NOT IN MY DREAMS

Another one of my long stories.... Mount Blue is a mountain visible from Berthoud Pass in CO. We used to always stop there on the way to Steamboat Springs to stretch and enjoy the beautiful views. I was thinking about mountain passes, ended up writing the first version of these lyrics a few weeks ago and gave them to Janice to see what she could do with them. She came back with a different but I thought very cool chord structure and when she sang it I knew the melody and her phrasing deserved more than just a knock off arrangement.

I had gone with just three verses, no bridge and no chorus and I wanted to add a refrain. The refrain was a one liner and it concerned me as it didn’t rhyme with any of the verse lines. So I contacted Noel, AKA “song structure miester” and asked what he thought. He suggested doubling the refrain line, making the first half of the second line a rest and not worrying about the rhyme as in “Blowin’ in the Wind.” He also suggested making part of the refrain the song title. This along with his other suggestion put me on a better path and I very much appreciate the input.

I had put together Realtracks using "swing feel" tracks and they just seemed to create a tension in the song that I didn’t like although that’s the "feel" I usually work with. I redid it all and Janice tweaked the melody to reflect the changes. Now it was starting to sound like it needed a better arrangement than I feel comfortable with. I’m OK with arranging blues, bluegrass, celtic, Western Swing and some Americana but not with an even feel ballad.

I asked Floyd for help and he agreed to school me on how to arrange a song that is designed completely around supporting the vocal. I kept coming back to him with arrangement examples where I tried to find the perfect fill, the perfect short solo, i.e., I kept trying to let the pickers standout and shine. Good for blues and bluegrass...not so good for the type of production Floyd envisioned where the vocalist does all the “shining.” Bottom line? Through his patience, time, lyric suggestions, examples and constructive criticisms I managed to, I believe, achieve the goal of surrounding the vocal with the non-intrusive support it demanded. I’ve very grateful for Floyd sticking with me through this and I’m very glad we found this community.

Janice, Vocal: Rode NT1 mic interfaced to iMac Blue via USB Blue Icicle.
All Realtracks
Bass: 518
Drums: N’ville even 8’s
R Guitar 1: 365
R Guitar 2: 2051
Piano 1: 1728
Piano 2: 1277
Reso Guitar: 377
Fiddle: 409
Mixing/Effects: Garageband/BIAB interface


Not in my Dreams
 
I feel hope rising with the sun
Alone at daybreak on Mount Blue
As the mist begins to slowly fade
There's a path ahead without you
 
I won't be seeing you in my dreams
(rest---) Not in my dreams
 
So now comes the end of part one
I grew weary of having to pretend
Go and live with your choices
All I wanted was a lover and a friend
 
I won't be seeing you in my dreams
(rest---) Not in my dreams

In the end all we'll have is memories
I'll choose the ones of good hearts and times
No fears, no crying, no tears, no fighting
A peace - that takes a lifetime to find
 
 I won't be seeing you in my dreams
(rest---) Not in my dreams
 
I won't be seeing you in my dreams
(rest---) Not in my dreams

Last edited by Janice & Bud; 08/03/13 03:24 PM.
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