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Description
Seven Seas
Words & Music - MRH 1983 to Present
Recorded - MRH 2009, 2010, and 2011
Written about a blind man I met by chance in a sushi bar.
*** Sorry… This is yet another long description. But I think if you take the time to read it, it will distract you from the horrors of my vocals and keyboard skills... and also you might understand a little better why this song means a lot to me.
About the song:
During the early 80's I had a life changing experience at a sushi bar of all places. I had the pleasure to meet an individual that most could call disabled. But during the course of the evening I realized that I was the one who was disabled. I believe the other people that were at the sushi bar that night felt the same after this encounter.
This song came to me about a year after I met him and its been floating around ever since. I feel it is a meager statement about the amazing individual I met that night but with my limited skills it is the best I can offer.
I spent a number of years thinking about and composing this song. I hear it clearly in my mind but I simply am not skilled enough to play or sing what I hear. I'm self taught at this music stuff and as you listen to this it will clearly show. I've tried several times over the years to think of how to play and orchestrate this song and each time I've found my inability to play and sing it to be a road block. Then when Andrew proposed the 2-track challenge I realized it was a perfect fit for this song! Sometimes simpler is better.
So on the evening of February 1st I sat down at my keyboard, put the mic in front of my face and got myself ready. I did two practice takes then hit record and result is what you are listening to now. Now this is shock to me since normally I take 10 or 20 or perhaps a hundred takes to get just one thing right. For some reason all I had to do was think about this guy I met and it just came.
There is 1 piano track played straight through. I left all the timing errors in place and if you listen closely there are a number of key muffs and velocity errors as well. There is one vocal track sung as I played. The only editing that was done was on volume level automation on both the piano track and the vocal track. I coughed twice and didn't think that would go to well in the song! The only EQ done was to remove a little bass from my vocal and to add a little reverb to both the piano and vocal.
*** Stop here if you hate long descriptions *** (Again my apologies).
The story behind the song:
This guy was not a pleasant guy to look at. He was blind from birth and his eyes and eye sockets just looked strange as did his face and forehead. With him was a "to die for" girl, the kind that could have just about any guy she desired. But she couldn't seem to get enough of this guy and not once did her vision sway to the other possibly more handsome male specimens in the restaurant. As the evening went on I learned why.
There are some people in this world that are simply larger than life itself. It doesn't matter what obstacles they encounter, what mountains they are forced to climb, or what limitations they are dealt at birth. They just never seem to fall and failure is simply not a word they understand. We think they are limited and they believe they are gifted.
Each of the few times I've met these "special" people I've come away realizing that I'm not even in the same league with these people. I simply do not deserve to be counted along side of them. I am not worthy.
As this guy was guided in by his stunning girlfriend, everyone stared. First at him, then of course the girl. He was odd looking to say the least. I know I felt pity and I'm sure many others did as well. I know I wondered if the girl was his sister or perhaps just a friend. She could not possibly be "with" him! But not 30 minutes later I felt envy and awe. I'd bet each and everyone seated that night at that sushi bar did too.
This guy had a way of looking at life that made me ashamed of my own perceived inadequacies. To him he had no limitations only gifts. And one of those gifts was his amazing ability to engage everyone he met and treat them into his view of life and the world. The experience was life changing for me. Not a week goes by when I don't find myself facing some challenge and wondering how he would have dealt with it. I try to emulate him but I know I fail terribly.
I know that in my 50+ years to date I have accomplished less than this man had by the time he was seated at the sushi bar at the young old age of 24. That is a depressing thought!
As the evening wound down this guy just before he got up to leave, looked around the sushi bar with his dead eyes alight with life and said something to us that I have never forgotten:
"My friends… I cannot see! I have never seen and I probably will never see. But never feel sorry for me. I know that I have felt and heard more than most of you. I see my lack of sight as a gift. I get to experience things in a way most of you never can. I challenge each and every one of you to open your mind and use all of your senses and truly experience what is around you."
