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Posted By: Robertkc A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/08/18 08:13 PM
A Bird In The House

A song about the American poet Emily Dickinson. Joanne Cooper singing.

Style is _AIRHARP.STY (Airy Celtic Harp Trio)

RealTracks in style: ~2483:Bass, Acoustic, Bowed HeldSimple Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 2870:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm CelticAirDave Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 2820:Harp, Rhythm ClassicalSlow8ths Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 2457:StringQuartet PopChamber Ev 085




A Bird In The House

when I was a boy
I lived where skylarks hid their nests
word spinning walking home
safe from the goblins of Amherst
father in his wilderness
always in awe wondering
which rapture to suppress

when I was a girl
they sorted starched up young ladies
by degrees of salvation
at Mount Holyoke Seminary
they called me a no-hoper
avoiding evangelism
I stayed indoors

there`s a bird in the house
learning to be still
the mill wheel creaks she turns her head
follows the whippoorwill

when I was a poet
I lived as a woman for a week
not being seen I found
the courage to speak
a suitor came he was too beautiful
I left him on the stairs where
my love would never cool

there`s a bird in the house
learning to be still
the millwheel creaks she turns her head
follows the whippoorwill

singing her way out
down a dark secret brook
your understanding intrudes
the pages of her book

there`s a bird in the house


© Robert Cordrey May 2018
Very nice Robert and Joanne!

A clever write as always. Sounds good through my iPad, I’ll give it another listen once I get back to my studio next week.
Posted By: rsdean Re: A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/09/18 08:02 AM
Robert,

Another great song... This time delivered beautifully by Joanne.

Nice track selection and production as well.

Bob
Posted By: furry Re: A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/09/18 11:07 AM
Another great song, and another one that suits Joannes' lovely voice.
This song is sheer poetry. Lots of lyrical nuggets. My favorite is "when I was a girl/ they sorted starched up young ladies/ by degrees of salvation."
Very nice Robert and Joanne! An excellent vocal and the use of the string quartet in this was exceptionally good! A beautiful song well performed and put together! Thanks, Torrey
Robert and Joanne,

What a lovely song and performance! What a marvelous and expository lyric. And few are Joanne's equal for interpreting a lyric and delivering it with such grace. Remarkably beautiful song and performance.

Alan
Nice lyrics, fine vocals and I like the way you use the real tracks.
Originally Posted By: BlueAttitude
Very nice Robert and Joanne!

A clever write as always. Sounds good through my iPad, I’ll give it another listen once I get back to my studio next week.


Thanks for your listen Dave... to me it sounds better on phones than monitors.

Robert
Originally Posted By: rsdean
Robert,

Another great song... This time delivered beautifully by Joanne.

Nice track selection and production as well.

Bob


Bob,
I appreciate that- a simple track list but not so easy to produce; in the end I think the Ozone tonal balance helped out.
I`m grateful Joanne was willing to spend the time getting to know the unusual lyrics - I`m thrilled with her interpretation.

Robert

Originally Posted By: furry
Another great song, and another one that suits Joannes' lovely voice.


Thank you Graham!
Posted By: Scott C Re: A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/10/18 04:48 PM
Very cool tune Robert. Awesome lyric and lovely backtrack. Super mix as well. Sounds perfect on my headphones. Beautiful vocal Joanne. So tasteful and pretty. Well done
A beautiful musical composition with lyrics which seem very Dickensonian (Is that a word?)!! Joanne was a great choice for this music. Piano and strings are the perfect accompanying instruments. Great job!! Take care. Greg
Robert,

As always, an interesting lyric. (I don't know enough Dickinson to know the references).

A nice production and Joanne's vocal fits well. A good mix.

fj
Wow - this is incredible! I love the vocal delivery on this. It is dreary, sad, dark, yet hopeful at the same time. Plus, the lyrics are beautiful and incredibly unique and emotional. It flows great, and really sets an intense and gorgeous mood.

Great work, and thanks so much for sharing smile
Originally Posted By: Ezekiel's Storm
This song is sheer poetry. Lots of lyrical nuggets. My favorite is "when I was a girl/ they sorted starched up young ladies/ by degrees of salvation."


I appreciate those kind words.The lyrics were based on reading of Emily Dickinson`s letters.. boy they really spoke an English that had some subtlety back then!

Robert

Originally Posted By: Torrey Bliss
Very nice Robert and Joanne! An excellent vocal and the use of the string quartet in this was exceptionally good! A beautiful song well performed and put together! Thanks, Torrey


Thank you Torrey!

Originally Posted By: Al-David
Robert and Joanne,

What a lovely song and performance! What a marvelous and expository lyric. And few are Joanne's equal for interpreting a lyric and delivering it with such grace. Remarkably beautiful song and performance.

Alan


Alan,

I spent many hours with the lyrics on this one so, although I`m still not entirely happy with them, there are parts that I felt got to the heart of a person who has had volumes written about her.
I`m glad you connected with the song and agree with your praise of Joanne`s vocal.

Robert
Thanks to Robert for inviting me to sing on this one. I enjoyed learning the song and am glad you all like the final result.
Posted By: PeterF Re: A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/13/18 07:27 AM
Robert / Joanne

Like Dave listened on my IPad. A haunting melody and a lovely vocal interpretation of a poetic set of lyrics.
Nicely done.

Peter
Hello, Robert and Joanne

Really nice collaboration!
Joanne's vocal perfect fits this melody.
I think that it is the complete finish because it was made by you two who understand the essence of folk songs deeply.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi
Originally Posted By: rodipoet
Nice lyrics, fine vocals and I like the way you use the real tracks.


Thank you for listening.

