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The Song of The Sinking Woman (Rebsie's SOS) by mandolinquent [Email]

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SONG STATS:
Hits: 2259
Comments: 41
Votes: 25
Plays: 348
Last Played: Sep 17, 2008 - 02:31:24 PM
Downloads: 101
Fans: 17
Uploaded: Apr 24, 2005 - 05:03:00 PM
Last Updated: Apr 24, 2005 - 01:44:50 PM
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Description:
The wonderful Rebsie kindly helped me refit The Song Of The Sinking Man - sending files and sage advice from Cheltenham.

Atwood1956 contributed a piece of keyboard playing that originally was launched in his beautiful collaboration with kcsaito.

Stevel manned the lifeboats with some stratocaster work.

The sound at the end of the song is a genuine SOS sent out by MS Prinsenberg in 1980 after its radio had failed. The transcription reads - apparently; SOS Engine room on fire. Fire extinguishers empty. Help Urgent.

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 smouldering wreck
I'm looking for signs of a shore

Some people are lucky
some people are not.
Can you gu ess 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

Hardware:
Stevel's stratocasters.
atwood1965's synth
A Gibson mandolin
My rubbish electric guitar
A penny whistle
A bodhran

Software:
GB 1.1
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Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! &mdash 04/24/05 - 11:29:29 AM
I didn't hear either of the earlier versions of this track
(shame on me, I know) but I've heard this one so
better late than never, I suppose. Great song, nice
lyrics, wonderful vocals, strong musicianship. I'm
impressed! My only criticisms (sorry) are 1. Is it me or
are the vocals a bit out of synch with the music
towards the end? 2. I think the bodhran (great though
it is) could do with being a bit lower in the mix as it
"drowns out" (no pun intended) Rebsie's lovely vocals
just a tad. Great work though, you two!

[ Reply to This ]
Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! &mdash 04/24/05 - 11:48:30 AM
Ah; thanks muchly for that. You're not the first to mention that about the
bodhran. I think the levels on my cheap headphones are deceptive. I'll re-do
them.

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Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! &mdash 04/25/05 - 04:42:52 AM
Again... thanks. Done a remix with those good points in mind and we'll post
that at a later date; thanks for the constructive criticism.

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Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! &mdash 04/27/05 - 11:42:30 AM
I'm glad my comments were useful to you. I began to wonder if it was
just me or if I'd been a bit overly negative but as long as you took them
as constructive criticisms (which is how they were intended) then job's a
good 'un!

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Lovely folk song &mdash 04/24/05 - 11:36:41 AM
The production sounds very nice indeed...you have added
a lot to the last version I heard. Cool sound effects at the
beginning. Rebsie's vocals are lovely. Well done! It was fun
to collaborate - I'll have to do this more...
S

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Lovely folk song &mdash 04/24/05 - 11:54:34 AM
Stevel... thanks so much for what you did to the track. Your playing really lifts
it up. More collabs please.

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Lovely, spooky tune &mdash 04/24/05 - 12:41:02 PM
What I like about this is the laid back vocals while all hell
is breaking loose. Gives this piece a calm, nightmarish
quality. Something does seem slightly out of sync toward
the end. My guess is that it has to do with mixing all the
collaborative elements in a way that holds together.

Thanks for letting be part of the sinking ship...

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Lovely, spooky tune &mdash 04/25/05 - 01:46:53 PM
Tom... sorry it was just such a small part. But thanks being so willing.

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Beautiful &mdash 04/24/05 - 01:06:42 PM
A beautiful piece, a pleasure to listen to. It's downloaded
and will soon find it's way onto my iPod.

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Beautiful &mdash 04/28/05 - 03:37:48 PM
Many thanks, macapa. Your comments are always great to hear...

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nice &mdash 04/24/05 - 08:15:28 PM
gotta love some pure folk. very smooth, lyrical, kind
of a perfect example of the genre. thank you.

