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It Ain't Fair (collab with Bronco) by Joanna [Email]

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1751
Comments: 54
Votes: 23
Plays: 399
Last Played: May 05, 2008 - 12:46:03 AM
Downloads: 73
Fans: 6
Uploaded: Jun 13, 2005 - 05:25:32 PM
Last Updated: Jun 13, 2005 - 04:31:36 PM
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Description:
Bronco sent me some 12 bar blues, allowing me to do whatever I wanted with it. To me, it was the ultimate chance to indulge my Billie Holliday fantasy. I used my bluesiest voice, wrote some hard luck lyrics, and started singing. I hope you enjoy the results, because boy howdy, did I ever have a good time with this song! Bronco is an absolutely fantastic person with whom to collaborate. It was a wonderful experience for me, and I hope it was for him. I adore all the wonderful touches he added to this piece. It started with him and it ended with him.

Lyrics:
You pay me a nickel when I'm worth more than a dime
Why you keeping me down all the time
I sweat and I slave to give you what I got
And you slap me down, leaving me to rot
It ain't fair. Life ain't fair. But what am I gonna do?

Heavy burdens on my shoulders
Get these weights right offa me
Dangerous fire around me smolders
It ain't the way the world oughta be
But it is. It just is. It always is.

You drag my name through the muck and the mire
Why are you hating? Why do you never tire?
I never did you a single wrong
And you slap me down and silence my song.
It ain't fair. Life ain't fair. But what am I gonna do?

::bridge::

Heavy burdens on my shoulders
Get these weights right offa me
Dangerous fire around me smolders
It ain't the way the world oughta be
But it is. It just is. It always is.

You make me promises and feed me big dreams
But nothing you say is ever what it seems
I fly on a thought, heaven bound
And you slap me down, leave me on the ground
It ain't fair. Life ain't fair. But what am I gonna do?

Heavy burdens on my shoulders
Get these weights right offa me
Dangerous fire around me smolders
It ain't the way the world oughta be
But it is. It just is. It always is.

Hardware:
All of Bronco's stuff, and my Shure SM58

Software:
GarageBand
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Bluesey JO! &mdash 06/13/05 - 05:33:18 PM
wooo..
what a great track guys.
Nice singing Joanna. love that husky timbre you got going on
in here. Fantastic lyrics. Great songwriting, and playing..
Nice one you two.
D/L

Slimmie


[ Reply to This ]
Bluesey JO! &mdash 06/14/05 - 10:20:38 AM
Thank you, Slimmie! This was such a joy for me. Bronco was the perfect
collaborator.

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Very classy &mdash 06/13/05 - 05:35:38 PM
You two make a really good team ... it's amazing
what happens when two people with similar musical
ideas get together and pool their resources. Joanna,
you sound like you're having a great time! The
instrumentation is great, bronco. Much credit to you
both.

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Very classy &mdash 06/14/05 - 10:30:08 AM
Thank you, Rebsie! One of the biggest joys of Macjams is the way we can pool
our talents with others to create something uniqe. You're right - I was having
a lot of fun.

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Lovely meeting of talents. &mdash 06/13/05 - 05:35:41 PM
bronco's in really fine form here on instruments and voice.
Beautiful playing, Tom. And what a great partner he's got
here. Great singing and writing, Joanna. You can hear
what fun both of you had doing this... Class act.

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Lovely meeting of talents. &mdash 06/13/05 - 10:22:59 PM
Thanks Slim, Rebsie, Mando. Joanna was so much fun to work with. Love
doing collaborations. Just send me a file and I will make it mediocre in no
time at all. Nope, couldn't even do that with this one. She's too good!

[ Reply to This ]
Lovely meeting of talents. &mdash 06/14/05 - 10:33:05 AM
Thank you, Mando! Bronco did most of the work on this one.

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Sultry blues &mdash 06/13/05 - 05:37:31 PM
Great vocals..yes very reminiscent of Billie Holiday in
places. Nice backing vocals too. This just has a great
feel...although its blues you cannot help but be cheered
up by this!
S

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Sultry blues &mdash 06/14/05 - 12:16:10 PM
Thank you, Steve! Even the blues can be uplifting. The magic of music.

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Sometimes it aint fair... &mdash 06/13/05 - 06:59:37 PM
But this collab is more than fair...I'd say fantastic!
What a great combination of talents. :)

I'm waiting for the next collab, you two!

Excellent! Thank you.



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Sometimes it aint fair... &mdash 06/14/05 - 12:18:44 PM
Thank you, Mysti! That bronco sure can play that guitar!

