All the great music on the forum lately has whipped me into a frenzy and I am just trying to keep up.



Stranger at the Gate
by David Snyder

https://soundcloud.com/david-snyder-gigs/stranger-at-the-gate

V1

Girl I think you know I’ve never loved
Someone as good as you before
But the stars just gave me courage so
I thought I’d knock upon your door
I have no way of knowing
If I’m what you’re looking for
But if we dive into that ocean
We might find out for sure

CH:

Cause I am just a stranger at the gate
And I hope that I have not arrived too late

V2

Girl I think you know
I’ve never seen these city streets before
But I’ve heard about America
From the ones who came before
And there’s a lady in your harbor
With her lamp held to the wind
I have crawled upon my knees to her
Once I reached the end

CH:

Cause I am just a stranger at the gate
And I hope that I have not arrived too late
Cause I am just a stranger
And I do not know my fate
But I hope that I have not arrived too late

V3

And if your God he does decide
To ever let me in
I will ask him if he really thinks that I have ever sinned
Or if everything we’ve ever feared
Was just magic and pretend
If those I thought were enemies
Were really my best friends
And if he asks me what I have to say
I will say it once again

CH:

I am just a stranger at the gate
And I hope that I have not arrived too late
Cause I am just a stranger
And I do not know my fate
But I hope that I have not arrived too late
I hope that I have not arrived too late

(Oooh Ooooh) Guitar Solo, Rideout

All music and lyrics copyright 2016 by David Snyder

Title: Stranger at the Gate
File:Stranger at the Gates2.SGU
Key=D , Tempo 125, Length (m:s)=3:52

RealTracks in style: 1536:Bass, Electric, PopBelieve Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 2542:Pedal Steel, Background ModernBalladAtmosphere Ev16 065
RealTracks in song: 693:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming AcRockBright Ev 120 (B:eighths)
RealTracks in song: ~543:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120

Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Keyboard, Organ, Percussion, Electronic Drums, David Snyder
Lead and Backing Vocals, David Snyder
Produced and Engineered by David Snyder with Band in a Box

AWESOME!!! Love the whirling musical feel. Love the vocal. Love the lyrics. Love the solo at the end. LOVE EVERYTHING!!! Take care. Greg

David,

You certainly come up with a lot of cool titles.

Like Greg said, the "whirling musical feel" of this is really cool. I had the sense that the instruments needed to "come forward" (be louder?) - they had an "in the distance" thing...

Each of the verses (lyric) were very interesting (you excel at including interesting thoughts in your lyrics)...but they each seem to head off in their own direction... I liked each of them. The ending is super cool...

Your mind must never stop. How do you sleep?

fj

Very cool tune David. Excellent vocal and lyric...

Very nice work David indeed!
You're sure keeping up and posting some nice stuff lately, uh, not just lately ;-)

Rob & Anne-Marie

Hi David,
I also love the heady feel to your backing here - its an intoxicating sound, especially the guitar at the end.
For me the lyrics get deeper as the song progresses- these lines are great and seem very timely:


And there’s a lady in your harbor
With her lamp held to the wind
I have crawled upon my knees to her
Once I reached the end

Robert

David
That was a very interesting piece - a bit of Dylan a bit of Springsteen & you.
Good lyrics and a really nice outro. Well done.

Inspiration serves you well David,,, you hit the floor running with this one, you are carving out niche where your recognizable within the first few bars and lyrics. I always look forward to your new postings with great anticipation.

Paddy G

Nice song David ! Very country to me...And as usual ur voice is very good...

Hi David,

very nice one again. Lyrics, arrangement and performance.
Enjoyable listen.

Guenter

Thanks Greg! I am glad you liked it!

Thanks Floyd. I am in experimental mode these days in all areas, lyrical and musical. I fiddled with that mix a lot to get that swirling sound. It was a tricky blend. I can go back for another listen though. I was mostly interested in the drums and a very particular ambient sound on this one. Again, an experiment.

