https://soundcloud.com/user-564042721/october-vow

One of the songs I posted as a bunch on first signing on here... seems a good time to give it its own spot.
Written as a friend was approaching his 40th & feeling the passing of youth... boy,it makes more sense to me now!
Style & sound influenced by The Incredible String Band, a 60`s English folk group.

Style is _BGWLZMD.STY (Modern Bluegrass Waltz w/ Fiddle)
RealTracks in style: 1106:Bass, Acoustic, BluegrassWaltz Ev 140
RealTracks in style: 1107:Fiddle, Background BluegrassWaltz Ev 140
RealTracks in style: 1108:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking BluegrassWaltz Ev 140
RealTracks in style: 1109:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming BluegrassWaltz Ev 140
RealTracks in song: 1110:Mandolin, Rhythm BluegrassWaltz Ev 140
RealTracks in song: 1107:Fiddle, Background BluegrassWaltz Ev 140


October Vow

V1
when the lights of the last fishing boat
go winking out o`er the sea
and the eyelids of my children
are saying "yes" and "no" to sleep

when the trees on the hills are all bundled up
in their capes of calico
and the golden harvest moonrise
looks down into my soul

C
then with a curse, a whistle and a bow
I make an October vow

V2
all through these days they thresh the grain
`til the windy blades are still
I stand before my children then
an oak bidding swallows farewell

for down in the dark,dark cellar
with the apples and plums so red
all the days of my youth lie
asleep in their blankety bed

C
and with a curse,a whistle and a bow
I make an October vow

V3
from today I`ll live beholden
to autumn`s unbending law
and like the green leaves of the Rowan
I`ll darken and deepen and fall

C
then with a curse,a whistle and a bow
I make an October vow
and I`ll forgive as the worm forgives the plough
when I make an October vow

© Robert Cordrey Aug.1996

This is gorgeous, Robert. I love the last chorus. A perfect melancholy-yet-hopeful tune to welcome autumn with Perfect choice of RealTracks, too!

Really like the lyrics on this one. Has a bit of a Peter, Paul, and Mary feel to it. Thanks for sharing it!

Steve

Will,

Much appreciated - the last chorus was the only thing I added from the original write. I was happy to find more RealTrack choices than expected in that fast waltz time.

Robert

Thank you Steve,
I`m happy it has a bit of the 60`s folk feel - all those early days singing with my hippie friends must have sunk in!

Robert

Very nice!! This is my fave of yours so far. Perfect arrangement and heartfelt vocal. I like the traditional folky sound. I hear a little Leonard Cohen. Extremely well done!! Take care. Greg

Hi, Robert !


There is something
almost magical about this
beautiful tune ! I liked it
very much as I like your voice
and the background vocals also !

Cheers
Dani

Greg,
Thanks very much for that. When I first started writing I had about 3 melodies and one chord progression, but sometimes simplest is best and the folk sound is where I`m still most comfortable.

Robert

Hi Dani,

You`ve made my day with your comment as I can remember the magic of watching ships sinking over the Pacific horizon one evening and thinking of the first lines.

Robert

Robert , what a beautiful whimsical song it just ‘floats’ the instrumentation perfect, the balance between your singing and the music perfect, neither dominates each other. The lyrics are such a fit.
You can be very proud of this one, Its absolutely great listening.

Paddy G

Robert,

I loved this very haunting song. Agree with Steve about the Peter, Paul, and Mary vibe.
The chorus harmonies and vocal rhythm are really beautiful.

Well done!

Rec

Robert
Lovely airy folk song. Really pretty and evocative.

Peter

Beautiful vocal and lyric

We think this is your best one to date. Your voice on this is sort of a crossover between Dylan and Petty. Very atmospheric, melancholic too.
Very good work!

Rob & Anne-Marie

That was really nice and the lyrics were brilliant ...what daw do you use....because I felt the lyrics and the vocals needed blending.

Do you pan certain instruments.

Or do you do a soundtrack of your track then sing over it.

I would really love to get a hold of your files, and produce them because it would change so much, of your song.

I felt as though ..I was listening to two different things going on as I have done with a good few songs on this forum.

Though I have heard some brilliant songs on here very few are prepared to a base standard.

And doing a little tweaking and learning go a long way.


Because that would be awesome if a little more work...simple work was done on this seriously...you tube mastering. Its free

Paddy - Thank you very much! Yes, " whimsical" is how I think of it too.

Rec - I`m happy you liked this.For some reason I found it easy to match the vocal rhythm to this time signature.

Peter -Thank you!

Scott -Many thanks for listening (& liking) again... I know you listened when I first posted, but it missed most listeners here.

Rob & Anne-Marie - Wow, thank you...and I was thinking it would be way too simple & folkie to please.

Colly - Great that you liked the song and especially the lyrics. Thanks for really listening and giving honest feedback.
This was one of the first songs I recorded -all done in BiaB with a bit of tweaking in RealBand which I had only the benefit of a few days on when this was mixed. My method is to do a very basic backtrack, then record vocals. I did redo the vocal effects before posting the link this time, but the change was minor.
I can hear some things I`m still unhappy with in there ( & haven`t even gone to the panning issue on this one yet).
Thanks for the offer of assistance; I`m a rookie at the whole production process... but not at all unhappy about learning as I go!
It might change if I get ambitious, but at this point my songs are like self-built houses-I want to walk around in them saying " I built that,I put that there"!
Base standard? There are lots of folks here who understand that stuff, but I`m not there yet...I`d certainly tune in if you post some good tutorial links on the recording/mixing forum.


Robert

Hello, Robert

I love this beautiful song.
As Steve and Receder said, this song reminds me of Peter, Paul, and Mary, too.
Your vocal and chorus are so nice.
Very enjoyable Listen.

Best Regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Robert,


Autumn has hit us here and this song also reminds me of my hippy days, man.
Enjoyed this a lot.

A nice way to start my day

Alyn

Robert,

You did a great job of capturing the sound and feel of The Incredible String Band (haven't heard them mentioned for so very long!).

"and the eyelids of my children
are saying "yes" and "no" to sleep" ... what a terrific line!

"when the trees on the hills are all bundled up
in their capes of calico" ....................... and that!!!

Well sung. Good mix. One of your best.

floyd

Hi Shigeki,

I`m really glad you enjoyed this - thanks for your kind comments.

Robert

Alyn,

Yes, it reminds me of those days too! Glad it fit with your soundtrack for today.

Robert

Floyd,

Thank you for that!
I`m impressed that you`ve heard of the ISB - they were the "hippiest" of the British 60`s folk bands & at their best as good as Donovan.

Robert