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#822766 09/12/24 03:45 AM
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This song was influenced by listening to the humour of John Prine, often in the early morning hours.
Comments appreciated.
Vic

Style is _ROUSING.STY (Rousing Upbeat Americana Folk)
RealTracks in song: ~~520:Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 165
RealTracks in song: 2035:Mandolin, Soloist CountryAndy Ev 120
RealTracks in song: ~406:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 136
RealTracks in style: 4457:Fiddle, Background AmericanaMovinAB Ev 135
RealTracks in song: 3147:Mandola, Rhythm AmericanaFolk8thsAndy ev 120
RealTracks in song: 3156:Fiddle, 5-string, Rhythm AmericanaMountain16thsPizzAndy ev16 070
RealDrums in style:AmericanaSyncBrushes^2-a:Snare4 , b:SnareCalypso

https://on.soundcloud.com/5ea7zH2m8GYiSDmr8
It's not far to Heaven © 2024 Vic Arnold
V1
I didn't wake up this morning
like you do to sing the blues
My dream sent me a warning
that my time was overdue
In my dream I was running
from that worry in my head
But my feet were hardly moving
So I just sat there instead
It seemed a hard road to travel
but I was stubborn and proud
so I kept on digging me a hole
right there in the ground
Ch. 1
It's not far to heaven, we're told
Only three steps up the stairs
I could see my destination
but I wasn't getting there
and mama would say,
"when your time has come
make sure you're well prepared,"
She said, "wear a suit and shirt and tie
and don't forget clean underwear"
Inst.
V2
I once took a long vacation
on a short, cheap island cruise
Day one I lay back in my bed
and drank a fifth of booze
Day two I looked for solace
on a night tour in some town
I lost my way and missed the boat
and I'm still wandering 'round
It seems a hard road to travel
but I felt heaven bound
So I'll keep on taking three steps up
and another three steps down
Ch. 2
It's not far to heaven, we're told
Only three steps up the stairs
I gotta dig me out of this hole of mine
without messing up my hair.
My boxers are pretty well covered
My suit and shirt are ironed
but if this hole gets any deeper
I may stay here for a while

Yeah, it's not far to Heaven but
I may stay here for a while

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I definitely get the John Prine vibe. And the vocals reminded me a lot of Johnny Cash. Nice sounding tune! I dig the mandolin.


Even the losers get lucky sometimes
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Vic,

This song is a lot of fun. Great lyrics and an excellent vocal.

Nicely done!

Bob

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vicarn Offline OP
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Thanks Heartbreaker.
Appreciated.

Vic

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Great lyrics, funny, and tells a story. Nice Americana sound to Real Track. Your vocal really sells it. Its authentic, and real.


Elliott Kayne
elliottkayne@gmail.com
https://www.reverbnation.com/kaynemusic
https://www.facebook.com/ekayne

Health, Wealth, Family, Faith, Friends, and Fun







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vicarn Offline OP
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Hi Bob.
Thank you sir.
A nice compliment from a master lyric writer.

Vic

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Thanks Elliott.
I like the sound of "real".

Vic

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Vic, a finely crafted song indeed! Your world weary vocals/harmonies are perfect, and the BiaB arrangement is light but tight. Very inspired all the way around.


DC Ron
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Vic,

Big-Time Kudos for capturing that John Prine vibe (from the Bruised Orange era...).
A solid "Prine write".
Good tracks, vocal, mix.

You are putting out some of your best stuff these days....

fj

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I guess this is called Americana or so smile
Pretty cool stuff, I love the story and the way you tell it, Vic.
Excellent vocals.

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I love this song, both lyrically and musically. Excellent mix and arrangement of really complimentary instruments. PS: In the 70s I wrote a 12 bar blues song which begins "Well I woke up this morning like they do in those other blues songs / But me I woke up smiling, I transcended them rights and them wrongs."


Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
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vicarn Offline OP
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Thanks DC.
Age is good for "world weary". I confess. smile

Vic

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vicarn Offline OP
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Hi Floyd.
Your comments were very welcome to my ears.
Thank you.

Vic

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Good one, Vic. Even though we might have parents who give us sound advice, we may still miss the boat or discover that the all-important train left the station while we were searching for some clean underwear.


ProTools; Ableton Live Lite; Reaper
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 MK4 interface
Novation Launchkey 61 Mk4 midi controller
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B.D.
I'm probably the last person to define genres.
When I think I finally get what they're about, a day later I don't.
Never could quite understand them.
We all have crosses to bear I suppose.

I thank you for your comment, though.

Vic

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vicarn Offline OP
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Hi there WaoBand.
Thank you sir.
What a coincidence you should write that line.

Vic

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Ghostgum.
Thanks for the comment.
The reason for that line was my family.
As a kid, If I went out to play in dirty clothes they would make me put on clean stuff and say "You might have an accident and you need to look decent if you end up in hospital".

Vic

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Hey Vic!

This sounds great man. LOVE the instrumentation.

The vocals are awesome as well, and the whole mix really shines.

One things about Soundcloud:

Fore most people I can listen to Soundcloud on my phone when I am out and about, which I what I usually do with BIAB songs.

But for some soundcloud accounts the link starts with [on.] soundcloud etc.

This forces me to the app. I don't sign in to the soundcloud app on my phone because it is annoying as hell.

That is why I am sometimes tardy in responding to some folks, because I have to wait until I am in front of a computer.

I have know idea why most links here let me listen to them on my phone without signing, but the soundcloud links that start with [dot} on.. do

Do you know why that is?

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Thanks David.
When I go to copy a link from Soundcloud it gives an option to shorten the link, like the one I posted for this song.
Maybe if I didn't shorten it the link would be de-onned.
When I buy fish and chips in the UK they ask if I want salt and vinegar on it.
Soundcloud should ask us if we want "ons" with our link.

Vic

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Hi, Vic.

Excellent write. It's been a while since I've listened to Prine, so I'll have to take it from others how close to the mark it is.

Some lovely plinky sounds from the mandolin - very folk sounding.

All in all, an excellent song.


-- David Cuny

My virtual singer development blog
Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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