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Song of the Sinking


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Description
The second song I wrote; another jolly tune about water. And despite what the excellent Country John and marvellous rebsie say, my voice is still shit.
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Lyrics
If you give me some money
I'll sing you a song
Do you think that I do this for free?
but you better be fast
cause i'm watching the glass
And the water is rising round me

The captain is drunk
and the crew have all jumped ship
the compass aint working no more.
I'm here on the deck
of this smoldering wreck
I'm looking for signs of a shore

Some people are lucky
some people are not.
Can you gyess which of these I might be?
But don't waste my time
I'm not sure I can swim
and the water's still rising round me

I wish someone knew
where we are, all I know is
I'm not where I wanted to be.
I'm keepig my eyes on the distant horizon
but I can't see nothing but sea

If you give me some money
I'll sing you a song
Do you think that I do this for free?
But you better be fast
get up off your arse
cause the water is rising round me
Song Stats
Hits: 1476
Comments: 15
Fans: 1
Plays: 119
Downloads: 53
Votes: 11
Uploaded: Feb 03, 2005 - 03:38:05 AM
Last Updated: Feb 02, 2005 - 06:35:55 PM Last Played: Oct 19, 2009 - 11:52:27 AM
Song License
Creative Commons License:
Attribution-ShareAlike

Creative Commons

Song Actions
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Hardware:
Cheap electric guitar, nice old Gibson mandolin, out-of-tune violin, G4 iBook, Griffin iMic
Software:
Garageband/Easybeat
Comments
Rebsie said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
Brilliant song
Your songwriting is excellent, as are your mandolin
skills. The song has an authentic British folk style,
musically and lyrically. As for your voice, well, I stand
by my previous comments. OK, your vocals aren't
first rate. But you have a pleasant enough voice and
you're mostly in tune. It will take a while to build up
confidence in it, but when you do it will sound better.
If it's any consolation, I don't much like the sound of
my own voice either. It came as a huge surprise to
me to find that other people liked it.

Vocals notwithstanding, your music is worth sharing
with the world. Keep 'em coming.
Check out my latest song called Amongst The Colours (w/ Luna Trick)
mandolinquent said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
Brilliant song
Thanks rebsie... I'm really chuffed you picked out the songwriting. It's the
third song I've ever written. I wrote the first when I was 19. It was called "I
Want To Be Rich And Famous". It failed to deliver on either count so I gave up
until two weeks ago when I did that last one. I'm thinking of writing a fourth
called "I'm So Sorry Your Penis Is So Petite" about people in SUVs who drive at
50 down our street, but don't wait up.
Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough
Rebsie said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
Brilliant song
You have my sympathy there. I don't think there's any excuse to own an
SUV in this country, unless you live in the middle of Bodmin moor. We
get testosterone-brained business idiots tanking down our road in their
BMWs, which is just as bad. Anyway - I was going to say, if this is only
your third attempt at songwriting then you have even more reason to be
proud of it.
Check out my latest song called Amongst The Colours (w/ Luna Trick)
country john said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
you've got to be kidding . . .

. . . if you think your voice is shit !

i'm telling you straight . . . it's brilliant !
like rebsie said, your songwriting is
first class . . . as is your playing . . .
and your voice fits it perfectly . . . because it's all real !

are you familiar with tom newman ? you remind me
of him and some neil innes/bonzo dog stuff . . .
brilliant bitter sweet folk stories . . .
catastrophe and humour !

my only criticism is we can't hear your voice enough
turn it up a little bit more . . . go on !

safe


Check out my latest song called atom bomb
mandolinquent said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
you've got to be kidding . . .
Ok ok... I'll have to crank it up a bit next time then. Thanks for getting it
though, CJ. Neil Innes, yes... not come across Tom Newman though... I'll trawl
for some of that.
Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough
ChrisSly said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
Keep it coming
Your voice has a nice quality to it. The more you song, the
stronger and more confident it will become. I like the song
writing here, but am not fond of the production. The
vocals are out of synch with each other, the drums seem
to be on their own. The mandolin playing is lovely,
especially that ascending scale, and the bass works well
with the real instruments. I also like the synth string that
comes in at the end (although it's a bit loud). And the out
of tune violin, damn fine.
Check out my latest song called La Valse Final Waltz
mandolinquent said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
Keep it coming
Thanks for kind words... Out of interest, the only way I could get 3/4 drums
in garageband was to write them in easybeat - which limits you to Quicktime
intruments - and export them as an .aiff file. And yes, they really do sound
off. How do you get a decent 3/4 beat? Can anyone program one for me for
this song?

