Hi Folks.
From childhood, a poem/rhyme  "This Is the House That Jack Built" got stuck in my head. Interestingly, the roots of the rhyme are many centuries young. There are many variations / translations that have existed over the time. Here is mine, with contribution of Ray (rayc), who kindly agreed to play bass.  All comments are welcomed. Thank you for listening!

Jack's House

Lyrics:

Windows are dark
In the house that Jack built
Cat is sleeping on the rug,
Rats are roaming without guilt
Mantle clock stopped
Many hours ago
Drift is sneaking through
The cracks in the door
Waking the cat on the floor

Kitty opens one lazy eye,
Still buzzed from last night's hangover
What's on the menu,
meow?
Rodent turnover!
Rats are playing dead,
Like motionless potatoes.
Hey you can't fool this -
Fluffy terminator.

Shadows play games
In the house that Jack built.
A Dog is chasing a cat.
That is his job - that's how it's been.
Play by the script - from  birth to the crypt
Passing his days
From the bone to the whip
Till he's no longer fit.

Lonely maiden was milking a cow
In the middle of the week
When a man, all tattered and torn,
Kissed her on the cheek.,
Story has a happy ending,
They got married in spring
Cat and dog sued the owner
For violating workers' rights
Ohh yeah, they lived a long life
And died on the same day.
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Tech stuff:
Ray Cochrane - Bass
Me: Arrangement, lyrics, vocals.
BIAB:
1060:Sax, Soprano, Soloist SmoothJazzBallad Ev16 065
3607:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ReggaeSlow16thsChop Ev16 065
2290:Horn Section, Rhythm SlowPop Ev16 065
2348:Horn Section, Rhythm, Funk 2-part, Ev 110
RealDrums: TimbaleCowbellReggae16
RealDrums: BoomChickaEv16

Synths of Kontakt / Recorded in Cakewalk.

LOVE the Reggae/Ska feel of your song.
Makes me smile and moves my feet.
Very good work by you and Ray.

Misha & Ray

Incredibly inventive, imaginative and superbly presented.

You've both outdone yourselves.

Great work.

Peter

Magical take on a poem I'd long forgotten.
Bring up the vox volume a tad.

Vic

Thanks for letting me play along Misha,
You are, as ever, the perfect collaboration host.
Fabulous song & performances by you & BIAB.

You two hit this one out of the park!
I really liked the vocal and loved those lyrics!
The bass part was spot on, great job Ray.
I dug that groove also!

Hi Rustyspoon,

I enjoyed this song - lots of light and shade.

I particularly liked the intro - terrific.

Best Regards
Nigel

Very cool groove to the song Misha. Loved the kick drum. Super vocal and excellent instrumentation for song. Lots of very cool sounds. Rays bass was excellent as well. Super production. Loved the instrumentation separation. Well done...

A truly phantasmagoric production. Love the instrumentation, the countermelodies to the vocal. Bravo, gentlemen.

HA! I knew Jack! It wasn't until Firesign Theatre that I leanred "jack" was ill-gotten money or something.

Wow, this is so much fun, Misha & Ray. I always love how you make songs, Misha. SO darn interesting, and always something that can be played over and over. And each listen can reveal something in there that hasn't been heard before. Ray, I love how you bring in the bass, and then continue with the perfect track. Excellent choice, Misha. Ray did a bass track or me a bit ago, and I can't wait to share it. Such a wonderful job on the lyrics. There is so much to quote that I'd have to cut and paste the whole thing. Loved the happy ending.

Misha, nicely done and very creative.
Ray, great job on that reggae bass line.
Very enjoyable.

Misha,

A stunningly good production. Imaginative.
Good vocals.
Good mix.
Ray's bass sounds great.

Good music.

fj

Funny and smirky firework of musical creativity. Very nice to hear about cats, dogs and rats for a while. A fluffy terminator, clever description, meow
The rhythmic bed is once again very enjoyable. The bass is really lively and fits well the reggae rhythm. The sax is a surprising but excellent choice for the mood.

Janne

To steal from Peter: "Incredibly inventive, imaginative and superbly presented.
You've both outdone yourselves."

Absolutely! This is a remarkable production - all of it including lyric, melody, vocal and bass performance and mix.
Great choice of a band and, man, Ray nails the groove ... very supportive.

Your vocals and the artwork are always a treat -- excellent.

The write is creative, clever and most entertaining. Do you dream of such?

Great collab guys!

J&B

Great production, from start to end.

Loved everything about it.

Hi Misha and Ray,

Listened to this the other day but didn't have time to comment.

First of all, what a great groove! And a great arrangement too, so much going on, but doesn't sound busy. Mix sounds fabulous through the 'phones.

Creative write, good vocal, and Ray absolutely nails the bass, very solid.

To sum up I'm going to steal from Bud who stole from Peter:

"Incredibly inventive, imaginative and superbly presented. You've both outdone yourselves."

Well done, very much enjoyed.

Hi Misha,


Original intro with a sax playing in the high octaves. The rhythm is always catchy. Everything fits perfectly. I appreciated.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

B.D.
Thank you for giving this time and your support!
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Peter,
Thank you for listening and your positive feedback!
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Vic,
Thank you for support and your mix comment!
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Ray,
Thank you for taking a part in this and your feedback!!
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Mario,
Thank you for listening & your positive feedback here and on S.C.!
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Nigel,
Thank you for giving this time and your feedback!
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Scott,
Thank you for your positive comments here and on S.C.
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Mark,
Thank you!
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Marty,
Thank you for giving this time and your kind feedback!
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Bass Thumper,
Thank you for listening and I am glad you liked it!
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F.J.,
Thank you for finding time and your support!
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Janne,
Thank you for listening and your positive comments!
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J&B,
Thank you for giving this time and your excellent feedback here and on S.C. Ohh, I don't know about dreams, but the prominent versions of this story are very vivid, so it is an easy steal
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David,
Thank you for listening and your support!
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Dave,
Thank you for listening and kind words!
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Derochette,
Thank you for listening and your support! The magic of the sax is owed to the new BIAB feature of Partial regeneration. It took some time, but without that tool, it would be extremely tedious to get it right.

This is the song you play for people who say you can't do anything with BIAB, that it sounds too "canned" etc. This was great. The production, the vocal, the bass. Just fantastic.

Misha and Ray,

This immediately had me thinking of the Police. It has that rhythmic structure that Sting and company utilized in some of their work! This has been arranged in wonderful fashion! Lots of little clever effects used and the overall sound is wonderful! Great work on the bass by Ray! TB