Originally Posted By: Scott C
Very cool tune Robert. Awesome lyric and lovely backtrack. Super mix as well. Sounds perfect on my headphones. Beautiful vocal Joanne. So tasteful and pretty. Well done


I appreciate that,Scott... a nice slow contemplative break from our heady outings of late!

Robert

Originally Posted By: Greg Johnson
A beautiful musical composition with lyrics which seem very Dickensonian (Is that a word?)!! Joanne was a great choice for this music. Piano and strings are the perfect accompanying instruments. Great job!! Take care. Greg


Greg,
Some of my favourite songs are along the lines of musical biographies;I knew nothing about Emily Dickinson until stumbling across a few lines of one of her poems. I`m glad you liked the portrait, arrangement and Joanne`s fine vocal.

Robert

Originally Posted By: floyd jane
Robert,

As always, an interesting lyric. (I don't know enough Dickinson to know the references).

A nice production and Joanne's vocal fits well. A good mix.

fj


Floyd,
Thanks for the listen and comments.

Robert

Originally Posted By: Deryk - PG Music
Wow - this is incredible! I love the vocal delivery on this. It is dreary, sad, dark, yet hopeful at the same time. Plus, the lyrics are beautiful and incredibly unique and emotional. It flows great, and really sets an intense and gorgeous mood.

Great work, and thanks so much for sharing smile


Deryk,
I thought twice about putting this on the forum - its both one of my personal favourites of those I`ve written, and one with the least "curb appeal" if that makes sense.I`m really happy that Joanne got into the song with feeling and it gives me all the more of a kick that someone listened and responded so positively- thank you!

Robert
Originally Posted By: PeterF
Robert / Joanne

Like Dave listened on my IPad. A haunting melody and a lovely vocal interpretation of a poetic set of lyrics.
Nicely done.

Peter


Peter,
If it sounds ok on your ipad I probably got the mix right.
Thanks for the listen and comments.

Robert
Originally Posted By: animarorecords
Hello, Robert and Joanne

Really nice collaboration!
Joanne's vocal perfect fits this melody.
I think that it is the complete finish because it was made by you two who understand the essence of folk songs deeply.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi


That`s very kind Shigeki - thank you!

Robert
Janice has always been a fan of Emily Dickinson and has read a lot of her work and books about her. She commented immediately that the write and vocal capture the melancholia of her works. Yes, sometimes works like her's and writes about her can have less curb appeal but that doesn't diminish their value...at all. One of Janice's favorite books about her is "The Diary of Emily Dickinson" by Jamie Fuller.

Nice collab y'all!

J&B
Marvelous melody and chords. Joanne's vocals are soaring! A beautiful write!


Wonderful!!!
Posted By: dcuny Re: A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/18/18 02:47 AM
Excellent lyrics - this sounds a lot like a classic Judy Collins song.

I'm always a bit hesitant to when checking out your songs - they don't have the immediate melodic appeal that my lazy ears want, but they're always well produced and lyrically interesting.

I really like the framing of the song - the boy/girl/poet gives a nice progression, and the bird metaphor ties it together well. I understand your frustration at setting someone else's words, but I think you did a really nice job here.
Originally Posted By: Janice & Bud
Janice has always been a fan of Emily Dickinson and has read a lot of her work and books about her. She commented immediately that the write and vocal capture the melancholia of her works. Yes, sometimes works like her's and writes about her can have less curb appeal but that doesn't diminish their value...at all. One of Janice's favorite books about her is "The Diary of Emily Dickinson" by Jamie Fuller.

Nice collab y'all!

J&B


J&B,
Maybe `cos I`m a Brit. her work was completely absent from my Eng.Lit. schooling ( but then I did get to read Milton`s Paradise Lost over and over!)... so nice to have the time now to catch up.
I`ll look for the book you mention.
I`m happy an Emily fan found something true about this song!

Robert
Originally Posted By: gruverider
Marvelous melody and chords. Joanne's vocals are soaring! A beautiful write!


Wonderful!!!


Thank you -that`s appreciated.
The chords were a bit of a departure for me - I looked into some of Joni Mitchel`s songs when she started moving away from pure folk for inspiration.

Robert

Originally Posted By: dcuny
Excellent lyrics - this sounds a lot like a classic Judy Collins song.

I'm always a bit hesitant to when checking out your songs - they don't have the immediate melodic appeal that my lazy ears want, but they're always well produced and lyrically interesting.

I really like the framing of the song - the boy/girl/poet gives a nice progression, and the bird metaphor ties it together well. I understand your frustration at setting someone else's words, but I think you did a really nice job here.



Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment- my earlier songs tended to be much more straightforward musically...I blame all the cool music this forum has turned me on to for moving towards the unusual!
Its always supportive when someone pays attention to lyrics- I`m glad you felt they connected well.
Just to be clear - I read the E.D. letters, but didn`t quote them- the words are my interpretation.

Robert
Posted By: Noel96 Re: A Bird In The House (with Joanne Cooper) - 09/22/18 12:37 AM
Robert,

I enjoyed the journey you just took me on.

Maybe it's because I'm in Australia, but I cannot recall ever having read any of Emily Dickinson's works. I'd better get out on the 'net and hunt a few of them down. She has certainly inspired some profound lyrics from you!

Joanne's excellent vocals suit the ambience of your words and arrangement beautifully.

You've both done a great job!

All the best,
Noel
Noel,

I appreciate your listen and comments.
Well worth checking out Emily Dickinson`s work... all the more moving if you understand the time and circumstances she was writing in.

Robert
another one that suits Joannes' lovely voice.

Say no more..!.
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