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Arcs of Life
We posted the audio in early spring and subsequently created this video that perhaps gives a better idea of what inspired us to write the tune. As mentioned previously we have a long standing love of abandoned old cemeteries and we always wonder about the life that "little dash between two dates" represented. We hope you like it (it’s short!) and comments are welcomed. Thanks to our music partner friend Peter and PG Music.

Janice: vocals, progression, melody & arrangement
Bud: lyric, video & and the audio tech stuff
Peter: guitar solo/swells/fills & arrangement

All video still shots and clips done with iPhone Pro.

Drums: RealDrums NashvilleEven8 (snare removed) > Waves CLA Drums

Snare: RealDrums N’villeEven8 audio file > Waves JJP-Drums > ChromaVerb

Bass: RealTrack 518 Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 085 > Waves Bass Rider

Piano: MIDI SuperTracks 1809 Rhythm
CountryBalladJohn Ev 065 > Logic Pro Grand Steinway > Waves CLA Unplugged

Mastering: Ozone EQ > Ozone Multi-band compressor > Ozone Imager > Ozone Limiter > Ozone Tonal Balance > Youlean Loudness Meter

Neutron 3 was used to balance the bass and kick drum.

Verse 1

hidden deep in the forest lies an abandoned cemetery
it’s crumbling walls hold the graves of those long deceased
they are barely seen beneath vines and fallen branches
do their souls rest in peace?

Refrain

like faded rainbows arcs of life hang above

they hold good, evil, hate and love

Verse 2

the few headstones offer little more than a name and two dates

stories of life between those years remain unknown

sometimes there’re brief sentiments that speak to character 

are they true even written in stone?

Refrain

like faded rainbows arcs of life hang above

they hold good, evil, hate and love

Bridge

gone and forgotten

gone and forgotten

Solo

Verse 3

many graves have no stone, no marker, no beginning, no ending

they are known only by a slight depression in the ground

ashes to ashes and dust to dust 

are they still eternity bound?

Refrain

like faded rainbows arcs of life hang above

they hold good, evil, hate and love

© 2022 All Rights Reserved J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham

You guys are not the only ones who wonder who's behind the names, how old they were and what their story was.

I like the song and especially dig your vocal harmonies. Beautiful...

And I also like the video, doing it in sepia works well for the song and the story you tell.

Janice, Bud and Peter...I also love to visit old graveyards...I find them very peaceful and serine...very pretty song...absolutely love the track and melody...Peter's solo is very cool and fitting to the track style...Janice's vocals and harmonies are so good....I think I would pull the harmonies back about 3dB but that's just me (depends on if you want a duet mix or a backup singer mix)...just a thought...sepia-tone video is great idea for the theme! You guys always do great work for us to see and hear! Thanks!

Lovely song.
Harmonies are great too.

Vic

Wonderful lyrics, muscianship and delivery.
Sad, haunting, pondering and good.

Janice, Bud & Peter,

I remember this song well. The video is beautiful and really drives home how comforting and lonely these places can be at the same time.

So well done…

Bob

I also remember this one from the spring. Really good song, and I thought the video came out extremely well. Great job for everyone involved, this is a project to be proud of. If you ever get out west, there's a neat old graveyard in Virginia City, not to far from Reno. I'm sure it's not as old as some of those in the east, but it is pretty large and has a lot of the old west settlers there. The town is a bit of a tourist trap, but it still has a lot of the old west in it, particularly on the weekends when it can still get a little wild. Thanks for the post!

I love the performance video! The brown/sepia filter works great.
I totally understand why you put this on Vimeo. The excellent sound quality of the mix is probably maintained a lot better than on YouTube?

Great vocals as usual by Janice, but the background vocals are particularly striking here. I fondly detected some Ladies of the Canyon - Joni Mitchell moments there :-).

Seamlessly followed by the set in of the solo by Peter.

Really good!

Rob

Howdy!

Love the video. Already heard the song some time back. As I've mentioned to you (Janice & Bud), I've visited dozens and dozens of cemeteries all over the country in search of my family's history. Each has its own mystery and intrigue. The video so well captures that historical magic as it applies to the human soul.

What a great song and wonderful video. Janice sure can put her qualified vocal signature to just about any piece of music. Good job in all respects!

Reminds me of that old saying: It's not the dates on the stones that matters so much; it's what happened between the numbers.

Alan

Thanks and it’s great that you’ve had the same feelings. Thanks for all and glad you liked the sepia and harmonies.

J&B

The video is a fantastic match for the song. well done in making it work so well.

Thanks for the supportive comments ... glad you liked it!

Thanks for mentioning the sepia fx, the vocals and Peter's work.

J&B

PS: Regarding the harmony level. We played in and recorded with several traditional bluegrass bands for decades before moving on to blues and Americana so we get the difference in BGV's and duets (or trios). We went with the tight duet notion for Arcs as we felt it better expressed Janice's feelings vocally -- albeit it assuredly not bluegrass!

Excellent video. Y'all get better with each one.
This is well done.

The sepia is a great choice for this.
You both did an AMAZING job with the syncing!!!
Excellent camera work!

The video really highlights/elevates the song!

SO good.

fj

Thank you Vic!

J&B

First of all this is an awesome song and performance. Loved the video. Incredible photography. Lovely story so well fit to the video. Well done.

A fantastic song and outstanding video

Sepia was an excellent choice here

As usual all three of you did an outstanding job

Loved it

4T strikes again.

the previous posters have said all i might say.

EXCELLENT VOCS again.

happiness

om

J&B,

That's a great song! What a common thing it is to see those places abandoned and forgotten! It's sad to think that most of us will become a footnote in history after a couple of generations.

Great video and performance! As always by you folks!

Thanks, Torrey

Love the tune, loved it when I first heard it, and the video only enhances it, for want of a more poetic word. Sincerest congratulations - beautifully done.

I remember visiting a cemetery 20 ... 25 years ago with my wife and inlaws. A lot of their relatives were buried there.

It was a big cemetery and the graves went back a long time, and it struck me ... all of these people went through what I'm going through. Joy, sorrow, fear, worry ... worry about death, the afterlife ... and ... they died. Just like I will.

In some way I suddenly felt reassured. Not alone. We're not the first to feel these things, and we won't be the last.

Somehow, it all turns out ok. At least that's the feeling I got.