My grandmother is 97 years old and still kickin' - and still a great story teller. I called her the other day and as we talked, she just kept mentioning memories of grandpa. I know she's lonely for him. He died 11 years ago, and she still sleeps on the couch - unable to return to the bedroom they shared for 70+ years. Anyway, the thoughts and memories she left me with when we hung up the phone led me to write this song. I brought the volume of the cello up a little in this mix as per Scott and Robert's recommendation - Thanks guys.

The House Built By Ruth (+ cello)

When I was just a young boy, I dreamed a young boy’s dream
of growing up and playing ball in the major leagues.
I was going to be a star because in my heart I knew
I’d play for the Yankees in the House Built by Ruth.

When I told my dream to Grandpa, he smiled and scratched his head.
Then, with a twinkle in his eyes, he looked at me and said,
‘Now boy just look around this place and tell me what you see.
‘Cause everything around here was built by Ruth and me.

We laid the foundation and nailed in every board.
Put shingles up there on the roof and tile down on the floor.
It’s okay to have a dream, son, sometimes dreams come true.
For years you’ve been playing in the house, the house built by Ruth.

You see son, I was just a cowboy, fresh off Montana’s range.
Didn’t know much of baseball, but I sure loved your grandmas’ swing.
And I knew I’d made quite a catch when I stole her heart away,
so we ran off together and got married to stay.

Now times were lean, so life was hard. When you start that young they often are,
but time just kept marching on, and soon your mama came along.
Then your aunt and uncle joined us too and we ran out of room.
So we did what young couples do, we bought this land and started to …

Lay the foundation and nail in every board
Put shingles up there on the roof and tile down on the floor.
It’s okay to have a dream, sometimes dreams come true.
For years you’ve been playing in the house, the house built by Ruth.

He said ‘I couldn’t do it by myself. I always needed Grandma’s help,
so floor to ceiling, and wall to wall, this house was built with love because …

We laid the foundation and nailed in every board.
Put shingles up there on the roof and tile down on the floor.
It’s okay to have a dream, son, sometimes dreams come true.
For years you’ve been playing in the house, the house built by Ruth.

I guess everyone has their dreams, and both our dreams came true,
‘cause for years you’ve been playing in the house, the house built by Ruth.
in the house, the house built by Ruth.

The band is entirely Biab:

Drums: Brian Fullen, _YAZOO.STY
Bass: Craig Nelson, _YAZOO.STY
Finger pick guitar: Jason Roller, _YAZOO.STY
Cello: Matt Nelson, _ROAM.STY
Mandolla: Andy Leftwich, _ROAM.STY
Lead Guitar: Brent Mason, _NYGEORG.STY

If you choose to give it a listen all comments are welcome. Once again this song comes from a personal point of view, so I'm not sure if the connection is strong enough between the house that Ruth built and my Grandma Ruth, or if it's too personal to be very appealing. This is my first attempt at using a cello, so I'm a little unsure of it and it's volume, and I struggled with the volume level of the bass as well. So all your thoughts, specific or generic are welcomed. Brad
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https://soundcloud.com/user-722422510/tracks

Hi Bread,

Composition very pleasant to listen to. The instruments well chosen and the stereo well done. I apprecied it.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Yes, I can hear the cello much better this time.

Nice song, nice tribute. Certainly liked the concept contained within your song title, I try to do that once in a while. A lot of lyrics but you made them work for the most part. Good job!

Brad,

Boy, do I love that opening . . . great intro. Again, you do a wonderful job on the lyrics, telling a really great story. Love the play on “The House that Ruth Built”. From a production standpoint, I would have liked that vocal to resonate a bit more—maybe a touch of reverb and delay . . . not sure. It’s a good vocal, but it needs to pop a bit more. And I’m not hearing a lot of BGVs, which I think this song needs to go to the next level. The mandolin is terrific. Really cool song—really impressive write. Well done!

All my best,

Deej

Excellent story-telling complemented by well-chosen backing.

What a sweet story song and it should make your Grandmother very proud.

