God will leave a light on

Rock Ballad with a great message (IMHO!) from Chris and myself.

This one was totally written by Chris, she basically sent me a piano/vocal demo and I built the backing track based on that.

God will leave a light on (Christiane Spruit, 2018)

V1)If God still leaves a light on
through the dark and through the blue
when we stand up together
raise your voice to see us through
with our voice of the silent
with the force of all of you
call in love against the violence
raise in love all of you

Chorus
Reach out for the love and the light in all our souls
raise against the dark and the doom
Listen to the soul that is trying to get through to you
singing all the songs of love that you have in you

V2)In these days of separations
in the howling of the storm
we should all leave our lights on
like the lighthouse on the shore
set your sail to the island
through the ocean of your doubt
sail the boat against the violence
raise in love and sing out loud

Chorus

PreChorus Part

Chorus Alternative
God will leave a light on as long as someone cares
Carry on regardless without hate and without fear
everyone within salvation giving a hand to everyone
there is no pain in share and giving and no pain in love at all

Chorus 2

Reach out for the love and the light in all our souls
raise against the dark and the doom
Listen to the soul that is trying to get through do you
singing all the songs of love that you have in you

The Band:
RealTracks in style: 1592:Bass, Electric, Pop16ths Ev 065
RealTracks in song: ~367:Guitar, Electric, Background Dreamy Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 2558:Cello, Background SlowSwing Sw 065

I used EZDrummer2 to build the drum track

Chris is playing the piano and also the pad that comes in during the last chorus
This is not really a guitar song, but I did manage to sneak a couple of licks in there

The song is also up on soundcloud (but sounds better on the reverbnation link at the top of the page) here: soundcloud link

All comments welcome!

Dave (and Chris), really well-done, inspirational ballad. Dave, I think you did a great job creating a full-bodied track, and your modest guitar work supports and adds, doesn't take away, from Chris' vocal. Top-notch backing track...I liked that cymbal effect at the end! Great collaborative work!

Very appropriate instrumentation. I think you put in just the right amount of guitar to flavor the song. I especially like the marine imagery in the second verse. Overall, nice production.

What a tune! Love the vocal performance on this. It sounds huge, and is instantly memorable. That aside, I love the guitar work and the positive message is uplifting and sincere.

Really great work here - thanks for sharing

Dave & Chris,
Great vocal on uplifting lyrics. I enjoyed the production too- a big sound but with nice dynamics where you bring things down before the last chorus.
Interesting to hear the track on those two platforms; you`re right, Reverbnation is the better quality.

Robert

I really like this song and the arrangement. However, to me, the mix was like two different songs where Chris' voice is concerned. Up until the big ending it was hard to hear and understand her both on my speakers and my headphones. I thought there was a lack of bottom in her voice or maybe a little too much compression. In the big ending it was like she was suddenly turned up (still a bit hard to understand the lyrics without reading them in places) but her voice was better mixed with the louder music. I hate to say anything derogatory about the mix but I would want to know if it was me. And if everyone else thinks it's fine then just disregard. I mean well.

Dave & Chris,

Really nice work. Excellent drum programming to fit the song using EZ Drummer. Very nice vocal and lyrics with nicely played piano and the synth at the end.
Liked the guitar licks you threw in especially the first solo (excellent choice of notes).
An excellent ballad.

Peter

Oh wow, this is a cracker, LOVED the melody and superb vocals thanks guys

hi dave and cris well done love the vocal great job thanks eric

Chris & Dave,

A good "Big Rock Ballad". The melody is especially nice - soaring.

The pieces all work well. Nice piano! Good drums (at times, I wanted them to "sound bigger", but I am not sure how that would be done - they have a good sound - it might be a reverb thing). Tasteful guitar (no surprise there!). The cello works well (doesn't it always?). The ending string pads were nice (though, again, I thought they "could have gone bigger").

Chris' vocal is strong (have come to expect that!).

After typing this all out, I am STILL hearing the song in my head - it has real staying power!!!

Nicely done.

fj

An odd comment maybe, but I knew I was going to enjoy this just from looking at the wave-form. I wasn't disappointed. Great build and dynamic ebb and flow befitting the anthem quality of the lyric and vocals. Thoughtful production. Much enjoyed.

Yes, I believe in the less is more approach when it comes to a guitarist backing up a singer. Vocal is always the star. Thanks for the listen and comments!

Chris/Dave, what a lovely rousing song. Very catchy melody lines fabulously sung. Had me waving my cigarette lighter! (Sorry, is it iPhone now..)

John

"call in love against the violence
raise in love all of you"

A good message, like Greg and floyd a lot of musicians

are thinking about uniting themes and healing messages.

A strong, inspired write

Reach out for the love and the light in all our souls
raise against the dark and the doom
Listen to the soul that is trying to get through do you
singing all the songs of love that you have in you

those are great lines!

good mix,

enjoyed the listen,

Kenny

HI Dave & Chris,

Powerful and well done! Chris never disappoints with her vocals and your perfect guitar touches are a true delight. Good message in the lyric. Love the out front placement on the kick drum - really adds a lot to the mix, which is perfect. Great job in all regards. That was a real pleasure to listen to! Best to both of you.

Alan

Really beautiful!! Nice, spiritual ballad. Very well written and sung. Different vibe for you guys. Very, very nice!! Take care. Greg

I agree 100%. What a great message! Dave you did a super job adding your music to her tracks. I am impressed.

