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Wine Red On a local musician forum there was a song contest for a song with red wine as the main character and a kind cat and sea included somehow. I had just composed a song in my favourite key G minor, so I had to write only the lyrics, first in Finnish, then I translated it into English to use once more the excellent vocals by RnAM. The song didn't win, but it got many nice comments, so here it is anyway  The story may be cryptic, but I hope you get something out of it. Although not directly said in the song, "kind cat" is an oxymoron, that's why the ending is so gloomy  Instruments:RealDrums NashBrushBalDbk RealTracks:Electric Bass #1825 Cello #1856 Accordion #1757 Acoustic Guitar Fingerpicking #2552, #2553 Mandolin #1601 Electric Guitar Arp #1537 Electric Guitar Arp #1597 Acoustic Piano #1006 Harmonica #626 Alto Sax #2294 Vocals: RnAM (big thanks, also for including the song as an example on We Sing Your Song ) Plus some sound effects... Mixed in Adobe Audition Lyrics:Sunset colored in wine red you spread your arms at the bow you wanted to fly that was your vow. Friday at your cabin bed purring, about to woo but this mute kind cat was just not enough for you. Draining tears are red wine I get drunk from the sorrow of mine craving the fuel of oblivion the sea has calmed its might no companion, pilot, guide I am drifting no land in sight. Wine red was the gentle glow perhaps painted by your groom saw it on your cheeks in the morning of your bloom. You had filled my drink bowl one toast for your sleight it was the final showing to veil the sinful night. Draining tears... Body's the ship of my soul I sink it to the numbness in veins sailing by the drink of the gods my own stream coated in pain. Draining tears... The heart of the storm wine red, scratches in the bed only for a moment the cat let out the thirsty beast the ship deck is wine red, a body, a bleeding head only broken glass observed the ending of the feast. --- Janne
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Great composition overall, mix and use of instruments. Love the chord progression and the mood. It has a "Beatles" kind of tightness to the structure.
Good job!
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Hi Janne,
interesting lyrics and very tasty arrangement.
Great vocals.
An enjoyable listen.
Guenter
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Hi Janne!
I'd have to agree about the cryptic nature of your lyrics! I'm afraid I have to say that I didn't get anything out of them at all... but I respect the thought you put into fashioning such intricate images into your story. I blame my lack of understanding on myself more than on the song.. I'm too dull this morning to extract meaning from subtlety. ;-(
I thought the songs structure was VERY good.. great chord progression, and an effective selection of real tracks! I especially like the effect that the accordion had on the mood of the song. My only question mark is your choice of the harmonica, for two reasons:
1) it fits the same frequency range as the accordion
2) the song in general is very classy and the harmonica tends to be used more often in informal folky compositions. I think the accordion was the perfect choice for filling that whole frequency range in this song. To my ears, the harmonica sounded out of place in an otherwise upscale presentation
3) regarding the use of R&AM for your vocals, you could not have picked anyone with more excellent singing abilities! Everything they touch is benefitted by their presence in the mix!
4) I agree with David's reference to the Beatles, especially in the chord progression used near the end of the song to wind things down.
5) All nits aside, I am very impressed with this sophisticated composition... you have put a lot of work into this project and it shows! Great job! I look forward to hearing more from you!
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Nice production. Cool that you called
the A-team in for the vocals.
Enjoyed 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 are here on our website.
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Great composition overall, mix and use of instruments. Love the chord progression and the mood. It has a "Beatles" kind of tightness to the structure.
Good job! I really cant improve on what David posted. I agree. Rob
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I especially like the harmonica part, nice production.
"When you help somebody else you are really helping yourself"
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Nice production. Cool that you called
the A-team in for the vocals.
Enjoyed it!
J&B Who are the A-Team I certainly like these vocals.
"When you help somebody else you are really helping yourself"
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Nice production. Cool that you called
the A-team in for the vocals.
Enjoyed it!
J&B Who are the A-Team I certainly like these vocals. Couldn't wait for a response, search for the answer myself. Wow, Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp are a real A-Team Indeed.
"When you help somebody else you are really helping yourself"
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Hi dga, Ah, so you already figured it out by yourself  Visit our website or send a PM if you like. We might add that we think that this is one of Janne's best compositions so far. It demonstrates his talent to create complex and melodic songs (which are way more sophisticated than our own). His lyrical approach is very original and he's definitely not taking the easy way out there. Some elements of his songs remind me of a British band called Prefab Sprout. Many musicians acknowledge that this is music that's not only interesting to the general public, but also to musicians! Prefab's singer: Paddy McAloon sometimes manages to sing as straight and tight as a piano key, so to speak, maneuvering through lots of 7 chords. I tried to do just that in this song. Janne provided us with a Vocaloid demo of the song (which he's able to program like a pro ). He likes to program it with lots of tremolo and resonance on every last word of every line. It was a challenge for me to try to emulate this in the vocal. I'm a huge fan of Morrissey (The Smiths) who served as an example for me here Rob
Last edited by RnAM; 04/13/16 11:21 AM.
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Wow ! What a beautiful song AND vocal ! Candy for the ears.....
Forever Grateful, BUT, sometimes pissed of. Trygve "Leo" Larsen BiaB 2020, Windows 8.1, Intel Core i5 CPU, 270GHz, 32 Gb RAM My OLD tracks on Soundcloud; https://soundcloud.com/trygve-larsen My NEW is unpublished The Universe = Uni-verse ie one song.