He was 24 when I met him. By that age he had a stunning list of accomplishments only of few of which were:
He finished college at age 19
He earned a doctorate at age 23
He had spent five summers working with other disabled people in many different countries
He could play the violin, the guitar, and the piano
And his goal for his 24th year of life: To "see" the world! I have zero doubts that he achieved this!
I stayed in touch with him for a few months but as he began his travels I lost track of him. This was the very early ages of the cell phone, internet and email. They simply were not common place yet. One night I had him and his girlfriend over for a drink and I handed him my Gibson Les Paul and he handed me back another dose of awe and envy. He tuned it in about 5 seconds by ear then began to play. And he could really play and he sung better than I could with a lifetime of training.
I wish often that I still had him in my life. Internet searches don't reveal him or his whereabouts. It is strange… almost like some visiting alien life saw the phenomenon that he was and decided to take him for themselves. I miss him for the positive energy that he radiated.
Without a doubt this meager song doesn't even touch on how amazing this individual was but it is all I have to remember him by.
Words & Music - MRH 1983 to Present
Recorded - MRH 2009, 2010, and 2011
Written about a blind man I met by chance in a sushi bar.
*** Sorry… This is yet another long description. But I think if you take the time to read it, it will distract you from the horrors of my vocals and keyboard skills... and also you might understand a little better why this song means a lot to me.
About the song:
During the early 80's I had a life changing experience at a sushi bar of all places. I had the pleasure to meet an individual that most could call disabled. But during the course of the evening I realized that I was the one who was disabled. I believe the other people that were at the sushi bar that night felt the same after this encounter.
This song came to me about a year after I met him and its been floating around ever since. I feel it is a meager statement about the amazing individual I met that night but with my limited skills it is the best I can offer.
I spent a number of years thinking about and composing this song. I hear it clearly in my mind but I simply am not skilled enough to play or sing what I hear. I'm self taught at this music stuff and as you listen to this it will clearly show. I've tried several times over the years to think of how to play and orchestrate this song and each time I've found my inability to play and sing it to be a road block. Then when Andrew proposed the 2-track challenge I realized it was a perfect fit for this song! Sometimes simpler is better.
So on the evening of February 1st I sat down at my keyboard, put the mic in front of my face and got myself ready. I did two practice takes then hit record and result is what you are listening to now. Now this is shock to me since normally I take 10 or 20 or perhaps a hundred takes to get just one thing right. For some reason all I had to do was think about this guy I met and it just came.
There is 1 piano track played straight through. I left all the timing errors in place and if you listen closely there are a number of key muffs and velocity errors as well. There is one vocal track sung as I played. The only editing that was done was on volume level automation on both the piano track and the vocal track. I coughed twice and didn't think that would go to well in the song! The only EQ done was to remove a little bass from my vocal and to add a little reverb to both the piano and vocal.
*** Stop here if you hate long descriptions *** (Again my apologies).
The story behind the song:
This guy was not a pleasant guy to look at. He was blind from birth and his eyes and eye sockets just looked strange as did his face and forehead. With him was a "to die for" girl, the kind that could have just about any guy she desired. But she couldn't seem to get enough of this guy and not once did her vision sway to the other possibly more handsome male specimens in the restaurant. As the evening went on I learned why.
There are some people in this world that are simply larger than life itself. It doesn't matter what obstacles they encounter, what mountains they are forced to climb, or what limitations they are dealt at birth. They just never seem to fall and failure is simply not a word they understand. We think they are limited and they believe they are gifted.
Each of the few times I've met these "special" people I've come away realizing that I'm not even in the same league with these people. I simply do not deserve to be counted along side of them. I am not worthy.
As this guy was guided in by his stunning girlfriend, everyone stared. First at him, then of course the girl. He was odd looking to say the least. I know I felt pity and I'm sure many others did as well. I know I wondered if the girl was his sister or perhaps just a friend. She could not possibly be "with" him! But not 30 minutes later I felt envy and awe. I'd bet each and everyone seated that night at that sushi bar did too.
