http://soundcloud.com/lawrence-olivier/lady-pontchartrain

I use to sail this lake. It was some of the best times in my life. Before Hurricane Katrina...

Lady Pontchartrain

Yes there is one woman I miss/ more than all the rest
Her cool languid soul/ drinks me in
Now I don’t like to complain/ but I can’t hide from the pain
And I sure do miss my Lady Pontchartrain

I rest my weary bones down beside her
I sail the waters of her south shore
I’m five hundred miles away/ but I think of her everyday
And I sure would like to see her once more

So I live with one regret/ more than all the rest
Had to leave my happy home in New Orleans
But I really can’t complain/ I made a home in the lone star state
But I sure do miss my Lady Pontchartrain

[chorus]


700,Bass; 365 Guitar; Drums Bodhran CelticReel; 1164 Celtic guitar; 1543 synthpad; 624 fiddle; 1601 mandolin; and extra synth from cakewalk Dim pro

In a word - beautiful.

I was drawn to this one because of the location--I lived in NOLA for several years before moving to Atlanta. It's lovely. The mix is spot on. Structurally I like the way it builds, then recedes at the end. I especially appreciate your use of the string sound, which is often mishandled. The bodhran was also an unexpected but very nice touch. Well done.

Hi gruverider,

I agree with all that's been said. This is beautiful. It's an incredibly engaging arrangement and production, and you performance is wonderful.

Music at its best.

Regards,
Noel

Hi Gruverider.

This is a super song.

From a technical point of view, the recording and mix is spot on - it's what we call radio-ready.

From an artistic viewpoint, it's just perfect. The lyrics are very emotive and the production is great, but even better than this is the way you sing it. Your voice carries all the emotion which is contained in the lyrics and it brought me out in goosebumps.

I'm just going back for another listen.

ROG.

What strikes me is your excellent use of metaphor. If you hadn't explained that you were singing about a lake, I would have been certain you were singing about a lover. Yet, every phrase works in either application, which is one of the more difficult aspects of presenting metaphorical lyrics.

That's 3 killer submissions in a row! and you didn't use the word FEIGN once in the whole song!

;-)

Beautiful.
your vocal delivery was perfect for the sentiment of the song

Alyn

Big +1 coming from one who has boated on that lake too many times to count.

Later,

This is a great song!

Your vocal, the arrangement and the production work together to present it beautifully.

-rob

Hi gruverider,

I agree with all that has been said.
Enjoyable listen.

Guenter

Clean mix, plaintive singing and evocative lyrics. Excellent.

It's all been said!

This is one outstanding song.

Josie, thank you


Ryszsrd,
there was a very large immigration from Ireland at the turn of the 20th century so I thought it fitting

Noel, thank you


ROG,
thanks for listening. I've reworked that mix since Oct. '12.

Pat,
It is about the lake and the woman I use to sail with


Gibson, thank you


Danny C., I had three terrific years on that lake before Katrina destroyed the marina and my friend who owned the boat moved out of state.


Rob, thank you

Guenter, thank you

dcuny, thank you

MarioD, thank you

Outstanding work! Nice and gentle flow, thanks for sharing!

This is wonderful. The vocal and the arrangement is outstanding. Well done

gruverider,


Great song. You have a very unique style - I like it. I could hear one of your songs and recognize you immediately.


Regards,


Bob

gruverider,

The emotions communicated in your lyrics and vocals
melancholy. Excellent presentation.
As mentioned above the violin, and then the strings
add a lot to you music.

Thanks for you hardwork and sharing.
For about 11-12 years grew up on other end of big muddy.
Buffalo City, WI.

Cool... once I figured out it's about a lake.... I "got" it.

I listened to the song and like it. I personally would have tried to use a squeeze box, or an accordion in the song somewhere... to give it that Louisiana Cajun feel that comes to mind with the name of the lake.
I would have looked to see if there was a zydeco style to render the squeezebox.

I heard a bit of a Conway Twitty "cry in the voice".... there's an art to that..... once mastered it works beautifully.

All together, a nice song and a job well done.

Well, I'm late to the party on this one...but what they all said. I really love a song like this that dodges the "angst ridden bullet." The vocals and lyrics convey the weariness exceptionally well.

Great job.

Lawrence,

OK.. so I'm late. OK... so it's all already been said...

So... Ditto that!

Great vocal. Beautiful, understated production...

floyd

thank you all!

Hi! We're new in these parts...been here a whole 2 days...WooHoo! Nice to "meet" you. that was a real pretty song using a nice set of acoustics. Thanks for a real nice listen...we totally enjoyed it!

Al & Di