When I was a kid, I sang often, just because. My mother would only let me listen to tv and Christian music, so often I sang commercial jingles. One day, a girl who was listening to me, during school, said in a snide way, "Why do you sing so much?" "Because," I said. "It's annoying," she said. I was otherwise a quiet, pious kid, so I stopped singing in front of other people.
I always sang, alone. It was like stealing, like I was doing something I was not suppose to do. But I sang anyway, though I held my voice back, like if I let it out too much I might get in trouble. LOL. Then I met a woman who was a singer, and I felt bad that I had not the experince or the courage to sing with her, to make music with her.
So then, alone one day, I said, I will sing as loud as I want to sing. I will see what my voice is capable of.
I offer this to you now, not because I think I am some great singer, but because, in the words of Shree Dove, "When the core starts to ring, and I start sing, you all know that I ain't no joke."
Blittzen Trapper, Furr
Jeff Buckley, Mojo Pin
Blind Melon, No Rain
Nawal, Musica
Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah (In 3 parts, as my camera only records 3 minutes at a time:)
Nicely done Sir - and a Capella too...
ReplyDeleteNicely done Sir - and a Capella too...
ReplyDeleteMartin,
ReplyDeleteTwice thanks!
Wow- that's beautiful. Hallelujah is a favorite of mine too.
ReplyDeleteHow did we- as a culture- get away from singing I wonder? It feels so good- it's very healing. But not socially acceptable in public at the moment. Good for you for posting this.
Jeff Z,
ReplyDeleteThanks, and2
One of the saddest things about American culture is the lack of music. We are awash in recorded and performed music, but rarely do we sing together, outside of institutional settings. Bars would be a lot more fun, if there were songs people would spontaneously sing together. We would probably be a more cohesive people, too.
"Bars would be a lot more fun, if there were songs people would spontaneously sing together."-WHD
ReplyDeleteWell, there are Karaoke Bars where people do this.
Church-going types still sing hymns far as I know too.
Now, all you gotta do is pick up Guitar and Harmonica, write your own songs and you could be the Bobby Dylan of this generation. :)
RE