32. Edited Scene From An Unknown B Movie.

 

The arrival of Autumn sees the temperatures falling and the days growing shorter. There is a strong possibility I may be spending more time on the couch watching the TV. This weeks musical offering is titled  "Edited Scene from an unknown B movie"

Listen here: https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=4223765

It was one of the many songs I wrote during my college days in Aberystwyth back in the early nineteen eighties. They were very productive songwriting years and I experimented a lot, writing about random topics, and exploring different musical styles.

The song was partly inspired by a favorite early Ealing comedy 'The Greatest Show on Earth' which featured, among others, Peter Sellers and Margaret Rutherford. The film was released in 1957, the year of my entrance into life. I may well be re-watching it one of these cooler darker evenings.

The central story of the movie is of a young couple who inherit a cinema that has seen better days. Together (with a little bit of help from the eccentric characters around them) they revive the cinema. I recommend it.

"The Smallest Show On Earth"

In my scenario (set, of course, in a ninety fifties cinema) a young couple called Billy and Jennifer meet while working there and fall in love. Against the odds, they are married and live happily ever after.

The lyrics talk of movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant, films falling off reels and life on the silver screen. The middle section muses as to how disconnected we have become in our modern age, expressing a longing for simpler times and the hope that love can still get us through.

Musically it is mostly based around the acoustic guitar, electronic piano and bass parts. It was recorded some years ago in the tiny bedroom we had in our church manse in Wales. Yvonne kindly offered up some background vocals. It was meant to be part of a demo tape of songs I had written, (titled 'Not About Goats') but didn't fit well with the others in the collection.

Out of many songs I have written, it is a personal favorite. But it's not a crowd pleaser and not so easy to perform as just a solo piece. It would be great to record it one day in a proper recording studio, but that may well be a pipe dream. I have yet to perform it in front of an audience.

If it is not immediately a hit with you, sit with it a while.
Fill in the blanks and create your own movie.
Maybe it will grow on you :-)

Edited Scene From An Unknown B Movie.
© Adrian J Pratt 1982

Billy, he was looking like one of those dudes in the movies.
Slick black hair and an open neck shirt
Jennifer, she was the debutante dreamer
A pretty while cotton blouse
And a tight pleated skirt

Just like a love scene
From some unknown B movie
She fell in love with him
Just a week ago last Tuesday
And now they were 'in love.'

Billy told Jennifer she looked like Monroe
She once told him he was just like Cary Grant
Held her in his arms,
but not for to long, She had to go.
Just a quick kiss and that meant 'Good Night.'

Just like a love scene
From some unknown B movie
She fell in love with him
Just a week ago last Tuesday
And now they were 'in love.'

So this is life my friend
Life on the silver screen
But in the morning the cameras broke
And the film falls off the reel
And on the cutting room floor
A thousand dreams
are just a series of disjointed scenes

Like an edited scene
From some unknown B movie
We cut away at our dreams
Till there's nothing left to feel
And slowly our life it seems
Becomes a collection of disjointed scenes
Oh no, oh no.

Life goes on outside the cinema walls
The usherette slowly puts on her coat
Billy makes a cup of coffee
Jennifer hangs her coat in the hall
Hey... they got married, after all

Just like a love scene
From some unknown B movie
She fell in love with him
Just two years ago last Tuesday
And they were still 'in love.'

Nobody could take that away. no no
Nobody could take that away, no,no
Nobody could take that away, no,no
Nobody could take that away. NO.
    

31. Hold On (To the things that you believe in)

 

Song here:
https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=4223830

One of the things that impressed me about the life of the late Queen Elizabeth was her tenacity. She held onto her beliefs and convictions no matter what the world around her was doing. Her beliefs gave to her life a sense of meaning that expressed itself through a sense of duty that she maintained until the end came, as it must to us all.

I honestly can't describe myself as a royalist.  Yet her passing has left a deep feeling that something irreplaceable is now over. While having strong reservations about the whole phenomenon of monarchy, I recognize that she pursued her role with tremendous dignity.

She was truly an inspiration to a great many.  As prime ministers and presidents came and went, she remained an influential voice for moderation and common sense.

At the heart of her life appeared to be that crazy little thing we call love. Love for the God in whom she placed her faith. Love for her family. Love for her country. Love for the wider world.

Not that she ever claimed to be perfect. Or never made errors of judgment. Or that every day was wonderful and she lived without regrets.  Everyone of us could say much the same. But I'm not sure all of us could handle the responsibility placed upon her shoulders with quite so much wit and style.

She did appear to have tried to see the good in everyone. And, thanks to Paddington, we now know, she carried a marmalade sandwich in her handbag, and was always ready to share.