Also I'm having trouble sync-ing stuff. The bass, for instance, is written in
Garageband using what I think's called the pencil tool, but if you listen - even
though it's snapped to the grid - it drifts off the beat. I've noticed this
happening when software intstuments are used against real instruments. Any
idea why this goes on, anyone.

Oh yeah - and the vocals - I recorded them, er, loosely, hoping to give the
impression that I was drunk when I recorded it. Which I was, of course. In my
mind this was sung by Shane McGowan who never misses the opportunity to
miss an entrance by half a beat.
Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough
Tom Atwood said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
Free advice
For what it's worth...think of your voice as something
distinctive, unlike anyone else's, and revel in it. It is what
can make your songs unique. This song--about a
shipwreck--doesn't need a pretty voice.

The way you have things mixed, your voice is lost in a
shipwreck of instruments, strings, mandolin, bass, etc.
Bring the voice out. Maybe just a single voice with
occasional harmonies. And remember that you are telling
a story. Add some expression and some volume and post
it again?

Excellent song. Lovely mandolin.
Check out my latest song called Keep Looking for Jesus (MJRF)
Jim Bouchard said 1740 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
lovely mando
I love the mandolin, it sounds really great and is played well. On the other hand the doubled vocal is a challenge to listen to. If you want to sound drunk, you can do that with only one track. Your voice is okay without doubling. You probably could ditch the drums and not miss much. The mando playing is so right on that it doesn't need the help. Get a cheap tambourine and tap it in time. You might be experiencing some latency that's causing things not to line up.
Check out my latest song called Weather or Not w/awigze
Peter Greenstone said 1739 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
nothing to add
I think everyone here has given you feedback that I'd give. I love the lyrics; witty and ironic. And the music itself is really nice. Just get the levels adjusted so we can hear you. It's a shame GB neglects 3/4 time when it comes to drum loops, but maybe all you need is a simple tambourine and guitar body patting.
Check out my latest song called From Nothing
mandolinquent said 1739 days ago (February 3rd, 2005)
nothing to add
Just gone back to it and listened, changing the voices and obliterating the
drums and you know what? It sounds so much better. Thank-you for your
advice, you voices of experience. Some day when the kids aren't asleep
upstairs I may have a go at re-recording the vocal with a bit more gusto now
I've had my confidence boosted.
Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough
Del said 1738 days ago (February 4th, 2005)
More than a drinking song
Great lyrics: cause i'm watching the glass/
And the water is rising round me. Like an old drinking song, starting with lyrics I've heard many times before, but the twists you give it drive home your changes all the harder. Looking forward to more.
Check out my latest song called The Androgyne
TobinMueller said 1735 days ago (February 8th, 2005)
Solid folk shanty
Solid folk shanty. Very nicely arranged and good writing.
Very solid and even inventive for the genre. But the level is
pretty low and I don't know why you'd want to fade it out
instead of end it like a normal folk tune. Perfect mandolin
playing. Sing out, the honest quality of your voice adds to
the authenticity of the over all effect. Nice tune.
Check out my latest song called Forge A New Life (MJRF)
caroline said 1602 days ago (June 21st, 2005)
i love this -
after hearing the 4th version, i was expecting something very different - don't get me wrong, i think the version with rebs is excellent but this one has an earthy quality that i really like to - thank you for sharing x
Check out my latest song called clink that link mjrf
said 1522 days ago (September 9th, 2005)
cool
Hey M,

this is a very cool tune,
nice playing and I love the sounds
of the instruments. Your voice fits well
with this tune, your voice is not shit.
I agree with Tobin on the fade-out, the
song calls for a different ending, but that is
no big deal. Cool Song.

Cheers
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