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Thanks David for your kind comment, mentioning Beatles in the context of my song makes me  And thanks Rob for comping David Thanks Guenter for enjoying! Thanks Janice&Bud for liking the production and of course the A-team Thanks dga for commenting, always nice to get positive feedback! Thanks Trygve for enjoying my candy, I hope it won't get caught in your teeth, or should I say ears --- Janne
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I'd have to agree about the cryptic nature of your lyrics! I'm afraid I have to say that I didn't get anything out of them at all... but I respect the thought you put into fashioning such intricate images into your story. I blame my lack of understanding on myself more than on the song.. I'm too dull this morning to extract meaning from subtlety. ;-(
I thought the songs structure was VERY good.. great chord progression, and an effective selection of real tracks! I especially like the effect that the accordion had on the mood of the song. My only question mark is your choice of the harmonica, for two reasons:
1) it fits the same frequency range as the accordion
2) the song in general is very classy and the harmonica tends to be used more often in informal folky compositions. I think the accordion was the perfect choice for filling that whole frequency range in this song. To my ears, the harmonica sounded out of place in an otherwise upscale presentation
3) regarding the use of R&AM for your vocals, you could not have picked anyone with more excellent singing abilities! Everything they touch is benefitted by their presence in the mix!
4) I agree with David's reference to the Beatles, especially in the chord progression used near the end of the song to wind things down.
5) All nits aside, I am very impressed with this sophisticated composition... you have put a lot of work into this project and it shows! Great job! I look forward to hearing more from you!
Thanks Pat for your long, analytic, but positive comment, as always! Your comments always bring smile even to a rainy day. Good comment on the use of harmonica. I agree that it occupies the same range as accordion. In an earlier version I used more harmonica, but now only in the intro, solo and partly in 2 chorus parts. I think I could remove those chorus parts or leave only few thrills. For me, in this song, the accordion is waves of the sea and harmonica birds in the air I also agree that RnAM singing is excellent, feels like the song has been written for them, even the backing vocals create the mood I was looking for. --- Janne
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We might add that we think that this is one of Janne's best compositions so far. It demonstrates his talent to create complex and melodic songs (which are way more sophisticated than our own). His lyrical approach is very original and he's definitely not taking the easy way out there. Some elements of his songs remind me of a British band called Prefab Sprout. Many musicians acknowledge that this is music that's not only interesting to the general public, but also to musicians! Prefab's singer: Paddy McAloon sometimes manages to sing as straight and tight as a piano key, so to speak, maneuvering through lots of 7 chords. I tried to do just that in this song. Janne provided us with a Vocaloid demo of the song (which he's able to program like a pro ). He likes to program it with lots of tremolo and resonance on every last word of every line. It was a challenge for me to try to emulate this in the vocal. I'm a huge fan of Morrissey (The Smiths) who served as an example for me here Rob Thanks Rob for your rewarding comment, I'm flattered Your words are too kind, I'm super glad that you appreciate my work that much, I can't even find right words to express my gratitude. Mentioning Prefab Sprout/Paddy McAloon is probably the best feedback I have ever received He is like a god to me, the best songwriter in the whole universe IMO. His sophisticated melodies, flawless lyrics and mellow chord structures are really highest quality pop music that has surely influenced me, although I haven't directly tried to copy his work, except some lyrical ideas like for example in my song The Greatest Pop Of All. Unfortunately as a non-native in English, I can lyrically never get even close to his level of genius (in his words "I'm just a boy in rags"). Thanks for your hard work to turn my songs into something listenable! I'm now working hard to finish my latest song for you to sing --- Janne
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Very pretty song, and excellent vocal!! It has a very romantic, dreamy feel. How you can write a song in one language, translate it and have it rhyme is beyond me. I struggle to speak one language. Really nice work. Enjoyed much! Take care. Greg
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Hi dga, Ah, so you already figured it out by yourself Visit our website or send a PM if you like. We might add that we think that this is one of Janne's best compositions so far. It demonstrates his talent to create complex and melodic songs (which are way more sophisticated than our own). His lyrical approach is very original and he's definitely not taking the easy way out there. Some elements of his songs remind me of a British band called Prefab Sprout. Many musicians acknowledge that this is music that's not only interesting to the general public, but also to musicians! Prefab's singer: Paddy McAloon sometimes manages to sing as straight and tight as a piano key, so to speak, maneuvering through lots of 7 chords. I tried to do just that in this song. Janne provided us with a Vocaloid demo of the song (which he's able to program like a pro ). He likes to program it with lots of tremolo and resonance on every last word of every line. It was a challenge for me to try to emulate this in the vocal. I'm a huge fan of Morrissey (The Smiths) who served as an example for me here Rob I hope this is not off topic I just wondered if you do collaborations frequently with others on the Forum?
"When you help somebody else you are really helping yourself"
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Hi Dga,
we send you a private message.
Kind regards,
Rob & Anne-Marie
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Thanks Greg for your nice comment. Romantic feel... maybe I should rewrite the lyrics, because now it's more like a murder ballad Translating is never straightforward, it requires hard work and many times I have to change even the melody to make things fit. --- Janne
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Hi, Janne !:))
This is one of your best
without doubt !:))
and R&A-M are doing
a fantastic interpretation
of your lovely tune !:))
Cheers
Dani
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Hello Jannesan
Another great song by you.
Very pleasant listen. Great harmonies in this one.
Naturally great vocal for R&M
Very fine the instrumental part near the ending.
Sergio
Sergio
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
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