Round Window by Rebsie
Genre: Folk (contemporary)
Get Flash to see this player.
Having playback trouble, try the Quicktime player:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial
Fan List
Keywords:
First World War (2), harp (69), celtic harp (1), mandolin (46), piano (687), melancholy (59), nostalgia (19)
Description:
This is one of the songs that's going on my forthcoming album, a tweaked mix of a song I originally did a year or so ago while I was still working with mandolinquent. It features me on vocals, piano, 12-string guitar, celtic harp and MIDI drums, with a sprinkle of mandolin and violins by mandolinquent.
I originally wrote it in a kind of stream of consciousness based on an image I had in my head, and only had a vague idea what it was about. Since then I've decided it's about someone who has to leave a place they love very dearly to go and serve in the First World War, without knowing whether or not they'll ever come back. "Ring o' roses" was a slang term in the trenches for shrapnel wounds.
It's a rare appearance by the harp on one of my songs because although it's a gorgeous-sounding instrument it's an absolute bugger to play. :)
Words and music by Rebsie
© Rebsie Fairholm 2007
I originally wrote it in a kind of stream of consciousness based on an image I had in my head, and only had a vague idea what it was about. Since then I've decided it's about someone who has to leave a place they love very dearly to go and serve in the First World War, without knowing whether or not they'll ever come back. "Ring o' roses" was a slang term in the trenches for shrapnel wounds.
It's a rare appearance by the harp on one of my songs because although it's a gorgeous-sounding instrument it's an absolute bugger to play. :)
Words and music by Rebsie
© Rebsie Fairholm 2007
Lyrics:
I wish I could swim the river(Singing for a ring of roses
Shrapnel beads are raindrops that fall)
I wish I could breathe it forever
(Clustering down from a glowering sky
Crater to crater the trespassers crawl)
Behind the green rimmed mirror
Postcards pinned to the wall
Come unstuck at the edges
And the night starts to fall
Changes are gathering quickly
In from the western sky
He watches through the round window
Fast moving clouds going by
I wish I could swim the river
(Singing for a ring of roses
Shrapnel beads are raindrops that fall)
I wish I could breathe it forever
(Clustering down from a glowering sky
Crater to crater the trespassers crawl)
The house murmurs on its foundations
As a passing train
Rattles the blue and white china
Above the noise of the rain
Hardware:
G5, iBook, various instruments including Gremlin 30-string celtic harpSoftware:
GarageBandYou must be registered and logged-in to comment.
Your description brought back memories of my grandfather who came to America from Ireland and ended up fighting in the war. In 2003, when attending the funeral of one of his daughters, his remaining daughter showed me for the first time pictures of him and his fellow soldiers that were taken in the trenches. They looked so young but with old eyes.
Rebsie
I know what you mean, I've seen pictures like that too. People who see terrible things get a certain kind of look, like they're gazing at something just beyond the horizon.
My grandfather was gassed in the trenches and the resulting damage to his lungs finished him off at 37. Just a few months ago I passed the point where I'd outlived him, and it really is a poignant thing for me to have reached that stage.
Epileptic Gibbon
This takes me back a bit, both to last year when it was originally posted and to my memories of 'Playschool'. Musically it still makes me think of the Cocteau Twins waltzing with The Poozies, and it's still a beautiful song, with a wonderful choice of instruments, a lovely arrangement, and great lyrics too. Can't wait to hear it on the finished album!
Rebsie
The picture should take you back a bit too, if you recall me hanging half way off a balcony in Portmeirion to get the right angle on it.
Epileptic Gibbon
A photograph of that porthole/round window.
You won't get it.
By hook or by crook, I will.
Orange Alert, orange alert!
Blimey... where did that weather balloon come from?
---
"You never say please. You never say thank you."
"Please don't be an idiot. Thank you."
-- Bayliss and Pembleton
Rebsie
I felt like I'd been swallowed up by a balloon when I found it cost six quid just to get in to the village. It was about that much for a sandwich too.
It just had to be six quid didn't it? Ho bloody ho.
It may be a bugger to play (harp), but indeed a beautiful part in here. I also liked the strings that came in 2/3rds the way through. The chimes at the end fit well, kind of a ghostly escape.