This guy had a way of looking at life that made me ashamed of my own perceived inadequacies. To him he had no limitations only gifts. And one of those gifts was his amazing ability to engage everyone he met and treat them into his view of life and the world. The experience was life changing for me. Not a week goes by when I don't find myself facing some challenge and wondering how he would have dealt with it. I try to emulate him but I know I fail terribly.
I know that in my 50+ years to date I have accomplished less than this man had by the time he was seated at the sushi bar at the young old age of 24. That is a depressing thought!
As the evening wound down this guy just before he got up to leave, looked around the sushi bar with his dead eyes alight with life and said something to us that I have never forgotten:
"My friends… I cannot see! I have never seen and I probably will never see. But never feel sorry for me. I know that I have felt and heard more than most of you. I see my lack of sight as a gift. I get to experience things in a way most of you never can. I challenge each and every one of you to open your mind and use all of your senses and truly experience what is around you."
He was 24 when I met him. By that age he had a stunning list of accomplishments only of few of which were:
He finished college at age 19
He earned a doctorate at age 23
He had spent five summers working with other disabled people in many different countries
He could play the violin, the guitar, and the piano
And his goal for his 24th year of life: To "see" the world! I have zero doubts that he achieved this!
I stayed in touch with him for a few months but as he began his travels I lost track of him. This was the very early ages of the cell phone, internet and email. They simply were not common place yet. One night I had him and his girlfriend over for a drink and I handed him my Gibson Les Paul and he handed me back another dose of awe and envy. He tuned it in about 5 seconds by ear then began to play. And he could really play and he sung better than I could with a lifetime of training.
I wish often that I still had him in my life. Internet searches don't reveal him or his whereabouts. It is strange… almost like some visiting alien life saw the phenomenon that he was and decided to take him for themselves. I miss him for the positive energy that he radiated.
Without a doubt this meager song doesn't even touch on how amazing this individual was but it is all I have to remember him by.
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Lyrics
Take me round the world my Darlin' to all the seven seas
Let me feel the salty mist blowin' in the breeze
And let me touch the lighting towers
That warn the ships away
To keep them off the rocks
on those very dreary days
Take me round the world my Darlin' to the highest mountains known
Let me breathe the thin clean air through my nose
And let me walk the glacial flows
That shape the valley land
And teach us so much
about history's sweeping hand
Take me round the world my Darlin' to the deepest canyon floors
Let me hear the echos of our voices as we go
And let me hear the towering falls
The water rumbling down
The mist cascades from the face
and blankets all the sound
Take me round the world my Darlin' to the Egyptian Nile
Let me feel the massive stones that entombed with such style
And let me kneel before
the endless sea of sand
and feel its searing heat as
it sifts through my hands
Let me feel the salty mist blowin' in the breeze
And let me touch the lighting towers
That warn the ships away
To keep them off the rocks
on those very dreary days
Take me round the world my Darlin' to the highest mountains known
Let me breathe the thin clean air through my nose
And let me walk the glacial flows
That shape the valley land
And teach us so much
about history's sweeping hand
Take me round the world my Darlin' to the deepest canyon floors
Let me hear the echos of our voices as we go
And let me hear the towering falls
The water rumbling down
The mist cascades from the face
and blankets all the sound
Take me round the world my Darlin' to the Egyptian Nile
Let me feel the massive stones that entombed with such style
And let me kneel before
the endless sea of sand
and feel its searing heat as
it sifts through my hands
magnatone
ooh mark, this is wonderful!! your piano playing sounds just great as do the vocals. what a fascinating story and ooh .... very cool way to end this. wow mark .... i'm mega impressed! 2 things you need to do more of here: 1) PLAY PIANO and 2) SING !!!!! thanks for this gift!