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Janice / Bud / Floyd / Tom,
This is my new favorite of yours - just great stuff. Loved it.
Bob
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Well what a team! Like it all and particularly the chorus being quite restrained which fits perfectly with the theme of mystic chords. Cheers. Thanks! Glad the theme worked for you. J&B WOW beautiful but no more crowds... no more cheers
he turns the radio up... downs a few more beers
in the corner, his battered Martin.....dead
while mystic chords of memory play... in his head
memories take over when something has gone and you can't eradicate them, Well done Bud, floyd, Janice and Tom for producing country at its best Alyn Thank you Alyn. We liked the way you phrased that. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Mystic.
How about that March 4th thing...
All my favorite people in one place - always such a pleasure...
Bud - thanks for letting me tag along...
Later.
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Thought I'd like it and I did. Well sung, well written and well played! Thanks! J&B This is gorgeous guys!
Bud: I can imagine that these lines spoken by Abram Lincoln serve very well as a source of inspiration for cool lyrics like this one.
A lyric that will resonate with lots of people, playing or having played gigs, either solo or in a band.
I've been a fan of Martin acoustic guitars all my life, but never been able to afford one. The best I have done, many years ago, was an Ovation balladeer, which I bought secondhand.
But that isn't the same as a Martin.
The song has a beautiful country feel.
All the parts are very well done.
Professional work, as always!
Rob
Thank you Rob -- we much appreciate your remarks. Hey, get that Martin! It's a life time purchase that will bring joy every time you pick it up. I was very lucky to purchase Janice's 1943 martin about 25 years ago back before collectors and investors ran the prices way up. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Every new song is better than the last.
This is very nice!!
Sergio.
Sergio
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Charlie, Rob, Trevor, Sonny - thanks, y'all for having a listen... we had a great time with this one...
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I love the melody, I love the words and story, acoustic guitar parts, harmonies, Janice makes me kinda think of Bonnie Raitt (as Greg mentioned) and that's a great thing to me. It's just so good and enjoyable. Bud, wonderful mix, it's all there.
Kenny
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Richard, Alyn, Peter, RnAM, Herb - my thanks for dropping in for a listen...
Tom - LOVE your guitar work on this!!!
Janice - love your singing - on everything!!!
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Nice.... I enjoyed that one.
Loved how you took Abe's quote and wrote a song about a fading star.....
Nice, tasty stuff. Thanks Herb! We all appreciate that. J&B That might be the most exciting bout of applause we've ever gotten -- including decades of the gigging years!! Thank you! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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I am late to the party but I'll super glad that I did!
I think this is the best of the best! Everything about this is perfect!
Everything that I wanted to say has already been said so I will add my usual "why in hell haven't you been signed yet?"!
Back in my day the only time we started panic buying was when the bartender shouted "last call"!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Well Team, you've nailed another one for sure. What a great arrangement, and what fantastic subject material for the song. I really like the way you took that line and developed it into something else.
Floyd, Bud, Janice and Tommy, congratulations, take a bow. A great collab by four pros. I enjoyed this a lot. Guenter Thanks Guenter. Glad you liked it! J&B An excellent composition and arrangement performed perfectly. i especially loved the acoustic guitar fills. Thanks for sharing. Thanks! Tom did a great job with those fills. Really accented the whole hook. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Bob, Guenter, Chris, David, Greg, Pat - nice of y'all to stop by...