. - Harold
Rebsie
Thanks Harold, I really appreciate you taking a listen!
dreadmon
I've always enjoyed your voice, Rebs - but your evolution is quite stunning, this is just beautiful. The arrangement is quite lovely and well-placed, this is evocative of Kate Bush, very lilting and mysterious in its layout. The lyrics are misty and moving - what great imagery you bring out here! My only crits here are some of the drum levels, they seem to redline a little bit. There is some clipping here and there. Other than that, wow - I always look forward to your uploads here - they are otherworldly and simply engaging.
Rebsie
Well I'm delighted by those lovely compliments Bing, thanks. And any Kate Bush comparison is guaranteed to give me a beaming grin because I love her and grew up trying to force my (much lower) voice to sing like hers. I'm thinking of covering something of hers for my second album, if I can work out how to transpose it down a bit!
paddler
Love the harps - combined with the lyrics about beads of raindrops,elfin-like imagery as if in a forest before a storms about to break.Interesting lyrics - set almost like a frozen moment in time.My only crit - the line 'in from the western sky' - could be timed more like 'in - from the western - sky',but just a nit pik on an otherwise lovely composition
Rebsie
That's exactly as it was, a moment frozen in time. It was a glimpse into something very intense and precise. I should probably have improved the phrasing of that line by adjusting the lyrics to fit better, but I'm not planning to make any more changes to this song now ... this is pretty much the mix that's going on the album.
jiguma
Hard to imagine you were ever in a punk band Rebsie - the story is moving and a little unnerving (in the best of ways). Instrumentation sounds wonderful, as does your voice. Beautiful mix and production - I promise I'll buy the new one ;-) This is in moorlandt territory for me - wonderful!
Mungo - "young but with old eyes" - there has to be a song in that!
Cheers,
Neil
Rebsie
The punk band definitely happened and I expect somebody somewhere has the embarrassing tapes to prove it.
Unnerving is good! I'm glad the darker edge is showing through. It's very much what the song's about.
snakeoil
Beautiful music (i love the harp) and chilling lyrics. Very well done overall. If it were me i'd back down the backing vocals (words in "()"), they run together a bit...but maybe that's what you were going for.
Rebsie
Well yeah ... I kind of wanted the words to layer up and blur together so that you can only pick out one phrase at a time, or have to listen multiple times to follow them all. I think I got the inspiration for that effect from Simon and Garfunkel, as Drakonis says ... they were masters of it. Thanks for your kind words anyway!
Komrade K
... I'm not sure that I can add much to what I said when this track was originally posted but I'll have a go...
I've always really liked this song but going back through the round window and it's Playschool associations, there's a naive innocent quality I love about it, almost as if it were a musical box tune. The bits of detail in the lyrics are fantastic and whilst 'humdrum' they help take the song off into the realms of a gentle yet disturbing English psychedelia...
KK
Rebsie
Martyn, the support you give me behind the scenes is worth a million comments, so I regard this as a bonus! And a very nice one too, thanks. "Gentle yet disturbing English psychedelia" is exactly what I want my music to be.
Jim Bouchard
"(Clustering down from a glowering sky
Crater to crater the trespassers crawl)" is a really nice couplet, but this song is full of great writing. Really great lyrics, and a nice nice arrangement! I like all the little touches.
Rebsie
'Inspiring' is a word I always love to see, because there's no greater compliment for me than to make someone else want to go and create something. I'm really glad you like it!
drakonis
There are little glimmerings of the gorgeous harmonies/timing of Simon Garfunkel, which are beautiful. Love your singing here. The initial drumbeats are sometimes a little too loud and dry (I'd drop it back slightly and add some trailing reverb on it to give it more depth maybe?) The harp is stunning. Thought-provoking lyrics. Good stuff!
ttfn,
Drakonis
This is really something. It reminds me of Loreena Mckennit (Spelled wrong I am sure) or Enya. Very "bard-like". Those are compliments, by the way!
This is just a beautiful, captivating piece. An instant favorite. Thank you!
dwwave
Rebsie,
Though I do not know what it takes to get landed and signed by a record label with the mergers and the few
majors left, this song to me would catch the ear of
anyone with musical taste and appreciation.
Also amazing that you did it all by your self which is
quite a achievement based on the sounds, lyrics, vocals
and sounds. War costs so much, I read in a US newspaper
that our Government has 7 World War One Veterans on the
Military Records who are alive, but that its possible
(they say) a few may have not been acounted for.
