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#859975 08/16/25 03:00 AM
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Soundcloud - The river has run dry
Youtube - The river has run dry
In the Youtube video, I attempted to create a watercolour effect on the footage, with moderate success.

I wrote this song back in 2001 around the time that I renewed interest in playing, singing and writing. Prior to this, I was essentially a bedroom strummer, and very few had heard my songs or my singing. As a younger man, I was very introverted other than with friends - I would now class myself as an 'ambivert'. In my late 30s, work colleague encouraged me to join a group of musicians jamming along - initially I refused, then got up the gumption to have a go. At this time, I became interested in collecting chords and lyrics of well-known songs and as a result, started writing songs again - I hadn't since my early 20s. This song was written before I owned Band-in-a-Box and was one of three songs I wrote around 2001 in quick succession. Once I purchased BIAB in 2002, my songwriting exploded as I had a means of illustrating all the ideas in my head.
The song was encouragement to me about being more adventurous, particularly performing in public. The bridge was added sometime in the last couple of years. The other two songs of 2001 I wrote at the same time are on my to-do list!

****** SONG SUMMARY *************
Style is _FOLKRCK.STY (Folk-Pop Waltz Medium)

RealTracks in style: 776:Bass, Acoustic, PopWaltz Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 898:Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Strumming FolkRockWaltz Ev 150
RealTracks in style: 900:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming FolkRockWaltz Ev 150
RealTracks in song: 3195:Guitar, Acoustic, Soloist WaltzMellowBrent Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 2568:Accordion, Rhythm OldWorldWaltzHeldPlus Ev 180 – used in the Bridge
RealDrums in style:RockModernWaltz^2-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride, Busy Kick
Mixed in Cakewalk Sonar
I didn’t play any instruments, but I promise I will next time!
Vocals – triple tracked lead vocal; 4 BV tracks
*******************

LYRICS
INTRO

VERSE 1
He’s making his plans, plans that will no doubt be scrapped
Endlessly tinkering, tuning every detail
Oiling each working part, putting it quietly away

VERSE 2
So, another is lost, lost to the stockpile of frozen style
Gems gone all frosty, vines that have withered and died
Wasted and forgotten, pots that have turned into clay

CHORUS
Why don’t you make up your mind (Make up your mind)
Cast off those ties that bind you (Ties that bind)
Someday you’re going to find (Going to find)
That the river has run dry

VERSE 3
Designs carefully drawn, designs that will never see the light of day
Blueprints of perfection, waiting for implementation
Concepts now deceived, then neatly filed away

CHORUS
Why don’t you make up your mind (Make up your mind)
Cast off those ties that bind you (Ties that bind)
Someday you’re going to find (Going to find)
That the river has run dry

BRIDGE
The floodwaters came and carried off my songs
And washed them so far downstream
The fear had perturbed me, confused and disturbed me
I became lost and alone in a dream

SOLO OVER VERSE

CHORUS x 2

OUTRO

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Andrew,

Great song and some really excellent vocals. I really like the guitar flourishes in this piece - so creative and musical. Love the mix as well.

I really enjoyed this.

Bob

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Andrew, an excellent song. Great vocal and outstanding lyrics. Loved the groove on this one. You picked the perfect RTs for your backing band. The mix was excellent.
One of your best for sure.


It takes courage for a man to admit his wife was wrong.

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Andrew, you perfectly described a situation that I live with every day regarding someone very close to me, to whom I would ask exactly the questions you posed in your song!! you really distilled this idea very well!! I especially liked the lyrics and how you handled them particularly in the chorus. I was immediately drawn by something that maybe goes unnoticed in the first verse—it is filled a stream of “-ing” words. Consciously or unconsciously, it demonstrates a mastery over lyrics construction. Overall a nice, gentle pleasing composition, and I’m so pleased that I took the time to listen this morning


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Hello Mr Dee

A really nice clean fresh sound to this song, I wonder what your 40 yo self would have thought of your 60 odd yo’s production. Really good clean vocals, and all elements work well together, I really like it. Great job.

Regards Mr Bee!

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Hey this is a really cool song Andrew and I liked hearing all about your musical evolution!

Speaking of air 😃, this song is a perfect example of giving the song some air!

I really like the simplicity of the arrangement and the lack of clutter.

It's a very straightforward arrangement but in many ways it reminds me of early Beatles.

And look where it got them!

The song structure and the approach kind of reminds me of the early Beatles as well.

Enjoyed it a lot!!

