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Many of my early songs were folk style tales inspired by a lifelong reading habit (I`m thankful now we had no tv `til I was hooked on books). Slowly sorting and rerecording/remixing those songs for a playlist, I felt the need for a title song; here it is. ...and before you ask; I announced a displeasure with our location and desire to leave home to my mother at age 6. Didn`t get much beyond the garden gate `til later. The first verse is based on a news report of a gutsier young boy in Eastern Europe somewhere who did get a few miles "round the world" before being apprehended. Saved By Stories Style is _FLKSWAG.STY (Folk Swing Acoustic Guitar w/ Ba) RealTracks in style: ~1136:Bass, Acoustic-Guitar, FolkSwing Sw 110 RealTracks in style: ~1679:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Sw 120 RealTracks in style: ~1142:Ukulele, Strumming FolkSwing Sw 110 RealTracks in style: 2440:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking FolkySwing Sw 110 RealTracks in song: 2855:Harmonica, Background CountrySwingJellyRoll Sw 120 RealDrums [in style:JazzBrushes#1: a: JazzBrushes#1b: JazzBrushes#1 Saved By Stories in his pockets a toy offroader spare change a banana he got two buses round the world with no coat there he slept in a thicket heard a voice"dinner in 5 minutes" made for home before someone found his note by no means discouraged he read Huck Finn under the covers his life would be adventures in quotes some fall headlong into a song lost in the light on a page this boy was saved by stories in his room he built a reading railroad the tracks of his tomorrows laid one tall tale at a time when that train pulled in the station he`d found his truth in fiction birds of words took him out the window flying some fall headlong into a song movie heroes you played made you brave this boy was saved by stories he`s heard eternity can seem long when he goes throw Treasure Island Great Expectations into his grave this boy was saved by stories © Robert Cordrey April 2019
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Absolutely delightful. My childhood in a nutshell.
Cheers.
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Well done! As usual, excellent control over all the elements of the song. There's something special about how you approach songs. All the elements are there, but used in ways that don't fit the "standard template", so I've got to pay attention. Anyway, nice story, nice song, an enjoyable listen. 
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Nicely done - but being a Australian English speaker "ba nanne ah" strucks me far more than it ought. "Ba nah na" being the local version.
As with such things the conflict of language/pronunciation spins my head off in other directions and I arrived back for the last three verses.
Nice arrangement and delivery.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Very nice, Robert!
I enjoyed reading the backstory that inspired the always well written lyrics.
"birds of words took him out the window flying", nice!
Track sounds great, I especially like the harmonica.
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"his life would be adventures in quotes"
What a great line of many.
Thanks for the insight into the lyric inspiration...fascinating
what you did with it.
Well performed, arranged and mixed also.
As with Dave we really liked the harp.
Excellent listen(s)
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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Love a song that comes with a story.
Well done.
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Awesome song Robert. Loved the intro and how the song filled in as it went along. Just loved the mix. That harp was a excellent choice for the song. Well done
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Good song & good lyrics...
I especially like the lines
"some fall headlong into a song
lost in the light on a page"
and
"birds of words took him out the window flying"
Terrifically vivid images.
Thanks for the listen!
Jim
†=☮&♥
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Reading railroad was my favorite little twist of words in this, but plenty of other enjoyable word wranglings existed as well.
When he was 12, my brother and his buddy hitch-hiked from our home in Washington DC to New York city and back (a four day trip) without telling anyone. He got our mother one of those heavy bronze statuettes of the Statue of Liberty. She was so angry, she threw it against the wall and it stuck!
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Robert
Lovely piece wistful and engaging. Like others I enjoyed the harp and the story.
Very nice work.
Peter
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This is fantastic! Your lyrical approach here is just plain fantastic!
I liked everything about this one.
Super song!
Principal: Your child always causes trouble in school.
Me: My child causes trouble at home, do I ever call you?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Absolutely delightful. My childhood in a nutshell.
Cheers. Glad this connected; thanks for listening. Well done! As usual, excellent control over all the elements of the song. There's something special about how you approach songs. All the elements are there, but used in ways that don't fit the "standard template", so I've got to pay attention. Anyway, nice story, nice song, an enjoyable listen. I appreciate that! Nicely done - but being a Australian English speaker "ba nanne ah" strucks me far more than it ought. "Ba nah na" being the local version.
