The Sheaf

I made this song for a Christmas song contest on a local forum. Although I made it in a big hurry to meet the deadline, it still received couple of "best" votes. Now I have had more time and the English version is more "finished". The song is about importance of feeding birds in winter. I just noticed that today is National Bird Day in US, so what could be a better day to release it

Quite simple arrangement, I really like that songwriter guitar - it really creates a beautiful mood for the song.

RealDrums: ShakerAndTambourine

RealTracks:

#908 Bass Electric SmoothBallad Ev16 065
#1542 Piano Acoustic Rhythm PopBelieve Ev16
#3068 Guitar Acoustic Fingerpicking Songwriter
#3700 Guitar Acoustic Soloist SlackKeyBallad Ev 085
#3064 Vocal Oohs Rhythm Pop3-PartEv 085
#1543 Synth Pad PopBelieve EV16 065

MIDI Melody: VST Voices of Gaia

Vocals by me

Mixed in Cakewalk by BandLab

Lyrics:
Harsh winter froze the fruitful ground
even the smallest snacks are gone,
seeds to peck can't be found
most birds flew south,
you chose to stay
with grain and nuts
I fill your tray.

Yellowhammer,
you have found a moment of relief
you enjoy the small oat grain
under shelter of the sheaf
you start to preen your feathers
ruffled in the snowy drift
you accept with gratitude
the gracious gift.

This cold sweep of the Arctic breath
engulfs the young and weak
and whirls by the frost peaks of death
seek salvage from my sheaf and bite
then struggle through the coming night.

Yellowhammer...

---------------
Janne

An interesting song. It's good to be reminded how hard it can be for wildlife to survive in those extreme latitudes.
I agree with your comment about the guitar - it sets the tone beautifully.

Janne

Very pretty song. Really nice chord progressions and the backing is lovely.

Interesting use of the female vocal track and nice segue into the guitar solo.

Well done.

Peter

Interesting intro Janne! The song definitely has a holiday feel to it! It sounds really good when that double tracked lead vocal kicks in! Cool melody in the chorus! Thanks, Torrey

I'm a big bird fan. Actually I'm a fan of all animals, so I don't eat them. I really appreciate your song and its insight into the struggles of a small bird. The lyrics were excellent. Really nice work here, congratulations on winning 'best of' votes in your contest.

PeterF took my words! Pretty song, nice harmonies.

Good write, too.

The double vocal section is REALLY nice.
Important narrative though I think "gracious" isn't quite word needed.
Lovely backing.

Oh, yes, totally agree with you on that songwriter guitar, Janne. This song, too, is very inspirational. A great Christmas idea --and posted on National Bird Day in US. Man, that synth voice comes in nicely as the Theremin on the Star Trek Theme. Yes, a beautiful song indeed.

Thanks Ghostgum for your kind comment It is sad that we have to help wildlife, we have destroyed their living conditions that is more than fair to pay something back.

Janne

Thanks Peter, I appreciate your kind words Glad you liked the chord progression.

Janne

Janne,
Interesting tune and theme. Neat instrumental bed, slightly unusual, but works well. Good lyrics and of course signature phrasing. Cool female vocal parts. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

P.S. when I was in school, it was a graded requirement, to build bird houses. First grades made them out of milk cartons, higher grades out of wood. Where I live now, you can't put one up in summer, because mr.bear will come, but my wife usually buys a bag of seeds for the winter.

Hi Janne,

This is a really nice touching song about that bird.
Very nice nylon guitar(s) during the song, but especially in the intro.
The high voice did very well in it, although a bit unexpected. The rustling of the birds feathers was cool and (a bit) expected.

I read Misha's post on the birdhouses and mr. Bear. Here I have 3 birdhouses, but also 3 cats. Maybe more dangerous than a bear?
But back to the song: as I said Touching!

Hans

Thanks Torrey for your positive feedback Original lyrics had a Christmas reference, but I tried to write this version so that it can be played also outside holiday season. Yet, the message is about sharing, so in this sense (and also winter, in the north) giving gifts is present.

Janne

What a lovely, laid back song and very nice melody and like you, we really like those guitars.

I (Janice) was watching some chickadees and nuthatches at our birdfeeder the first time I listened to this.

Congratulations on the "best of" votes. As fellow bird lovers we appreciate the sentiment in the lyric.

The mix sounds great on our KRK monitors.

Again, we both enjoyed this!

J&B

Love the guitars! Great choice there, sets the mood right from the intro.

Nice melody too.

Good song, Janne, well done.

Sounds great, Janne!

Thanks TuneMonger, I'm very glad to hear that you are fan of birds and animals. They teach us many things about life, earth and everything And thanks for the very heartwarming comment, especially about lyrics.