Life goes on. And we all have to choose how we live within the beliefs that we hold most important. Yours are not mine and mine are not yours and that is the way it will always be. The future of many aspects of the monarchy are not clear. Things will inevitably change. The same can be said about so many areas of life.

There is a passage in a letter attributed to the apostle Paul, and directed to a church  community in the city of Philippi. It contains the advice "Sisters and brothers, focus your thoughts on things that are true and honorable and just and pure and beautiful and respected. If there is anything that is morally excellent and worthy of praise, focus your thoughts on these things." (Adrian translation)

Not easy advice to truly follow, but well worth aiming at. Such is the inspiration behind this song offering. 'Hold on to the things that you believe in.'

I've shared it a number of occasions over the years. Sometimes it has been received well and folks have taken the time to say thanks. Though usually performed on an acoustic guitar (and on a couple of occasions with a band) this particular version features my Hayman electric guitar. Just something I liked about the tone and feel of it and set it apart from other folksy things I've written.

Times of change create moments for reflection.

Hold On (To the things that you believe in)
© Adrian J Pratt –1983

Hold On, Hold On
Don’t let nobody steal your love away
Hold On, Hold On,
To the love you hold in your heart this day.

People will push you around
People will drag you down
Just because of the things that you believe,
People they won’t understand,
The love you hold in your hand
They’ll turn your truth into dreams.

Hold On, Hold On ,
To the things that you believe in,
Don’t let nobody steal your love away
Hold On, Hold On,
To the love you hold in your heart this day.

Let nobody shatter your dreams
People they don’t always mean
The things that they say.
Just keep your flag flying high,
The truth can never die
And love can win the day,

Hold On, Hold On ,
Just walk in the light till the darkness is gone
Hold On, Hold On ,
Just walk in the light till the darkness is gone
You've just got to hold on

Don't be afraid to stand out of the crowd
Don't let doubt pull you down

Hold On, Hold On ,
To the things that you believe in,
Don’t let nobody steal your love away
Hold On, Hold On,
To the love you hold in your heart this day.

Hold On, Hold On ,
To the things that you believe in,
And don't let nobody steal your love away
Hold On, Hold On,
To the love you hold in your heart this day.

30. "Space Oddity" (Bowie cover)

Trying to cover a David Bowie song is rather like attempting to climb Mount Everest in flip-flops. But in honor of NASA once again heading to the moon, thought I'd share my version of his classic "Space Oddity." This is not a cover version. It is an 'Adrian' version. And I hope somebody out there enjoys it as much as I enjoyed creating it some years back.

Listen here; https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=13771230

"Space Oddity" was first released as a 7-inch single on 11 July 1969. It was also the opening track of his second studio album, David Bowie. It became one of Bowie's signature songs and one of four of his songs to be included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. 

Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the song is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut, and was released during a period of great interest in space flight. The United States' Apollo 11 mission would launch five days later and would become the first manned moon landing another five days after that. Bowie revisited his Major Tom character in the songs "Ashes to Ashes", "Hallo Spaceboy" and possibly the music video for "Blackstar".

"Space Oddity" was Bowie's first single to chart in the UK. It reached the top five on its initial release and received the 1970 Ivor Novello Special Award for Originality. His second album, originally released as David Bowie in the UK, was renamed after the track for its 1972 re-release by RCA Records and became known by this name. In 1975, upon re-release as part of a maxi-single, the song became Bowie's first UK No. 1 single.

In 2013, the song gained renewed popularity following its recording 44 years after Bowie by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who performed the song (with slightly revised lyrics) while aboard the International Space Station, and therefore became the first music video shot in space. In January 2016, the song re-entered singles charts around the world following Bowie's death, which included becoming Bowie's first single to top the French Singles Chart. The song also ranked as third on iTunes on 12 January 2016.

One thing I love about it is that it is a perfect example of a song telling a story, that feels like a movie, and once heard lives forever in your mind! I recall singing it once at an open mic in Ellicott City, MD, when a violinist joined me up front, and took things to a whole new level. Great memory and 'tis a pity nobody captured it on video. Not so much for mt performance, but tat of the violin player jamming along.

To NASA... boldly go. To David Bowie... thanks for the music and rest in peace as this planet continues to resonate with your wonderful compositions.

"Space Oddity" (David Bowie)
Copyright: T.R.O. INC.

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (ten, nine, eight, seven, six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (five, four, three)
Check ignition and may God's love be with you (two, one, liftoff)

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare
"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you...

"Here am I floating in my tin can
Far above the world.
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do"