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18 Games (A Lament) by Tom Atwood [Email]

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 2332
Comments: 28
Votes: 23
Plays: 398
Last Played: May 08, 2008 - 06:11:10 PM
Downloads: 112
Fans: 8
Uploaded: Aug 29, 2005 - 04:34:54 AM
Last Updated: Feb 27, 2006 - 06:45:42 AM
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Description:
A lament for Busch Stadium, this is really a song about throwing things away. The owners of the St. Louis Cardinals are tearing the 39-year-old stadium down at the end of the season to build one with more luxury boxes that will be more profitable. "18 Games" was really inspired by a contest the owners are having to let one fan push the button that will set off a series of explosions that will bring the stadium down in 30 seconds. See “Fan Will Win Chance to Implode Busch” (Sports Illustrated).

I will miss it. My memories of the ballpark go back to 1967 when the Cardinals won the World Series, and when my father first took me to a Major League game at the new stadium.

Last week, when my daughter and I went to what will probably be our last game at Busch, the “countdown” to implosion was 18 games. Eighteen homes games left in the regular season, and then someone will get to push the button and bring the stadium down.

For the record, I’m against it. It seems like we throw almost everything away these days. Including ballparks filled with ghosts and memories.

Artwork: Busch Stadium(s)
St. Louis, Missouri
Photo by Tom Atwood

songs from the american plain
now available
the lost records™

Lyrics:
18 GAMES (A LAMENT FOR BUSCH STADIUM)

Who wants to push the button
That blows up the stadium?
Somebody gets to detonate the field of dreams

18 games left
‘Til the season ends
18 games left
To play
18 games left
Then get out of the way
Money ain’t a game
Money ain’t a game

Who wants to push the button
That blows up the stadium?
Somebody gets to detonate the field of dreams

You can throw a curve ball
You can throw a game
You can throw everything away
You can build a ballpark
You can tear it down
You can throw it all away
You can throw it all away
You can throw it all away…


Orlando Cepeda
Willie McGee
Julian Javier
They’re ghosts of a pastime
With no place left to play
Nothing stays the same
Money ain’t a game…

18 games left
‘Til the season ends
18 games left
To play
18 games left
Then get out of the way
Money ain’t a game
Money ain’t a game
Money ain’t a game

Who wants to push the button
That blows up the stadium?
Somebody gets to detonate the field of dreams
Field of dreams
Field of dreams


Hardware:
Alvareaz Guitar
Shure SM 57 mic
Shure SM 58 mic
BR-8 Digital Recording Studio

Software:
GB2
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Exquisite Harmonies &mdash 08/29/05 - 06:11:51 AM
I understand sentiment, Tom, but everything goes ...
eventually. They can't take away your memories.

[ Reply to This ]
Exquisite Harmonies &mdash 08/29/05 - 06:15:09 AM
BTW, in 1999, I drove by the address in NJ where I lived from 1964-1969, all I
saw was an empty lot. The house to its right was still there; the church to its left
still was standing.

---
Mungo

[ Reply to This ]
Exquisite Harmonies &mdash 08/29/05 - 06:33:43 AM
Thanks, Bill. I realize everything goes, but the stadium is 39-years-old. It's not even as old as I am. Wait, strike that...

[ Reply to This ]
You are my favorite trio &mdash 08/29/05 - 07:19:03 AM
or quartet, or however many voices you choose...

Ok, so I 'lifted' the above from a comment you made on one of my songs months ago, but it's the truth! I'm going to ditto what Mungo's said, too, because 'exquisite' is exactly the word that comes to mind when I listen to your songs with these wonderful close harmonies, so well balanced and well performed.
In fact, you've brought to mind a couple of unfinished songs I started and abandoned awhile back, and now I'm going to have to dig them up and finish them...

Thanks for the inspiration, Tom :)

Wonderful song, and a sentiment that most of us (over 20, anyway) can relate to in one way or another.
But that's .....Progress....

Thank you so much for this sharing your talent in this song.




[ Reply to This ]
You are my favorite trio &mdash 08/29/05 - 09:45:04 AM
Thanks, Mysti. For the most part this is a trio (although I think 2nd baseman
Julian Javier got 5 voices.) I am glad you could relate to this song; didn't
realize you are over 20.

Thanks again for those kind words.

[ Reply to This ]
I'm baseball fan too. &mdash 08/29/05 - 07:29:42 AM
This season's Giants (In japan) is really miserable..
I misse Matsui and Ichiro!
(Is Taguchi is good in Cardinals?)
Except it,You make really beautiful song.
I like this song's melody and harmony so much!


