Maria Blue
Video: All images from the actual aftermath of Maria in Puerto Rico



Months after Hurricane Maria 675,000 Puerto Ricans are still without power. Kudos to the first responders, military men and women and charitable organizations for their service in Puerto Rico that often required them putting themselves in harm’s way. However, for many still suffering long after the storm it’s easy to understand their frustration and this song attempts to address their continuing plight.

So…we’re late to the party but J&B finally gets into the “beats thing. ” But, hey, we did provide them ourselves with Janice on cajon and the two of us throwing in some handclaps.

Special thanks to floyd for joining in for the write and for the fine harmony (singing above that girl he is!)

Janice: lead vocal, melody, arrangement and percussion (cajon)
floyd: harmony, lyrics, arrangement and mix counsel
bud: lead vocal recording, arrangement, lyrics, mix, mastering and video stuff

RT 2482:Bass, Acoustic, Bowed Held Ev 085
RT 2213:Bouzouki, Rhythm SlowPop Ev16 065
RT 2213:Bouzouki, Rhythm SlowPop Ev16 065 - held chords
RT 1037:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm NorthernRockBallad Ev 065
RT 1037:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm NorthernRockBallad Ev 065 - held chords
RT 679:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockBritDriving Ev 085 (B:heavy)
RT 679:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockBritDriving Ev 085 (B:heavy) - held chords
RT 2687: Guitar, Electric, Soloist BluesSlowEvenBrentSimple Ev 085
Cajon: three tracks - mic on sound hole and another ambient mic / “kick” sound isolated for separate processing
handclaps: four tracks

Track effects: Waves Bass Rider / Nectar 2 / Neutron 2 / Logic Pro Guitar Amp Sim / Ozone 8 modules / delay and reverb from Nectar 2 modules
Mastering: Ozone 8 Adv

Thanks, Peter for those three notes


Maria Blue
© 2018 j. merritt / f. jane / b. merritt

Intro singing:

mama used to sing maria
about a girl so lovely
but now mama’s gone
and maria has turned ugly

V1

the wind howled all through the night
morning came i knew my life was gone
water was rising and trees were falling
better off had i never seen that dawn

Ch

oh Mother Nature won’t you tell me
why did you send that storm
was it only to make me wish
wish that i’d never been born?

V2

we wade through streets... turned to rivers
hungry babies, ever crying
medicine gone, a thirst none should know
old man prays "Lord, I'm dyin'"

Ch

V3

we live in tents and cardboard huts
children drink from dirty puddles
seems the big folks forgot about us
all wrapped up in their own troubles

Ch

Outro

Yeah! I knew I was going to like this before I even pressed play

Something a little different from you two! Nice groove on this one, the Cajon and handclaps work well IMHO.

Janice sounds wonderful, and I dig the harmonies from Floyd.

Off to watch the video now!

Janice / Bud / Floyd,

This is an absolutely astounding piece of work... It completely captures the despair and overall feeling of helplessness - it never loses that reality throughout the song. Amazing focus.

I can't say enough about Janice and her vocal gifts - she always reminds me of a more cosmopolitan version of Gillian Welch. A tremendous performance.

Killer production and write as well - I'm not sure it could get any better.

Bob

Thank you Dave. At times venturing out from the music home base is a bit like stepping of a cliff...

We are glad it worked for you!

Really love your latest.

J&B

Nice collab guys! Sounds like you guys are getting better at working together. Loved this on all sides.

Thank you Bob. Your description is just what we were working for...so that means a lot to us. And thank you for mentioning both the vocal and production. Janice is very appreciative of your comment about her vocal. We have been Gillian Welch fans since her first album. Janice says it's humbling to be mentioned in the same sentence!

J&B

What a great effort!!! Wonderful song and production! What a great tragedy that is. So many terrible storms that I can't keep the names straight anymore. And now in California, we have 20 or more dead from flash floods and mud slides. Mother nature can be brutal. Great job by all you guys!! Take care. Greg

Wow. Powerful lyrics that realy convey images of the storm and aftermath. Great production and beautiful vocals.

Hi J&B,

Simply stunning.

The lyrics would be good anyway, but Janice's incredible vocal delivery
wrings every ounce of emotion out of them, leaving the listener completely
immersed in the futility of it all.

In addition to that, it's a fabulous backing track with a super mix.

And what about Floyd singing top register, in all senses of the word!

Congrats to all involved.

ROG.

I hope so...we've been at it for quite a while!

Glad you liked it.

Hey, waiting on your Paradox!

J&B

I know.... Vocals are a mess. Trying to finish.

Janice / Bud / Floyd,

I'm running out of superlatives. Stirring, brilliant, engaging, rousing....
The song sounds wonderful, the performances by all are world class. Great video, excellent percussion.
Superb song writing.

Peter

A lovely comment on a tragic situation.
All very well done.
Great backing band.

Cheers.

Nice collab.

Maria sure was a storm that they will never forget in PR. Nice work on the song and the video.

FJB. That combination seems to work SO well. I'm not kidding when I say I feel like I could almost write the comment THEN listen to the song. There is a standard that I, and I'm sure others have come to expect. Great job!

Thank you or including the video. Many times I don't like the distraction of a video that takes you somewhere you wouldn't have gone just listening. In this case, it brought me to where I wouldn't have known to go. So again, thank you for including it.

I'm always amazed at every aspect of your songs. You can hear everything. The old "you could hear a pin drop"...if it was in there, you would manage to have it heard. The other side of that coin is, you would do it in a way that wouldn't distract or beat us over the head with. I can't do that! This is one jealous dude typing right now.

Great song, great video, great production, great performance. Ladies and gentlemen...FJB

B,J&F, This is a great write and a brilliant performance. The vocals convey the emotion of the tragedy. The mix is spot on and really comes to light with the cajon and handclaps. Nice call. I would be kicking myself if I didn’t say that I think we completely failed the island in the recovery efforts. I won’t get political and I know this year has decimated the resources available for help due to these devastating storms, but I still think we could have done more. Thanks to all three of you for your socially conscious decision to create this song, Tom

Thanks Greg. Yep Ma Nature can be so rough at times to such innocent and helpless folks.

Glad you liked it!

J&B,
The first thing that struck me was: a great arrangement - how can there be so much space in there with all the tracks?
Inspired percussion choices.
There`s a heart to the social commentary of your lyrics Bud, which cuts through the politics... and Janice makes us feel that with another fine vocal.
Love the sweet sound of Floyd`s high harmony too.


Robert

Thanks for saying that. It’s much appreciated!

J&B

Serious but very good song J&B!! Once again you folks have produced totally pro sounding results! Janice just sounds great song after song! Floyd's parts work so well also! Final production is good enough for anyone considering this for any project! Thanks, Torrey