Hello forum friends. Have been away far too long. Kids are back at school now, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up. This is a song that came to me in Summer of '23, I think while I was in Japan. Just got the melodic idea and the first line. It's kind of a philosophical agnostic bunch of questions (never had a song with only questions) to God, the universe, humankind or ?? Hope you enjoy it. Would love to hear what you think! Take care all! Greg
The band:
Piano.....Liverpool piano Bass.......RT 366 Guitar.......Brent Mason rock ballad Other guitar......Eastwest Fab Four Orchestra........Eastwest Silver orchestra Drums........EZDrummer 3
WHO??
Who owns the world? Who lights the stars? Who shins the sun? On this world of ours? Who made these animals become self-aware? Who made us care?
Who deals the cards? Writes rules for the game? Who owns the glory? Who takes the blame? Who placed desire for the truth in our minds? Truth we’ll never find?
Who made us the actors in this play without a script? Who gave us the intellect for which we’re not equipped? Who orchestrates this puppet show with strings we cannot see? Is it you and me?
Who guides the fates? The outcomes of wars? Who tips the scales? Who closes the doors? Who placed the fire and the love in our hearts? Then let’s us fall apart?
Who creates the contents of our nightmares and our dreams? The pleasure and the suffering defining our extremes? Who gave us the power for the danger we create? Can we shut that gate?
Nicely done. The lyric writing was really good. I also like how you used the orchestra around the 4 minute point. E/W is really sweet. I had a lite version on one of my previous DAWs.
That's a good song.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
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I'm on my third listen. It's so great to have you back on the forum!
Your voice is pure magic. The full arrangement brings the soundstage to electrifying life. As always, your arrangement and production skills shine like a perect diamond under the lights.
The questions in your lyric remind me of somethng my father might have asked. He was agnostic for most of his life. What a great write!
The last two lines of the lyric are the perfect way to end this. I always get a bit sad when I see any of your songs are about to end. But the joy of having heard it always wins out. This is music for all ears to appreciate.
Greg, fantastic song! LOVE your vocals and the way the bass slithers around the lyrics. And what super lyrics! An excellent write and superb musical choices. The instrumental outro is a tad long for my taste, but that's subjective. Love your song!
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Wow, Greg, I think this might be your magnum opus. Great lyrics that ask the great questions of existence. Love how the bridge breaks things up as a good bridge should. You always are working at a high level, but this one totally blew me away. Fantastic work!
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Man, Greg, you have a very strong impact with your writing, and then you add a truely amazing voice to tell it --in this case ask it. Every instrument is dressed to perfection and lines up just right in the master. So glad for us that the kids are back at school. Super work on the stings and drums, too. The only answer I have is Greg Johnson, but that answers the wrong question of who. But I'm right.
Enjoy whatever happens! marty
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 11, EZDrummer
I would like to address something that I find to be fascinating about the so-called "agnostic" lyrics because I don't find them to be agnostic at all.
Here's what I mean:
I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as the black sheep of God's family, and also like to say that the apostle Paul was wrong when he said that he was the worse sinner of all, because I think that award clearly goes to me.
In spite of that, and in spite of all the pain and suffering in this world, I'm still a believer. Even more than that I would say I don't just believe in God I "know" in God. The existence of God is just something that I "know" to be true in every aspect of my being, and the fabric of my soul, and even at the cellular level and the subatomic level. Kind of like I find it absolutely impossible to believe on a scientific level that any of this happened by accident. That would just make no sense whatsoever if you've ever done a deep study of science and mathematics. The probability of all of this happening by accident is just zero or less than zero.
But the questions that you raise are questions that go through my head and through the head of many of my friends of Faith through all different belief systems.
These are questions that we ask all the time.
They're actually asked all the time throughout the Old Testament. David constantly cried out with questions of pain and searching and confusion and agony in the book of the Psalms and so did the other psalmists.
The verse "my God my God why have you forsaken me?" which Jesus cried out on the cross comes straight out of the Old Testament too. The book of Job asked the same questions that you ask and more, and most Jewish people consider the book of Job to be the most quintessential Jewish book of all time. And again, these very same questions reverberate throughout the New testament as well. I think these are questions all human beings have, even (or especially) those people who call themselves believers of One Faith or another.
So whereas this is a very beautiful and powerful song, it doesn't sound at all like an agnostic song to me at all, it sounds like a God song full of questions that almost everyone I know talks about when they are seeking to have a greater understanding of the very personal God that they are seeking to fathom.
Just a thought I would throw that out there.
Great job man!! Gorgeous!!!
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
I'm pretty new to the forum. Nice to meet you and hear you. Personally, I love a song with lyrical teeth, so to speak, so I loved the questions and even more so that you didn't offer answers. Does anybody out there know if that's ever been done? Seems completely original to my memory. I thought the rhythm and chording of the chorus was brilliant. It leaves my ears wanting to hear it again.
Superb song all around. I agree with a lot of what David S wrote - it's certainly not an 'agnostic' song - but as I recently received a PM from you I'll respond to the lyrics in a new PM as the music forum's not really place for 'pro-gnostic-ations'!
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Greg, this is an outstanding masterpiece! Loved your vocal and lyrics A gorgeous arrangement - super strings All blended to perfection IMHO this is your best to date
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Wow! Smoothly sung and reminiscent of various 70s artists. Strong, strong composition. I love what you did with the instrumentation at about 3:50 to the end. My favorite lines: "Who made us the actors in this play without a script? Who gave us the intellect for which we’re not equipped?" Clever.
When I listen to this gentle, beautiful melody sung by your pure vocals, it really touches my heart. It's a truly excellent song. The understated string arrangement also also makes the song very rich. The lyrics are a little philosophical, but I think they suit the melody very well. Enjoyed my listen a lot.
That is a BIG sound that reminds us of Brian Wilson but also the Eagles .
No need to parse it out … great vocals, very evocative write, fine band and an excellent mix. Great Brent solo too.
Janice said that during the outro she envisioned a view from space of the earth turning.
Beautiful!
J&B
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
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