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IF GOD IS LOVE (with alfalpha) by jiguma [Email]
Genre: Acoustic

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 1039
Comments: 38
Votes: 10
Plays: 118
Last Played: Sep 13, 2008 - 03:46:30 AM
Downloads: 46
Fans: 25
Uploaded: Dec 18, 2007 - 03:54:48 AM
Last Updated: Dec 18, 2007 - 06:49:18 PM
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Description:
Alf Solti (alfalpha) did the strings - a fantastic arrangement I thought!

Alf's the one on the left in the black skivvy - aka "the Black Wiggle" :)

I posted this last year, but have since stripped it back (a lot) and totally remastered it. If you liked last year's version, you'll probably enjoy this more, if you didn't hear last year's then I hope you enjoy it ..... if you didn't like it before, then maybe the more "unplugged" nature of this will appeal.

I'd wanted to post a new Christmas song, but time got away from me.

Whatever .... I sincerely hope that everyone at MJ has a safe and happy Christmas, and that 2008 is good to you all!

Cheers,
Neil

Lyrics:
If God Is Love
© Neil Porter 2006

Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day
A day in late December
Jesus was a man of peace they say
That I do remember

I’d like to see a happy Christmas
I’d love to see a peaceful year
To see a safe and happy Christmas
A time of peace and joy and cheer

If I was a man inclined to pray
What would I be saying?
“Peace on earth forever from this day”
That’s what I’d be praying

Will we see a happy Christmas,
Or just another day of tears?
I’d really like to see this Christmas
Bring joy and hope and ease our fears

When I was young they told me “God is love”
And that he came from “up above”
I wonder what he sees up there
Sometimes he doesn’t seem to care

If Jesus Christ returned to earth today
What would he be thinking?
Would he turn his back and walk away?
Watch his land of birth just sinking

If he was coming home this Christmas
If he was coming home this year
Do you think he’d see a happy Christmas?
A time of peace and joy and cheer

Hardware:
Hardware:
Seagull S6 acoustic guitar
Rode NT3 mic
Behringer UB802 mixer/preamp
iMac G4
Alf's keyboard and iBook

Software:
Logic Express and GB2
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INTIMATE &mdash 12/18/07 - 04:17:10 AM
I think the "unplugged"nature is very strong and pleasing,
It emphasizes the fine, classic Jiguma writing style, so well displayed here.
This treatment brings the narrative to the fore and personalizes it, making it the more powerful.
I'm not sure the Christ would be all that pumped with what he'd find this year, but Happy Christmas to you and your coterie in the Sydney-based world of things and up on the Bay.

Cooper

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Beautiful &mdash 12/18/07 - 04:58:29 AM
song Neil, I didn't hear the first version. This is lovely, thought-provoking and a great collaboration.
Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Healthy New Year to you both and your Families.
Cheers
Len

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Nice piece of &mdash 12/18/07 - 08:16:55 AM
song writing and performance.I too love the raw emotion of the unplugged perfromance.Jesus certainly is not smiling down on humanity with all it's 'transgressions'but I praise God He says He postpones His return in the hopes that man will repent from their hellbound ways.That too is my Christmas wish.

Blessings and Happy Holidays,

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tender &mdash 12/18/07 - 08:47:24 AM
wonderful melody - it has a flavor of childlike innocence to it.
excellent build with the sweet and poignant strings coming in on second verse. neil - your vocals make my day. you guys make the most out of a stellar simplicity. gorgeous!
anne

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Hey Anne! &mdash 12/18/07 - 06:46:49 PM
Thanks again for your support this year - I've really learnt a lot about singing listening to you and Marty, and really appreciate your kind comments.

Happy Christmas to you and yours, and here's to a brilliant 2008.

:)
Neil

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Neil &mdash 12/18/07 - 10:56:53 AM
I am one of those who didn't hear the original.

I don't automatically like a song if it's a Christmas song, and I came to this with a skeptical ear. But this song gave me a bit of the chills, and well, that's a good indicator to me of a good song. If it makes me stop, dream, think, cry, feel--it's worth the listen.

Lovely composition, playing, vocals, and sentiment.

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Well done guys! &mdash 12/18/07 - 12:41:43 PM
Nice emotion all around. It makes me wonder if there is such thing as Spiritual evolution...

I love the questions you are asking!

Peace!
Doug

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IF GOD IS LOVE &mdash 12/18/07 - 12:45:01 PM
WOW Neil ..this is gorgious and wonderfull .you just
framed it with your singin its a real beauty the
lyircs ..wonder unplugged my friend ..and a deep bow
to Sir Alf !!

