Hi Al, TM, Scott and Deej,

Thanks for listening to this sad song. I enjoyed your comments. It took me some time to comment on them, because I was on holidays. Now I'm home again. A lot easier to respond from behind my pc.

Originally Posted by Al-David
Hans,
A strong message wrapped in excellent, foreboding music. The layered vocals are nice. The strings, particularly the cello, were real nice.
Outstanding lyric. I'm a disabled Vietnam vet and seen a lot of what you described. A different time and a different conflict, but war is so cruel no matter when and where.\\Well done.
Alan

Hi Alan, I didn't know you served in Vietnam. That was an impressive war (from all perspectives...). I was living in Curaçao when many American warships were returning from Vietnam. We always picked up a few soldiers who were on board to give them a fun day. I heard many stories and was quite impressed, although they kept their stories polite for a young boy like me. But they enjoyed spending that fun day with us. I thought it was because I was a very sweet boy, but later I became suspicious and think it was because of my two beautiful sisters. Anyway, they impressed me with their stories, and afterward, I read a lot about that war, saw many movies, and I thought it must have been a difficult time for those young men from the US. Of course, for the other side as well, but those were tough times. But luckily, you can still make beautiful songs, Al! And thanks for your compliments on my song.

Originally Posted by TuneMonger
Nice job, Hans. Tragic that we even have to write songs like this. I felt like some of the words didn't quite fit melodically, but you did a great job of singing them into shape and the end result was pretty good. Of course, I'm impressed with your English in general. Good vocal, good song, good work.

Hello TM, thanks for your comment. I'm curious what you meant by "the words didn't quite fit melodically." I agree that I used some words that Americans don't use, but I chose them (at first) because I thought they were good English and (secondly) because they sounded more melodic. For example, I preferred the word "devastated" over "destroyed" because it sounded smoother and had more rhythm. But all of you who mentioned my gramar, helped me to improve my skills on that. So thanks!

Originally Posted by Ezekiel's Storm
Glad you're back. I always look forward to listening to your music. This image says it all: "She wears a torn, dirty white dress/And no shoes at her feet." Instrumentation is a perfect fit, and I especially like that violin, which adds the right emotional tone.

Hi Scott, what a nice compliment from you, although it's also the other way around. I like your songs too!

Deej[/quote]
Originally Posted by Deej56
Hans,
It’s good to see you back on the board. Always a fan of your stuff and your vocal. I general don’t gravitate towards “message” songs, but I think, as you say, that’s this is very accessible and balanced . . . so I enjoyed it a lot. The production elements all sound stellar to me, so no suggestions there. Excellent harmonies!! Terrific work on this!
Deej

Hi Deej, I can say the same to you as I did to Scott. Where I differ from you is that I do like songs with a message, as long as it's not too heavy. I like working with "images," like in this case that dress and no shoes in the rubble. And thanks for your compliment on the song's production. If I tell you how many versions I tried... And the last one was with cello and violin. All the others weren't. So, I also like sculpting ;-)

Thanks everyone, and have a nice day,
Hans

Hans Berkhout
(Birchwood)
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130