PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase JULIA

Hi friends,
Here's a sad song that evokes a youthful heartbreak, the unforgettable first love. Dedicated to Julia...
Thank you for your comments, whatever they may be.

https://soundcloud.com/user-606699438/julia

DRUMS (Nashville classic Waltz), Bass (1122), Ac GTR (3177), El. GTR (989), PSG (1127), Harmonica (2858), Voice Paul

Free English translation below. Not adapted to the melodic line, just to give the meaning

"Julia"
Last June, last year
In a village in England
I met a wonderful girl
She has eyes so bright blue
That despite a slightly stern air
You always think she’s in love
Julia, my heart started to beat like crazy for you
And I hear it singing of love every time
I wish I could hold you close to me
Julia, I know it’s not easy to make a choice
Between the yeses, the nos, the hows, the whys
How could I ever live without you, Julia
When I met your parents
I felt like a conqueror
Off to win the family’s heart
But in your mother’s eyes
Shooting me point-blank
I thought I saw "You will not have my daughter"

Hi, Paul.

I like it!

Nice arrangement with the instruments clear, good sense of space, well sung.

   But in your mother’s eyes
   Shooting me point-blank
   I thought I saw "You will not have my daughter"

Clearly well written as well!

Nice melody sung with a lot of feeling. Well done!

Paul,

Great song. Love the melody and you sing it so well. Excellent instrumentation and mix!

Bob

Beautiful and well arranged love song, and you have a beautiful voice for this kind of music, warm and soulful.

Enjoyed my listen a lot!

Wow, this song really hits deep. It’s got that bittersweet feeling of first love, and I can totally feel the emotion behind it. You did a great job capturing those feelings, especially the part about meeting her parents so relatable.

AH, chillingly so good, Paul. I love the waltz feel for this love song. It suggests anticipation and happiness --at least happy thoughts. The harmonica was a bold and brilliant addition. Love the band, and your vocal is the hit of the show. Love that strong vocal range. So very well done. Much enjoyed.

Hi David, thanks a lot. Fortunately, I'm still alive ! I managed to escape the bullets !

Hi Heartbreaker, thank You for the comment. Hey ! I had a great time on your Sound Cloud. I love “Quiet mind” and especially “Out of true”, wonderful break at 0'40” to launch the great chorus. Bravo !

Hi Bob, If we can make excellent accompaniments, it's thanks to our musician friends at PG MUSIC. I'm very grateful to the whole team and to the developers for this wonderful work, which saves us musicians a lot of time and money. Mixing is another matter! I spend hours on it, trying to make it sound as good as possible. I'm learning every day.

Hi B.D. Thomas,
"you have a beautiful voice for this kind of music, warm and soulful".
Thanks for the compliment, but...Lol! Didn't you hear me singing “La donna mobile”!

Hi Roy, The parents... Yes, especially the mother. Overprotective to the point of losing all sense of reality and the quest for her daughter's development. I wouldn't say that problems are always linked to the future mother-in-law, but we generally have fewer problems with the future father-in-law. Such is life!

That's really nice of you to say - thank you!

Paul,

This is a terrific listen! The 3/4 time signature is a perfect fit. Your vocal is excellent. And, that's quite a story! Well done. I enjoyed this very much.

Alan

Paul, everything about this song is top shelf.
I really liked this one.
It is one of your best.
Great vocal, backing band, and mix.

Very nice production.

Love the last line! ... a very effective surprise.
Great BiaB band and your vocals are superb.

And an excellent mix!

Enjoyed it!

J&B

I really like this, Paul. The harp was a nice surprise. good vocal. Good work!

Chanson meets country waltz...nice combo.
Terrific melody & vocal.

Paul,

I love this! Awesome! The "French Country" sound here is merveilleux!

The whole vibe of it, and the beauty of the lyrics is incredible, I mean incroyable!

Great job!

Very nice!! Everything spoken or sung in French sounds delightful.....and this hits the spot!! Very pleasant and enjoyable!! Take care. Greg

Hello Paul,

It's a really nice country song.
But it's not a US country song, it's a French country song.
I like French musicians such as Michel Legrand, Charles Aznavour, and Francis Lai, so in the 1970s I also listened to a lot of French pop music by Michel Delpech, Michel Fugain, Michel Sardou, and others.
I can sense traces of them in your song, and I really enjoyed listening to it.
Thank you for your posting.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Paul...beautiful...great vocal...love the track...some great country stuff going on here...lovely melody...I took French in high school so I understood the word Julia...super!