This is a top notch music creation. Thanks for posting!
slumbering
I'm not much of a critic and don't have a talent for words enough to do justice to your songs.
Everything about this is pure beauty, the music, lyrics, instruments, and your gorgeous voice.
bronco
Another beautiful one and this one you wrote! Way to go Rebs! Love that first verse. The imagery is fantastic! "Shrapnel beads are raindrops that fall" is one of the most original lines I have heard in quite a while. And you are stretching yourself out to so many instruments now. Onward through the fog as we used to say here in Austin.
guitapick
...of your vocal in the beginning, completely brought me into this piece. The instrumentation is quite stunning. Lyrics tell a beautifully grim story.
Cori Ander
I remember this one well. A very mesmerizing song with beautiful melodies. The composition contains so much meaning. It is original, yet not far-fetched. If you said it was a trad piece I would have believed it with no question.
I see that it has got a few less fortunate votes. Guess people differ a bit the way we listen. Personally I listen to the inner life of a song. If I hear a song like this which is full of potential and appealing mood, and if then it is not perfectly in pitch all the way through, this becomes part of the beauty and charm of the song. Like the wringkles of a loved one's face becomes part of her beauty. It contributes to the live-feel. Music is a living thing, an expression of living peoples feelings. So this doesen't affect my voting negatively (well there is one for production/performance which I give nine, (the rest of them tens), I would have been happy with just one parameter: feel).
kristyjo
Your judicious use of the strings and the harp, your slightly unfocused vocal style, the lyrics, everything. There were a couple of times that it felt 'out of sync' for a moment or two. I think it was the midi drums that 'pulled' it out of square.
This definitely is CD-worthy,Rebsie!
moorlandt
Very enchanting song, Rebsie. It seems to be the week of the 3/4 (or is it 6/8) measure :-) The lyrics are pure poetry... wonderful writing. One little quibble about the vocal recording: whatch out for the too sharp 's'-sound. I'm struggling with the same issue all of the time myself, and haven't found the magical solution yet. Other than that: a delight to listen to...
- Walter
ktb
a warm spring afternoon and I have bill duty, but then again I get to check this out. Very intricate and soothing at the same time. Way cool harp? perfect
craft
Really great lyrics, and a nice nice arrangement! Reminds me Dead Can Dance or Enya... Lovely song!!!
Listen and comment please: http://www.macjams.com/song/29592
jgurner
One of my absolute favorites from you, Rebsie. Can't wait for the forthcoing album.
Feter
what sweet ripples this Harp sound
the melody so wonderfully sang ..
the chareming of all these insteruments
certainly crowned with your elegant
hamronies ..this is one of your sweetest
songs ..so passionates !!
thank you for the gem !!
Scott Carmichael
Here at MJ, we kind of know what to expect from each other,,, we form little mental snapshots of this persons strengths and that ones weaknesses... and these are only impressions, but they are the impressions that are invoked by the artists themselves... anyway there is so much to love about you... If I didn't love your voice.. pure and controlled tones that contrain passion... I would still be so struck by your lyric... your word pictures are wonderful, and provide such a strength to this mesmerising piece... On top of everything, you have your hands skillfuly into all kind of earth instruments... I just love what you do... you are a true musician, with a bit of the minstral/troubadore peeking through
rainfice
a brilliant compostition. great vocal harmonies and use of instrumentation. entirely grand!
apb
.. that overlapping vocal melody style always reminds me
of Scarborough Fair, the Simon & Garfunkel version and of course anyone who grew up in the UK hasn't lived if they've not looked through the Playschool round window ;o)
This is very atmospheric, nice use effectual sounds, beats and lyrics .. the harp with mandolin, guitar strums and strings and the piano make it for me though - and of course the vocals.
Really enjoyed this. I kept hearing a little skiffle beat, like light brushes on a snare to emphasise the swing/to and fro that this has, if I was suggest adding
a wee something.
HOKEY POKEY
Very Nice, the harp is wonderful.
Hokey
stacey
Wow do I love your voice! Nice job on all th instruments also! This is a keeper for sure! Thanks so much for sharing!
LunaTrick
I remember been completely drawn in... and listening to the whole album while staring the window. I'd like to do more rounds.... perhaps a real chaconne or passacaglia at some point. I have failed to mention that there are some lovely lyrical lines here. The river calls... and the raindrops have fallen for months....