Hi Bernie. I know, I'm late to the dance, but I got here yesterday and finally started my fawm'25. I'm trying to play catch up, so if it flits through my head it's going on paper - or computer, whichever is closest. I probably won't be able to do as much listening as I'd like until after March 1st, but as Arnold would say, I'll be Baaaaach! 😄

i would probably be accused of being a trumpster if i pointed out the similarity of dylans verse to the attitudes of the jan 6 protesters. regarding ochs, when i heard cops of the world, i misunderstood it, thinking of the cops as police, not the military...and i turned my hoodlum friends on to it, and it became out anti-police anthem. there was a lot of elvis-style delinquent attitude in those early sixties protesters. none of todays namby pambies would have the guts to sing something like heres to the state of mississippi. instead of ant-authoritarian confrontation, todays protestes are self-righteous conformists who walk the moral high ground without realize their heroes are as corrupt as their villains. we 70's protesters didnt spare johnson our barbs just because he was a democrat, and in that day we knew nixons victory was not due to his "deplorable" constituency, but to our own democrat party that insisted on nominating a sure loser (humphrey) to run against him. trump would never have defeated sanders had sanders been the nominee in 2016. and harris had about as much chance of defeating trump in 2024 as jerry lewis would have had had he challenged rocky marciano for the heavyweight title. america would had never suffered a trump presidency had the democratic nomination not been promised to hillary clinton in 2016,

phil ochs was and remains my songwriting hero. when i was fourteen years old. i knew nothing about politics or social issues. i learned about them from the first three phil ochs albums.i probably would have gone to vietnam were it not for his songs informing me that it was possible to dodge the draft. i knew little about the civil rights movement until hearing songs like heres to the state of mississippi and too many martyrs.i hav been writing protest songs all along and continue to do so...but the protest songs i hear today dont tell me anything i dont already know and are mostly paraphrases of the daily news.i have heard a few, but very few, protest songs with an original slant. and the sentimental view of the mainstream toward such singers as bob dylanin the 60's ignores the fact that if bob dylan had been dinging th times they are a changin at the capitol in 2020, he would have been jailed for inciting an insurrections. Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Thanks for your lovely comments on "Piscina Mirabilis". It's funny how Bohemian Rhapsody is so distinctive that you can evoke it with just a few notes... and yes I was aware when I did it, just thought why not 😆

Thank you for your delightful rhyme
Sorry my response took so much time.
I truly love to play kazoo
And they're super cheap-you should too!

Hey Berni! I hope you're doing well. I will take a deep dive into your music on March. Been super busy in between work, health and writing songs.... Congrats for winning FAWM!

Thank you so much for your kind comments. It really helps!! I'm from The Netherlands originally. I suppose my accent is all over the place because I learn languages by copying words whoever I hear them from. I used to have quite a few Irish friends in the past so I guess that's where I picked up some of their pronunciation.

Thanks for your note. Darci Strutt is my real name. Hope my lyric will bring a smile to others if you play it. I'm assuming this is for casual entertaining and reserve my rights to the lyric if it is otherwise. The double "hard" was me attempting humor. The widow drinks both red and white wine so a different replacement could be "She drinks wine that's dry not sweet" to give it a smoother rhythm.

I admit defeat.

Thank you for your comment. I have updated the liner notes for you.

Hey Berni, thanks for you comments on Cuts like a Knife. I'm probably not the best candidate to put that piece to music, but enjoyed my shopping spree at the "verbal" department store.. I would love someone to put some beats and have at it, but I'm also good as is. Thanks again for stopping by!

Did now!

Thank you very much for your comment on Sharp. Much appreciated !

It was destiny! I swear, the second I read those lyrics I almost sent them over to you! I'm looking forward to your interpretation. See ya later!

Thank you!👏🏼❤️👏🏼 that is truly gorgeous and moving!!!!

Yea!!!!! I am so glad!

I am a Dubliner myself and was born and bred on The Dubliners

Lol "making biscuits" is one of the terms we use to describe the sort of rhythmic kneading action that cat to do on blankets and pillows and people... And yeah, "floof" it's just another way to say "fluff"... We joke about cats being "murder floofs" because they are soft and cute but they have sharp nails and, and when I've got a bunch of cats on me, my boyfriend says that I am "trapped by floofs" (meaning furry animals). Thanks so much for your comments!

Thank you for your comment and for spending your time with my music.

Hi Berni! Thanks for giving my, “Sheep Herder” song a listen.(Murder Ballad Skirmish)
I really appreciate your kind words and comments. Thanks for truly listening.
While this was intended to be just a skirmish, I’ve decided to refine it a bit and then put it on the my next album.

Thanks again!

Oh that’s why I wrote #franglais in Closeted Buddhist to warn Francophones of the flagrant Anglicismes that these absurdist lyrics contain!