We both loved listening to our mothers and grandmothers tell us stories from their early lives and your song brought back fond memories.

Good one!

J&B

Hello Brad
this is still an excellent song
The cello comes through better
Great vocals
A great band
And such a beautiful lyric with a really great story
Excellent work Brad
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Brad,

A good story song. Well told.
A lot of words there, but they all fit well.
Nice use of the nylon guitar.
Sung from the heart.

fj

Derochette, Scott, Tunemonger, Ghostgum, Janice and Bud and Andi, thanks for giving it a try. I appreciate your listen and respect your comments.

Thanks for the critique Deej. It will probably take me a while, but I will be going back and try working on your suggestions. A guy would be nuts not to give your advice some serious thought - especially when it comes to vocals!

Thank you for your comments Floyd. I'm going to have to work on my writing. Too many words seems to be a consistent thing for me - a trap I fall into much too easily.

Brad...another great story song...such a cool hook! I love the intro and the intermittent nylon guitar...well placed where it does not compete with the vocal...the cello is such a great touch...well written and sung my friend...super production...Dan

Wow, that's a lot of lyrics in just 3:52 minutes. But you make it work, it never felt rushed, and you have a lot to say.

I think your decision to alternate the guitar/mandolin left/right (kind of a question/answer style) is very interesting and good.

Brad

An excellent piece of story telling.

Good song a very easy listen, well sung and produced.

Peter

Hi brad ...

What a terrific story song! The lyric rteminded me a bit of something Tom T. Hall might have dabbled with. The story progression from one verse to the next was perfectly executed. Kudo on a great lyric!

That opening was nothing short of fabulous. As someone prev iously mention, the alternating of the acoustic guitar on the left playing to the mandolin on right was a real nice touch.

The o nly thing I might suggest, for what it's worth, it tad bit more reverb on the vocal - not a lot, just enough to hear the difference.

For me, this is the very best of all the siongs I've heard from you. I'm a huge baseball fan . Grew up in St. Louis where baseball is pretty much a second religion. My father played professional baseball for two years before he got injuredd and then had to quit. SO, your theme put a smile on my face!

Thanks for a great listen!

Alan

Really nice song Brad!!! And I think the band you picked work great for this song!! Vocal and mix are also great! Take care. Greg

Thanks Dan. I'm pretty sure I used the same nylon guitar that Scott (Oleman) did in his recent song "Tomorrow." It's pretty cool how people can make these tracks fit in completely different songs and they all sound good.

Thanks for giving it a listen B.D. I just got lucky with alternating the guitar and mandolin. There's just the two lead instruments and I didn't want them both on the same side - I guess you could call it learning by mistake, but at least I'm learning and I'll take what I can get!

Sure glad you loaned me your ears Peter, and thanks for taking the time to comment.

It's good to hear from you Alan, and thanks for the comment. Baseball used to be a very big part of my life too. I spent some time in the LA area back when Nolan Ryan was playing for the Angels. Back in the day, my brother and I collected enough returnable bottles to buy tickets to take our whole family to Angels stadium to see Ryan pitch against the Yankees (my dads favorite team.) He pitched a one-hitter against them and it was one of our favorite games. I worked my way into playing a little college and semi-pro ball, and I like to tell people there was only one thing that kept me out of playing in the big leagues - talent. Thanks for giving the song a listen. I may hit you up some day for some of your production techniques. I like the stuff you're putting out there.

Thanks Greg. I think I will eventually re-visit the song to work on the vocals. I've got a way to go yet on this production stuff, so thanks for the encouragement.

Brad

Brad,

I like this a lot. Great story and a very nice tribute.

Nice production and vocals as well.

Bob

Brad,
Listening to this remix I noticed how sweetly the title refrain links the verses (and lightens the need to catch all the details of the story).
I can hear the cello a little more and, for me, your choice of where to bring in the harmonies works well.
Above all its a warm engaging story in song!

Robert

Brad,

Great job on this! This is a super story-telling song! The backing is the perfect vehicle for the great write! Nive job delivering the vocals also! The cello sounds super!

Thanks, Torrey