BRITANNIA

https://soundcloud.com/user-427542889/britannia


Britannia was inspired by Dougie MacLean's song Caledonia . I was intrigued by his idea that whenever he is away from his native Scotland he feels her drawing him home. I've never felt such a connection to the land of my birth and I guess I'm just little bit jealous.

BIAB Tracks: _PLAYFUL.STY
3122:Bass, Acoustic, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 120 (Byron House)
N/A 522:Guitar, Acoustic Fingerpicking Ev 120 (Jason Roller)
691:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming AcRockBright Ev 120 (Jason Roller)
~1104:Guitar, Nylon Rhythm BossaGrooveComp Ev 140 (Oliver Gannon)
RealDrums=folk8ths^1 (Bryan Owings)


LYRICS:

I left her many years go; I was young and fancy-free
The world was big and so very wide with much to do and see
And if she ever breathed my name across the deep blue sea
I don’t believe that I ever heard Britannia calling me

Her rolling hills, her valleys
Are not what I call to mind
But when I think of England
It’s the folks that I left behind

My home was where I laid my head; my heart was mine alone
I raised a sweat, a glass or two, and a family of my own
And though she might have cast her net across the deep blue sea
I don’t believe that I ever felt Britannia drawing me

Her bluebell woods, her meadows
Are not what I call to mind
But when I think of England
It’s the folks that I left behind

Yes, there were times I wondered, should I leave or should I stay
I guess that question’s been answered ’cause here I am today
In the blistering heat of a summer I may wish for cooler climes
But I’m proud to call Australia home and nothing will change my mind

Her castles and cathedrals
Are not what I call to mind
But when I think of England
It’s the folks that I left behind

Easy-going folk feel, pleasant listen, nice lyrics, good singing.

The only - minor - complaint is I can tell the backing vocals are synthetic. I'm guessing that putting them further in the back (or using a different set of vocals to make the backing track) would fix it. But not a big deal at all.

I enjoyed the song, nicely done!

Thanks, dcuny. Sorry my backing vocals (recorded with the same mic and mixer settings as the melody) sounded synthetic to you. I'm not sure what I can do to make my voice sound more natural - perhaps you can give me a few tips

Well structured - the dynamics are really cool.
the right speaker is quite full but the left could use a little balance.
Mate, you'll have to excuse me not commenting on all of your posts - I'm probably missing the best - but you're dropping them thick n fast I and want to ensure I listen to everyone rather than everything.

Thanks, Ray. Ok, I'll need to pay more attention to L/R balance.
As for listening to everything, it's going to take me a while to catch up - there's 132 pages of posts on this forum!

Wow - what a pleasant and easy to take song Gentle in it's delivery, but memorable all the while. Your vocals are stunning too. The harmonies flows gorgeously. A beautiful example of a stunning folk tune.

You should be proud of this one - thanks for sharing!

Nice!

Enjoyed the spin.

J&B

PS FWIW you’ll get a lot more reviews and views if you let a post linger a while before dropping another one.

You've uploaded quite a few songs...
And I try to listen & comment on all songs on the User Showcase...
I'll put all of your songs here...

BRITANNIA... Nicely done with a laid back feeling.

Another Man's Shoes: Good story song... Great vocals... I really liked the line "And if I’m broke today it’s ’cause I took my Mom’s advice"

Puzzle: Another pleasant song... Very philosophical... Great vocals!

Reel Two: Sounds interesting... I bet you will come up with some good lyrics.

Lost In The City: Another good sounding song... Are you planning to write lyrics for it?

Bossa The Wash: I really like this one... It sounds great as is but it also sounds suitable for lyrics.

Taking The Night Train: Another good piece... I enjoyed the mandolin.

Parisian Promenade: Still another pleasant one... Very lush sounding... Enjoyed the listen.

The City Girl: A good country-rock flavored song... Reminded me of Ricky Nelson's Garden Party... Good production!

Charlie Brown: This one sounds like it could be a good show tune... Nice chordal arrangement.

Brian...
Your output is so prodigious you might want to check out the 50/90 Challenge

Thanks for the tip.

Hi Jim. Thanks for taking the time to review all my recent posts. Your comments a very encouraging. I wouldn't say my output is prodigious - this year I seem to be averaging one every three weeks and right now I have nothing in the pipeline. I might ease up a bit and spend time listening to other Forum member's posts

Great work Ghostgums! I found the instruments are nicely layered and a pleasure to listen to. Well done!

Really neat concept for a song and it's cool to see others getting inspired by folks. I think you did a great job here. Thanks for sharing!

Lovely folk song. You've a great voice for this kind of work, and an extra-fine sensibility in the writing. I'm drawn to this one because I appreciate the "meaning" as a former military brat who calls no "place" home. Very nicely done.

Thanks, Tangmo. I'm a 4th generation Brit-Brat, so constant moving was normal (32 addresses in my first 43 years!).

Very beautiful pop folk song, I can hear the spirit of Britannia calling me in the melody, giving me some vibes of the 70's, so there is something you haven't left behind

You have selected simply perfect band for the song. Very enjoyable delicate singing. I like how you varied the first line of the chorus.

And my home is where I lay my computer, keyboard and BIAB

Janne

Nice job on this Ghostgum!very good vocal and song! I certainly hear a classic 70's folk rock thing going on in here! ,

Beautiful song sung beautifully. Nobody else has mentioned it, so it's probably just me, but it threw me a bit lyrically to learn so late in the song that you've been in Australia for a long time. An earlier line (my home was where I laid my head) implied a wanderer. I still enjoyed this gem.

You're right, Tunemonger, it's a late reveal for those listening to a recording. However, since I mainly sing this live to Australian audiences and, more often than not, I have explained beforehand how the song came about, they're quite comfortable with it. Thanks for listening.

Ha!

There's a particular "sweet" sound that I associate - wrongly, in this case - with tight harmonies that are created with pitch-shifted vocals - especially when it's the same singer doing the vocals.

They're just a bit too good. Oh, to have such problems myself!

I know you're kidding, but one way to help avoid this effect of "singing along with yourself" is to shift the vocal formants, so the vocals don't sound like they're all being done by the same person.

For example, in Reaper the ReaPitch effect can be used to adjust formants. Shift the position of the formants, and you'll get versions of yourself with different length vocal tracts - the same pitch, but different timbre.

Thanks so much for the tip. I had no idea about formants - will check it out.

Very nice folk song with just enough background tracks to fill it perfectly. Your voice fits the genre excellently. That was a real nice listen ... enjoyed it very much! Wishing you the best ...

Alan

Thanks, Deryk

Thanks, Alan. Glad you liked it.