I saw your comment on bills song! jake thackeray had lived in my mind forever! he was genius. mike debenham has a touch of him sometimes.

Hi Berni ! Don't Call Me now has it's demo up ! https://write.fawm.org/songs/311100

the last verse of when you were famous was improvised on the spot, never wrote it down, but @moonraccoon kindly trranscribed it in his comment.."I had a dream last night
when I was in the studio
with all my favourite musicians
and we recorded a song
that should've been a hit

"but that is not gonna happen
didn't happen then
and it's not gonna happen now
so I wake up and think about
the days when you were famous" regaring m voice being in better shape than ever and that this more natural sound fits the song. actualy, my voice is a wreck, ive lost a lot of range and tone..so i have to sing more carefully and gently these days. i think this is true of many aging singers. joan baez, for example, once she learned how to deal with her diminished voice, learned how to sing with it and i think her singing on her last record was her best. what is embarrassing is when singers try to sing in old age as they did in youth and the result is terrible. thank you again for all your listening and commenting, i always get some enlightenment form your comments and massive enjoyment and edification from your music.

Berni, I'm sure you're right about the Spanish in Mi Amanecer. But it was a cool challenge to write something in Spanish and I can't wait to hear what Jon does with it.

Thanks for the comment. I have never put any la la las in a song before. It's a pretty good way of getting more song/harmony opportunities for your money!

Thank you kindly for the comment on Song of the Sirens! Glad to hear that you liked it. I wrote the lyrics on Sunday when I woke up before the lady woke 😁 just knew I had to track it.

Hey Berni... thanks for giving my skirmish song a listen. I appreciate the kind words about my vocals. Believe it or not, it's something I'm kind of self conscious about so thank you.

Take care and happy fawning to you!

Thanks for commenting on 'Hannah' - totally made-up story!

latish 70s I played in a rock band - Tectonic Plates and a punk band Skrill.

Thanks for the comment on 'This Is'!

I hear you. Fragmented is a good word for GMH's work, and I like to be there, to have too much structure is to make marching music, not where I want to be.

Thank you on the guitar! I love it! Needs just a bit more work on truss and saddle height, also gotta file the nut just a touch, but then it should be most perfect!

Hi Berni, the pagination question was about the Brewer's dip challenge

Thank you for your kind words!

Thank you for your kind works on "Heroin Bleach." 😄 Not as of yet. Did you want to take a stab at it?

Hi Berni, I'm afraid the book pagination doesn't go that high in my edition. Would you like me to make something up :)

Thanks Bernie for your comments on my song: The tuning is DGDGBD. Cheers Greg

Thanks for your comment on "Why Else Would I Leave You?" I've definitely written more breakup songs than I've had breakups! ;)

the living dead reminded me of all along the watchtower in that you got it all across in three tight verses. i wanted it longer just because i didnt want it to end, not that it needed more. i rewatched night and fog last night, which made your song all the more heart rending.

Thank you so much! You give me such a great idea with spiritual awakening! Who knows if I can write lyrics or if a vocalist or lyricist comes...

I get it mate. I reckon that was the first time I have not put up a lyric, but my system would not let me. I am in motorhome and have changed all my gear around and it wouldn’t all play nicely. Seriously I finaly fixed all my issues 5 minutes ago so it’s good all round now and I can even use the Fawm hosting!

Oh that's exciting re Expectations !

And it’s fixed, lyrics are there now

Yup mate, got some tech difficulties out here on the road! Hopefully will iron them all out soon,. I have the words elsewhere and they will not transfer nicely

Hi Berni, thanks for commenting. Entirely fictional, but I did see someone driving a Triumph stag, and just made up the rest :)

berni- thanks for the comment- try listening to the song again maybe? i realized i didnt upload the demo at first, but now its there, and it plays for me

Once more into the breach! Y'all have a bunch of fun now.
JW

Have a great FAWM, Berni!

there is no healing process for those who have passed through the gates of hell. "abandon all hope, ye who enter therein" reads the sign. once you do that, resignation sets in, the hysterical anxiety of denial subsides, and the mental and spiritual anguish no longer upsets the equilibrium of the body. but nothing is going to get better. each day is a challenge to find something to do to pass the time. writing songs is both an escape and a confrontation. this year i hope to make it something else entirely.

Good to see you back for a nother round. looking forward to the musical tastiness of your humorous wisdom.

Thanks for stopping by my Soundboard, but I'm a bit confused. I posted a comment on the Fawmvision challenge forum post saying that I'm hoping to participate this year, but I didn't have any link in my post (and am not the original poster of the challenge). So I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to? (Maybe you meant that post for someone else?)

Amen Celtic Soul brother

Great to see you back. Have a great FAWM

Now you don't look 71, happy fawming