[ Reply to This ]
I'm baseball fan too. &mdash 08/29/05 - 09:50:43 AM
Sorry about the Giants, jackstone. Yes, So Taguchi is having a great year with
the Cardinals, filling in for Reggie Sanders, Larry Walker and other injured St.
Louis outfielders. He is batting .295 with 7 homers and 45 RBIs. And from
what I read, his presence in the dugout is very positive and uplifting.

[ Reply to This ]
Sad affair &mdash 08/29/05 - 07:56:30 AM
There are a lot of new ballpark of Japan.
Many old ballparks missed.

A hand-written bulletin board : to the electric bulletin board.
Natural turf : to astroturf.
Open air : to the domed stadium.

It is a tragedy to be able to find sense of values only to the
new one.

[ Reply to This ]
Sad affair &mdash 08/29/05 - 01:14:16 PM
Thanks for stopping by, TT, and for those comments. I agree with you
wholeheartedly.

[ Reply to This ]
nice topic &mdash 08/29/05 - 08:22:07 AM
I like this because it hits a home run in a feeling of memories
and our remembrances of our favorite teams. It wasn't only
the teams playing but the ground they walked on, The plate
they swung across and the list goes on.
Nice idea for a tune!

Good going

[ Reply to This ]
Great &mdash 08/29/05 - 01:14:05 PM
First of all: I love the lazy temp - very laidback.
The harmonies are excellent as well. The vocals are
friendly and calm, like always, and the backup voices are
really effective.
Sorry for your loss!
DL'ed and Fav'ed!

[ Reply to This ]
Dig that &mdash 08/29/05 - 04:16:16 PM
old-timey sound. More excellent writing and singing, Tom. I watched the demolition of our Kingdome here in Seattle, to make room for a new improved, open air stadium (the disgustingly named Safeco field). Throwing away the Kingdome for a better (and very expensive) stadium took financial priority over helping fix our awful traffic congestion, our unforgivably bad homeless problem, and our underfunded schools, and proceeded even after it was put to a vote and defeated. Everyone loves Safeco field; perhaps it's a nice place for Seattlites to ignore the various problems growing in our community. Anyway, I really dig the song; great harmonizing again.

[ Reply to This ]
Dig that &mdash 08/29/05 - 04:23:49 PM
Thanks for listening, David. Those are all excellent issues you have raised,
none of which are really addressed in "18 Games." My opposition to
demolition is more personal (and selfish) I guess. I just don't get it. Why tear
down a perfectly (almost) good stadium? I think of my father when I go there,
I remember my childhood, I think of my own children when they were
younger, I think of Orlando Cepeda! Anyway, on top of that, there are the
'global' reasons that you mentioned. Thanks for the comments!


[ Reply to This ]
Don't Care For Baseball &mdash 08/29/05 - 06:19:33 PM
But I love your voice and the way you sing harmony with
yourself. You could sing the phonebook like this and I
wouldn't care. It would still be a fine song. I do
sympathize with your feelings when you see something
that you cared a lot about go away. That feeling fuels
quite a few of my songs!!

[ Reply to This ]
Don't Care For Baseball &mdash 08/30/05 - 05:54:56 AM
Well, as you can guess, I am a baseball lover. I love the game - the sounds,
the strategy, even the statistics. But, under the category of "What's Wrong
With This World," I would have to put the business of baseball.

Thanks for listening to this baseball song, Tom.

[ Reply to This ]
Disposable world &mdash 08/29/05 - 09:06:13 PM
Wonderful, Tom. Again, you have found just the right
words and music to put a most moving and human voice
behind a rather heartbreaking sentiment, and you manage
to still do it with a touch of dry humor. I think that's what
makes it so human. Beautiful harmonies. I like how you
used the breaks.

It is sad how little value is put on history and home in this
country. The things that connect us are torn down faster
than death takes us. I can just hear the soul of that
stadium wimpering out as the selection is made as to who
will get to push the button: "Don't leave me with
strangers".

[ Reply to This ]
Disposable world &mdash 08/30/05 - 05:59:29 AM
Thanks, Peter. Maybe clinging to an old building is a sign of age? If I was
younger, I'd probably be all for knocking down the stadium and building a
cool, new retro ballpark. But, I'm older than Busch (the stadium, not the
beer!).

