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Some very poignant lyrics. You don't write something like this unless you've lived it or someone who has tells you about the experience. Very powerful and touching.

Thanks to Don Gaynor for pulling this all together, to Keith Stempfly for the moving lyrics, and Joanne Cooper for the melody, vocals, and BIAB arrangement. I'm honored to have been asked to play on this. You guys rock.

Bob Buford

Bob and Jo, I hope to follow with a back story soon.

Donny

Don, it was an absolute pleasure working with you and Bob on this song. As Bob said, said such poignant lyrics could only have been written by someone who lived through this nightmare.
Will post the lyrics and real tracks when I am not on my iPhone!

Well done Don! Really loved the progressions and overall vibe. Joanne you also sound excellent too! Great job both of you!

I'm a disabled Vietnam vet, as many of you know. Not many things bring tears to my eyes but you folks managed to do so. Simply wonderful in its sadness and poignancy. A big salute to all of you! God bless,

Alan

Dear Josie,

I've said it before, dear friend, but you could sing the Johannesburg phone directory and make it so beautiful.

Bob added a special touch with his guitar mastery, just a subtle fill and exquisite tone. I think we'll be enjoying a lot more out of you two in the future.

I marvel at your ability to anticipate my exact wants and needs then interpret them with your beautiful voice. You exceed my every goal. I'm extremely proud to call you "friend".

What a wonderful song, beautifully sung by Josie of course.

A fine job of putting this together, Don. Good job by all. Bob's guitar is really well done...

Great collab y'all. From OK to CO to South Africa.

The power of the net, talented musicians and BiaB shines through here!

Kudos...

J&B

FJ,

You don't know what your nod of approval means to all of us. We acknowledge you as the resident wordsmith and voice of authority in songwriting and production. Your approval means so much. Thanks for listening and especially for the encouraging comments.
I don't think I've ever thanked you for popping in on us when Josie and Megz visited me last year. A belated and heartfelt thank you.

Donny

Awesome collaboration. Super vocal and lyric. Loved Bob's guitar work so tasteful dancing around the vocal.

Hi Don. Having trouble finding this track.
Rob

Try this one, Rob

SoundCloud Link: I Only Wrote The Telegrams

Bob

Thanks Buford.
Got it.
What a pretty ballad.
Joanne always does justice to a good melody.
Excellent.
Rob

Don,Joanne and Bob,
Gorgeous, in a heartbreaking way.
In my opinion this is one your best, Joanne - these are simply top drawer lyrics for which you`ve found a lovely melody and then taken to another level with your vocal and harmony.
Bob`s guitar is very tasteful and the production just fine.
This one will reach many listeners.

Robert

Joe, Al-David, Graham, Floyd, Bud and Janice, Scott, Rob and Robert. Thank you all for your comments. The generosity of this community never fails to astound me.

Lyrics by Keith Stempfly

I only wrote the telegrams sent words of regret
To mothers wives and fathers who were praying for a vet
Sent words in a daze that seemed totally unreal
With no one around to tell me how to feel
But I only wrote the telegrams

I only made the shadow boxes with medals in their rows
Which ones were the posthumous I didn't want to know
Spent hours and hours to get them in just the right place
Tried to deny the void they meant to replace
But I only made the shadow boxes

I only set the funerals for some fathers and some sons
Whose luck put them too soon in the ground of Arlington
The taps would play and the guns sound their salute
A gently folded flag instead of a young recruit
But I only set the funerals

I only wrote the telegrams thirty years ago
In an undeclared war for reasons we'll never know
nights filled with dreams medals crashing on my desk
And dirt falling falling on my face
and taps and guns.....and words full of regret
But I only wrote the telegrams


RealTracks:
RealTracks in style: 1596:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Pop16ths Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 1595:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Pop8thsSteady Ev 065
RealTracks in style: 1601:Mandolin, Rhythm Pop16Melodic Ev 065
RT1592:Bass, Electric, Pop16ths Ev 065

and of course.. Bob Buford's wonderful guitar

116 plays in 1 day says it all!

Great job, Don! A very powerful tune indeed. I loved the chord progression and the vocal delivery on this. It sounds very professional!

Thanks so much for sharing - you should be proud of this one!

Don, Joanne and Bob,

You've all done an outstanding job with this. It well deserves all the high praise that it's been given. The topic is a tough one.

Impressive work all round!

Regards,
Noel

Don Joanne & Bob

A really lovely ballad - great vocal Joanne and nice harmonies, complimented by thoughtful guitar lines - nice tone Bob.
Poignant lyrics a top class production.

Peter

Here is the promised back story on the lyricist, Keith Stampfley:

Keith Stempfley was a quiet young man from a small town in Northern Minnesota. He always enjoyed singing, entertaining his grade school classmates who didn’t know he actually wrote some of the songs he sang. Kathi Baraga Chase was helping find people for what will be their 50 year class reunion in 2018. When they called for the names of veterans to honor at the reunion, Keith stepped forward and included the poem. So taken by her friends words, she reached out to her friend Donald Gaynor, Thinking the words were worthy of music. Keith, a man of peace, ended up enlisting. He didn’t end up on the front lines. He instead was given the position of notifying the survivors of those who so valiantly gave their lives. He, himself eventually developed PTSD, but remained at Ft. Lesley J McNair, Headquarters for the Military District of Washington in a position involving cases of soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital who shared the condition, to help get them get medically discharged. While attending San Francisco State he became involved with a veteran’s outreach program His words ARE his story and he dedicates this song not only to those who lost their lives, but to those that had to bring the worst possible news to surviving loved ones.



Keith probably had the toughest job in any war. Kudos to you, Keith.

Donny

I managed to get in touch with Keith Stempfley through Kathi Chase and we've talked for hours on the phone. I just had to know more about the man who penned the words to "I Only Wrote The Telegrams". This guy's the real deal. I can't imagine having to face the sorrow and heartbreak he experienced on a day-to-day basis. How could anyone do that job and not be permanently changed? It took him years to come to terms with the experience and finally write down the story in a poem.

Thank you for your service, Keith.

Bob Buford

I received a wonderful note of thanks from
Keith via Facebook
"Joanne, thank you for the most incredible birthday present, the most incredible gift, I have ever received. Twelve years after writing the poem that stopped my nightmares, forty-five years after the events that started all this in motion, because of your gift (your voice, your tune and the vital changes you made in my poem), I feel I finally have permission to cry about what I went through in the Army. I will be grateful to you as long as I live."

What a beautiful and powerful song!! Wonderful!! Lovely melody and a terrific vocal performance. Perfect arrangement. This is really well done!! Take care. Greg