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Description
Background
If you're keeping up with the story (see my home page and blurb on my previous song 'From Sea To Sky', if not) our 'round the world trip took us through the US, into Canada, back into the US, across to Hawaii, and then down to New Zealand.
This song was inspired by one of those events that only seem happen when you travel; somewhere in North Island of New Zealand we pulled off the road to grab a bite to eat, and saw signs to some 'glow-worm' caves. Having never seen glow-worms before (they're not very common in Yorkshire, after all) we had to take a look, so we paid our ten dollars and were led - by lovely man named George - into a small, damp cave. It turned out to be a truly magical experience as George switched off his torch and left us in total darkness, looking upwards at a million star-like glow-worms shining like - well - a cave of stars.
So this song is about the unexpected in life, but it's also my paean to New Zealand (Aotearoa/Shadowland) - a magical country of mountains, rivers and the bluest lakes, of amazing landscapes and fantastic legends. If you've never been I highly recommend it :-))
The Song
This was meant to be a laid back acoustic strum-along, not a dance anthem! I'd been messing about with that old America song 'Horse With No Name' (shamelessly ripping off the chord progression), but couldn't find a GarageBand loop that had the rhythm I wanted. So, after much head scratching I tried some of the dance beats, and from there the song took on a whole new dimension as I added some synths and came up with a fat, chunky bass line that I love. Not what I was aiming for but satisfying all the same!
p.s It's quite a long track but your patience is rewarded with the Rick Wakeman 'prog-out' at the end :-))
Cheers,
Phil
If you're keeping up with the story (see my home page and blurb on my previous song 'From Sea To Sky', if not) our 'round the world trip took us through the US, into Canada, back into the US, across to Hawaii, and then down to New Zealand.
This song was inspired by one of those events that only seem happen when you travel; somewhere in North Island of New Zealand we pulled off the road to grab a bite to eat, and saw signs to some 'glow-worm' caves. Having never seen glow-worms before (they're not very common in Yorkshire, after all) we had to take a look, so we paid our ten dollars and were led - by lovely man named George - into a small, damp cave. It turned out to be a truly magical experience as George switched off his torch and left us in total darkness, looking upwards at a million star-like glow-worms shining like - well - a cave of stars.
So this song is about the unexpected in life, but it's also my paean to New Zealand (Aotearoa/Shadowland) - a magical country of mountains, rivers and the bluest lakes, of amazing landscapes and fantastic legends. If you've never been I highly recommend it :-))
The Song
This was meant to be a laid back acoustic strum-along, not a dance anthem! I'd been messing about with that old America song 'Horse With No Name' (shamelessly ripping off the chord progression), but couldn't find a GarageBand loop that had the rhythm I wanted. So, after much head scratching I tried some of the dance beats, and from there the song took on a whole new dimension as I added some synths and came up with a fat, chunky bass line that I love. Not what I was aiming for but satisfying all the same!
p.s It's quite a long track but your patience is rewarded with the Rick Wakeman 'prog-out' at the end :-))
Cheers,
Phil
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Lyrics
A Cave Of Stars
(by Phil Dolby ©2007)
So many roads left untravelled
So many nights have been slept away
So many dreams remain unfulfilled
So many days
How many souls will no gather
To see the start of a breaking day
To feel the heat of the shifting sun
And shadows play
(chorus)
We were not looking for a cave of stars
No Universes or Galaxies
Deep underground where the rain cuts scars
And icy water will hide the light and me
So farewell Aotearoa
And goodbye to this Shadowland
To the stories you told us
Of the gods who carved out by hand
Every river and valley
Every mountain of this domain
And the ice that will melt and fill
The bluest lake
(repeat chorus)
(by Phil Dolby ©2007)
So many roads left untravelled
So many nights have been slept away
So many dreams remain unfulfilled
So many days
How many souls will no gather
To see the start of a breaking day
To feel the heat of the shifting sun
And shadows play
(chorus)
We were not looking for a cave of stars
No Universes or Galaxies
Deep underground where the rain cuts scars
And icy water will hide the light and me
So farewell Aotearoa
And goodbye to this Shadowland
To the stories you told us
Of the gods who carved out by hand
Every river and valley
Every mountain of this domain
And the ice that will melt and fill
The bluest lake
(repeat chorus)
cjhoose
I don't much like the 80s-sounding synth that appears near the beginning and periodically throughout the song. the beat does need some... eh... tweaking. parts of it are too loud and it doesnt "flow" at times (what a thing to say about beat huh?)
Your vocals are great, as are the lyrics!
I'd recommend asking biba_nova for remixes/advice...
for *lead* female vocals, ask Arin or onesweetworld to give it a shot... some of the prettiest voices around! fairymagic17 and SlimGirlFat are great with harmonies.