The Everlasting Summer

Here is a majestic ballad to celebrate the summer solstice and its historical and ritual meaning to people. It's the high point of the year, but still it's only a transient moment in the cycle of the seasons. The song was inspired by a document about the song Killing Me Softy, the fantastic atmospheric pedal steel realtrack and a summer song contest. I wrote the lyrics again in Finnish but I couldn't get my usual Finnish singer so I had to turn to RnAM and translate the song, the lyrics may sound clumsy because I tried to keep alliteration and rhyming. I should have worked on it much more, but there was a deadline... Good practice anyway.

RnAM made fantastic work with the vocals once again, especially Anne-Marie's voice in the choruses is supernaturally beautiful and it blends nicely with the pedal steel. This was also the first trial with Shevannai "voice of elves" voice library, it gives nice ancient pagan feeling to the song.

RealDrums PraiseWorshipSlow16hts
Loop: HipHopOldSchool_woo_cha_beat80a

RealTracks:
Electric Bass #1592
Acoustic Guitar Pick #1814, #1765
Electric Guitar Dirty #808
Electric Guitar Gritty #842
Electric Guitar Held #1832
Electric Guitar Soloist #1514
Pedal Steel Background #2542
Electric Piano #2197
Flute #1336
Horn Section #2291
String Quartet #2335
Vibes #1215

Vocals:
RnAM
Shevannai
Birds (finch, nightingale etc.)

Music mixed in Adobe Audition, RnAM did the final mix with their vocals.

Lyrics:

In the shadows of the spruces
a shelter for a covert kiss
on the bed of underbrush
budding at the birth of bliss
the childhood grove glows green
attuning to your abyss.

I looked in your eyes high on pleasure
in your lily valley slept at leisure
I never thought that
you could take your gaze off
summer, the everlasting bloom.

Roaming on the rough rocks
alongside of a sturdy steep
in the dell of our daze
a spellbound seedling shyly sleeps
fading fear of a fiend
diving in the dawning deep.

I looked in your eyes with desire
an oak tree ritual by the Litha fire
I never thought that
you could take your gaze off
summer, the everlasting calm.

To the winter night
wild is the ride
of the fairy foal
if you lose control.

I looked in your eyes beneath the bower
the bond was sealed with the holy flower
I never thought that
you could take your gaze off
summer, the everlasting while.

---
Janne

Perfect performance, mix, arrangement and production. A great collaboration. Enjoyed it.

Again it was a pleasure to work with Janne on one of his songs.
These songs always have an interesting complexity to them and are always a challenge for us to sing.
In this case for Anne-Marie, who had to really get out of her comfort zone to sing the high-pitched harmony vocal which Janne originally programmed with the Vocaloid (and he did a great job on that!)

Rob

Wow, a very impressive piece, well done to all concerned! I love the beautiful vocals, especially Anne-Marie's high parts - an excellent hook to the song. The whole was very tastefully mixed and mastered.

I did feel that the melody was unnecessarily convoluted - it felt as if a poem had been forced into song-form, so some lines didn't flow easily. I think that the excellent musical backing would actually allow a 'free-er' lyric/melody marriage with a slight editing of the words.

John

Beautiful song and great production! I really liked this!!!

Janne,

You've a great job! It's very easy to tell that you've put a whole heap of work into getting this one together. I congratulate Rob and Anne-Marie, too. The arrangment, production and vocals, are fantastic. This is definitely an effort for everyone to feel proud of. As I said last time, I totally admire your ability to write songs in a second language. I don't know how you do it!

Regards,
Noel

All,
Quite ethereal - lovely vocals and a complex lush arrangement. Good song most enjoyable.

Thanks John for your nice feedback. Good observation about the flow, I agree, I felt that way after the translation process, but was too close to see how to fix it. Maybe later when I get distance or an outsider's view...

Janne

Thanks Rob and Anne-Marie again, you really exceeded yourselves, where would I be without you I hope to bring you another challenge later this year

Janne

Thanks Peter for your positive comment!

Thanks Charlie for your kind words.

Thanks David for liking!

Thanks Noel, your comments are always very uplifting


Janne

Quite an amazing piece of work!! Really beautiful to listen to and soooooo elaborately constructed. R and AM did an amazing job! Wonderful!! Take care. Greg

Hello Jannesan

Another great one by you.
Excellent melody and right choice of instruments.

Great vocal by RnAM the perfect interpreters for this song.

Sergio

Thanks Greg for your compliments. I'm glad to hear that you think the song is beautiful Your anthem Love Knows No Color is also very enjoyable to listen to.

Janne

Thanks Sergio for commenting, you are right, RnAM are perfect Your Next To You is also a very nice song, listening to it right now

Janne