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Billie Holliday has come back &mdash 06/13/05 - 07:55:31 PM
I really liked how well you did the Billie Holliday singin.
I enjoyed you both together. You really have a nice talent
Joanna for singin in the Jazz-blues fashion. And your
songwriting is suprerb.

Thanks much for this tune.

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Billie Holliday has come back &mdash 06/14/05 - 12:46:03 PM
Thank you, Tiler, I'm so glad you liked it!

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Tellin' the truth &mdash 06/13/05 - 08:13:15 PM
Ah, Chicago, south side, late '40s. Smokey bar, cheap
liquor. Made me want to dig out the old upright and slap
it silly.

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Tellin' the truth &mdash 06/14/05 - 02:29:47 PM
Ooh, Snowy, great imagery! I'm so glad you liked it, thank you!

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Great Job Joanna! &mdash 06/13/05 - 08:26:00 PM
Beautiful job writing and singing. I knew whatever you
came up with would be creative and cool.

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Great Job Joanna! &mdash 06/14/05 - 02:31:08 PM
Thank you so much, Bronco, for letting me sing on your song!

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o h.... &mdash 06/14/05 - 08:42:46 AM
yeah.....this is so kool.....love your phrasing Joann......and
tonal inflection.......truly in the Billy Holiday spirit ......crispy
git playing Bronco......truly fun to listen to.....

[ Reply to This ]
o h.... &mdash 06/14/05 - 02:33:02 PM
Thank you, Mcboy, coming from someone as talented as you are, it means a
lot to me.

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Good soul! &mdash 06/14/05 - 10:19:43 AM
nice tune!
thanks your uprod!

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Good soul! &mdash 06/14/05 - 02:46:08 PM
Thank you, AJ!

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What a privilege &mdash 06/14/05 - 11:07:04 AM
Joanna, it can't believe that such talent is available for me to put on my computer and to listen to again and again and again! I shall boogie on down all day - thank you for sharing your talent x

[ Reply to This ]
What a privilege &mdash 06/14/05 - 02:54:27 PM
Thank you, Caroline! You're such a nice person. So supportive. I'm so glad
you joined Macjams.

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Boogie on down! &mdash 06/14/05 - 11:18:22 AM
Love the voice! Love the music! Thank you for sharing this work - I can't believe that all this talent is available to listen to and boogie round the house to! Thank you Joanna x

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Billy "Jo" Holiday! &mdash 06/14/05 - 11:39:59 AM
The two of you work very well together! This has the great
qualities that bring me to the era! Yet, has a "today" feel
to it! JS, your voice just keeps getting better! Bronco, you
are very talented!

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Billy "Jo" Holiday! &mdash 06/14/05 - 02:57:03 PM
Thank you, Alimar! I love that "today's retro" feel. I really appreciate you
giving the song a listen.

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Nice Joanna!!! :) &mdash 06/14/05 - 04:36:58 PM
Great singing... you catch the BH spirit:)

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Nice Joanna!!! :) &mdash 06/14/05 - 08:43:26 PM
Thank you, Trebbia!!

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Very good &mdash 06/14/05 - 08:35:05 PM
Cool tune and great vocal. i could have done without the
backup vocal totally. I was in key and all but just didn't fit
in the vibe and lead.

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Very good &mdash 06/14/05 - 09:02:48 PM
Thank you, Rob! I liked Bronco's background vocals on it because it gave it
that club feel, like a member of the band joining in. But I understand if it
doesn't work for everybody.

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Fake trumpets...now fake harmonica... &mdash 06/15/05 - 12:14:01 AM
damn girl...how do you do it?

This is great...and ya, I know they're real. It's all real. Nice
honest piece...the real deal! Two picks up! Nice collab folks.

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Fake trumpets...now fake harmonica... &mdash 06/15/05 - 12:29:14 AM
Thank you, Blaine! When I collaborate, I don't have to use my arsenal of fake
instruments -- I love that!

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GREAT Billie style &mdash 06/15/05 - 12:08:56 PM
Joanna, your voice sounds so much like Billie Holliday in
the opening phrases that it sent chills down my spine.

Then as the song progresses, your own style shines
through more strongly which creates a very good mix,
your own personal "stamp" on the blues.

Bronco, your accompaniment is imaginative and
interesting; lots of little "sound gems" to be mined. I
particularly like your use of cymbals. They accentuate the
singer's intense emotions perfectly. Your vocals add a
certain "live" and authentic quality to the song.

