20 Years

Joanna

Genre: Ballad

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Description

I was listening to some old garageband files today and came across this piece. I made it in 2006. Apparently, I threw a bunch of piano loops up, turned on the microphone, and started to sing. The lyrics and melody are pure improvisation and you can tell this because every once in a while I search for the right note. I obviously had no idea what was coming next, musically.

The lyrics tell the story of a lonely woman who, instead of embracing life by getting over some heartbreak, chooses to spend her life waiting for things to get better. The lyrics could use a good working over and yet I decided to post this as is. It is, after all, what improvisation is all about: Unedited, off the cuff performance with no idea what's coming. This is singing without a net! I managed to figure out what all the lyrics are, and have posted them for you. Enjoy!

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Lyrics

She sits on a park bench
all alone
Waiting
Waiting for her man

She feeds the birds
Sketches in a pad
Watches all the faces moving round and round and round
And yet she waits
For her man
Where has he gone?
Where has he gone?

20 years she sat on a bench
Waiting her life away
20 years
20 years
Have sailed away

Talks to children
Loves the bunnies
Pets each dog that walks on a leash
Chats to mailmen
Wonders slowly
What's happened to her life?

20 years
20 years
Waiting on a bench for no one who will ever come

Does the crossword
Never fails to fill a square
Anywhere
Does anyone
Need a woman
Who can think and speak and get along with
Everyone?
But who's content to wait her life away

20 years
20 years
Will she ever wake one day?

Song Stats

Hits: 1512
Comments: 21
Fans: 14
Plays: 87
Downloads: 38

Uploaded: Jul 30, 2011 - 09:10:45 PM
Last Updated: Oct 07, 2011 - 03:21:27 PM Last Played: May 17, 2013 - 10:58:57 PM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Song Actions

Keywords:

lonely (62), park bench (1), ballad (251), joanna (43), (0)

Comments

MarkHolbrook	MarkHolbrook said 661 days ago (July 31st, 2011)
	Wow... I wish could do this kind of thing... Instant download!!! I love what you did with this! Pure musical and lyrical genius! Check out my latest song called My 911

Joanna	Joanna said 660 days ago (August 1st, 2011)
	MarkHolbrook Wow, thank you, Mark! You just made my day! Check out my latest song called 20 Years

PaulaMunk	PaulaMunk said 661 days ago (July 31st, 2011)
	There are a lot of people like this. Nice improvisation. A performance piece looking for a musical theater production. Thanks. Check out my latest song called Alone at Christmas

Joanna	Joanna said 660 days ago (August 1st, 2011)
	PaulaMunk Thank you, Paula! I hadn't thought of it in terms of musical theater, but you're right it does have a certain theatricality to it. An interesting thought. Check out my latest song called 20 Years

Moviz	Moviz said 660 days ago (July 31st, 2011)
	Artistic spontaneity and much enjoyed..... a lot like watching an old black and white silent film with a running commentary.... not that it isn't colourful Joanna, but you know what I mean, cheers M Check out my latest song called Shine Your Light

Joanna	Joanna said 660 days ago (August 1st, 2011)
	Moviz Thank you, Maurice! I understand what you mean as is evidenced by the fact that I chose a black-and-white photo instead of color. It does have the feel of something reaching into the past. Check out my latest song called 20 Years

Jarvoid

Jarvoid said 660 days ago (July 31st, 2011)

I love the spontaneity.....
(not the spelling though) of improvisation ....this is pretty cool...I especially like the honesty in it at the odd hesitation before the required word or phrase arrives.....damn good ,looking for something new and different ...Found it !!

Jarvo

Check out my latest song called Cripple Creek Revised........By Jarvoid and the Banjo Bedraggled Manic Mandolin Accordion Squeezers

Joanna	Joanna said 660 days ago (August 1st, 2011)
	Jarvoid Thank you, Jarvo! I feel very fortunate that you decided to check this out. Check out my latest song called 20 Years

VicDiesel	VicDiesel said 660 days ago (August 1st, 2011)
	Pretty brilliant even if it was written out beforehand. The voice+piano is perfect for this song. The occasional pause when you look for the right word actually adds to the dram. There are a few notes that I would push into place melodically; ever thought of getting melodyne or such? Check out my latest song called Fourth Candle

Joanna

Joanna said 660 days ago (August 1st, 2011)

VicDiesel
Thank you, Vic! Were I to polish this piece, there hopefully wouldn't be a need for Melodyne. The sour notes were an affect of the improvisation. I simply didn't know what notes were coming next in the backing track. Sometimes, I post improvisational tracks for the fun of the spontaneity. On those occasions I swallow my pride and let the piece stand, warts and all. That doesn't mean I don't feel your pain when the bad notes happen. I cringe as well. Thanks again for your kind words.

Check out my latest song called 20 Years

davisamerica	davisamerica said 658 days ago (August 2nd, 2011)
	absolutely one of the most interesting tracks I have heard in a while. Check out my latest song called 12

Joanna	Joanna said 654 days ago (August 6th, 2011)
	davisamerica Thank you so much! I'm honored. Check out my latest song called 20 Years

Doadars Uncle	Doadars Uncle said 655 days ago (August 6th, 2011)
	Lonely The pic works well. So sad! Nicely done, esp. with singing the melody on the fly! Check out my latest song called Alone (reboot)

Joanna	Joanna said 654 days ago (August 6th, 2011)
	Doaders Uncle Thank you -- improv always has that element of risk but sometimes it works out. It can feel more like luck than skill at times. Check out my latest song called 20 Years

Jockamo	Jockamo said 641 days ago (August 20th, 2011)
	Love this This has a great cabaret feel to it....Wine, a great conversation, small stage and a great singer adding to the ambiance.....This works for me Excellent tune excellent vocals.....Very impressed Check out my latest song called Hellbound

Joanna	Joanna said 630 days ago (August 31st, 2011)
	Jockamo Thank you, Jockamo! I like the idea of a cabaret feel. I guess I've always wanted to do something like that, but never have. Check out my latest song called 20 Years

papag	papag said 631 days ago (August 30th, 2011)
	Park bench This sad tale is well told. I like the way you weave in the time-line. This seems like a Broadway tune to me. Thank you for letting me download :) Check out my latest song called How Can I Know?

Joanna	Joanna said 630 days ago (August 31st, 2011)
	papag Thank you, papag! I'm a big fan of show tunes so I'm thoroughly delighted by your comment! Check out my latest song called 20 Years

Philip18	Philip18 said 602 days ago (September 27th, 2011)
	20 years Well done coming up wit these lyrics as an improvisation. The melody line does drift occasionally, but the song still has that French chanteuse feel to it. Much enjoyed. Check out my latest song called Close to Midnight w/ alackbass, rok41, paul f. page, & KyasheMusic

jibes	jibes said 496 days ago (January 11th, 2012)
	Great I always love your songs and another good'n. Off the cuff, I can relate! Check out my latest song called JESSICA

tmcfate	tmcfate said 144 days ago (December 29th, 2012)
	simple and powerful performance. great story with social import. nice job tim Check out my latest song called Dark Day in December

Fan List

Artist Info

Location: USA

Hi, I'm Joanna (not Jo, that's someone else). Garageband has allowed me to indulge my love for singing beyond concerts in the shower. My favorite part of songwriting is writing the lyrics. This makes sense, of course, because writing is what I d... [see more]

Check out some of my other songs:

Genre Info

A ballad is a story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. It is a rhythmic saga of a past affair, which may be heroic, romantic or satirical, political (affected by the previous three types mentioned, refers to either glorifying the exploits o

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