Hi Marty, Thank you very much Marty, I'm flattered. You're right, I think the waltz (3/4 or 6/8) gives the songs a lively feel. As it happens, current production is essentially based on 4/4 (pop, rock) or 2/4 if faster tempo and more rarely 12/8 (blues). It's hard to express this in percentages, but the waltz is always forgotten in songs. Except perhaps in country music. I'm not going to talk about 5/4 or 7/4 jazz! Personally, I like it when you manage to send out sub-rhythms, for example by syncopating the music. That's the best! Take care and have a good weekend (it's afternoon here in Western Europe).

Hi Alan & Di, How are You ? Many thanks for the comment. You're absolutely right. As I wrote above, there's something magical about the waltz. Even in classical music, there's something quite special about it, and certainly catchy! Besides, it's still a must-have salon dance...

Hi Mario, I'm grateful for the compliments. In fact, it's a song I wrote about 40 years ago, but it's still very much in my thoughts and in my heart. Sometimes I pick up my acoustic guitar and sing it with a hint of nostalgia. It doesn't make me any younger!

Thanks for the heartfelt comments. I love the last line too! This song is quite a story and, I think, the most accomplished songs are stories lived or not but, stories.

Thanks Paul! Oh yes, I've been looking to see where I'm going to put the harmonica and, I think, it's the right one. Overall, there are relatively few instruments, and that's good because I sometimes tend to put in too many. A producer once said to me. When you've finished your arrangements, take out one instrument after another. If you feel or hear that something is missing, take it out. If not, keep it! Good point of view!

Hi Ray, Thank you for this very pleasant comment from an excellent musician and composer. I'm 100% in favor of a simple melodic line over a well-built rhythm. That's the basis. Everything else is harmony and a good ear for arrangements and instrument distribution. As I've got a bit of time on my hands today, I'm going to take a look at this wonderful forum where you can find some excellent compositions. Have a nice weekend!

Hi David, In fact, the French language is perfectly suited to typical Anglo-Saxon rhythms, including rock, blues, country and even pop. The big difference between French and English is that French has virtually no tonic accent, so it's compensated for by “phrasing” and certain sounds. English, like other languages such as Italian, Spanish, etc., has a strong tonic accent and, what's more, in English certain sounds are enveloped in air added at the time of emission. Let me explain: tower will be said t “H ”ower with exhaled air. In French, this is not done at all. So, in French, we play more with intonation and, as I said, phrasing. Thanks again for listening

Hi Greg, Thanks for your feedback. I'll be listening to your tracks this afternoon.
Yes, as for the French in song, check out my comment above which sums it up a bit. It's true that French is not an unpleasant language. For one thing, it doesn't have any guttural sounds. Some languages may seem more pleasant than others, but that's suggestive. For example, my wife is Hungarian and I've learned the basics. It's a very soft language where every letter is pronounced, which is not the case with French. Those learning French are also confronted with difficulties in that some letters are not pronounced even though they are written, or words that are pronounced exactly the same but with a different spelling and a completely different meaning, such as: sang - sans - cent -s'en - sent - sens (conjugated)! Not easy at all. Have a good weekend and good music

Hello Shigeki, thank you for your constructive and pleasant comment. Oh yes! Michel Legrand, Michel Sardou, Michel Fugain and, I would add to complete the Michel series, Michel Berger! Michel Sardou had the good fortune to work with such excellent lyricists as Pierre Delanoë and Etienne Roda-Gil. Goldsmiths when it comes to writing. Personally, I'm very fond of Michel Berger and also Jean-Jacques Goldman. French writing on US-GB rhythms. A real success! My background is classical (violin) and lyrical (singing). It's a good base for composing because, whether you like it or not, classical music is immeasurably rich.
Have an excellent weekend, Shigeki

Hi Dan, So, in high school, You also met a girl called Julia ?! I'm joking... Thank you for listening and for your relevant opinion.