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I Was Happy Here


by

jiguma

 Genre: Acoustic Rock

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Description
Revision of last week's post - thanks to Snowdragon, Alimar, TheTiler, Blamm and Cydniko for suggestions.

This version is a bit grittier, has deeper bass, more up-front vocals (and more of them) and a key change. Have also changed the drums to give it more grunt.

My family and I lived for a year in the north of England and returned 18 years later in 2004 to fall in love with it again. Hello any Macjammers in Mellor!
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Lyrics
I Was Happy Here
© 2005 - jiguma

I was happy here,
I was happy when the sun came out
Happiest still at the evening shout
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here
I was happy in a northern town
Waterfall turning those years around
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

Chorus:
I jumped out of bed in the morning
I couldn’t get to sleep at night
Every day was a big surprise
Didn’t matter what we did was right
We were living from day to day
We were living from hand to mouth
And there wasn’t a thing that I would change
We were living from north to south

I was happy here
I was happy in the springtime rain
Watching the trees turn green again
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here
Walkin' the walls on ancient ground
Lonely hills, lonely sounds
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here
I was happy with the ice and snow
Coming home to afterglow
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here,
I was happy when the sun came out
Happiest still at the evening shout
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

Chorus:
I jumped out of bed in the morning
I couldn’t get to sleep at night
Every day was a big surprise
Didn’t matter what we did was right
We were living from day to day
We were living from hand to mouth
And there wasn’t a thing that I would change
We were living from north to south
Song Stats
Hits: 1371
Comments: 23
Fans: 4
Plays: 154
Downloads: 75
Votes: 10
Uploaded: Jul 05, 2005 - 10:12:54 AM
Last Updated: Apr 19, 2007 - 11:38:29 PM Last Played: Nov 15, 2009 - 03:26:58 PM
Song License
Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Creative Commons

Song Actions
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Hardware:
Seagull S6 guitar
Fender Precision Bass
Shure DM1000D mic
Behringer UB802 Eurorack preamp/mixer
iMac G4
Software:
Drum/percussion loops
Guitar solo - "Delta Blues Guitar Solo" loop (seriously tampered with!)
GB2
Comments
Jim Bouchard said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
Great improvement!
I really like this a lot. The guitar solo is pretty cool, and I wouldn't have guessed it's a loop, and I don't think that it really matters loop or not. Great!
Check out my latest song called Weather or Not w/awigze
jiguma said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
Great improvement!
Thanks Jim, I appreciate your comment.
Neil

---
What's the difference between a duck?
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
Mr. S said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
percusion is a lil....
....weak for me, but it works out in the end. I like how u
stay on one topic thru the song. Lil' too much repetition
perhaps, but overall, I like it. Good job!

Mr. S
Check out my latest song called MacJammer's Tribute
jiguma said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
percusion is a lil....
Thanks Mr S,
I know what you mean about the percussion. Percussion for me has always
been something the drummer did, so I guess in GB I've been looking at the
easiest way out with the drums and concentrated on the guitars, where I feel
more comfortable. My next purchase (once I consult my "financial adviser"!)
will be iDrum or something similar, so I can take hitting things with a stick
more seriously.
The repetition in the lyrics was a result of lots of my lyrics being a bit too
intense- the idea was mainly to reflect on the joy of returning to somewhere
that meant a lot to me.
Appreciate your comments Mr S.
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
Macaudion said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
Lyk it mo betta
More balanced and overall nicer production. You
overcame your Add w/ gb it sounds. This is much more
pleasant; 100 percent improvement. Diggen the bass
drums and 'tar work. Very nice - feels very professianl -
man it's just much sweeter!

Cydniko
Check out my latest song called 123 iGetU
Macaudion said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
Lyk it mo betta
What did you do to make it mo betta?

Cyd
Check out my latest song called 123 iGetU
jiguma said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
Lyk it mo betta
Thanks for the comment Cyd,
I took the advice about the middle 8 from Alimar, tried a number of different
versions and discarded them all when they didn't really hang on to the feel of
the song. Instead, I did the key change after the solo, which lifts it a bit. I
re-did all the vocals, and added a middle voice which fills it all out. The bass
is now double tracked, keeping the "plucky fender" sound, but adding a
deeper, grittier sound as well. Dropped the guitars a bit also. Changed the
drums to a more aggressive set of loops and double tracked them as well.
Also added crash cymbal highlights - must get myself a copy of iDrum to do
some more adventurous studff in that department.
Neil