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Strange and alluring &mdash 04/25/05 - 02:07:13 AM
This song is quite odd
like an over ripe cod
but I dare say it tickles my ears
all the sounds you implore
make it less than a bore
but something is a little bit queer
but I'll leave it alone
and walk all the way home
'cross the pond to the apple pie land
and when I'm inside
I will regale all with pride
with The Song of the Sinking Woman





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Strange and alluring &mdash 04/25/05 - 03:56:28 AM
Your rhyme is devine
Thanks for taking the time
To comment on this song of mine,
About ambitions sunken
And drinks that are drunken
And it sound slike you've had some yourself...
(Please try "Cakeless" as well,
It's a story I tell
Of a girl who's been left on the shelf)





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I love it! &mdash 04/25/05 - 03:27:35 AM
This collaboration was a delight to work on and I love
the finished song. You are a very talented songwriter,
Mando, and an impressive multi-instrumentalist. I
think you've done an amazing job of combining all
those different instruments. Thank you so much for
letting me be a part of this. If you want to do any
more collabs I'm certainly up for it!

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Very nice! &mdash 04/25/05 - 11:09:49 AM
For some reason, I hear faint echos of David Bowie's
"Major Tom" in this... nice haunting piece, well paced. I
like the various sound effects at the beginning, but the
shortwave SOS at the end was a little too loud and
distracted from Rebsie's humming... also, it is not obvious
(to much of your audience) what that sound is, other than
possibly a distorted Minke whale :-) I would have liked a
softer, cleaner-sounding morse-code fading in and out at
the end while Rebsie's humming fades and increases in
echo... making sure its pitch doesn't interfere with the
song. Rebsie's singing has her usual delicious longing to
it (I did hear a bit of the above-mentioned lag though).
Great playing on the whistle and strings... great folksy
feel... also reminds me of a long-forgotten Al Stewart
song I used to listen to... grr, what was it called? Overall,
a very nice song, well-written lyrics. I'm heavily critiquing
it because I like it a lot and would love to hear an even
better version (though you're all probably quite done with
it for awhile now!) :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

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Great Folk &mdash 04/25/05 - 01:42:09 PM
Fine job on this all around.
I would agree with the suggestions on bringing the vox
'forward' a bit in the mix, syncronizing the vocals at the
end.
Like the use of sound effects. Very well done!

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Great Folk &mdash 04/28/05 - 04:43:19 PM
It will be done, Mystified. We're working on it. Thanks.

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Bodrahn? &mdash 04/25/05 - 04:21:48 PM
Okay, I admit it. Even with my encyclopedic knowledge of
folk music I had no idea what a bodrahn was and had to
do a google to find out. To me it seems the strings that
are drowning out the vocal somewhat. Rebsie has a
delicate, plaintive voice and needs to be mixed way
upfront to get the best effect. Of course since you know
who this is you know I am the worst mixer in the world so
you can ignore all of the above. I liked it a lot. Very
creative use of sound effects at the start. Rebsie has a
lovely voice. Actually I've liked all the versions of this.
Nothing like a true song to hit home. I just to go fishing a
lot in the Gulf of Mexico in a small boat so I know what
it's like to look around you and see nothing but ocean.

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Bodrahn? &mdash 04/25/05 - 07:18:11 PM
Yep. You're right, bronco. Thanks for not letting me off the hook easily. We're
planning a remix doing what you, drak, and Epileptic Gibbon have suggested.
I'm going to have to lower all the levels a bit to let Rebsie's voice sit a bit
higher as she's at top volume...

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Beautiful &mdash 04/25/05 - 05:00:27 PM
Playing and singing fits this song's genre well. I can
almost smell the salt in the air.

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Beautiful &mdash 04/26/05 - 02:12:14 PM
Grinning... thanks.

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Cinematic &mdash 04/26/05 - 10:28:56 AM
I felt like I was watching a movie, and was surprised in the
end that it was just a song. You evoke wonderful images.

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strings &mdash 04/26/05 - 02:04:07 PM
of my heart....love that mando sound......this tune sends
me back to ancient celtic worlds......and i'm not even
celtic......hehhehheh.......lovely vocals and composition...

