30 replies to this topic

[starsailor]

Wrote this and did a quick demo the other day, thought I'd post it up.



Childhood

We carved our love on an oak tree in the woods
That tree lived longer than love ever could
You'd lay beside me on warm summer days
We'd talk a little then we'd run and play
The grass has grown around the place you laid
Silence replaced the laughter we once knew
I still come here where the memories have stayed
I look at our names and the little hearts we drew

And I sit with carvings faded
On an Oak tree gnarled and aged
And I wish we could go back to childhood

I wish we could be back in childhood

I hoped to see the Woman you'd become
The Mother with the Daughter and the Son
Life came along and took all hope away
No chance to see the children run and play
The grass has grown around the place you laid
Silence replaced the laughter we once knew
I still come here where the memories have stayed
I look at our names and the little hearts we drew

And I sit with carvings faded
On an Oak tree gnarled and aged
And I wish we could go back to childhood

I wish we could be back in childhood

By the oak tree where we carved our love in wood


All the Best

Chris

Attached Files

•  Childhood (1).mp3   4.91MB   26 downloads

[carol m]

Excellent song Chris, it's goode to hear you recording again.

[starsailor]

Hi Carol, thanks for having a listen glad you liked it, hope life's treating you well

All the best

Chris

[carol m]

starsailor, on 13 May 2012 - 04:06 AM, said:

hope life's treating you well

Chris

so busy I don't have time to know the answer to that, so I suppose that's a 'Yes' - except time flies so fast I can't keep track of it.

[starsailor]

carol m, on 13 May 2012 - 04:12 AM, said:

so busy I don't have time to know the answer to that, so I suppose that's a 'Yes' - except time flies so fast I can't keep track of it.

Yes is good, hope you're getting some breaks though, are you getting enough time to play your guitar?

[carol m]

eerrrr.....maybe 5 minutes on a good day.

[starsailor]

carol m, on 13 May 2012 - 05:28 AM, said:

eerrrr.....maybe 5 minutes on a good day.

Do you still enjoy it or are you having more fun with your other work, guitar playing's ok but it doesn't pay the bills, I tend to grab the time when I can but mostly play at weekends now as I'm a bit knackered after work and there's too many people here during the week, at the weekends everyone disappears so it's a better time to play.

[carol m]

I don't seem to have an 'after work' - yes I enjoy guitar playing but at the end of each day it's bedtime and I didn't pick up the guitar. From tomorrow, that is going to change....I think I've told myself that quite a few times already.

One problem is that since I had to upgrade my computer, my old audio soundcard interface doesn't work and I haven't got around to buying and setting up a new one. Also, my main digital tweaker isn't compatible either, or at least I can't get it to install.

Also, the DVD I was learning some great ragtime/delta blues from, got trapped in the old computer when it died/fried- I took to it with screwdrivers but the tiny screws wouldn't budge, and then brute force - I got down to the dvd container after bending metal stuff back out of the way, (poor old mac) but I couldn't prize (spelling?) open the casing enclosing the dvd. Do these count as good excuses?

I know these things are not necessary in order to play, but they are things (motivational road blocks) on my 'to do' list that seem more important to fix than practicing. I'm glad this is your topic and you don't mind straying off topic for a quick chat.

[starsailor]

carol m, on 13 May 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

I don't seem to have an 'after work' - yes I enjoy guitar playing but at the end of each day it's bedtime and I didn't pick up the guitar. From tomorrow, that is going to change....I think I've told myself that quite a few times already.

One problem is that since I had to upgrade my computer, my old audio soundcard interface doesn't work and I haven't got around to buying and setting up a new one. Also, my main digital tweaker isn't compatible either, or at least I can't get it to install.

Also, the DVD I was learning some great ragtime/delta blues from, got trapped in the old computer when it died/fried- I took to it with screwdrivers but the tiny screws wouldn't budge, and then brute force - I got down to the dvd container after bending metal stuff back out of the way, (poor old mac) but I couldn't prize (spelling?) open the casing enclosing the dvd. Do these count as good excuses?

I know these things are not necessary in order to play, but they are things (motivational road blocks) on my 'to do' list that seem more important to fix than practicing. I'm glad this is your topic and you don't mind straying off topic for a quick chat.

We're not too far off topic, we're still in the realms of guitar playing and recording I know what you mean about mental roadblocks, things haven't really been the same for me since we moved and the various computers I've had haven't been up to the job, I pretty much stopped when I moved, playing here is like trying to play in the middle of Piccadilly Circus. I got a new computer last year which is the first new one I've had, still have the same soundcard though and it's still all a bit low tech but I'm happy just switching the mic. on and doing it live, it's not perfect but it works for me. You have an interesting approach to computer maintenance, I've felt like doing that to a couple of mine. When I do pick up the guitar I play for hours but then I can go for days without playing it, I think the best way forward for you would be to sort out the tech problem then see what time you have spare for playing. I have my new electric but can't leave it set up so that's another roadblock I have, it's just me being lazy really and I think that's why I prefer acoustics as you can just pick them up and go for it, I don't have set times to play, some days I walk past the guitar others I just pick it up and have a play depends what kind of mood I'm in and who's around, the biggest pain is recording though I tend to grab a chance when no one's around as I'm stuck by the stairs and it gets a bit busy, there's more noise here too, music, video games and just talking, they all affect recording as you know. Hope you can get something sorted Carol, computers are annoying and life doesn't help either, it's far too hectic