I really liked this one.

Thanks for the listen and comment!

Thanks for stopping by, Deryk!

Yes, WAV file uploaded to soundcloud, MP3 to reverbnation, but reverbnation has always sounded better to me.

Thanks for the listen and comment, Robert!

Cool! This piano style is often referred too as "beginner's piano style" but you play it like a pro!
Indeed a powerful ballad, very well sung and arranged.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi Josie,

Sorry you think my mix sucks, but I have no problem with you being honest with your opinion. Can’t please everyone I guess.

Thanks for the listen!

Thanks, Peter!



Very happy you liked this one, Graham!



Thanks for the listen and comment, Eric!

Thanks as always, Floyd, happy you liked it!

I agree about the cello, what a great sound! It's actually the first time I've used cello on one of our songs and found I had to carve out some space via EQ in spots where it was conflicting with the vocal.

Mix wise I know it still needs a little work and I'll get back to it at some point. Truth is I'm quite comfortable mixing vocal, guitar, bass, drums and keys which is what most of our songs consist of, strings is new territory for me. But, always fun to learn new things!

Straight forward emotion with exactly the type of treatment this song needs. VERY cool! I really liked it. Thank you!

Chris delivers with the vocal and Dave delivers with the arrangement. This is a very nice big rock ballad. The guitar parts worked well. Maybe bigger drums would help to get an overall larger sound. Not louder but larger if that makes any sense to you. I did like the song, the performances and the arrangement, Tom

I know exactly what you mean, I do the same. You can tell even before you hit play if the song is going to be interesting as far as dynamics go. If I see a waveform that looks like a 2 X 4 I know I'm in trouble!




Yeah, cigarettes ... a thing of the past for me too. thanks, John!

Great sentiment in the lyric and a cool song to play back to back with the recent floyd/Greg collab. They both want to make Bud suck it up and try to write a, for him, rare positive song!

We agree that the cello was a nice addition. Having used it quite a few times I understand the difficulty in letting it have its "place." You did a great job mixing it.

The tasteful guitar riffs offer great accents to Chris' sincere and, as always, excellent vocal.

So the "blues duo" goes Motown gospel feel on their last tune and rock spiritual ballad on this one. Ain't genre hoppin' fun! And when you pull it off so well as you did with these songs it's fun for all of us.

Very nice!!!

J&B

PS We've listened to the Reverbnation link and thanks for the SC link as we can add to it our fav playlist.

A well done composition with an inspirational message... congratulations!,,, I enjoyed it very much.

Hi Kenny,
Yes, nice to do something with a positive message for a change, and yeah, I thought Chris did a great job with the writing.
Thanks!



I got that kick drum trick from Floyd a couple of years back, it's a very effective technique and I've been using it ever since.

Thanks Alan, best to Di.



Nice to do something different every once in a while. Thanks, Greg!

Very cool song Dave and Chris. Loved this song. Exceptional vocal. Very inspirational. Dave loved your guitar work. Just sat so nice in and around the vocal. The guitar tone was set perfect for the feel of the song. Well done. This will be one of my favorites of yours.

Thanks, Mario! And thanks for mentioning that cymbal, took me a while to find the right loop to make that happen.



Chris is on the piano. Thanks, happy you liked it!

Yes, I'm a big fan of the KISS approach! Thanks, HTL!



Yes, Floyd mentioned the drums too, and when you guys talk, I listen! I find it a little harder to get EZDrummer drums to sit properly in the mix compared to Realdrums. Just a matter of getting the right amount of reverb on them I guess, I think that might be the main thing. Still a work in progress!
Thanks, Tom!

Dave Man,

This is a great. I have noticed that over the years, I would say the last 2 in particular, the "core group" of posters--who have been so kind as to share their musical gifts with us for free--have been improving their songs and increasing their chops at a fairly dizzying rate.

I think it is because everyone has been trying so hard to put their "game face on" that a higher level of passion and enthusiasm for the music has been created.

So, when I listen to a song like this--or any others by any of the forum members--I think I am just listening to the radio, except the people on the radio are people I know, like and work with sometimes.

In that context, I feel that when anyone has created a tune, they have made artistic decisions along the way, and now have submitted their tunes for broadcast, so to speak.

I know a few people waves from the sidelines from time to time to say the showcase should be something else, but I just enjoy it as pure radio from my friends, whether that be you, Josie, Mario, Floyd, Rob and Anne-Marie, Alan...and the list goes on and on and on.

I don't know why that popped into my head but it just did.

Maybe that's why all of my other comments to songs are so short--"Man that was awesome"--that was great, etc. Because that's the way I feel. I have just heard another great one on PG Radio.

This may be the LONGEST post I have ever written on a song.

I really liked the feel of it, and the message and the sincerity behind the performance.

Well, better go listen to some more.

Thanks, Guys!

It's fun to explore different genres, but blues will always be our main thing. Back to the blues for the next one!

I'm happy you enjoyed this one, thanks, Jim!



Thanks, Scott!

I agree completely about this forum and the people that post music here.

The last couple of years have been great, the music continues to improve, both the quality of the songs and the presentation. And that's because the people that hang out here that really know their craft are always more than happy to share that knowledge with others.

Thanks, David!

Dave & Chris,

What an outstanding ballad. Great vocal and tracks. The mix on this song is really superb - there is such great separation between the instruments.

Loved it.

Bob

Thanks, Bob! Love your latest!