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My old guitar
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In July 2005 I got my old classical guitar out of the loft to play on one of my songs, re-strung it and was surprised to find it sounded as good as I remembered...
singer songwriter musician uk acoustic guitar cubase reason sheffield bass guitar doncaster al stravinsky voxengo brian delaney
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Touching, funny, serious, award-winning songs about life and love; all penned, played, arranged, sung, recorded and mixed by Al.
So he never existed... not really, as a real person. He made himself up one day in 1969 and lived a dual existence: half of him surviving on dead-end jobs, the other half believing that one day he would write at least one song that the world would remember. Now half of him is dead, and, as with all conjoined twins (without major surgery) that sentences both of them. It would be sad if it wasn't so pathetic. Fairy-tales always end this way... well not always, rarely... and this was rarely a fairy-tale; so there the similarities end: the ending was neither sad nor happy - it just... was. The enigmatic and tragic Jackson C Frank was a hero of his... now he emulates that frail and failed soul. Maybe in 40 years people will still say 'Al who?', much as they do today. That would be both a great epitaph, and a fitting legacy. Below is the page as he inexplicably and hurriedly left it: hot meal still on the table; knife and fork still in place and at the ready; the drink untouched in the bone china cup... ************************************************************* I now have an album: 'The sentence that I serve' available from CD baby. Click on this mini album cover to take you there: INVALID -- CDBABY INVALID INVALID INVALID INVALID for AL STRAVINSKY: The sentence that I serve -- It's on iTunes too, where the whole album or individual tracks can be downloaded in mp3 format: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=216015067 Thanks. I've been a professional musician for 24 years, and over 3000 gigs (I've stopped counting); always working, travelling, trying to make ends meet...nearly...if you could just hold these a minute please...er...thanks: my hands are now free so I can get on with actually (ironically) playing some music at last. I sing and play bass guitar and I play some acoustic/electric guitars also.
Song Info
Genre
Acoustic • Acoustic Folk
Charts
Peak #796
Peak in subgenre #132
Author
Al Stravinsky
Uploaded
December 16, 2005
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.4 MB • 128 kbps • 3:40
Story behind the song
In July 2005 I got my old classical guitar out of the loft to play on one of my songs ('Your Face'), re-strung it and was surprised to find it sounded as good as I remembered. I bought it in 1972, from a friend of mine, with my own money; and it was the first instument I ever owned. It reminded me how it felt to be starting on this musical road: if I hadn't bought it where would I be now? It's all true except the 'peeling varnish, flaking rust' line which I put down to artistic licence. The intro, solo and ending are taken from 'Single Boy' by Blind Willie Mctell, which I learnt from a book by John Pearse, and was the first finger-picking I ever did. It features my first guitar, with a capo at first fret, a single vocal, a few mmms and oohs, and was written and recorded mid November 2005.
Lyrics
Verse 1 Three and thirty years ago I brought home my first guitar; Thought I'd bought my liberty, 9 to 5 was not for me. Played together countless hours, I knew we could be good; Seemed to me my saviour would be this lump of wire and wood. Verse2 Echoed in an empty room at school, practised on the bus; Worked the chords out for myself, bought a book or two to help. Played in my room gazing into clouds 'til it got dark; On summer days we'd share the same game lazing in the park. Chorus 1 I plucked the sun out of the sky And strummed while constellations cartwheeled by; We sang and soon the songs we knew Got better, then we wrote a few - just for me... Solo Chorus 2 I charmed the sun to sink and die, And picked the moon up to the sky; With our songs the world we'd change For better, but look what became - of you and me... Verse 3 About an hour or so ago I found my old guitar Hiding in the dark and dust, peeling varnish, flaking rust. My fingers found the frets, the sound was just like yesterday; Took him down to feel the sun, see the man that I've become. Chorus 3 We stretched the shadows with our cries And picked the moon up to the skies; With our songs the world we'd change For better, now look what became - of you and me Chorus 4 I plucked the sun out of the sky And strummed while constellations cartwheeled by; We sang and soon the songs we knew Got better; can I play a few, just for you?
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