Janne

Thanks David for your positive feedback I wouldn't call voice doubling harmony, but I wish I had time to write real harmonies and counter-melodies and learn to be a master like you in this area

Janne

Hi, Janne !


This is just wonderful, sure
one of your absolute best !!
It is so Janne it just can be,
which to me is often mystic
and original chord progressions
that lead one into unexpected
places - I like that, Janne !


Hyvää Uutta Vuotta myös minulta !

Cheers
Dani

Thanks Ray for your kind comment Glad you liked the double vocals, I didn't edit them to be as tight as usually. You are probably right with "gracious", even in the original Finnish version the used word wasn't exactly the best one, but I couldn't come up with a better match to my idea.

Janne

Thanks Marty for your kind feedback I hadn't used that Voices of Gaia VST before, but here its expressiveness fit very well.

Janne

Thanks Misha for your kind comment I'm glad you liked the lyrics. And thanks for the story, nice to hear about the bag of seeds, I hope it is a really big bag

Janne

Jan, that sounds like a tough challenge and I thought your song was great!

There's nothing wrong with using the word "gracious" to describe your gift to the bird. If YOU weren't happy with it, here's a couple of easy ways to handle times like that in the future. You could just hold the word "gift" or repeat "your gift" instead of "gracious gift". Either would work and give you a little change up with no or little change to your melody. You're a good songwriter and you have a nice voice Jan.

Josie

Lovely song & production... I'd bump up the Bass track a bit.

Yes you are a good songwriter and an excellent vocalist.

A great song about our feathered friends.

When it gets cold here and the snow covers the ground we feed the birds.

I don't think this is a Christmas only song, I think it can be and should be played year around.

Excellent song!

Very nice Janne!!! There is often a very spiritual feel to your melodies, and your vocals always fit the song so well!! Really, really pretty song!!! Happy New Year, and Take care. Greg

Thanks Hans for liking and commenting my song Nice to hear it touched you, it is sad to watch usually migrating birds struggling in the cold, they are opportunists hoping to gain advantage by staying - they may be lucky if winter is mild, they can start breeding earlier.

Cats are certainly bigger danger to birds than bears, I hope you keep them away from birds

Janne

Thanks Janice and Bud for your kind and positive comment We have chickadee relatives here as most regular visitors at bird feeding places, but nuthatches are unfortunately very rare here, I have to take a quite a long walk to have a chance to see one, but it is really worth it, such a nice species.

Janne

Thanks Dave, very nice to read your kind feedback The latest BIAB guitars are really great, very inspiring to use them.

Janne

Thanks David for the kind comment and smile

Janne

Refreshing chord sequence and well arranged piece, Janne.

Vic

Thanks Dani, I really appreciate your very heartwarming words Glad to hear you find and like mystic in my progressions. Gott nytt år!

Janne

Thanks Josie for your kind feedback nice to hear you think "gracious" fits, as a non-native English speaker it's quite difficult to find the most suitable word. But thanks for the advice.

Janne

Thanks bloc-head for your positive feedback Very good advice, my neutral headphones are not the best ones for mixing the lower range... I'll remember you advice if I ever return to work on the song.

Janne

The music exudes a sense of contentment. The guitar is quite nice. Love the birds. I had to look up yellowhammer, which I see is native to Eurasia. Good song.

Hello Janne
A really nice song
Creates an unusual but beautiful mood
The sound is very good
But the absolute best is the final guitar solo
WOW !!!
Can only enjoy.
Great job, Janne
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

This one just about got by me. Excellent tune Janne. Very cool backtrack. Loved the chord progression and instrumentation. Super vocal and lyric..

Thanks Mario for you too kind words Yes, I hope the song gets played the year around, there's always snow somewhere and birds too, at least penguins in Antarctica. All the best to you and birds there.

Janne

Thanks Greg for your rewarding and heartwarming comment Happy New Year to you too!

Janne

Thanks Vic for your nice feedback I'm really glad you liked the chording.

Janne

Love the Lyrics.
Nice arrangement.

Band sounds great.

moto

Hi Janne,

What a nice subject for a song.
We had a national bird day too in the Netherlands.
People are asked to count the sorts of birds then.
Enjoyed.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thanks ES for your kind comment Maybe there are similar buntings in North America? It has been suggested that Beethoven got the idea for the first four notes of his 5th symphony from the yellowhammer's call.

Janne

Thanks Andi for enjoying and giving your very positive comment And all thank for that excellent guitar solo RT should go to BIAB and PGMusic.

Janne

Thanks Scott, I appreciate your listening and kind words

Janne

Thanks moto, that is really uplifting feedback

Janne

Thanks Rob and Anne-Marie for your kind comment We have a bird counting weekend here right now, unfortunately the winter storm doesn't make it easy for birds and for those who count...

Janne