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The Last Tree Standing by Jim Bouchard [Email]

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 658
Comments: 18
Votes: 7
Plays: 57
Last Played: Nov 22, 2008 - 09:34:08 AM
Downloads: 21
Fans: 14
Uploaded: Mar 17, 2008 - 10:49:21 PM
Last Updated: Mar 17, 2008 - 10:49:21 PM
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Description:
This song is written by Stuart Walker a.k.a. Gumbo and uploaded with his permission. I thought it was really a well written song and recorded it really simply, just playing guitar and singing and then overdubbing another guitar track. It reminds me of the urbanization of America, even though I guess Stu wrote it about Ireland. I guess it's universal.

for more info on Gumbo, since he's not gotten around to putting up much here go HERE, The man's prolific, to say the least!

Lyrics:
there's cattle out lowing there's the last of the frost
and the sun going down on the stubble and the cross
and the shadow falling down out in front of the house
The shadow of the Last Tree Standing

I buried the dream of our house and our land
buried the dream of my children
buried my dreams and the things I'd planned
The shadow of the Last Tree Standing

we worked this field and we worked this hill
we worked the byre and we worked the till
worked til the sun went down all still
and the shadow of the Last Tree Standing

I buried the dream of my neighbours smile
buried the dream of the last long mile
buried the dream of growing a while
The shadow of the Last Tree Standing

Well the revenue came and the revenue went
bills to be paid and the money all spent
food on the table or paying the rent
and the Shadow of the Last Tree Standing

And I dreamt one night of this hillside steep
dreamt of the forest both wide and deep
and the laughter of children jumping the leap
In The shadow of the Last Tree Standing

2007 Sg Walker



Hardware:
Fender Esquire guitar, Peavey Delta Blues amp, mics, computer

Software:
Amadeus 2
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The Last Tree Standing &mdash 03/17/08 - 11:31:58 PM
awesome ;...its alot of john Gorka here ..the
soft strummin and gorgeous singin shine here ..
this is all so wonderfull ...thnx for sharin such
gem !!

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Maybe a woodstock song? &mdash 03/18/08 - 12:46:07 PM
I guess I was thinking this might be a little like John Sebastian's "I Had A Dream". I always liked his unadorned folk performance at the big festival, it seemed rather courageous.

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well &mdash 03/18/08 - 05:13:35 PM
if you address it as Woodstock I will add it

or you wanna let us hear another gem for hat fest ?



[ Reply to This ]
well &mdash 03/18/08 - 05:15:21 PM
if you address it as Woodstock I will add it

or you wanna let us hear another gem for hat fest ?



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Great song &mdash 03/18/08 - 06:36:19 AM
It's easy to see why you'd choose to record this... very beautiful. Simple production serves the song so well.

Lyrically reminiscent of Springsteen and delivered in a vocal style similiar to his and another of my personal favorites, John Eddie... does anyone else know about him?

Jim- a very fine job here... very fine.

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also meant to say... &mdash 03/18/08 - 06:37:43 AM
while reminiscent in style to the aforementioned artists... it's all Jim Bouchard.

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Soothing &mdash 03/18/08 - 07:35:00 AM
and wonderful but deep and meaningful at the same time! Excellent job.

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Last Tree Standing &mdash 03/18/08 - 08:45:44 AM
this is lovely! Thoughtful, evocative, rich, tragic, gorgeous. The musical environment you created here holds the message of this song beautifully. Great job!

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so easy &mdash 03/18/08 - 09:05:33 AM
to get lost in this. Perfect in it's simplicity and elegance. Thanks for posting it here.

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great track Jim... &mdash 03/18/08 - 01:03:19 PM
a lot of feeling in these words and your delivery... A lot of imagery... universal in its meaning. I like it a lot.

cheers

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Thanks, Jim &mdash 03/18/08 - 10:01:42 PM
This is a great song, thanks for bringing my attention to it. Nice work on the guitar tracks; that Esquire sounds great. The vocal is outstanding.
Nicely done,
Cheers,

Joe

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Last Song Standing &mdash 03/19/08 - 12:24:36 AM
I would have thought that Bruce Springsteen sang this if I wasn't looking at the web page. The voice carries so much heart. In all its simplicity, the song is very effective in delivering the poignant story. No one could have sung it better. This is one of the really memorable songs this week with little of flashiness and more of substance and depth.

The guitar layer that you recorded over it really melded with the song. It was seamless.

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Compassion and at the same time resignation &mdash 03/19/08 - 03:20:17 AM
I dig the emotion you express here. I hear compassion, and at the same time the resignation that I think many people share .. here and there ..
Nice rendition, I like the simplicity, not too much instrumentation, just right.
Johannes

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vocal &mdash 03/19/08 - 08:08:37 AM
control is great here......bare..sparse....naked.....u do a great job keeping it together.....great song...great performance....!

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love this &mdash 03/19/08 - 09:43:19 AM
This is beautiful. You sing and play so well. This reminded me of Springsteen also, but I think better actually. You sing great. Kudos to Gumbo for writing such a nice song! Wonderful job!

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Very moving &mdash 03/22/08 - 03:10:15 PM
Lovely vocal, pretty lyric.
Can't really pin it down, but something about the guitar sound makes me uncomfortable - chorus, perhaps?

Nevertheless, lovely sog.

Cheers, Shaky


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good ears! &mdash 03/22/08 - 04:25:34 PM
I think I might have used a modulated delay setting on my Boss DD-20 Gigadelay, which adds a sort of chorus into the delay. I think I'd been listening to Daniel Lanois' "Belladonna" album at the time I recorded this. I don't have a chorus pedal, but occasionally I like that little warble in there and the delay is something I use a lot of the time to add atmosphere. This was pretty much recorded live, though, and the guitar sound sort of is what it is. I sang and played the guitar through my pedal into the amp and this is what came out. A lot of people wouldn't have heard the chorus element in this but you've got a discerning ear, shakey!

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Really like the vocal Jim &mdash 03/28/08 - 09:23:19 PM
A really good vocal on this - up front and full and round - like you're in the same room. I suspect this is the best vocal (both performance and recording) I've heard of yours so far Jim.

Simple structure and not too many chords to confuse things works really well - great production needless to say! Only additional thing I'd be interested to hear is a pedal steel in there somewhere.

Neil

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