Tsunami Song 1 - Lyrics / Title

[nursers]

Ok - Tedster is going to submit some lyrics, and then we need to finalise what we want sooner rather than later: my suggestion would be today, midnight forum time?

[Billster]

Here's some e-mail I bounced with Ted this afternoon:

 

--- billster@ix.netcom.com wrote:

 

Hey Ted, lyric idea I'm kicking around:

 

I too am away from recording gear at the moment - no real melodic concept yet

 

Chorus:

I have seen the faces

I have seen the places

The people and things taken away

We can feed the children

We can build a house again

We can make tomorrow, but we must start today

 

Verse 1 - all about people

Verse 2 - all about places

Verse 3 - ???

 

Verse 1

 

My child's face means the world to me

I can't imagine him gone

I relish the comfort of family

Like the peace and silence of dawn

 

Pre-Chorus bridge

 

I look at the world through my TV

And see people everywhere are just like me

 

--------Tedster wrote back:

 

You're coming along with a similar line of attack. Do you have a melody? My opening line was something along the line of "Fear is not the face that we should wake up with" or something...I have it written down at home. But, a similar concept...from the point of view of a parent seeing their young children safe asleep,

and thinking of another parent looking in grief on their children who are no more.

[nursers]

That's all sounding pretty great!

 

Ted, love that line: fear is not the face that we should wake up with

 

What do others think?

[Chris.]

yeah i like tedsters line,

i also like the last two lines of billsters chorus, maybe the first lines are melodramatic, (its not just about children), iv'e heard people use this kind of line as emotional blackmail, like cliff richard, "children singing christian rhymes".

 

its hard to say thigs without offending, and we should all trust that here, nobody means ofence, and we should damn well just say what we are thinking:D best best way to get things done with minimun of fuss

 

agreed?

[Shars]

I think its great...it pulls in the right places and with a great harmonie under it, it can shout alot louder.

Good work so far guys but remember, this is about the sea coming in and killing not famine so long as its nothing like Band Aide, thats ok.

[nursers]

Anyone got title ideas? One possibility would be using the word fear in it maybe?:

 

Love over fear

No more fear

 

Or we could be much more concrete and call it something along the lines of 'The Tsunami Song' etc.

 

Thoughts?

[Chris.]

one thing that might be good is to use the fact that nobody expected it, ie there WAS no fear. it took everyone by surprise!

 

something more like "comfortable".. get the thesaurus out.

[Shoes]

Excuse me but I'm pulling this because it seems counter productive to the effort here.

Hopefully I can find another way to contribute.

[Shars]

Wjat can one say but Beautiful.

[Chris.]

that is definatey a beautiful poem guitarshoes. you wrote that inspired by this tragegy?

 

while we're in the initial stages of lyric writing i think we should post here some keywords, things that we think might be mentioned in the lyrics.

 

its something i've done with my bands in the past as a kind of brainstorming outlet.

 

i'll start.

 

wave

homes

lives and livelyhood.

our humanity, our people (need us?)

reach out? na.. too cheesy.

 

but you know what i'm getting at

[nursers]

Originally posted by Guitars are like shoes. But louder.:

Excuse me but I'm pulling this because it seems counter productive to the effort here.

Hopefully I can find another way to contribute.

Why would it be counter-productive??? There were some fine lines you wrote there - how about you re-post them?

[Bunny Knutson]

I've been working on lyrics and playing around with melodies and chord changes since last night. I'm not too impressed with what I have so far, but I'm still very curious to hear what Ted has going.

 

I like everything I've seen posted here today. Billster has some great stuff and Chris is working hard to get us going, too. Hey, GuitarShoes, please re-post what you had there earlier. That was really good.

 

Even if we don't use everything everyone posts, we still might need to use a line or phrase or two to complete our song.

 

I might post some of what I have later, if I can get it into a usable state. Right now, it's just kind of blah.

[Steve Force]

Yes, GuitarShoes--please re-post.

