PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Stand with the rhino (BG vocals by Josie C)

OK, so I'm a little late to the party! It's wonderful that Joanne is such an outspoken advocate for these wonderful animals. I have never written this type of song before and it was a little uncomfortable for me. As Tom said on his rhino song post, I've avoided sounded preachy. I don't like to sound like I'm judging, but where trophy hunting is concerned, I just can't see the other side. Anyway, when I put this song together, there were some BGs that were too high for me, so I decided to bring in the person who inspired the tune, and she knocked out some great vocals in record time. On the outro, I did an omage to some of the other forum members' rhino songs. And, on first listen over speakers, there's too much reverb. Oh well! Hope you enjoy it. Take care. Greg


https://soundcloud.com/gjohnson-2/rhinohp

Stand with the Rhino

In a small shop in Viet Nam
Tow men whisper, casual and calm
As one hands the other a box of ill-gotten gold
Three thousand miles away
Shines the first light of the day
On a strange and magnificent beast, lifeless and cold
His majesty taken, his horn stolen and sold

Just cause you have the might
Doesn’t give you the right
To extract all your pleasure and wealth, and leave him to die, no
Where’s the man who will stand with the rhino

In this place here that we call earth
There’s a cycle of death and of birth
And sometimes the wolf will survive, and the deer he may bleed
In the world beyond our yards
The rules of survival are hard
Such is the circle of life and the balance of need
But sometimes the circle of life becomes a circle of greed

Just cause you have the might
Doesn’t give you the right
To extract all your pleasure and wealth, and leave him to die, no
Where’s the man who will stand with the rhino

We must live and let live
Would the hunter forgive
One who would cut out the heart of his son, and leave him to die? No
When will man finally stand with the rhino

When will man finally stand with the rhino?
When will man take a stand? Hell if I know….


BTW, RTs were taken from, I believe it was called "Country ballad with accordian". Nothing was added or removed-just one of those RBs that inspires.

Hi Greg,

Glad you joined the project!
This is definitely a cool contribution.
Very well sung, by both you and Joanne and we very much like the RTs you have chosen for this song.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Lovely vocals Greg. Very pretty tune. Love the Spanish over tones.
Rob

Wow. This is a great write, arrangement and production. Really nice melody and this song is one of my favorite's of all of the Rhino project submissions.

The harmonies are out of this world for me and the differing accents between you and Josie accentuates that this is not just a regional crisis but an international one. There's no indication you guys intended that but it makes an excellent point.

Superb job and brilliant idea to have Josie help with the harmonies.

Charlie

Hi Greg. This turned out nicely!! Well done! Love what you have added at the end. A really lovely song.

Not late for the party. The Rhinose Foundation has a Vietnamese delegation coming out in September so they are up to their eyeballs at the moment. As soon that is over they are going to apply their minds to getting some sponsorship for this.

I want to use Crowd Funding but they are not sure because they want to keep it under wraps in case somebody else beats us to it. A bit of a catch 22 situation.

Greg,

Did wonder where your beautiful vocals, and songs, were in this worthwhile project!

You and Joanne make beautiful music, let's hope time hasn't run out for the rhinos.

Wonderful

Alyn

Greg,

Songwriting doesn't get much better than that.

The BAND is excellent. Perfect. Great mix. In the pocket.

The vocals are gorgeous. I like the reverb. Joanne's harmonies/answers are beautiful.

What a nice touch the outro was!...

SPECTAULAR in all regards!


floyd

Lovely production - great vocals (I got a hint of Jackson Browne)- nice harmonies and a moving lyric.

Nice in every way.

Loved the vocal clarity.

Hi Greg,

a beautiful tribute.
Great vocals and background vocals,
especially in the outro.

Guenter

A very touching tribute, and a fitting companion piece to a hopefully raised consciousness about preserving the species we share or planet with before they are no longer around to preserve. Sport or trophy hunting is a sad aspect of human hubris, which I just do not understand.

Very heartfelt and not preachy. The vocals were very sweet; the two of you work well together. I enjoyed it very much!

R and AM, thanks for the nice words! It was my first international collab and Joanne did a great job. Appreciate the listen and the comments. Take care. Greg

Greg,

A most effective song... The backing tracks for this are well placed and don't detract from the lyrics, but compliment the message.

You did a great job with this one - Joanne's background vocals are superb.

Very impressive piece!

This is really great Greg. I love the lyrics and the vocals. The mix is really sharp too!

THanks for the nice words Rob! Yes, I absolutely love that Spanish nylon guitar track. I could listen to that kind of playing for hours. Very inspirational! Thanks for listening and your kind comments. Take care. Greg

Powerful lyrics and tastefully presented. Lovely vocals.
Like the husky voice and the guitar too. Cheers.

THanks Charlie. Very nice compliments indeed! It was very nice to work on this with Joanne, particularly since I never would have written it if not for her. She did a wonderful job on the harmonies and it was a fun project. Thanks again! Take care. Greg

The pause on "cold" works so well. Nice arrangement, very good vocals, well written, paints a big picture. Does make me think of Jackson Browne too, love that guitar.

Kenny

Well done! Great selection of Realband and wonderful lyrics and performance.

Great song

Thanks Joanne!! It was a pleasure working "with" you (from only 1000s of miles away). Glad you came in on this project. You new one is really nice! Keep up your good work. Take care. Greg