The lyrics were crafted that way to take you on three stages of the character's journey. The last verse asks, essentially, "Aren't we all just strangers at the gate?" which creates a circle back to Verse 1.

As for the word "sleep" that you used, I not familiar with this strange term and perhaps I should look it up. Is it something you earthlings do? I must confess it is not in my vocabulary, but I am not from here, as we have discussed.



Thanks for the feedback man!! You are one of those people who have me all fired up!!

Thanks Scott!

Thanks guys! It is hard for one's imagination not to get fired up once you have seen someone's face on the backside of a dress.

From there, all bets are off.

Thanks for the constant inspiration, Netherlands style.

Thanks Robert. That really means a lot to me. I appreciate it!!

Thanks Peter!!

Thanks Paddy! You keep inspiring me, and I have this stack of Johnny Clegg songs around me, so what else can I do!



Thanks a lot!!

Thanks! I have really been digging your classical stuff!!

Thanks Guenter!!

I'm hearing 90's Henley in terms of production. This is so different from your last one, but equally good in a whole different direction.

I take it the theme is about the issue of immigrants, illegal or otherwise, and the topic of refugees too. That assumption is the only premise that binds everything together in a way that makes sense to me. In the context the lyrics are downright inspired.

I like the chord progression and the way it works with the instrumentation. It all flows together so well

Thanks Pat. 90s Henley "Boys of Summer"-ish is what I was going for exactly--an ambient wash that would accentuate the drums and percussive elements and allow the vox to stand out. It was a very tricky mix to get the sound I wanted.

It is funny you mention inspiration--because when I feel most "inspired" I am not really thinking I am just kind of going with the music, going with the flow. I had verse one and two and then when I was singing it, the idea came to me "we are all immigrants, in a way, we are all strangers at the gate if you think of it"--then the idea came of what would happen when you approach the final gate? Who gets to say whether you are worthy of entering in at that point? Circle back to beginning.



So, that's how it all got connected. So yes, it is an "Immigrant Song." To bad Zep already took that one or I would be all over that like white on rice.

Thanks for the comments!

David,

Yikes! This is tremendous! I can almost hear this as a long lost Harry Nilsson song. I absolutely love your sound...

Bob

Thanks Bob!! The way my sound cloud channel is set up for some reason your song Woodstock plays right after this, and it is amazing how well they resonate back to back, they kind of flow into one another sonically. We should put out a concept album and stage a world tour with Roger Waters.

Nicely done David. Enjoyed it.


Regards,

Bob

Packing my bags... LOL!

David, I have listened to this several times. I really like the lyrics and the melody. The production is much different sounding than most of what's posted here and works very well with song. I like the outro oohs. Tom

I agree that it is hard to get that "ambient wash" (as you call it) without making the mix muddy. I play BOYS OF SUMMER live, and its one of the few tracks in my set that I just can't mix to a mud-free state. I've remixed it a bunch of times.. it has defeated me. ;-(

But YOU got it right!! Good job!

regarding the title: I'm glad you didn't make any reference to LedZep's song... your title is more innovative, and the fact that it is never explicitly declared to be about immigrants (and therefore requires a bit of listener interpretation) makes it all the more interesting.

The one unpardonable sin of song writing is to serve reheated leftovers to the audience, and your approach to the topic is fresh and new.

Thanks Bob!!

Thanks Tommy!

This is the kind of music I like best.
Very energy in it. Very good tune!!

Sergio

Ha ha ha!! Thank you Sergio!! You are a man of few words but I like the words you use!!!

Maybe that is why you are such a tasty guitar player!!

Hey David,
I am a man of few words because I can't speak English so well!
Every time I write something, I have to check if it's correct.

Poor me!

Funny you should mention that Sergio. English is my mother tongue and the same thing happens to me!!

It's all been said but I will add that this may be your best to date!

Keep experimenting as this is fantastic!

This is a keeper.

"I am in experimental mode these days in all areas, lyrical and musical...."

Indeed, and it's playing out very nicely. We're late to the party and it's
all been said.

We loved this swirling gem!

J&B