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Lover's Battlefield Video

Audio only

We recently watched (again) the great Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg "Band of Brothers" series. Somehow the battlefield imagery and verbage worked their way into this song.  And for some inexplicable reason I tried to write it with no pronouns - an interesting exercise grin Tom (tommyad) joined in with some fine guitar and Janice added percussion. Another "two verses, a chorus and we’re outa here" production.

Thanks for taking time to listen and we always welcome your thoughts!

J&B

Janice: vocal and percussion (cajon on choruses)
Tom Adams: Lead guitar and fills. Thanks Tom!!
Bud: audio/video production

Bass: RT 518 Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 085
Guitar: RT 2533, Acoustic 12 string, HeldChords
Guitar: RT 2444, Baritone Electric, Background PopCountryBrent Ev 085
Pedal Steel: RT 2542, Background ModernBalladAtmosphere Ev16 065
Drums: RD NashvilleEven8

For those of the technical persuasion:

Vocal: Rodes NT1 mic via Focusrite Scarlett 212 to Logic Pro X
Cajon: Stereo via Rodes NT1 mic and MXL mic and Scarlett to Logic Pro X
Mixed in Logic Pro X with track effects and mastering from Ozone
Advanced 7, Alloy 2, Nectar 2 and Neutron. The EMT 140 plate reverb sim from Nectar was used for all reverb.

Lover’s Battlefield
© 2026 Janice and Bud Merritt

another fight fades to silence
an eerie calm follows the storm
one that never heals wounds
more dark clouds form

thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield

dreams turned into nightmares
time ran out for reflection
running from hurt, in full retreat
no shield for protection

thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield

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Excellent song as usual.
Great guitar.

Sergio



Sergio
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What shall we say first....
We already know, super cool solo guitar by Tommy!
Nice video too, Bud.
And definitely a very good vocal by Janice, but it's sounds kinda dry, in our opinion it could use a little more verb...
And this sounds different from your usual work (in a very good way).

Rob and Anne-Marie


We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1gsdNLE7_Gy8qavoOplQow/videos
http://rnam.net/


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Originally Posted By: Sergio Guarneri

Excellent song as usual.
Great guitar.

Sergio


Thanks Sergio! It's always good to hear from you.

J&B

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Tommy, that is some fantastic guitar chops and tone!

Janice, although this is very different from your other songs you did a fantastic job on this one and you should be very proud of it. Like RnAM an effect or two on the vocal might make it sound better, don't know for sure.

However this is still a keeper.


Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up.
Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.

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Originally Posted By: RnAM
What shall we say first....
We already know, super cool solo guitar by Tommy!
Nice video too, Bud.
And definitely a very good vocal by Janice, but it's sounds kinda dry, in our opinion it could use a little more verb...
And this sounds different from your usual work (in a very good way).

Rob and Anne-Marie


Thanks you two! Glad you liked it. For 90% of our productions I use essentially the same reverb, compression, delay and EQ on Janice’s vocal that I’ve added for the last 3 or 4 years. While looking for a different more haunting sound on this song I started the settings looking for a little more “bite” and, yep, I very slightly reduced the reverb while slightly increasing the delay and also tweaked the compression and the EQ a bit. But I did put a ton of reverb on the very last word in the song smile

On our system it seems to work but we have pine walls and floors in our home and things are inherently “lively” sounding. Also I don’t mix with headphones so it’s all based on the “room sound.” Given the very high quality of your productions I very much appreciate your observations on the sound! And we are glad that it did seem different from a lot of what we have been doing. As y’all know it’s fun to venture out a bit.

Thanks again for listening and commenting. We appreciate it.

J&B

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Janice & Bud, great song all the way around, Vocals, guitar work, writing and production. Very clean, very good. Thanks, Torrey.




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Janice Tom & Bud

Bud - excellent pronoun free lyrics evokes the battlefield perfectly. Nicely mixed.
Tom - beautiful guitar parts that really compliment the song and encase the vocal.
Janice - lovely vocal(as expected and wonderfully delivered)!

A really superb piece - and great collaboration.

Peter

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Good song! Janice has such an expressive voice, and such great tone. And a big tip of the hat to Tom, guitar playing is right in the pocket, great tone too.

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Nice work. So much to like about this.

The vox are well sung.

Nice RT production.

TA's guitar parts...fills and solo are well played as well.

My only nit is the guitar is a few cents sharp. The sharpness stands out in quite a few places.


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Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

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Originally Posted By: MarioD
Tommy, that is some fantastic guitar chops and tone!

Janice, although this is very different from your other songs you did a fantastic job on this one and you should be very proud of it. Like RnAM an effect or two on the vocal might make it sound better, don't know for sure.

However this is still a keeper.


We're sure Tom appreciates that. He definitely has the ability to complement a singer with both his solos and fills.

Thanks for mentioning the vocal. It's fun to venture out -- and biab and collabs sure facilitate that.

Thanks for listening and commenting!

J&B

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Originally Posted By: Torrey Bliss
Janice & Bud, great song all the way around, Vocals, guitar work, writing and production. Very clean, very good. Thanks, Torrey.


We much appreciate that Torrey. Thanks for dropping by!

J&B

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This one's all about mood!! Set from the first minor chord, it is dark and somber, and powerful. Janice's amazing vocal, and Tom, oozing out emotion with every note, make this a real treat. So well done! Video is very cool too-really matches the vibe of the music. Baritone guitar is the perfect addition. Excellent job on the whole nine!! Take care. Greg

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"thunder echoes through a valley
rain dances on a windshield
miles behind lay two hearts...
bleeding out...
on a lover's battlefield"

Great descriptive lines start to finish. Nice write.

The BAND is perfect for this - simple, sparse, subtle. Tom's guitar is the perfect compliment. Love the solo. Great drum sound.

All topped off with the best instrument of all - Janice. The voice of an angel-with-a-devilish-twinkle-in-her-eye.

fj

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Janice & Bud,

I love a slow burn song and you`ve really captured that brooding mood here. The guitar lead and fills are just so right for the song.
"Expressive" hardly does justice to Janice`s vocal but I can`t think of a better word.
Nice video images - particularly that broken window pane heart.
Very good!

Robert

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Hello, Janice & Bud, Tom

The lead guitar of intro. and interlude is so good.
Janice's vocal is excellent as usual.
The choice of instruments is superb.
Nice video images and great collaboration.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best Regards.

Shigeki Adachi

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Tom, Janice and Bud,

EXCELLENT all round as usual. Superb guitar by Tom as I have come to expect!
I like Janice's voice as it seems to be closer to the listener, if you see what I mean, as if she is singing this "just for me", more intimate.

Really enjoyed.

Alyn
ps Band of Brothers was a brilliant series

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What a great collaboration.

Excellent in every way. The guitar work is really way up there, Janice's vocals are rich and deliver the song perfectly.


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Hi Janice and Bud,

Another great song! Moody, plaintive and sultry all in the right measures.
I listened to this on Soundcloud before you posted it here so was lucky enough to get a sneak preview.

Highlights :-
- Lyrical imagery
- Overall production and open sound
- Tom's guitar
- The extra oomph added by the Cajon in the chorus
- No pronouns - adds to the "mystery" i.e. we don't know who Janice is singing about.

Loved it,
Jez

Last edited by receder; 10/30/16 11:36 PM.

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Late night, smoky bar, souls that don’t want to go home for many different reasons, but a few listening to Janice singing this song, knowing darn well why and every word cutting to the bone.
That is where I was taken in my imagination. That is the ability of good songwriting each must take from it what they want, and how they see it.

Good show Janice & Bud

Paddy G

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