As with such things the conflict of language/pronunciation spins my head off in other directions and I arrived back for the last three verses.
Nice arrangement and delivery. I got over how mixed my pronunciations are now ( 50/50 English/American) long ago, being of several continents in this life....good to hear you arrived back in time for the ending! Very nice, Robert!
I enjoyed reading the backstory that inspired the always well written lyrics.
"birds of words took him out the window flying", nice!
Track sounds great, I especially like the harmonica. Thanks Dave- nice to have a folky lighthearted break and use that harp. Robert
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"some fall headlong into a song
movie heroes you played made you brave
this boy was saved by stories"
Nice!
A picturesque lyric, a story well-told.
The BAND works really well to carry the subject.
Another good one, Robert...
fj
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Hi Robert,
he`d found his truth in fiction
birds of words took him out the window flying
The way you write your lyrics is so clever and nice. I like that very much in all your songs.
The way you build up your song(s) is probably the same as with your lyrics. At first I thought, where are you going to and then, at a certain moment somewhere in the song, it comes together.
I bet there are a lot of (grand) children around you to give you all that inspiration.
Hans
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"his life would be adventures in quotes"
What a great line of many.
Thanks for the insight into the lyric inspiration...fascinating
what you did with it.
Well performed, arranged and mixed also.
As with Dave we really liked the harp.
Excellent listen(s)
J&B J&B, Thank you for that positive review. As mentioned in the intro, the lyric is meant to give a kind of background to my song stories... a modest oeuvre coming to the internet`s back pages soon! Love a song that comes with a story.
Well done. Thank you Cap`n! Awesome song Robert. Loved the intro and how the song filled in as it went along. Just loved the mix. That harp was a excellent choice for the song. Well done That`s very kind, Scott. Good song & good lyrics...
I especially like the lines
"some fall headlong into a song
lost in the light on a page"
and
"birds of words took him out the window flying"
Terrifically vivid images.
Thanks for the listen!
Thanks for listening and commenting, Jim. Reading railroad was my favorite little twist of words in this, but plenty of other enjoyable word wranglings existed as well.
When he was 12, my brother and his buddy hitch-hiked from our home in Washington DC to New York city and back (a four day trip) without telling anyone. He got our mother one of those heavy bronze statuettes of the Statue of Liberty. She was so angry, she threw it against the wall and it stuck! Now there`s a song that just about writes itself- love the symbolism! Glad this song brought that story to mind. Robert
Lovely piece wistful and engaging. Like others I enjoyed the harp and the story.
Very nice work.
Peter Thank you, Peter! Robert
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Beatiful lighthearted song, flows smoothly, carried by catchy melody and relaxed vocals. A story I can relate to, "his life would be adventures in quotes" - clever writing showing the inspiration and world behind your songs. Although I haven't much read books since childhood, I believe those hundreds I read are still a hidden source in many of my songs.
Janne
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Really cool song Robert!! Nothing like a child's imagination is there? Reminds me a bit of a John Stewart song.....Pirates of something. Very well done!! Love the vocal!! Take care. Greg
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This is fantastic! Your lyrical approach here is just plain fantastic!
I liked everything about this one.
Super song!
Thanks Mario! "some fall headlong into a song
movie heroes you played made you brave
this boy was saved by stories"
Nice!
A picturesque lyric, a story well-told.
The BAND works really well to carry the subject.
Another good one, Robert...
fj Floyd, This song was fun to write: which of my favourite novels to include? I appreciate your kind comments. Hi Robert,
he`d found his truth in fiction
birds of words took him out the window flying
The way you write your lyrics is so clever and nice. I like that very much in all your songs.
The way you build up your song(s) is probably the same as with your lyrics. At first I thought, where are you going to and then, at a certain moment somewhere in the song, it comes together.
I bet there are a lot of (grand) children around you to give you all that inspiration.
Hans Hans, I compensated for having no grandkids by becoming a dad again at age 55! Its very encouraging to know a few listeners connect with my scribbles and warbles. Thank you. Robert
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I can tell by your lyrics that you're a reader.
Excellent instrumental choices. Nice build in the arrangement!
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