I'm short on inspiration, it seems, for writing new things ... but these are the times when I work on the old ones :-)

Robertkc suggested, when I put the old, first orchestral version up on here, that I combine the Band-in-a-Box original version with the orchestral version (on the same track) and see what happens. The suggestion stayed with me, so here is orchestral version No. 2 ... with both BIAB AND other, orchestral instruments. Hope you like it? :-)



I can't open BIAB right now to refresh my memory on the exact instrumentation, but the style I used was "Scarce Dreamy Americana", at the tempo of 70 beats a minute, in the key of A - without any modifications to the BIAB instrumentation. To that, I added a small orchestra written in Sibelius - exported to MIDI and replaced with sounds from Native Instruments in Mixcraft Pro Studio 9, as well as Mixcraft's own sounds. A little reverb added in said Mixcraft Pro Studio 9 and it seemed ready :-)

Here are the lyrics:

AVE MARIA (orchestral version)

I look around me now
And hear our children cry
I see them hurting so
And ask myself one question:

Why?

And prayers seem futile
If we can't find a way
To love one another
The same way,

every day ... and so I pray ...

Holy Mother, hear our plight
Holy Mother, stop the hate ...

They swim towards the shore
To run away from bitter
War

They get shot down in schools
Because we love our tools
More

Their cries we do not hear
Because we do not want
To see ...

But for a twist of Fate,
Their parent could be you ... or me ...

Holy Mother, hear our plight
Holy Mother, stop the hate ...

Ave Maria

[BRIDGE]

We're cutting down their trees
So that they cannot
Breathe

We drug kids with a pill
Just to make them
Sit still

And as they wilt away
With every passing day
Who cares?

We send our thoughts and prayers
And carry on the same
Nightmares ...

Holy Mother, hear our plight
Holy Mother, stop the hate ...

__________________________

Thanks for listening and for any comments! Tomorrow, I intend to go on a binge of listening to songs on here ... I feel like I've missed out on too many! Thanks again :-)

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