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First of all, my thanks to the three of you for the invitation to play on this. I am seriously in love with this song. I think it is at the top of what y'all have done. The line "Mystic Chords of Memory" is a powerful statement filled with many meanings and images far beyond what four words can usually convey. A tremendous write, a tremendous vocal, and a tremendous arrangement and production. I also love the connection here- March 4[the date of Lincoln's speech] is also the date of my birthday and floyd's birthday! Congratulations you three on a brilliant song. Tom Thanks Tom and a huge thanks for the guitar tracks. Man how cool is March 4th? Wow. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Janice, Bud, Tom, floyd... I reckon that this is in the top 5% what you've ever written. It's brilliant. The images are eidetic. In my mind, they were so vivid that the whole lyric unrolled like a scene from a movie. Janice's outstanding vocals captured the mood and she was the perfect narrator for the story. "Mystic Chords of Memory" is such a fantastic phrase - you have a great ear for titles, Bud.  ...click on image to view full size Just in case you're interested... ... after I read the phrase 'Mystic Chords", I ended up going on a little bit of a journey. I've only ever known 'chord' to mean a harmonious group of musical notes or a straight line connecting two points on a circle's edge. When I read Lincoln's speech, though, the context in which he used the word (stretch, strain, break) indicated that he took 'chord' to mean a thread or string. In this sense, I would have used 'cord'. Interesting. So it was off to the Oxford English Dictionary.... there I discovered that 'chord' in the sixteenth century did mean a string or small rope and it was still used with this sense in the 1800s. It also meant the string of a stringed instrument (such as a harp, lute, etc.). From there, it's more modern meaning developed, I guess. I mention the above, because it's outstanding how 'chord' in these lyrics simultaneously has musical overtones (pun not intended) as well as strings of thought that link the character's memory to the past. Very, very excellent lyric writing  Also... I thought the chorus was spectacular. now no more crowds... no more cheers
he turns the radio up... downs a few more beers
in the corner, a battered Martin left for dead
while mystic chords of memory play... in his head
I really like the line "radio up...downs a few more beers". The back-to-back words with opposite meanings is cleverly conceived. Equally skilled, though, is the personification of the Martin guitar... battered and left for dead. In my head, these words created an image of a well used guitar tired and gasping and worn out by the years - so much information in so few words! Overall, this song truly is outstanding in every regard. All the best to you all, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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What a gorgeous production, great acoustic guitar and vocals. Wow! Sounds really pro!! Love it love it love it.
By the way, I have bookmarked your sound cloud channel and am trying to do the same with all the regular contributors to this forum. Anyone reading please send me your channel or url of you want to so I can bookmark it. I am making a BIAB library so I can study everyone's "body of work" and have instant access. Thanks!!!!
Thanks David. And thanks also for mentioning the production as that was also a collaborative effort. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Hi there J&B
Late as usual, but back in time to say OUTSTANDING !
The lyrics in the chorus are magical and inspired.
Well done all.
ROG.
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What a beautiful song!!! The forum A team has captured "that sound" that made it my favorite era (a little Bonnie Raitt, a little Jackson Brown, a little Little Feat). Wonderfully organic and heartfelt. Vocal and mix are awesome and Tommy's guitars bring it right into your own living room. Truly a gem!! Great job guys! Take care. Greg Thank you Greg and thanks for that description of the vibe as we were definitely trying to achieve that feel! Thanks for the comment very much. J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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One of your best collabs imo hitting all four cylinders.
Great job by all four of you!
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you had me at the first 5 notes on the guitar... SO glad you used it as a recurring motif! Lots to say here, but I want to start by saying that it reminded me of James Taylor's SEPTEMBER GRASS in some way.
I really like the chord progression on this song! I know you are a bass player, and the bass (upright especially) is not an instrument that is played with chords... so it is especially impressive to me that this song (and really ALL of your songs) tend to have very interesting chord progressions. Although some of your songs are public domain, and you inherited the basic chords... you wrote this song from scratch. I'm impressed.
All things considered, I like it a lot! As always, Janice's voice is just perfect.. no doubt she did this in one take... no punch-ins or re-takes... (am I right?) ;-)
Floyd's harmony adds a whole new layer of awesome, and the final combination of tracks work so well together, I'm not surprised to see the positive remarks being made by everybody!
Tommy played guitar?? Cool! Which part? Did he play the recurring acoustic motif that started everything off? Or the electric decorations later in the song? Doesn't matter... it's all good!
Y'all sound so good together, if you moved to Florida in between Floyd and Tommy y'all could be a band! I Knowwww... you don't want that... but I had to say it)
It is a touch of irony that the date of the speech from which you took your title was the same date as Tommy and Floyd's birthdays. Interesting.
Great job everybody! Pat thanks for listening and taking your time to write such a wonderful response. I gotta mention though that this ole bass player was not responsible for those chords. You can thank mr jane for that! Tom played the acoustic riffs and the electric accents. The only other guitar was the RT. The way this came together was both surprising and fun. We always appreciate your insight and are happy that you liked it!! J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Hi Janice and Bud,
When I saw mystic chords my eyes lit up and my mouth started watering. I like my chords mystic, the more mystic the better! Well, I had to settle for - and was very happy with - a well performed and produced country ballad. Floyd did a beautiful job with the harmonies. Bud, is that you on bass? Janice tells a good tale.
OK, the chords were not so mystic, but you got all the mileage you needed out of 'em.
Dean
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