The Ballad Of The Chessie Cat

by Christopher P. Werle and John E. Ford
(c) 1999 by Christopher P. Werle and John E. Ford

Here is another song by my buddy Chris and me, where I took a song we did a long time ago and redid it using one of the new XTRA styles.

This song uses the _ALLNITE style (also called "All Night Rock 'n' Roll boogie), which is in the Country Collection of the XTRA styles.

This song was inspired by a "Christmas In July" cruise Chris was invited to on his boss's yacht, which was called "The Chessie Cat". They were out on the Chesapeake Bay on a beautiful July day, with lots of other boats around, with everyone celebrating and having a great time.

Chris wrote the lyrics and chord progression. I wrote the flute solo and came up with the arrangement. Chris and I share the vocals on this one.

The _ALLNITE style itself is used completely throughout the song, except that the harmonica solo comes in and out when appropriate. It consists of:

RealTrack 519: Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 120
RealTrack 2151: Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm NewOrleansBoogieKevin Ev 165
RealTrack 884: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockLowA-B Ev 165
RealTrack 881: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockHighA-B Ev 165
RealTrack 685: Harmonica, Background Pop Ev 120
RealDrum: RockHardModernEv8^2-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Open HiHat

Then added to the song is a MIDI guitar part that captures how Chris fingerpicked the accompaniment (the original recording was in the song mix, so I couldn't extract the audio of him playing, so transcribed it to MIDI instead - not the same, but wanted to preserve it). I used the AAS Strum Acoustic plugin on that track, although its somewhat buried in the mix (intentionally)

The song also includes some strings (rendered from the Cakewalk TTS-1 softsynth) and a flute solo (rendered using the Ketron SD2 external synth).

Everything was done with a combination of BIAB and RealBand, to include using the built-in TC-Helicon harmonizer; however, final touchup to the audio file was done using Diamond Cut DC8.5 audio editor.

Hope you enjoy it!

Lyrics:

VERSE 1
Saturday mornin' comin' down,
Blue skies and sunshine all around.
What do you do on a day like that?
Set out for a cruise on the Chessie Cat.

VERSE 2
Early evenin' comin' 'round;
Close friends and good times all abound.
The lines are stowed and the crew is pat.
Headin' cross the bay on the Chessie Cat.

CHORUS
Forty eight feet long, three stories tall,
Split hull, tandem engines.
Chessie's got it all!
Glides over the waves so neatly,
Relaxing the soul completely,
'Til the summer winds give way to fall.

VERSE 3
Back at the slip we gather 'round.
Bright lights float by with a jolly sound.
Who would expect an event like that:
Christmas in July on the Chessie Cat.

VERSE 4
Winter mornin' comin' down.
Blue skies and sunshine all around.
What do you do on a day like that?
Yearn for a cruise on the Chessie Cat!

ENDING
Next year, plan to be here.
Fresh air, friends and good cheer.
Headin' 'cross the bay on the Chessie Cat.

John

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