[Shoes]

I had to finish this and should not have posted it knowing I intended to have it completed tonight. As I've offered in explanation, I'll finish and record this as described.

Please feel free to use what is of interest or use to you.

 

This song was written from inspirations drawn from the events of December 26, 2004 when a Tsunami in the Indian Ocean swept away the lives of countless innocent people who inhabited this area of the world.

 

The planned music is Celtic / maritime natured in keeping with the occurrence and could / should be cross pollinated with east Indian rhythms and instrumentation to draw a proper regional feel.

 

It was written more as a prayer than as a song and as such doesn't lend itself easily to heavy instrumentation but this is open to interpretation and experimentation.

 

Any direct reference to the cause, disaster, aftermath or situation in specific were left out intentionally that it remain an open moment of reflection and not a direct reflection that relives the event.

 

I am but a seed that my parents did sew

What wonders await me I can't even know

My journey's uncharted on this craft I ride

The earth she's unknowing of the dreams that I bide

 

Your sky is my window to stars by the night

The morning brings beauty of the splendor I might

Keep close to my heart all that you bring to me

If only your secrets all I'd have to see

 

Chorus

Mountains so snowcapped with glistening streams

Run deep to your oceans the cycles remain

I am but so small that your eyes cannot see

You turn only forward not feeling my pain

 

My time here was cherished though it's meaning's unknown

Cut short on my quest to have turned every stone

Though my offerings were made you washed over my soul

Carry me to your skies where we both become whole

 

chorus

Mountains so snowcapped with glistening streams

Run deep to your oceans the cycles remain

I am but so small that your eyes cannot see

You turn yet again to rekindle my flame

 

Peter Kelly

12/28/04

[Steve Force]

What Peter (GuitarShoes) said!

 

Personally, I really dig his whole concept!

[nursers]

I'm wondering if we could pull off two songs??

 

Bunny - definitely post your lyrics too

[Billster]

OK here's something to kick around. Tsunami Demo - William Hartzell

 

I changed the lyrics some from my original post, with a big tip to GuitarShoes for some inspiration.

 

I think the chords for the "Pre" section here could also serve as a verse section if someone more crafty than me could write some verses.

 

I see the lyric as kind of saying two views:

 

1> from the victims, that they must live one day at a time

2> from those of fortunate to try and help, that there's no time to waste. We must start today.

 

Tempo is 135

Chords are one bar each

 

CHORDS

Pre: D9/A; A add 11; C9/G; G add 11; D9/A; A add 11; Bb maj; A maj

Chorus: D;A;C;G;A;D;E;A

 

LYRICS:

Pre:

I am just a part

Of the world that we have

So much of what we know

Can change any day

 

Chorus:

We can make it back

We can be strong

We can make tomorrow

But we must start today

[Philip OKeefe]

Tedster, a couple of lines for a verse, if I may be so bold as to make some suggestions?

 

(The) Earth below gave way

and sent the waves crashing their way

Dreams of yesterday gone with the tide

 

Politics aside

the devestation's region-wide

and I for one can not sit idly by

 

just a few lines off the cuff. Feel free to use or not as you folks see fit.

[Philip OKeefe]

BTW, I really like your current verse as is. I'm just tossing out some ideas for additional verses.

 

Oh, and the chorus... do we want to make some sort of plea for worldwide compassion and caring? Do we want to encourage people to get involved in this unprecedented tragedy by trying to do something - anything - to help mitigate it and prevent further loss of life? That's kind of the direction I'm leaning... but I see there's an "anti-Band-Aid cheese factor" element here (which I can understand) and I don't want it to be too cheesy. But I think a message of hope for the survivors about help being on the way, and encouragement to the world to all pitch in to help would both be good "goals" of the song.

 

I really see this as being one of those "popular uprising of the human spirit in common people" type of events... out of tragedy comes people from all walks of life, pulling together to help their fellow humans. The governments are doing something, and I commend that, but it's going to take far more than a few dozen million here, and a few dozen million there to even come anywhere near dealing with the huge scope of this disaster. Which means it comes down to us - all of us, worldwide. I'd like to somehow express that - without being cheesy.

