Just a little nostalgic Christmas tune. New version 12/12/10. A boo-boo here and there, maybe I'll get a chance to fix tonight (or next year!).

Kevin

*************************************************
Red Fire Truck
(c) Emmrich 2010

Back long ago,
I remember a Christmas season
my dad always saying that
things happen for a reason

one year I prayed and hoped,
besides a GI Joe,
I would get my heart's desire in that toy store window

I said "God, I know you're near
please tell Santa I was good this year,
and can you ask him for me please...

(chorus)
bring me that red fire truck
with the dalmatian and bells
and ladders and a siren
and you'll never hear me crying
if you do this for me
you'll have no regrets
cause I'll never ask for anything else

(verse)
Dad got laid off in November
tough to pay bills in December
mama cried, Dad said, don’t worry, it’s time for gifts
went to joe's last chance junkyard
scrounged for wheels and truck parts
we spent the week fixing,
painting, making it look sleek

(lift)
As I sanded, my daddy hummed
His favorite Christmas tune
while in my mind the words went

(chorus again)

(bridge/lift)
although I knew what was coming
I still ran down to unwrap
I swear it was my best Christmas ever

almost 30 years later, my son’s request
brought back that memory.
I guess I could just buy it,
but my son deserves a better gift from me

You see, he asked me please:

(chorus again and tag)

Kevin: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
BIAB: drums (NashEv8^7), bass (midi 34?) , acoustic guitars (#854 and #406), harmonica (#685)

What a sweet story Kevin. I can picture a kid saying "bring me that red fire truck
with the dalmatian and bells and ladders and a siren and you'll never hear me crying".

When you're totally done with this... a video perhaps...

Thanks Sundance for the listen and kind comments. A video might be nice -- maybe for next year!

Merry Christmas.

Kevin

I'm finally found some time to kick back and enjoy some of the musical creations in the "User Showcase", and all I can say is that there are a lot of creative members on this forum. After listening to your song, I've got to admit I agree with Josie in that this tune really deserves a video. By the way thanks for posting the lyrics.

Good song this one, Kevin.
Tasteful harmonica and nice to hear your vox getting more confident.

I was planning on re-doing my parts (vocals and harmonies mostly), but I have run out of steam a little. I added a piano part and re-mixed a little so far. It is time for those holiday songs!!

I added the 1264 piano part to this rendition.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

I remember hearing this last year. For me, I wanted a little red wagon (which I got)! Nice additions to the song.

Thanks for posting.
RodM

Red Fire Truck

Back for Christmas 2012. I did a little remixing -- I wasn't using any high pass filters or compression anywhere. The vocals need to be re-done, there is some crackling here and there that is not digital clipping, but more vocal technique or me crinkling the lyric sheet (ha, ha). The vocals might be a little to "close in" also. Maybe for next year.

I also have been reading up on master bus limiters and I always use the one that comes with Sonar: Boost11. Well, it seems everyone thinks Boost11 is pretty bad. Well I do have a bunch of Waves plugins and I downloaded a free one everyone is raving about, the limiter6. So I did a test on a song with Boost11, Wave L3 UltraMaximizer, Waves L3 MultiMaximizer and the limiter6. In trying to do a blind test, I think I liked the sound of the Boost11 about the best! How can that be, you ask? I guess I have been using it for a long time and I know not to drive it too hard. The others can get much louder, though. Red Fire Truck is using the L3 MultiMaximizer. I am going to have to test out the Wave L2 limiter also.

Some changes in instrumentation:
Kevin: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar (panned right 80%)
BIAB:
drums (NashEv8^7)
bass (midi 34?)
#854 12-string acoustic guitar (panned left 80%) on Intro, Verse1, chorus1, verse2 and bridge.
#406 acoustic guitar (panned 100% right) on chorus 2 only
harmonica (#685) -- lift 2 onward
piano (#1264) -- chorus1, lift2, chorus2, bridge, chorus3
mandolin (#1609) -- chorus2 and chorus3
mandolin (#436) -- beginning of chorus3 to make the mando entry more interesting. I tried to use it at the beginning of chorus2 also, but that didn't work out.

Kevin

Kevin,

I'll say it again... I like your "sound". I don't think there's any reason that "The vocals needs to be re-done". They sound good to me. Perhaps a "touch too up front" but only by the slightest amount. The harmonica works really well.

A touching story.
I like it.

Guenter

Kevin,

I agree with Josie, good story telling. I agree with Floyd, I like your "sound".

Very nice!

Steve

I made the mistake of reading the lyrics before listening, and remembered seeing them before. A solid song, but I figured it would be one of those melancholy sounding tear-jerker country tunes.

So I was delighted to find it defied my expectations. Up-tempo, wonderfully expressive vocal, and fun all around.

Cool stuff going on with the arrangements, but really, I didn't pay that much attention because I was enjoying it too much.

Great stuff.

Kevin,

I enjoyed this really great song so much. Thinking of hard times
growing up with my parents. Then also early on hardtimes with
our own three kids few years. Never went hungry, but some tough
times.

Your song is so upbeat and heart-wrenching.

Thanks for your work and sharing the song.

BTW, your PM'd.

floyd jane: I lowered the lead vox by only 1db -- but it seemed to help a little. I want to change one or two words here and there and there is some crinkling going on that I want to get rid of -- that's the main reason for the desired re-sing. Thanks for stopping by and giving it a spin!

Guenter: Thanks for the visit and listen -- it is appreciated.

Steve: Hello and thanks for the listen and comments!

dcuny: It is a little hard to be too maudlin at 140bpm (ha, ha)! Thanks for the kind words.

seeker: I am glad it resonated with you -- that is always a goal in songs like this. Thanks for the pm, too!!

I really like what you did here. Sounds great to these ears of mine. Nice tune indeed!!!

Mike

Kevin,
Nicely done. Merry Christmas. Thanks for sharing your "toys."
SD

Very nicely done Kevin.

Merry Christmas,

Great job, Merry Christmas!

Cool story line! Great Job!

What a great song. This is a real complicated story line (put in a very simple and understandable song format). My hat's off to you. I could never write this in a million years.

Outstanding vocals. I love the backup vocals. Superb!

Great music. Great use of BIAB.

Top notch work!

Congrats!

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I like your style, Kevin.

hi kevin great tune love the words thanks for shareing eric