[ Reply to This ]
Simply Beautiful &mdash 08/30/05 - 01:09:00 AM
What's your address? I want to break into your house in
the dead of night and steal your voice (sorry, not your
heart!). :O)

[ Reply to This ]
Simply Beautiful &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:05:55 AM
Steal my warbler? If you're going to steal a voice, why not steal a
good one, instead? I suggest I. Spike's, or pgreenstone's, or pacosmoke's.
Stealing mine would be like stealing Mungo's. Or William Shaw's. Not really
worth the fine for breaking and entering. (But thanks for the compliment,
shimky. I appreciate it.)

[ Reply to This ]
Simply Beautiful &mdash 08/30/05 - 04:45:44 PM
Tom, you are way too harsh on yourself. You don't have a warbely voice at all.
You have a seriously excellent voice and a style of singing that is just perfect for
your wonderful songs. I'm amazed how you still sound as young as you did on
that old song you recorded from a live performance you gave back in the 70's
that you have in your MJ song list. Maybe you get a little warbely when you sing
in your hardcore death-metal voice, but not on this song.

[ Reply to This ]
gone gone gone &mdash 08/30/05 - 05:03:41 AM
cry me a river that meets the mississippi somewhere down
by my dreams. milwalkee , st louis, stan the man, and all
the big midwestern teams.
you do sad so well and i am with you on this one. we
used to take a trip to see the braves every summer. the
was the closest to use in iowa. we took the train. cant do
that any more as well. well said and played

[ Reply to This ]
gone gone gone &mdash 08/30/05 - 06:10:07 AM
I hate it when they tear down old train stations, too, Tim. Although I guess,
now, those are converted into shops. I guess it is unlikely that many current
buildings will ever become 'ancient ruins' in the future. It's too easy to
implode them.

[ Reply to This ]
wonderful vocals &mdash 08/30/05 - 09:19:35 AM
Your close harmonies work so well on this tune, Tom. You
did a masterful job on the vocals! Your voice is clear as
bell, and warm as a summer breeze at the ball park.

I like the leisurely, loose phrasing of the lyrics -- very
much like you are telling a story in a natural, unhurried
way.

I would have liked to hear the guitar just a tiny bit more
prominently in the mix to balance with the vocals, but this
is a very good recording overall, and your performance is
first-rate!

[ Reply to This ]
wonderful vocals &mdash 08/30/05 - 03:33:44 PM
Thanks, Cameron. Sometimes songs come quickly, like this one did. Then,
the harmonies don't come so quickly, then sometimes I get in a hurry and
rush the mix. I think I probably rushed the mix on this one, even though it
was fairly simple. The guitar, which is a separate track, is a little soft in
places. Good ears again, Cam. Thanks for the comments!


[ Reply to This ]
NOT FUNNY &mdash 09/01/05 - 09:24:50 AM
I AM BUSTING A GUT!...I KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT
SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY... IT'S KIND OF SAD IN MANY
WAYS. I WITNESSED THE DETONATION OF THE 'KINGDOME'
IN SEATTLE AND IT WAS A A BIG 'TO DO'. THE
KINGDOME???... YOU'D THINK THAT IT WAS THE BIGEST
AND THE BESTEST... APPARENTLY NOT. EVEN WORSE, THE
TAX PAYERS HELPED TO PAY FOR THE NEW STADIUM AND,
THEY ARE EATING IT BIG...

WELL, AT LEAST WE GOT A LAUGH AND ANOTHER
AMAZING TUNE FROM YOU TOM. YOUR VOCALS HERE ARE
SOUNDS OF A MOST WELL TUNED INSTRUMENT. I DO
CONTINUE TO ENJOY HOW YOU SHOW OFF THE BEAUTY
ATTAINED BY PURE SIMPLICITY...

THANKS AGAIN FOR ANOTHER FINE WORK OF ART.

DION

[ Reply to This ]
Wow &mdash 09/14/05 - 07:52:49 PM
How impressive is this? VERY! You sing so well, and all on
pitch, too! (Couldn't resist the pun)
Very nice song! Though I'm sorry to hear about the
stadium.

[ Reply to This ]
lovely tune Tom &mdash 09/28/05 - 01:59:19 PM
this is so well done and the lyrics are very touching. I agree with what you
are saying. Another sign of the times...

[ Reply to This ]
Another gem... &mdash 10/07/05 - 03:06:02 PM
I love the way you treat folk music. I find this topic very American and
sweetly sad. The harmonies harken back to a church revival and the lyrics
are cutting as always.
Another gem...

[ Reply to This ]
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