[nursers]

Phil, couldn't agree more - and the brutal reality is that even if it gets a little cheesy, it's only us musicians that usually wince. If everyone was as cheese-sensitive as us then "My Heart Will Go On' would never have made the top 200 let alone number 1

[Billster]

Okay, I have Ted's lyrics transcribed. Can I suggest that the first word of the second line of the chorus be changed from "hunger" to "anger"?

 

And to add to Phil's verse:

 

(The) Earth below gave way

and sent the waves crashing their way

Dreams of yesterday gone with the tide

 

So much has been lost

At such a tragic cost

But a better hope remains inside

[Tedster]

Hey, everybody "may be so bold". This is a collaboration... I'm just flattered that folks seem to be digging what I very hastily put up. Bill, dangit, I still haven't even had a chance to catch the stuff you've posted...working for a living is such a waste of time.

[Shoes]

You need to avoid the word Tide because anyone who lives on the coast will tell you that it's essentially the heartbeat of their existence. It marks time and brings growth to maintain life.

 

This was no tide.

[Tedster]

I think Phil was using the term "tide" metaphorically...not to insinuate that it was a "tide" that did this damage. People use "tide" all the time in that sense..."the tide is turning"..."I can't wash me skivs 'cause I'm out of Tide"..."my tongue is all tide" HAHAHAHAoops...

[PBBPaul]

It's been a long and I'm Tide!

[Tedster]

Zackly! Tide an' wone out.

 

Hey...I feel a blues song coming on...

[Chris.]

Could we change just two words of yours ted?

 

Hunger

and

Agony

 

What everyone else think?

 

actually, does someone have a final first lyric draft (if that makes any sense) to go with just now?

[Tedster]

Hunger...well, I s'pose.

 

Agony? I don't think so. Personally, I think that one is very appropriate. Not only in terms of physical agony in the sense of those who are injured without medical help, but in the psychological agony the survivors are experiencing now, burying their dead, no food (hence the hunger) or clean water...no shelter, and that doesn't even begin to count the discomfort of having lost everything else.

 

Hunger and agony...disease...anguish...

 

We really can't forget that although the death toll is staggering, the dead are beyond suffering now, and it's the living that we need to worry about. Certainly of course the dead must be buried...but, the main concerns are food, clean water, shelter, and medical attention for the survivors.

 

I heard on NPR this morning that thousands in Iran are still reeling over last year's earthquakes. Matter of fact, they said that one of the main problems with a major disaster is that the problems persist for years, long after the news (and hence the general public) lose interest. I can't imagine long-term repercussions of this.

[Chris.]

Originally posted by Tedster '05:

Hunger...well, I s'pose.

 

Agony? I don't think so. Personally, I think that one is very appropriate. Not only in terms of physical agony in the sense of those who are injured without medical help, but in the psychological agony the survivors are experiencing now, burying their dead, no food (hence the hunger) or clean water...no shelter, and that doesn't even begin to count the discomfort of having lost everything else.

 

Hunger and agony...disease...anguish...

 

.

coool!

just a thought,

because i was thinking 'hunger' might sound like a famine appeal.. but it is true that people are hungry.. and the word agony - it just screamed out at me the more i listen to the tune,stuck out the most.

but perhaps thats a good thing eh.

 

did you hear my addition to your work ted?

 

the other thing about the news samples is that is makes it very specific to this disaster, which we may or may not want to avoid.. something for discussion anyways!

[Tedster]

Originally posted by Chris_C:

 

did you hear my addition to your work ted?

 

the other thing about the news samples is that is makes it very specific to this disaster, which we may or may not want to avoid.. something for discussion anyways!

I heard your news clips...have you pasted them as an intro? Haven't heard that. I think that it's appropriate (speaking for myself) that the clips make it specific to this particular disaster.