Song Prompt Four: Blossom

Here is a song I wrote in a rush so that I could keep up with the prompts. I was in a rush because here is the list of things happening in February.

• I've also been commissioned to help with a theme for an animated short for a friend of mine, 
• had to prepare for two gigs one big and one not so big but cool none the less, 
• rehearse for Irish stuff happening in March, 
• oh and lets not forget shoveling out of the 'Snow Apocalypse' which has happened in Minnesota this year,
• and last but not least taxes

I'm only trying to be clear about it because I believe we need to show all of the stuff. In this situation the song isn't the best, and it needs work. I will do that work as I progress with it and the year, but for the moment this is what I did and what I get.

Here are the lyrics.

Song Prompt: Blossom
Tentative name: A Book By It’s Cover

Verse 1

Blossom she was a think tank
she was a working type of gal
she got/kept her hands dirty
but her mind clean
she was a country kind of gal.
grew up on rainy days, clean air, and country roads
grew up on hot summers and cold winter winds
she grew up long and slow.

Chorus
(she learned ya)
don’t judge a book by it’s cover
don’t call a flower a weed
cause you never know what you got in hand
that weed might be a friend in deed/ you never know what you need

Verse 2

one day she went to the city to see what it said
hit the road for thirteen hours got out and looked ahead
she met all kinds of people blue, black, and red
she met hims, and hers, and thems in-between
and they all got together and shared bread.

Chorus

Bridge

So take your skin off put your guns down
and come on lets join the show
let the band play on lets sing the song
let the rainbow go out of control
cause ain’t no one going to save us but us
its our one day out in the sun
come on right now sing our song …..(lets join the show)

Chorus 2X

Songwriting Prompt Three: Stir

This weeks prompt was Stir and I must admit this one was harder. Partly because it just didn't flow and partly because life was in the way.

We’re Cooking
Key: A
Writing Prompt: Stir
Standard Timing


Open the Wine
Stir up the sauce
grandma’s got a spoon in her hand 
The kids get lost

We’re cooking. Yes, we’re cooking.
Baked apple pie
Blues on the hi fi
We’re cooking

Winters here
it’s cold in the snow
going to make some love (tonight)
cause it’s 20 below

Chorus
Bridge
You’ll need ten cups of apples pealed and cored
one cup of sugar don’t spill it on the floor
You’ll need a teaspoon of cinnamon
four tablespoons of flour
half cup of water shouldn’t take half an hour.

You get a cup of quick oats
another cup of flour
cup of brown sugar quarter teaspoon baking powder.
We’re going to melt all that butter
a whole half a cup
cause our hearts are only happy
when we’re filling something up

Chorus

Banjo's, Fenders, & Coffee.

Hey Gang-    How are you doing? Okay? I hope you’re feeling super-awesome.  I’ve got a surprise. I’ve bought a banjo!!! Here it is.  

The banjo I’ve bought is a Recording King RKS-06-YE Starlight Series 5-String Banjo. It’s yellow as you can see.
Why a banjo?

A very good question. Well, I have wanted to learn to play the one for a few years. I enjoy the tonal quality and how it works as a solo instrument and an ensemble one. I’ve taken the resonator back off and decided to paint a design on it. The design with be a tree in the center surrounded by a celtic knotwork. I’ll show you after its finished.

    I started to learn not just the chords of this new instrument, but the style of playing. It’s been challenging because it’s slightly different than playing either a fingerstyle or finger-pulling thing. The main difference as I understand it and please note that I am just learning so I could be wrong is where the 1 in the beat is. In a fingerstyle guitar the 1 is on the bass note or the thumb strike, but on the banjo’s claw style the thumb strikes the 5th string (the tiny thin one) on the ‘and’.

1,and,2,and,3,and,4, and…  which seems to me to give the rhythm a syncopated thing. It’s sort of challenging. I find myself switching back and forth all the time because of my guitar style. Time and practice will help things out and I will get better. 

Here's a video to accompany the blog post. 

 http://youtu.be/sQk_YRxLUhc

Keep coming back and see how I’m doing.

Thanks

 Trevor