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Great version &mdash 12/18/07 - 12:51:29 PM
I remember this from last year - the vocal melody is really strong. I love this version - very intimate... i love the little stop in the song! Lovely voal, reminds me of The Auteurs quieter moments.

Have a great xmas, neil.

steve

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Authentic &mdash 12/18/07 - 01:24:03 PM
Fabulous, powerful. Intimate, authentic. Ironic without being sneering or presumptuous. The end was too sudden for my first casual listening, but was haunting and severe, in a hard yet poignant way, on my second listen. Excellent.

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I Really &mdash 12/18/07 - 02:18:32 PM
like the way you write-you are a true original.It reminds me of Lennon...unusual phrasing but totally perfect for the song.Nice guitar work,excellent song!

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Thanks... &mdash 12/18/07 - 03:08:58 PM
...for another fine piece of sound/art/poetry, Neil...

...regardless of the world situation (not to make light of it)...please accept my fondest wishes for a wonderful Christmas in your personal world of friends and family.

Bob

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near and warm &mdash 12/18/07 - 04:36:19 PM
Good to hear a such sparse arrangement on this song. Your voice sounds excellent being so up front in the mix.

Good supportive strings creating a calm mood.

Nice picture of you and Alf.
Happy holidays:)

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Very well done Neil &mdash 12/18/07 - 06:33:48 PM
This is a tremendous song full of love and good cheer. Just what the season calls for.

My only question is, what's it like to have Christmas in the middle of the summer. Sounds kind of like a stupid question I know, but since I've never experienced it I can't imagine Christmas without cold weather and snow or ice. I imagine you probably can't fathom Christmas without the summertime heat.

No matter, Thanks for sharing this wonderful Christmas song Neil. Be well my friend and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Ed

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Cheers Ed &mdash 12/18/07 - 06:42:36 PM
We used to have Christmas dinner at the beach until a few years ago when it got too crowded. Now we have a seafood feast (well, prawns, oysters, salads and lots of champagne) in the back yard under a sun shelter. It's usually a "shorts and t-shirts" sort of occasion, with a surf afterwards.

Last hot Christmas dinner we had was in 1986 in San Francisco, heading home from England. From memory it was a middle eastern meal.

Glad you enjoyed our little tune - best wishes to you and yours!
Neil

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unplugged &mdash 12/18/07 - 09:31:39 PM
Is really great. I recall the previous version and I love the intimate nature of this version; hands-down it's a winner. It's not overly pumped, it's close-up and personal, like the questions you're posing. Nice subtle string arrangement totally supports the excellent singing and picking. The song steps out and is shown in it's best light.

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Good questions! &mdash 12/18/07 - 09:37:22 PM
Lovely tune Neil, and great strings. I like the respectful pauses and the stop for emphasis;great touches.
This collection of Homo-Sapien societies often disappoints; violence cultivated by fear-mongering tribal rhetoric. Jesus was all about peace in the face of hellish violence; perhaps hard to imitate, but, given the evidence, a realist after all.
I hope this Christmas finds you at peace surrounded by love. Have a great New Year; a generous soul like you deserves the best life has to offer. You're the best,
Cheers,
Joe

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Good vs Evil &mdash 12/19/07 - 07:23:51 AM
There is Good vs Evil. One of these days all this will change. I don't know if you realize that one of Gods most powerful angels turned against him. Satan knows that one day he will be defeated and his plan is to take as many as he can with him. He will succeed to do this by bringing doubt into the minds of most. This song asks a common question that surfaces quite often. We don't see the full picture of what God has in store for us. God is good. When I heard your song yesterday I didn't want to comment, today I felt impelled to share how I feel.

Wishing you the very best this Christmas season

John

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sweet baby jesus &mdash 12/19/07 - 09:31:59 PM
I have a feeling if he came back there would be some serious spanking going on.

Lovely sparse arrangement. Really breathes between vocals, guitar & the keyboard work. Nice!

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Another one &mdash 12/19/07 - 11:24:14 PM
I must have! I agree I must say At first I thought another christmas song but as the song went on I realized Its true what would jesus think! Jesus did say They will call out jesus jesus but I will tell them I never knew you you workers of recklessness! He also said you will know my followers if you see they have love amongst each other!

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truth &mdash 12/20/07 - 03:43:42 AM
you raise a good point, man... i think people cause a lot of their own problems. and it does make you wonder what God himself thinks.

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Very nice vocal &mdash 12/20/07 - 09:25:53 PM
and a beautiful guitar sound. The lyrics are thought-provoking and eloquent, hypothetical with purpose. I love the string sound in the background. I haven't heard the previous version, but I think this stripped down works very nicely for this song. Very nice work. I hope you and yours enjoy a safe and happy Christmas. Peace.

