I'm short on inspiration, it seems, for writing new things ... but these are the times when I work on the old ones :-)

Robertkc suggested, when I put the old, first orchestral version up on here, that I combine the Band-in-a-Box original version with the orchestral version (on the same track) and see what happens. The suggestion stayed with me, so here is orchestral version No. 2 ... with both BIAB AND other, orchestral instruments. Hope you like it? :-)



I can't open BIAB right now to refresh my memory on the exact instrumentation, but the style I used was "Scarce Dreamy Americana", at the tempo of 70 beats a minute, in the key of A - without any modifications to the BIAB instrumentation. To that, I added a small orchestra written in Sibelius - exported to MIDI and replaced with sounds from Native Instruments in Mixcraft Pro Studio 9, as well as Mixcraft's own sounds. A little reverb added in said Mixcraft Pro Studio 9 and it seemed ready :-)

Here are the lyrics:

AVE MARIA (orchestral version)

I look around me now
And hear our children cry
I see them hurting so
And ask myself one question:

Why?

And prayers seem futile
If we can't find a way
To love one another
The same way,

every day ... and so I pray ...

Holy Mother, hear our plight
Holy Mother, stop the hate ...

They swim towards the shore
To run away from bitter
War

They get shot down in schools
Because we love our tools
More

Their cries we do not hear
Because we do not want
To see ...

But for a twist of Fate,
Their parent could be you ... or me ...

Holy Mother, hear our plight
Holy Mother, stop the hate ...

Ave Maria

[BRIDGE]

We're cutting down their trees
So that they cannot
Breathe

We drug kids with a pill
Just to make them
Sit still

And as they wilt away
With every passing day
Who cares?

We send our thoughts and prayers
And carry on the same
Nightmares ...

Holy Mother, hear our plight
Holy Mother, stop the hate ...

__________________________

Thanks for listening and for any comments! Tomorrow, I intend to go on a binge of listening to songs on here ... I feel like I've missed out on too many! Thanks again :-)

Excellent song. Backtrack really accents the lyrics and vocal

Sounds nice, although the snare drum sounds more synthy than I would pick. And after the tubular bells kept repeating, I stopped listening to the music, and focused on counting the number of times they were hit.

Your spoken word sounds good with this reverb.

Good job.

James,

This is really excellent work. Your vocal is perfectly paced and synched with the music—sits nicely in the mix for me. Love that hard rapid drum in the middle—adds drama and power to the tune. The musical mix is stellar. And those bells after “Avia Maria”—my word, wonderful (and if I have one suggestion it might be repeat “Ava Maria” again after repeating the “Holy Mother” lines at the end, and come in with those bells again). But brilliant, James, just as it is!


My best to you,

Deej

Scott: thank you. You always have a kind and constructive word to say about my songs - these words are noticed and very much appreciated.

David Cuny: haha. You're spot on, but I like the bells, even though they may drive some insane! lol. The snare drum synth was specifically chosen because it was the closest I could get to the sound of gunfire without actually putting on a gunfire sound.

Deej: thank you so much. So glad you liked it!!!

Thanks all - truly.

Hi James,

This is great!!!

First off, the style you used really captured my imagination. It was incredibly well suited to your presentation.

And your heartfelt and powerful words rang with authenticity. I sat here thinking about everything your said. Your recitative style of presentation was a perfect fit.



All the very best,
Noel

That was a powerful emotive recitation!

The orchestral elements really elevated the feeling.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

PS I looked up your previous version and noted how definitively you said it was
the final version ... in 2018 Same for us as nearly every time I stick a fork in a production I end up going back at some point.

Noel: thanks! Yeah, I was in a furious mood when I wrote this one ... was watching the news and some things I was seeing did not agree with me too well, to say the least ... so I just sat down and started writing. At first, I was like: "you can't say that!", then I thought: "forget it, I'll just write" :-) Thanks for listening and for your comments!

Janice and Bud: yeah, I'm glad I'm not the only one who endlessly goes back to his songs, to fix what can and cannot be fixed, haha. Even so, 3 years must be a record? Either way, thank you so much for re-listening!!!

James,
A full production this go round with the percussion providing a subtle but hypnotic backdrop to your powerful lyrics.
An improvement to my ears ( perhaps the best of your spoken word songs), and so well worth the revisit.

Robert

Thanks so much, Robert - appreciated!