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nice one folks . . . &mdash 04/26/05 - 02:19:52 PM
. . . i can't get tired of this song . . .
. . . and seemingly, you can't either ! . . . ; )
nice vocals rebsie . . .
. . . and great playing from the rest of the crew !
i love the way this song has progressed . . .
the addition of the intro, solos and outro are fantastic !

well done to all of you !

safe

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nice one folks . . . &mdash 04/27/05 - 03:48:49 AM
CJ... so good to have you aboard. I'm missing new CJ material badly. Just
listened to your Chibbums and Woosberries. Excellent playing! You should be
on this recording... Can we do something together?

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nice one folks . . . &mdash 04/27/05 - 05:07:04 AM
I'm delighted to see you back too, CJ. We miss your weird psychedelic
masterpieces.

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Wonderful new version &mdash 04/26/05 - 05:04:18 PM
I was a big fan of the previous versions too. I really like
the new long intro and all the little touches you added to
this. Rebsie's singing is really nice but a bit hard to hear
at times. Great to hear some of my favorite MacJammers
collaborating.

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Loved it &mdash 04/27/05 - 02:11:42 AM
I didn't have the problems some of the others had once I
put on my headphones. As always, I'm a huge fan of
Rebsie's vocals, and mando's storytelling. What a sweet
combination!

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Awsome song &mdash 04/27/05 - 03:18:30 PM
I like this a lot, to me, very strong vocals, very good
harmony's. The production is also very clean and solid.
The potential out-of-synch vocals does not bother me a
bit, one of thus days. In fact, don't clean this song up too
much is my suggestion, sometimes it's best as is! Great
work, I am going to listen to more of your music for
sure...

Mikki

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Wonderful Collab &mdash 04/29/05 - 05:37:04 AM
I enjoyed the vocals and most of the instruments. I was
distracted (listening on headphones) by loudness of the
synth-string section accompaniment when it comes in (it's
a nice dramatic touch though), moreso than the morse
fade (which stirs memories for me as an ex-navy
cryptologist) .
I look forward to hearing the remix.

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Wonderful Collab &mdash 04/29/05 - 03:48:18 PM
Ex navy cryptologist? Good gosh. Thanks for the feedback, Mungo.

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Cool! &mdash 04/29/05 - 03:06:37 PM
Fresh.

Contemporary vision.

Lost at sea! I love it!

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lovin' it. &mdash 05/01/05 - 07:24:47 AM
Excellent production! I could easily see this on a Celtic CD
compilation somewhere. The SOS at the end brings some
reality to the song where the lyrics are nearly ridiculous-
almost made me cry.


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I love these folksongs &mdash 05/07/05 - 10:06:43 AM
I really do, they have so much power, I get the same goosebumps I got from good Rocksongs. Allthough I don't like the strings in it, it's the only thing about it I'm not wild about (but I'm really not a strings lover)

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Beautiful &mdash 05/10/05 - 04:37:14 AM
Green with envy - have just found MacJams and it feels like the world has suddenly expanded! an inspiration.

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Beautiful &mdash 05/10/05 - 08:48:57 AM
Welcome to Macjams. And thanks.

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ooooh &mdash 05/16/05 - 09:28:31 AM
lovely harmonies rebsie. gorgeous mandolin mando.
sweet tune. well done :-)

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ooooh &mdash 05/21/05 - 02:21:28 AM
Hairy Breath! Thanks a lot.


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thoughts from the bull... &mdash 05/19/05 - 07:06:32 PM
holy crap this is amazing!

jeez! and it just gets better and better. wow. sorry, don't
mean to inflate ego's, but this is just wonderful all over
the place. every corner of the song is pure music to the
brain.

i need a pint. immediately (hic)

you are all truly blessed and gifted! well done!

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thoughts from the bull... &mdash 05/21/05 - 02:53:26 AM
Hey Boris. Thank-you. I'm a big fan of you're writing, so I'm very flattered by
that.

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great &mdash 02/10/07 - 07:55:14 PM
The overall effect is stunning. The vocals are empyreal. I especially like the strings. This is much more than the sum of its incredible contributions. Awesome collab

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