Buc McMaster Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 I've always had an interest in the American Civil War, an almost unimaginable conflagration of brother on brother. In particular the Battle of Gettysburg stands apart as, on the Confederate side, an action of lunacy. Lee sending Picket into the heart of the Union position on day three was perhaps the biggest tactical blunder of the 19th century. However, before that on day two a Union general noticed that their southern flank, marked by two small hills, was undefended and a rebel attack there could destroy the entire Federal position. Assuming orders that were meant for another, Gen. Strong Vincent hurriedly marched four regiments to the northern most of the hills, Little Round Top. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain commanded the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment and took up position on the left flank of Vincent's position and was ordered to hold at all cost........the Federal left flank must not be turned. Two regiments from Alabama, the 15th and the 47th, boiled up Little Round Top four times and were four times turned back by the 20th. But now the Federals are nearly out of ammunition and will not stand another charge. And so, as the Alabama boys regrouped for another run up the hill, Chamberlain ordered "Fix bayonets!" and the men poured down the hill, surprising and overrunning the rebels. The 20th Maine held. A few days ago I started thinking of trying to write a song about this bloody encounter and last night, well.......more like 1am this morning......I sat down and scratched out a verse and a couple lines of a second. Slept on it and this morning I set about finishing.........and this is what I came up with. It is in a primitive style, meant to reflect perhaps the sound of a soldier's song during the war. There's a wart here and there..........please excuse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFyWpARzLlY EDIT: This is the final lyric rewrite.......I think. Other videos removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Love late night inspirations. Good that you got this one down and birthed. "Froze where they lay" thought provoking lyric. Good ballad . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwalker201 Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Very well written song Buc. Fantastic job as always Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 Thanks, guys! As is my way, a couple of words have been rearranged in a spot or two but the story is the same. And Dan, it is true that the 20th Maine was one of several regiments pinned down on Marye's Heights before the rebel guns at Fredericksburg. There were 34 killed from the 20th, and they were left on the field for a day and night.......confederate artillery and rifles raked the approach mercilessly.......and the bodies did freeze in the mid-December temps. The Civil War was horrific. Thank you for watching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 real nice Buc... you seem to be able to write songs at will.... I have to wait for some sort of chemical or divine interaction... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 real nice Buc... you seem to be able to write songs at will.... Yeah. Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Excellent lyrics. Hope the melody is deserving. I'm the Poster Child of Wrtiters Block. In awe of folks who can create art. Good Job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 I am in awe. The 3/4 time is perfect and fitting. It works so well. The Bird sounds warm, deep, wide. The vocals are well you know. Effing good. The lyrics - same. Dont ever sell that guitar. Unless to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Yeah i totally agree Great job , I've had writers block for 44 years now . Fair play to ya buc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Bravo! QM aka Jazzman Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 The Bird sounds warm, deep, wide. Thanks, Sal......much appreciated. And I agree, the guitar does sound quite nice choked up on the second for this tune. I actually prefer the sound of this guitar capo-ed anywhere between the second and the fifth. I fumbled a pick stroke in a few places but I let them slide.....I'm all about the lyric and melody when I write.......the guitar is secondary to the process. A good friend has nearly convinced me to take a few of these tunes to the studio for a proper recording.......and I'm thinking hard on that.....but what would I do with the result? I'm never going to be a breakout singer/songwriter at my age. Just seems like musical masturbation to make a studio recording for no specific purpose....... Anyway, sincere thanks to you folks for listening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Very, very good song, Buc. I really enjoyed it. One thing I noted, though, was that the rythm of the melody might go well with an increased tempo. I caught myself thinking I wanted to hear the song performed faster. Just a very humble suggestion. As for the idea of a studio session, good art always deserves to be presented at its best, no matter the size of the audience. Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 ......the rythm of the melody might go well with an increased tempo. Thanks for the kind words, Lars! Faster? There are phrases here that are hard enough to enunciate at the slow tempo (something I'm tweaking still). I actually am thinking a few bpm slower than this would be better.........it is after all a sad story of men in deadly combat, almost a dirge in feeling. Thanks for listening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Thanks for the kind words, Lars! Faster? There are phrases here that are hard enough to enunciate at the slow tempo (something I'm tweaking still). I actually am thinking a few bpm slower than this would be better.........it is after all a sad story of men in deadly combat, almost a dirge in feeling. Thanks for listening! It was something about the rythm of the melody that made me feel an increased tempo. I do understand the sombre nature of the topic, and I don't mean you should turn it into an uptempo song by any means. If you should ever try increasing the tempo a bit, please post that version too. I would very much like to hear it (and any coming studio version, whatever the bpm!) Fantastic song! Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdd707 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 What can I say that hasn't been said. Thanks for the history lesson. Alas, being from Alabama, it was a story I knew. I can' tell you how much I look forward to your posting of songs ..... keep 'em coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Alas, being from Alabama, it was a story I knew. Well I figured this lyric would have to hit home with someone on the forum! The lyric is accurate to the event. My condolences for the whuppin' your men took that day, and then the destruction they endured the next day. And thanks to you for listening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 A good friend has nearly convinced me to take a few of these tunes to the studio for a proper recording.......and I'm thinking hard on that.....but what would I do with the result? I'm never going to be a breakout singer/songwriter at my age. Just seems like musical masturbation to make a studio recording for no specific purpose....... Buc, that was really nice. I love the way you thought out the "primitive" 3/4 time with the holdover vocals as timely to the period. Brilliant. As for the recording, I believe as writers, we have a need to write, and the writings have a need to be read/heard. In the past this meant printing a book, or releasing a record / c.d. Now, just recently, YouTube, Soundcloud and these free hosting sites allow us to publish works Worldwide from our homes in literally minutes. The reason I started putting videos up was because I, just by chance, goggled a guys name I gigged with many decades ago only to (in shock) pull up his obituary. He had a few videos on Myspace and I realized there was barely any record of my 50 some odd copyrights should I die THAT DAY..... A studio production is a great thing, I'm proud of the cd I did with a Rock Band many years ago and have contemplated some acoustic projects as well. I love listening to Larry's project come together, and if you decide to go that route I wish you the very best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 .....just by chance, googled a guys name I gigged with many decades ago only to (in shock) pull up his obituary. I discovered the same of the guy that taught me a lot in the early days and that I jammed with for years.........an online obit, run over by a car on a freeway access road. Sadder still, I know exactly why he was at that particular place despite not having seen him for years. Life is so short and full of unexpected turns. Thanks for the kind words, Murph. I am beginning to think some of these songs do need a better treatment than I can muster alone. There has been some rewriting of the lyric in a few spots for simplicity's sake and vocal phrasing. A BIG tip of the hat to Anne for her help in getting past a particularly troublesome phrase that was keeping me up nights! Thanks, Anne! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneS Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I discovered the same of the guy that taught me a lot in the early days and that I jammed with for years.........an online obit, run over by a car on a freeway access road. Sadder still, I know exactly why he was at that particular place despite not having seen him for years. Life is so short and full of unexpected turns. Thanks for the kind words, Murph. I am beginning to think some of these songs do need a better treatment than I can muster alone. There has been some rewriting of the lyric in a few spots for simplicity's sake and vocal phrasing. A BIG tip of the hat to Anne for her help in getting past a particularly troublesome phrase that was keeping me up nights! Thanks, Anne! My honor, Buc--looking forward to the next iteration. And re a studio endeavor: I also don't expect to make it big (or little, for that matter), but I found the studio experience to have been deeply enriching on a number of levels. So much so that I'm planning to go in to record three more in the near future. What will I "do" with them? Who knows, but now, as more songs come to me and as I re-visit older songs, I hear things differently. That's a bit vague, I know, but having a "go to" studio, where I know I'm taking my material seriously, seems to elevate my whole process, not to mention my enjoyment. For me, it's only partly about getting a good, solid recording---it's also about honoring the thing that inspires me in the first place. Not so much about self-pleasure then () as about self-respect. And, for me, gratitude for the whole enterprise, really. Lookee--two more cents from me! Anyway, carry on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 27, 2016 Author Share Posted August 27, 2016 There were a few troublesome phrases in the original lyric that needed fixing........think I got them fixed in the new video above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted August 27, 2016 Author Share Posted August 27, 2016 .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Very impressive song - love the lyrics. And yes, you may need an outro, or the studio can just fade to black. [thumbup] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwalker201 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Buc, nothing else to say but Impressive and Brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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