Ghosts That Never Lived

This is my latest composition about a person struggling with the choices she made. I used the Style FPBTSSW (Two Swing Fingerpicked Guitars Slow) and added some other instrumentation.

Real Tracks:
BB RealGuitar 1678 Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Country
BB RealStrings 527 Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Hank
BB RealBass 535 Bass, Electric, Pop
BB RealDrums-NashvilleSwing8^2-SideStck,Ride
RT2505 Piano, Electric, HeldChords
RC1705 Guitar, Electric, Soloist CountryBrent
RT2337 Violin, Background, PopHigh Ev 085



She pulls the curtain
To hide from the night
Doesn’t want the morning to come
They always told her that she had the right

She knows her heart will never forgive
She cries for ghosts that never lived
That never lived

She’s waiting for him
To walk through the door
Loud lamentations to come
Her bed is empty, so she sleeps on the floor

She know her heart will never forgive
She cries for ghosts that never lived
That never lived

She claims he loved her
He swears it’s in her head
She’s breathing in all the words
That he could have said

She hangs her head down
Her heart is crystalline
No summertime playgrounds to come
Somebody told her everything would work out fine

She know her heart will never forgive
She cries for ghosts that never lived
That never lived

Well done - you've got some evocative language there! Nicely sung and produced. It's a sparse arrangement, but very effective, like when the fiddle comes in for the last verse.

One nit - it seems like there's an effect on your voice - doubling, chorus, or perhaps an ambient reverb - that doesn't really seem to fit. I think the vocal would sound a lot better without it.

Anyway, I enjoyed the listen.

Thanks for the listen and your response. I agree with you about the vocal. I am not quite satisfied with it. Thanks for pointing out the possible causes.

Very nice! A good write - fresh, original, well-penned.

Nice arrangement and an excellent mix. Super vocal (I did not mind the effect at all). Really nice harmonies, too.

The only "distraction" I found was the second half of the guitar solo. The first half was nice - fit the song...but in the second half it got a bit "busy" and it was as though the guitar guy was "showing off" - which seemed inappropriate for such a gentle, thoughtful song.

I really liked this.

fj

"She knows her heart will never forgive
She cries for ghosts that never lived
That never lived"

Great lines!!

The vocal, write and arrangement are all in the pocket. It sounds very nice on our monitors.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

I can picture this lady as it's happening. Great song

A good story in the write -the chorus lyric is especially memorable as J&B mentioned.
I like your vocals -they are always resonant and well mixed ( no problem on the harmonies- for me they aren`t obtrusive).
The arrangement is straightforward - it works well for the song.
Enjoyed!

Robert

It's almost the complete package - except for the reverb as mentioned.
the easiest way I've found to get things "in the same room" is to use the same reverb on all instruments with it - varying the degree a little only. The reverb within BIAB is hard to match so I've found exporting dry is the safest option.
Sweet sad song.

Hi Ezekiel,

a very beautiful and touching song - bothe lyrics and melody.I liked the solo a lot the way it is. Great job.

Cheers, Stefan

Nice work on this one I really enjoyed your lyrics on this, and the sparse instrumentation helped them hit all the harder. Some solid vocals on this too. It is definitely attention grabbing, and I loved the haunting and sad atmosphere it sets.

Really well done - thanks for sharing!

You've created a nicely written piece expressing personal regret...
I really like the melody you've chosen to enhance the lyrical content...
Simplicity in arrangement... Good job & very effective.
I must say I enjoyed the performance!

Ezekiel's Storm, very nice song and a great job on the vocals and bgvocals!! You always put up good stuff!! Thanks, T

Great song. Love the lyrics and vocal.

Excellent!

Bob

I agree with David on both counts....very nice song with some cool ideas!! The effect on this style of song seems too much. Nice work!! Take care. Greg

Pretty song nice arrangement.
Nice work.

Peter

Very easy and enjoyable listen.
Great vocals. I liked the way vocals and bass had found their very own, distant frequency space on this tune and yet sounded nicely as a whole.

Thank you for sharing,
Misha.

Dear "Ezekial's Storm"...

There is something almost mysterious about your lyrics for "Ghosts That Never Lived". As I interpreted them, the woman who is the subject of your song seems to live with a dream that could be mistaken for a memory, or vice-versa. There's something subtly unreal about it, which makes the poetry in your lines stand out as luminously as a newly-discovered land:

"Her heart is crystalline
No summertime playgrounds to come..."

Beautiful and evocative writing. Your Real Tracks as heard through your composition have a gentle, sundown feel to them that, though somewhat sad-sounding, nonetheless are soothing to listen to. I liked the vocal harmony, too.