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This reminded me of some early David Bowie and a fleeting taste of the Beatles in the melody (Hey Buffalo Bill). Good to hear you have some early stuff worth digging up. I've thought about digging back through my early stuff but there's really nothing there that grabs me.

I like this.


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Great song and instrumentation, Andrew. It sounds like it's time to do some dam-busting and get those rivers flowing again!


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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Originally Posted by Knee Wobbler
… I wonder what your 40 yo self would have thought of your 60 odd yo’s production. …
He would say he was glad that I kept the diminished chord in the verses. smile

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Originally Posted by rsdean
... I really like the guitar flourishes in this piece - so creative and musical. …
Thanks Bob - I sensed that an acoustic solo would work best - given it is folk rock. I am really happy that this BIAB Soloist worked out. It faded (lost busyness) a bit in the second half of the solo, so I copied and pasted from the solo over an earlier verse that had a bit more in the second half. I’ve learned from previous songs to export the tracks in full (not to mute sections in BIAB) so that I have more to make use of in Sonar/Reaper in situations like this - and mute the sections I don’t need in the DAW.
Andrew

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Originally Posted by MarioD
Andrew, an excellent song. … The mix was excellent. One of your best for sure.
Thanks Mario! With input from folk on this forum and more experience, I feel that I am getting better at mixing and arrangement, but still a long way to go to match the standard of others on this forum. Life-long learning!

However, the ultimate thrill for me is still… writing a great song … I’m forever in pursuit of that goal.
Andrew

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Originally Posted by Tano Music
… I was immediately drawn by something that maybe goes unnoticed in the first verse—it is filled a stream of “-ing” words. Consciously or unconsciously, it demonstrates a mastery over lyrics construction. …
Thanks Tom … but it was pure fluke. All I remember when writing the verses was that I framed it from the perspective of someone looking on at what I was doing - or not doing. I can see what you’re saying. Maybe if I ever do a rewrite, but probably not - I’ve got too much in my back catalogue to still get done, plus I need to stop writing more!

Andrew

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Originally Posted by David Snyder
… Speaking of air 😃, this song is a perfect example of giving the song some air! I really like the simplicity of the arrangement and the lack of clutter. …
Thanks David - after our forum discussion, it has been in my mind (decluttering) and I wondered if I should pull some tracks, but it was like choosing which of your children you’d leave behind when you went to the fair. Glad it sounds good.

Originally Posted by David Snyder
… It's a very straightforward arrangement but in many ways it reminds me of early Beatles. … The song structure and the approach kind of reminds me of the early Beatles as well. …
Ah - there we go. Mission accomplished! It makes me wonder if I wrote *this* earlier in my songwriting journey, am I now in my ‘White album’ era? Ooo, what a wonderful place that would be!

Andrew

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Nice job, I like how you found the RTs that worked and used them.
That's not easy sometimes.

Last edited by rharv; 08/17/25 01:11 PM.

I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Originally Posted by Guitarhacker
This reminded me of some early David Bowie and a fleeting taste of the Beatles in the melody (Hey Buffalo Bill). …
Thanks Herb - yeah it’s there isn’t it! (Humming it to oneself “He’s making his plans…” = “Hey, Buffalo Bill…”.) It was completely unintended, and 3/4 vs 4/4. I sometimes wonder if, as songwriters, we are sub-conscious mimicking machines, piecing together snippets from our listening past? Maybe I’m no better than AI, but at least I’m doing it sub-consciously.

Andrew

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Originally Posted by WaoBand
Great song and instrumentation, Andrew. It sounds like it's time to do some dam-busting and get those rivers flowing again!
Amen, brother!

Andrew

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Originally Posted by rharv
Nice job, I like how you found the RTs that worked and used them.
That's not easy sometimes.
rharv,
Yes - a good reason why were required to list BIAB tracks used. A ‘meh’ track in one context can be a gem in another.
Andrew

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We're not 'required' to, according to the rules, but it *is suggested to.
I try to do so when I use them, too.
And that's excellent advice on whether they work in one situation or not. They are worth considering on any new project. It's surprising what works sometimes.

Last edited by rharv; 08/17/25 02:13 PM.

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Hi Andrew.

I enjoyed listening. Your song, its arrangement and production sat really comfortably in my headphones. As others have noted, there is a definite hint of the classic British rock sound present. (That's a compliment, not a criticism.)

--Noel


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Hi, Andrew.

I really like this. The chorus is especially memorable. smile


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