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#411069 05/06/17 12:14 PM
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I thought that it was probably time for me to introduce a bit of local scenery into one of my songs.

I live in Melbourne (Australia). It is located on the northern end of a pretty large bay called Port Phillip Bay. Around the edges of this bay are many local (sub)bays and beaches. One of those bays is Apollo Bay. It is a popular holiday location for locals and tourists.



Using Apollo Bay as a setting, I thought I'd write a story about someone who might live there...




...I hope you enjoy it.

Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the song.

Regards,
Noel


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Lyrics
Standing on the beach at Apollo Bay
She stares at the distant horizon
A friendly wind blows
A seagull circles low
And as the blue fills with rolling waves
She feels her spirit brighten

Standing on the beach at Apollo Bay
She thinks about the father of her daughter
For three years, he’s been gone
And with courage, she carries on
But her heart longs for a future day
When he’ll fly across these waters

Twisting a golden ring around her finger
She says to the ocean, “This life with a soldier means taking each day at a time”

Standing on the beach at Apollo Bay
She faces those fears that come and greet her
It’s love that keeps her strong
Gives her power to travel on
And she’ll endure whatever comes her way
This life will not defeat her

Thinking about her daughter and the years ahead
And if she has to, she’ll battle heaven and earth, if that’s what it takes to survive

Standing on the beach at Apollo Bay
She faces those fears that come and greet her
It’s love that keeps her strong
Gives her power to travel on
And she’ll endure whatever comes her way
This life will not defeat her

Yes, love keeps her strong
Brings her hope when things go wrong
And she’ll cope, whatever comes her way
Life will not defeat her

©2017 Noel Adams, words and music, all rights reserved.


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Noel96 #411071 05/06/17 01:02 PM
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Hi Noel96, Excellent work with this. Very easy to listen to and quite enjoyable. Well done! smile


Cheers,
Joe
Noel96 #411090 05/06/17 02:55 PM
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Noel,
I liked the way your story drew me in - the first verse really sets the scene.The folky melody suits the lyric( and takes an unexpected turn in the chorus). Your vocal is assured and distinctive... a bit like the ever positive feeling of your songs.
Oh and very well produced!

Robert

Noel96 #411101 05/06/17 04:37 PM
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Wow, Noel. This is genius songwriting.

I have to be impressed with the way you have crafted the rhyming nature of the lyrics.

Very clever rhyming of lines 1 & 5 and 2 & 6 and then carefully and masterfully creating a separate rhyme by introducing symmetry with lines of 3 & 4 of each verse.

The further exceptional achievement is the creativity of the story line that embraces the entire song.

Thank you.

Excellent, again.


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Noel96 #411107 05/06/17 04:51 PM
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Cool song!

great writing as usual and I agree with Robert

in that the folky melody suits the lyric and then

takes an unexpected turn in the chorus (which I really like)

it sounds Country there to me. Another strong very likeable song.

Kenny

Noel96 #411114 05/06/17 05:05 PM
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Ho Noel,

It's not always easy to paint a masterpiece with words but you managed to do so exceptionally well. As Kenny mentioned, the chorus takes us to slightly different feel - Country-Rock rather than Folk-Rock. They work very nicely together. Each chorus raises the interest in the song, as a chorus should.

Your technical production expertise shows through quite vividly. You have a nice touch with the "knobs". We were right there over-looking the water and enjoying the view with sweet music in our ears. Really nice! Wishing you well.

Alan & Di.


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Noel96 #411124 05/06/17 10:14 PM
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Hi Noel.

A beautiful song and a great arrangement.

I liked the pick-up into the second verse and the way it kicked again into the bridge. Very professional.

Good story-line, but then your lyrics have always been a strong point of your songs.

Enjoyed the whole thing.

Cheers, ROG.

Noel96 #411127 05/06/17 10:55 PM
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Noel

An excellent folk song that tells a story beautifully. Reminds me a bit of Eric Bogle.
Great work.

Peter

Noel96 #411131 05/06/17 11:37 PM
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Noel,

This is a new favorite for me... What a beautiful song - love the vocal. It reminds me of Roger Whittaker. Great arrangement and mix as well.

Excellent!

