic. "Think of me kindly, but don't try to find me/I'm lost, I'm lost/heart and eyes are both crossed". What a genius.
Anyway, here it is. I had to take a lot of liberties to make it work on the ukulele, but I hope it's an appropriate tribute.
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OP
OP
Hello folks! Just thought I should drop in and say I'm looking forward to listening to the things I've just added to the playlist, though I may not manage it until tomorrow morning (my time, obviously)... I'm currently entertaining myself (if that's the right word) by grading some final year undergrad coursework so I'll be needing something filled with your usual enjoyment when I'm done!
Anyway, I'm particularly pleased to hear (both here and in looking through the youtube comments) that a few of you who are new to Jake Thackray are digging into his records. I think Joo's comment that he was "dark but funny" is absolutely spot on.
Anyway, I'm particularly pleased to hear (both here and in looking through the youtube comments) that a few of you who are new to Jake Thackray are digging into his records. I think Joo's comment that he was "dark but funny" is absolutely spot on.
Sneak Peek pt 3 - We're getting closer to the original goal. Melody line has been laid down. Some harmonies were recorded from the keys (thirds, unison and octave). I just now need to practice it a little more to play it cleaner. I also want to add some more uke harmonies, but I'm not quite sure exactly which lines I want to harmonize or to what degree I want to harmonize them with. But we're getting pretty close!
I also want some lines to build up to the final chorus, but I still have to figure out how I'm going to do that...
I've got another long night of dance classes tonight, so I won't be able to touch my instruments until Friday. But I'm glad I've already made it this far because now I have tangible proof that my vision was feasible. I just have to polish it a little bit more and I'm done.
Anyway, this might seem like a lot (and I know it looks bonkers from the outside looking in), but I promise that each part is just bite size parts that add up to a lot.
I also want some lines to build up to the final chorus, but I still have to figure out how I'm going to do that...
I've got another long night of dance classes tonight, so I won't be able to touch my instruments until Friday. But I'm glad I've already made it this far because now I have tangible proof that my vision was feasible. I just have to polish it a little bit more and I'm done.
Anyway, this might seem like a lot (and I know it looks bonkers from the outside looking in), but I promise that each part is just bite size parts that add up to a lot.
AlanDP
Well-known member
"The Wizard" by Uriah Heep, from their album Demons & Wizards.
Flatbaroque
Well-known member
A Nick Drake song with added garageband synth.
DelGriff
A very boring man!
Thanks for hosting, Edwin. 
This is a collaboration with my 18-year-old self, who wrote a poem in December 1984 called ‘The Magic Of Christmas’. Today I wrote the music that turned it into a song. Del was young and naive back then and hoped the world might change for the better. It hasn’t. So this is dedicated to all the innocent victims of war. And to my amazing Dad, who is in the last few days of his life. Tough times.
Lyrics
The magic of Christmas is scarcer each year;
A time of goodwill, but it’s so insincere.
We celebrate birth when the world’s full of dying,
We join in the laughter, aware of the crying.
Don‘t let it be,
Let your heart, your mind, your love run free.
We stuff ourselves silly with food we don’t need -
The calls of our conscience are muffled by greed.
We think it’s enough to donate a few pence (cents),
But deep down we realise it’s only pretence.
Don‘t let it be,
Let your heart, your mind, your love run free.
If you hear these words and feel no pangs of guilt,
If you‘re satisfied with this world we have built,
Then I’ve wasted my time and I’ve wasted yours too -
Please don’t listen further, I’ve no time for you.
But if you have listened with care and compassion
You’re good to be seen with - loves always in fashion.
Believe in your instincts and follow them through -
The magic of Christmas lies safe within you.
This is a collaboration with my 18-year-old self, who wrote a poem in December 1984 called ‘The Magic Of Christmas’. Today I wrote the music that turned it into a song. Del was young and naive back then and hoped the world might change for the better. It hasn’t. So this is dedicated to all the innocent victims of war. And to my amazing Dad, who is in the last few days of his life. Tough times.
Lyrics
The magic of Christmas is scarcer each year;
A time of goodwill, but it’s so insincere.
We celebrate birth when the world’s full of dying,
We join in the laughter, aware of the crying.
Don‘t let it be,
Let your heart, your mind, your love run free.
We stuff ourselves silly with food we don’t need -
The calls of our conscience are muffled by greed.
We think it’s enough to donate a few pence (cents),
But deep down we realise it’s only pretence.
Don‘t let it be,
Let your heart, your mind, your love run free.
If you hear these words and feel no pangs of guilt,
If you‘re satisfied with this world we have built,
Then I’ve wasted my time and I’ve wasted yours too -
Please don’t listen further, I’ve no time for you.
But if you have listened with care and compassion
You’re good to be seen with - loves always in fashion.
Believe in your instincts and follow them through -
The magic of Christmas lies safe within you.
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Happiness! I had to try to record a Jake Thackray song before I started work today! And I am glad I did!
You know, Edwin, I love every of his songs I have heard so far. I find myself laughing out loud at some of them.
I prefer his live performances much more than his studio versions with the orchestra and stuff. To me, his songs are best just him and a guitar.
Here is me trying to sing Lah Di Dah, it's a song many can relate I think!
You know, Edwin, I love every of his songs I have heard so far. I find myself laughing out loud at some of them.
I prefer his live performances much more than his studio versions with the orchestra and stuff. To me, his songs are best just him and a guitar.
Here is me trying to sing Lah Di Dah, it's a song many can relate I think!
wee_ginga_yin
Well-known member
What Is a Black Swan? A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.
wee_ginga_yin
Well-known member
It's Saturday night, your have a shave and comb your hair, put on a clean shirt, and polish your shoes.
It's Saturday night, time for those six inch stiletto heels that accentuate your calves and the push up bra that does things for your bust.
Man or woman. your want to look your. best, and escape the humdrum factory or the kitchen and the laundry room.
Is it the barmaid that's smilin' from the corner of her eye?Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye. Everyone is looking for the heart of Saturday night.
It's Saturday night, time for those six inch stiletto heels that accentuate your calves and the push up bra that does things for your bust.
Man or woman. your want to look your. best, and escape the humdrum factory or the kitchen and the laundry room.
Is it the barmaid that's smilin' from the corner of her eye?Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye. Everyone is looking for the heart of Saturday night.
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