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Was There Once A Time by TobinMueller [Email]
Genre: Showtunes

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 3866
Comments: 15
Votes: 24
Plays: 751
Last Played: Sep 12, 2008 - 04:11:11 PM
Downloads: 163
Fans: 7
Uploaded: Apr 15, 2004 - 10:13:56 PM
Last Updated: Jun 27, 2006 - 11:17:36 AM
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Keywords:
folk rock (39), adult contemporary (17), showtunes (9), vocal (150), acoustic (472), ballad (139), anthem (10), piano (604), 9/11 (10), September 11 (87), social commentary (2), inspirational (79), questions (6), tobin (67), TobinMueller (35), song (193), lyrics (24), pronouncement (1), nostalgia (16), credo (2), belief (4)
Description:
I wrote the first version of this song after 9/11, having seen the planes crash into the Twin Towers from my apartment window (I lived in downtown Manhattan, 10 blocks away) and after volunteering at Ground Zero for the next week. I then rearranged the song to be incorporated into my latest show I am writing. Here is a simple, straight forward version. Woodwinds and horns played in using my Proteus E-mu synths.

Other songs in my 9/11 series:
I Will Love
Last Call
New Holy Land

(See: Journal from the Streets to read a photographic journal about my 9/11 experiences.)

Lyrics:
WAS THERE ONCE A TIME

Was there once a time
when the world was young and unafraid
when we sang of wondrous dreams
and were proud of all we made?

Was there once a time
when the world was wide and true and real,
when each word was fresh and free
and each life was held and healed?

Was there once a time when trust was simple?
Was there once a time when hope was joyful?
Was there once a time lives went on and on and on
and what we knew was love would somehow shieldand conquer all?

Was there once a time
when the song came lightly to my lips
and the music danced and played
in a kind of trance-kinship?

Once upon that time
if the world breathed heavy on my back
I could find the strength to sing,
I would find a right lyric.

Now it seems that purpose is a gesture,
just a thing that habit helps to capture.
Can I find in memory the future I once knew?
Can I craft a moment into meaning without you?

One year and
one day and
one moment all.

One touch and
one smile and
I hold them all.

When life breathes in
I can feel you there.
When life breathes out again,
you're in the song I sing,
you are the memory of another time.
Once upon a time in time...

Was there once a time like that?

Hardware:
G4; Roland a90ex; EV 757; Roland Super JV 80.

Software:
GB
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Somber &mdash 04/16/04 - 12:18:14 AM
I don't know. It's hard to comment on a song that is as
powerpacked with meaning and emotion as this. Your
show will be better off, I'm sure, with this song as parcel.---Kind regards,

TT
--
www.fosod.com

[ Reply to This ]
Beautiful &mdash 04/16/04 - 09:13:55 AM
Superb production, you can feel real emotion in this song. It is beautifully crafted.

Kevin

[ Reply to This ]
nicely done &mdash 04/16/04 - 09:52:05 AM
very good song. VERY minor comment: the cymbal
crashes at mid-point seem short and tinny..a
different, fuller sample would better enhance the
crescendos.

Excellent job!

[ Reply to This ]
well crafted and.... &mdash 04/16/04 - 01:32:42 PM
damn......emotion drenched....just what a good play
needs...songs with emotion that the audience can take
with them.....

[ Reply to This ]
Feeling &mdash 04/16/04 - 01:35:51 PM
A song with a lot of feeling, and a good production. As
always, a pleasure listening to your creations, Tobin.---
Thierry Daigneault

[ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 04/16/04 - 03:49:43 PM
This was just wonderful, one of your best!

[ Reply to This ]
Great song &mdash 04/16/04 - 07:07:59 PM
Thank you, guys. It was such a time, following 9/11 in Manhattan, it is hard
separating those emotions from this song. Your warmth means a great deal.
Thanks for listening. I have more I wrote during that autumn, and because of
your wonderful comments, I will post them soon.

[ Reply to This ]
Wonderful &mdash 04/21/04 - 05:21:34 PM
You humble all of us with this song. Garageband has wonderful loops, but no
combination of loops, no matter how clever, can compare to the feelings that
come from a song like this.

morrie

---
Morrie

[ Reply to This ]
A great song! &mdash 04/27/04 - 05:50:51 PM
Thoroughly enjoyed this-both the song and the
them and the lyrics! Bravo!

[ Reply to This ]
- &mdash 04/29/04 - 10:40:21 AM
starting like john lennons imagine and vocals is very cut for me one word one high breath voice one word one high breath voice, maybe mind is good but very slow for me but however I cong. you couse you dont use apple loops...---hi.

[ Reply to This ]
- &mdash 02/28/05 - 10:39:34 AM
I was actually thinking of that song when I began to write these lyrics. Good
catch. ESP ears.

[ Reply to This ]
wow &mdash 06/04/04 - 12:48:27 AM
i'm so glad that you've channeled all your emotions and
experiences into songs - really amazing songs!
your voice is stunning in this one. lots of power.
very moving.
and, as always, a very intriguing choice of artwork. is this
vladimir kush recent or 1930's surrealist?

[ Reply to This ]
wow &mdash 09/09/04 - 07:03:26 AM
Kush is alive today in Moscow. In the prime of life.

[ Reply to This ]
Nice song (lots of feeling)!! &mdash 12/12/04 - 10:26:40 PM
Nice song! You sure put a lot of feeling into it.
I can tell alot of work was put into it.
Thanks for sharing.

thetiler

[ Reply to This ]
What a series of songs! &mdash 04/22/05 - 06:52:35 AM
Breathtaking, heartbreaking lyrics. A work of genius.

[ Reply to This ]
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