Bob

Noel96 #411147 05/07/17 02:06 AM
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This is a real masterpiece, and I love the band!! It doesn't get much better than this. This is a top quality write, mix, arrangement, performance and production. You've made all the right choices.

The overall writing and production in the forum has improved in quality over the last few years as well as the quality of realtracks and features of BIAB. It's no longer unusual to hear a very professional sounding production and this is a good example of a radio ready home produced song. Super write and production. It's been several years now since I could keep pace with the rapid growth you and others have achieved in the top quality professionalism of writing and production. You are inspiring a whole new generation of home recordists and consistently displaying the amazing benefits of BIAB.

Not only do you have perfect command over lyrics, you are getting really good with your production techniques and arranging skills. This is a complete package for me and I've enjoyed my listen from start to finish each time I've played it through.





Charlie


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Originally Posted By: Joe -PG Music
Hi Noel96, Excellent work with this. Very easy to listen to and quite enjoyable. Well done! smile

Thanks, Joe! Appreciate your taking time out to have a listen.

Regards,
Noel


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Noel96 #411185 05/07/17 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted By: Robertkc
Noel,
I liked the way your story drew me in - the first verse really sets the scene. The folky melody suits the lyric (and takes an unexpected turn in the chorus). Your vocal is assured and distinctive... a bit like the ever positive feeling of your songs.
Oh and very well produced!

Robert

Hi Robert,

Thank you for the visit.

It took a bit of trial-and-error to get this backing together. Deciding on the best over-arching sound and style was a puzzle for me. Whatever I chose, the ballad nature of the melody/lyrics often seemed to be having a tug-of-war with the tempo (120 bpm). This made selecting suitable RTs more challenging than usual. It was an interesting journey!

Thanks again!

All the best,
Noel


MY SONGS...
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Noel96 #411230 05/07/17 01:57 PM
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This is very good Noel! Great writing and performance. The song captivates the listener and holds their attention. I liked the way the instrumentation builds in the song. Thanks, Torrey.

Noel96 #411237 05/07/17 02:31 PM
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Very nice, Noel! The arrangement fits the song well, and your vocals are very nice on this one. As usual, your lyrics are well crafted. You always have a way of presenting difficult times/situations with a strong sense of hope. I like that about your writing. Really enjoyed this one.

Steve


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Noel96 #411249 05/07/17 04:19 PM
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So vivid and compelling!

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Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
Wow, Noel. This is genius songwriting.

I have to be impressed with the way you have crafted the rhyming nature of the lyrics.

Very clever rhyming of lines 1 & 5 and 2 & 6 and then carefully and masterfully creating a separate rhyme by introducing symmetry with lines of 3 & 4 of each verse.

The further exceptional achievement is the creativity of the story line that embraces the entire song.

Thank you.

Excellent, again.



Hey Trev!

Thanks for passing through the thread. And thanks for all those comments! As much as I'd like to claim credit for the rhyme scheme, I can't. I accidentally stumbled on this pattern when I was zig-zagging around the internet a couple of weeks ago and looking at lots of poetry.

Michael Drayton (1563 - 1631) wrote a poem called "Ode To The Virginian Voyage" where he used this rhyme pattern. When I saw it, I was determined to test run it. My poetic meter is different from his but the rhyming is the same abccab sextet. It's a very effective structure to augment feelings of 'not quite happy but happy enough'.

I'll definitely use it again sometime.

All the best,
Noel


MY SONGS...
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Noel96 #411306 05/08/17 01:20 AM
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Noel, The first thing that stood out to me was the unusual rhyme scheme that was handled with great skill. Pro production and a fine vocal. The image of looking out at a great expanse of natural beauty while reaffirming life's choices was an inspired concept. Great song! Tom

Noel96 #411342 05/08/17 04:32 AM
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Noel,

What a great production! All the instruments are so strong, and so well anchored.

Very uplifting. Awesome sounds, great lyrics, and excellent vocals.

Noel96 #411348 05/08/17 04:41 AM
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I love this kind of music Noel. Just a super vocal and the guitar finger picking was just such an nice addition to the song. Well done


Scott Collingwood
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Noel96 #411353 05/08/17 04:53 AM
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Noel,

I enjoyed this very much! Your such a good story teller. A fine vocal with an excellent mix & production!

Great Job!

Greg

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