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nice singin &mdash 12/21/07 - 06:39:16 PM
and hey, nice fingerpicking too.

Very apropo, get one thinkin.

Like that ending.

Way to go.

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gorgeous &mdash 12/22/07 - 04:13:37 PM
Really lovely tone here Neil, the acoustic sounds soooo good the timbre/tone of of it is so fine, would I love a seagull, man.
The overall sound of the song is lovely, something reminds me a bit of The Incredible String Band, in that quirky way, there is a sweet cynical undercurrent that really brings it home.
Really fine song.

I hope you and your family have a peaceful and happy Christmas, and that the new year brings us all hope and an end to the chaos.

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Powerful &mdash 12/23/07 - 06:07:22 AM
Well written and performed song with a powerful question.

Peace
Bill

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and it has come around... &mdash 12/24/07 - 02:29:59 AM
it has been an absolute pleasure to collab w/you Neil...what a ride it has been for Jane & I over the last 12-ish months!

This remix is such an apt 'remix' to an already poignant original, which I think holds it's own merit in the first version- I guess what I'm trying to say is- this is just as good...and just as poignant.

Cheers Neil!

I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to make music with you, both via cyber space, as well as the odd face-to-face 'jam'....

Here's to many more 'face-to-face- jams', as well as the 'cyber' jams!

Cheers to you & Jan,

Merry Xmas!

Best,

Alf & Jane

PS. See you both in Feb for the Cobargo Folk Festival! ;)
I'm going to 'chalk' you on the festival board- HEH!

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Real and intimate &mdash 12/24/07 - 03:43:29 PM
Another miracle of human interaction with the Divine. Bless you for keeping it real.

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Cheers! &mdash 12/24/07 - 10:24:38 PM
Neil and Alf, hope your holiday is spectacular! A very nice track you've got here.

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Beautiful melody &mdash 12/25/07 - 07:59:41 AM
Beautiful recording.
Glorious night.


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Impressed ! &mdash 12/25/07 - 04:40:48 PM
Mr. Neil, i agree with Sir Coop that this "unplugged" version is more stronger and with the amazing work from Dr. Alf it's a classical one for me.

Just so simple, so honest and very Christmas atmosphere .. downloaded and thanks for such a wonderful piece ..

Loved it very much and the lyrics too !

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such a beauty &mdash 12/28/07 - 03:49:16 AM
This is such a beautiful song... and I think your voice really shines on this one. I love so much proximity recording you did. The little pauses really work, and give some kind of fragile feeling to the song (in a good way). Lovely track, Neil. Downloaded...
-Walt

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Alf &mdash 12/28/07 - 03:54:55 AM
...and in my enthousiasm, I forgot to praise Alf's contribution. I know what this guy is capable of (cfr. his remix on my 'somehow' song) and again... it shows. What a super duo.
My best wishes for a splendid new year to both of you and your families!

-Walt

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Very nice strings &mdash 01/01/08 - 08:10:55 PM
I really dig the vibe of this song: airy, easy (great phrasing, Neil) and now that it's simpler than last year's version there's a strong Nick Drake echo in it that's dying to get out.
Very good song.
My only suggestion is to shave the strings down to a single cello.....

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christmas - in january!!! &mdash 01/10/08 - 03:31:20 AM
thank you men - i listened eventually - two talents on one beach - what more could we ask for? big loves to you both xoxoxox

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A late X-mas &mdash 01/14/08 - 02:22:39 PM
Great job Neil. No time, no hear. Hope you did have a Happy Christmas. Not too religious, but from what I know if Jesus wouldn't be such a pessimist if he were to see what was going on. At least I hope not, but what do I know?
Dave

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If God Is Love &mdash 03/14/08 - 11:36:24 AM
oh man, this is beautiful - what a great collab, the strings add a lot, but I LOVE your voice. I heard it in March - a little late for Xmas, but it made me THINK of that season!

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If God is Love &mdash 05/22/08 - 12:22:03 AM
Wonderful Christmas song - great arrangement, beautiful. A touching issue. Peace, Andreas

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Hummm &mdash 05/22/08 - 01:09:03 PM
Deciding that maybe I had missed more, I'm rummaging through your collection, now, Neil! Man, this is another one that went straight to the core, Neil! Alphalfa did a gorgeous job on the strings! And here I was thinking, that you hadn't hung out w/ an orchestra.

Excellent wrting, as always! Great job, Neil! You always amaze me! Macca.

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