---
What's the difference between a duck?
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
perceptualvortex said 1601 days ago (July 5th, 2005)
Nice
meditative flowing sound you've achieved here. The vocals and lead guitar are especially cool.
Check out my latest song called Machine Man (w Beastie Boys)
jiguma said 1601 days ago (July 6th, 2005)
Nice
Thanks PV, appreciate you dropping by.
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
jgurner said 1600 days ago (July 6th, 2005)
very cool
Once the guitar and bass kicks it, it creates a major groove.
Very cool bass line going on. Strong lyrics. Love the sound
on the vocals. Very enjoyable. Thaks for sharing.
Check out my latest song called Bourbon Street Dawn
jiguma said 1600 days ago (July 6th, 2005)
very cool
Thanks for the comment Joseph. I've been meaning to contact you about the
similarity of our MJ ids - sorry for picking one so close to yours (I wasn't
aware of you being here when I first registered). I'm thinking of changing
mine to avoid confusion - will see if it can be done without losing posts,
comments and points.
Thanks again for your comment - much appreciated!
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
snowdragon said 1596 days ago (July 10th, 2005)
Better
Yup, better. Wouldn't have thought the bass could be
improved upon but I believe it was. Has a kind of
Donavony groove to it now that I really liked.
Check out my latest song called The Wolf 7
jiguma said 1595 days ago (July 12th, 2005)
Better
Thanks Snow, your comments are always appresiated!
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
TobinMueller said 1594 days ago (July 12th, 2005)
Nice rhythm bed and vocal doubling
The soundscape you have sculpted is very nice. I really like
the rhythm ac guitar, the moving bass, the tasteful rhythm,
especially the hand perc like the shaker. The drum set is a
little soft, as is the lead electric guitar, in my ears. Isn't it
great to remember those days of living inexpensively yet
happily, wondering what is behind each corner? I enjoyed the
lyrics. Reminds me a a Phish jam in places. Nice track.
Check out my latest song called Forge A New Life (MJRF)
jiguma said 1594 days ago (July 12th, 2005)
Nice rhythm bed and vocal doubling
Thanks for the comment Tobin,
After some earlier comments I think I'm going to work on this some more.
The guitar break is definitely too soft now (not sure how that happened!).
Main thing I'm unhappy with though is the drums - am planning to try some
midi drum work to see if it can be lifted and varied.
Cheers
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
AquilA said 1592 days ago (July 14th, 2005)
Catchy Groove
Wasn't what I expected, considering the name of the
guitar loop you used, but I also agree it doesn't
sound like a loop. Liked the key change after the
solo, added a nice change up. Good vocals and
overall performance. Maybe I'm hearing something
that's not there but it seems to have a sort of tribal
influence. Perhaps it would benefit from some native
percussion instruments.
Check out my latest song called Bounce Buffet w/ Hectorious
jiguma said 1592 days ago (July 14th, 2005)
Catchy Groove
Thanks for the comment AquilA, much appreciated. Interesting comment
about the native instruments (I assume you mean native american) - my early
musical background was with a band led by a man obsessed with native
american culture, and we used those rhythms often on stage. Perhaps some
of that has rubbed off!
Cheers,
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
ledebutant said 1591 days ago (July 15th, 2005)
Groovy's the right word...
...and you did a really great job with the loop tampering.This is a great example of mixing live and looped instruments. You play very well.

I love rock walls (in more ways than one) so your cover art is cool. I agree with Mr. S that initially the song seems a little repetitive, but after the first two verses and the chorus, the groove started to work for me and the song reallly held my interest.
Check out my latest song called Black Star (MJ Live Aid w/jgurner)
jiguma said 1591 days ago (July 16th, 2005)
Groovy's the right word...
Thanks Lisa,
I find that my lead guitar work is somewhat lacking, so resort to using loops
then tampering with them - it's amazing what you can do in an hour or two!

This particular rock wall is from Rowarth in Derbyshire where we spent some
time last year - love that part of the UK.

Thanks for dropping by and taking time to comment,
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
Nolan said 1591 days ago (July 15th, 2005)
Ripper
G'day. This is my first listen to your stuff. Really enjoyed
it. The bass is fantastic. The overall mix is spot on.
Really good quality everything. Well done. Not many
fellow Aussies amongst us. Nice.
Check out my latest song called Fine
jiguma said 1591 days ago (July 16th, 2005)
Ripper
Thanks Nolan,
I've seen a few fellow Australians - Rovert10 is worth a listen if your taste is
broad. He does some very wierd things with vox.
Glad you liked the track.
Cheers,
Neil
Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)
jie said 1339 days ago (March 24th, 2006)
wuz happy here too
cool sound ,nice structure, some cool strumming , flowing bass, and neat solo.even a key change yipee. Keep it up. Cheery
Check out my latest song called Gods Got HisPlans, Ive got mine
saymme said 307 days ago (January 19th, 2009)
Really cool beginning !!
Like this 'jazzedup' version ; ) ! Really cool to hear You do two so different versions of this song...thats always a treat & a thrill attimes ! Think I prefer the first now ( if You'd ask me when I was younger I probably would've preferred this) Both are WONDERFUL Cool playing/loops here !! & Lovely photo of the heather- it puts U right to sleep if You make tea of it & is very good : ) tx my pleasure!!(also reminds me of the best times at mj)! Lena
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Artist Info
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Name: Neil Porter
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My old bio page looked pretty out of date, so it’s time for a new one: For the full story, see my interview in the MacJammer Blog "The Jiguma Is Up" by Tobin Mueller. I started to learn guitar when I was about 10 – but didn’t last long be... [see more]

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