This song is a very good combination of forces. I
thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

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GREAT Billie style &mdash 06/15/05 - 12:39:42 PM
Thank you, Cameron! I knew that I couldn't do an exact impersonation of
Billie because our voices have very different qualities at the root. So I tried to
capture a small piece of her ineffable qualities. Because the lyrics mean
something to me in my own life, I was also able to put a lot of myself into the
performance. You've a keen ear to hear that blend.

And I agree with everything you said about Bronco's wonderful, intimate
arrangement.

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Blues is da color of my true love's hair &mdash 06/15/05 - 09:29:50 PM
Yes, this is quite good. From what little I know of da
Blues, this sounds pretty durn good. You have a nice sassy
twang in your authoritative "tellin it like it is" voice. I am
liking this. Let's collab. I've paid my dues. Good layout and
supporting vocals/instrumentation, bronco.

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Blues is da color of my true love's hair &mdash 06/15/05 - 11:00:06 PM
Hey Richard where you been? I'll be ready for some more production advice
and backing vocals in a couple of weeks if you want to do it?


[ Reply to This ]
Blues is da color of my true love's hair &mdash 06/16/05 - 03:16:50 PM
Thank you, Richard. I know blues is not your usual mien, so I really appreciate
your having given this a chance. It's very gratifying to hear that you liked it.

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My dog Ernie loves it! &mdash 06/16/05 - 11:05:47 AM
(So do I!) I just got a 10 week old dachshund puppy, and
he slows down for nothing! But I played this song and he
sat so quiet and listened to the whole song! Thanks for
the moment of peace...

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My dog Ernie loves it! &mdash 06/16/05 - 03:19:23 PM
Thank you, Emily and Ernie! I love that story. One never knows what will
appeal to furry members of the family, but it's always a delight to find
something. I'm so pleased that it soothed his rambunctious nature.

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... &mdash 06/18/05 - 12:04:20 PM
take me down South, and give me one of those
harmonicas please. Nice blend of sounds.

S

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... &mdash 06/19/05 - 06:16:12 PM
Thank you, Mr. S! You'll have to ask Bronco about the harmonica, though.
Sure wish I could play like that.

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Woohoos for Blues! &mdash 06/18/05 - 05:17:33 PM
Very nicely sung & played & written. Loved it, both of you!
ttfn,
Drakonis -- wallowing in blues

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Woohoos for Blues! &mdash 06/19/05 - 06:18:26 PM
Thank you, Drak! There's been a lot of good blues here lately. A fine time for
those of us who love to hear some blues.

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...cause I'm a woman! &mdash 06/18/05 - 09:50:01 PM
well done - feels good to sing the blues like BIlly

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...cause I'm a woman! &mdash 06/19/05 - 06:20:42 PM
Thank you, Listen! There's no one quite like Billie, but it sure is fun to give
her a nod.

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Blues, baby &mdash 06/20/05 - 01:51:21 PM
I don't know how I missed this! Congrats on a great collab. Great Bronco blues bed for the smokey, raspy Joanna vocals. Love it!

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Blues, baby &mdash 06/20/05 - 11:34:02 PM
Thank you, alley! I'm so glad you found it!

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Is it Bilie or is it memorex? &mdash 06/20/05 - 10:23:48 PM
Your voice is very different from Billie Holliday, but within
that limitation you're doing very well in catching her spirit.

Cool!


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Is it Bilie or is it memorex? &mdash 06/20/05 - 11:37:14 PM
Thank you, Vic! As you discerned, it was the vibe I was trying to capture, as
opposed to doing an imitation. Our voices are too different for me to recreate
hers, much I'd love to be able to.

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Excellent &mdash 06/30/05 - 06:09:49 PM
Very nice work Joana. I can't say anything as
intellegent as most comments here, but my ears
inform me that you are an extremely talented singer/
song writer. This is a very nice and solid piece here.
Great lyrics! Your vocal work here is absolutely right
on and as well, every single note of the
accompaniments are on too. Congrads!

Cydniko

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Excellent &mdash 07/01/05 - 05:19:07 AM
Thank you, Cyd. You made my day!

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Wow, Collaboration! &mdash 08/01/05 - 01:59:29 PM
Just getting to know this place, MacJams, and that was a
great collaboration. Beautiful instrument and voice work. I
love those lyrics. Gotta download this one.
Alan M Hall

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Wow, Collaboration! &mdash 08/01/05 - 04:06:52 PM
Thank you, Alan! And a big welcome to Macjams -- be careful, it's very
addicting!

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excellent &mdash 01/23/06 - 08:35:22 AM
Comfortable voice. Could listen to lots of that! Sing with me, baby.
Loved the arrangement too. Very sparse, which is a good thing. Possible mprovements? How about some harmony on the chorus instead of singalong? Excellent nevertheless.

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