[micky mac]

nice song chris i enjoyed that. I feel the same as you after moving chris i moved and even got the dining room to myself for my gear no table or nothing just me and my stuff and most days i either don't feel like playing or am concious of the new neighbours he works shifts in the airport and shes home all day and the walls are paper thin so its kind of of puting when your forcing other people to listen to you playing hopefully it will pass for you and me. and carol i got a dvd stuck in my pc a couple of months ago and used your aproach to remove it (screwdriver) needles to say i got the dvd back but i can't play it on the pc anymore

[carol m]

I feel your pain Micky Mac - when the Mac died, the computer guy said he could get the dvd out but it would cost $70! I told him he was dreaming....I mean, how hard could it be? Well, it's extremely (use adjective of choice) hard.

The old mac now has the area around the keyboard surface bent back but I could not get close enough to the dvd box at all because it's set deep down and inaccessible without undoing the covering by unscrewing the screws - now all burred. I tried getting in from the back but that wasn't possible - i removed the battery ok but hit a metallic brick wall under that.

I knew in my head that the mac was cactus, but it was still a surreal experience to attack it with brute force - and I'd bought a special screwdriver too ($10)! Sometimes, life gets in the way of desperation - it has no sense of rewarding a trier.

And I have to set up the electric guitar each time I play it as well - it shouldn't make a difference, but it does.

[starsailor]

micky mac, on 13 May 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

nice song chris i enjoyed that. I feel the same as you after moving chris i moved and even got the dining room to myself for my gear no table or nothing just me and my stuff and most days i either don't feel like playing or am concious of the new neighbours he works shifts in the airport and shes home all day and the walls are paper thin so its kind of of puting when your forcing other people to listen to you playing hopefully it will pass for you and me. and carol i got a dvd stuck in my pc a couple of months ago and used your aproach to remove it (screwdriver) needles to say i got the dvd back but i can't play it on the pc anymore

Thanks for giving this a listen Micky, I have the dining room but all the furniture's in there too, with the computer and everything it's a bit crowded, the guitars take up a bit of space need to hang some on the wall, we didn't have any close neighbours in the last place, the nearest was across the courtyard but they didn't mind the music and used to join in, I was also lucky to have a little studio so everything could be left set up. Neighbours seem to come and go here as next door was rented same as ours, hope it wasn't me that drove them away lol, the funny thing about this place is that the dining room has those big old sash windows and it's a busy street with loads of people walking by and looking in but I just play in front of the window and use it to overcome my stagefright You're right of course these drawbacks are things we just have to overcome, I'm reasonably happy as it's not a bad place to live.

I think smashing up computers is good therapy Carol and Micky, it's good fun and it shows the computer who's really in charge

[carol m]

starsailor, on 14 May 2012 - 05:45 AM, said:

I think smashing up computers is good therapy Carol and Micky, it's good fun and it shows the computer who's really in charge

True, but at the moment it's Mac 1 Carol Nil. I think I'll have to attack it again - can't let a machine get the better of me. I might have to way-lay some passing muscle - to share the joy of therapeutic machine bashing.

[eddiez152]

Chis,
Nice write and good job on the tune.

All the best
eddie

[starsailor]

carol m, on 14 May 2012 - 09:35 AM, said:

True, but at the moment it's Mac 1 Carol Nil. I think I'll have to attack it again - can't let a machine get the better of me. I might have to way-lay some passing muscle - share the joy of therapeutic machine bashing.

The Apples seem more robust than the standard PC, they're definitely built to last.

[starsailor]

eddiez152, on 14 May 2012 - 10:10 AM, said:

Chis,
Nice write and good job on the tune.

All the best
eddie

Thanks for checking this out Eddie, hope you're well.

All the Best

Chris

[Random Robot]

Really nice lyrics, Good job Chris

[starsailor]

Hi Random, hope you're well, vocal went a bit flat on the second verse so I'll probably do it again, I quite like this one thanks for giving it a listen, appreciated, are you back making music yet ?

All the Best

Chris

[Random Robot]

Wish I could but I can't get this girl off my mind long enough to focus on anything else. I know, it's bad in a good way

[starsailor]

Hi Random, read your Addiction post, being love sick is a bit tough, my Wife and I had to spend a couple of long periods away from each other when we chose to relocate to another part of the country, one of us used to go off and find work and somewhere to live and the other stayed back to keep the money rolling in, it's horrible missing someone that much, we used to write to each other and keep in touch by phone, there are more ways to keep in touch now, sometimes a chat with the object of our desire keeps things on an even keel, I always used other interests as a distraction, it would probably do you good to pick up your guitar and lose yourself in a bit of music, any distraction used to help me put aside the longing to be together, it's always there but doing something else makes it easier to cope with.

Kind Regards

Chris