Sweet, soulful songwriting this is, "Ezekial's Storm"!

Truly,

LOREN

Super vocal. Really like the effects used with your vocal. Very nice backtrack fits the vocal perfectly. L:oved the tele twang on the guitar solo..

Ghosts that never lived. This can be taken so many ways. My thoughts went to the children that never make it the full 9 months to be born for one reason or another . It is so common and it really haunts you for your life when you lose a child in this manner.

Good song.

Nice arrangement and an excellent mix with a nice mellow vocal that enhances the song.

Thanks

Thanks for the response, FJ!

Thanks, J&B. Funny you mention those two lines. I thought of those two lines in that twilight time between being conscious and unconscious just before falling asleep. I forced myself to get up and write it down because I knew I would forget it in the morning.

Even though this song is fiction, I based it on some people. Thanks, Graham.

Thanks for listening and for your response, Robert.

Thanks, Ray. I didn't know I could export the tracks from RB without the reverb. I will have to check that out.

Thanks, Stefan. That means a lot coming from my favorite German songwriter. My other favorite German speaking songwriters are from Austria, the Mona Lisa Twins.

Thanks for the listen, Derek.

Jim, thank you for taking the time to listen and to respond. I appreciated it greatly.

Thank you so much for your kind comments, Torrey.

Thanks for stopping by, Bob, and listening to my song.

[/quote]
I agree with David on both counts....very nice song with some cool ideas!! The effect on this style of song seems too much. Nice work!! Take care. Greg [/quote]

Thanks for the listen and your response, Greg.

Thanks, Peter.

Misha, thanks for the listen and the response.

Thanks for your comments, Loren. They give me encouragement for my weekend hobby.

Thanks, Scott. I have never been to Edmonton, but I've been to Pancake Bay and St. Johns.

[quote=Guitarhacker]Ghosts that never lived. This can be taken so many ways. My thoughts went to the children that never make it the full 9 months to be born for one reason or another . It is so common and it really haunts you for your life when you lose a child in this manner.

Good song. [/quote

Thanks for the listen. You are on the money. That is the basis for most of the song.

ES:

Nice, nice work.
I favor simple, uncrowded melody lines like you've written. Your highly evocative lyric isn't overshadowed by a backtrack that is trying to do too much.

I loved that slooping-down vocal element "to come"

I'll also say that you are 'brave' to write something from a woman's POV...can be very tricky!

Only constructive comment I'd give you...I think you let BIAB write the ending 2 bars, but I think you could probably come up with something more innovative and less predictable there.

Otherwise, well-done!! Enjoyed it alot!

Thanks for stopping by and having a listen. I appreciate the comments.

Nice song! Good writing and love your vocal, the fx work for me.

I also like the way you mixed this, putting that acoustic almost hard left works well.

I like it a lot. It's mesmerising, hypnotic and beautiful. Personally, maybe I would have modulated somewhere in there and then have come back to the home key at the end, but who am I to interfere with an effective track such as this one? Good job :-)

Excellent song. I liked it a lot.
Nice melody and performance.

Super bank of real tracks.

Sergio

Hey Ezekiel,

This is a great production and write, and I love the arrangement and guitar playing.

The vocals are perfect!

Super mix man.

Hi Ez,

I really enjoyed this. Writing from the female POV can be tricky (I do it all the time in my novels but find it much more difficult when writing a lyric.) The simplicity of your song is a great contrast to the complexity of the subject. Very nicely done!

I'm good with the harmony. Sounds like a TC-Helicon with one voice higher. But, I'm almost 72 years old and the ears go on strike once in a while. Regardless, sounded fine to me. Thanks for the very nice listen.

Alan

Thanks, Dave. I've been experimenting as I am learning to do this DAW stuff.

Thank you for your kind words. If I modulated the key in the song, I would be straining on the high notes (and I don't want to fake it with Meladyne), but that is a good suggestion.

Thanks, Sergio!

Thank you for the compliment, Dave.

I have been in touch with my feminine side and felt very androgynous when I wrote this. Thank you for your response.

Jeez, that made me cry!!! What a great song.I think you got our POV nailed.
Who IS this woman - Ann Drogenous and why were you feeling her ? lol.
Oh, andI have neighbour who is in two minds about his/her sexuality. ;-)
Wendy

Thanks, Wendy. I've wondering where are the female musicians and songwriters are on this forum. I rarely see any. Shirley, I mean surely, they are out there.

We are but as I do 'covers' i cant post anything.BB is fantastic for letting ME put my own interp on songs where a readymade BT just wouldnt be avialable.
Shirley-er-no-Wendy