“Las Luces de Eagle Pass”

[dhanners623]

Another one on the J-35, strung with DR Sunbeams. I’m part of a Facebook songwriting challenge group; we’re given a prompt and then we write a song inspired by it. A couple of weeks ago the prompt was “Eagle.” So here is, “Las Luces de Eagle Pass.” It is still kind of a work in progress. It is based, in part, of my experiences living on the Texas-Mexico border years ago.

This version is short and meant to be somewhat cryptic. A song doesn’t have to explain everything.

A note on the lines in Spanish: Along the border, when bilingual people converse, it is not uncommon for them to switch between English and Spanish and back again, or vice versa. Sometimes, Spanish has the more precise word for something, and sometimes the concept is more clearly expressed in English. In this song, the switch to Spanish is intended to create some tension by putting the listener in an environment where he or she is unfamiliar and has to use contextual clues to figure out what is going on.

I’m sure the guys who wrote “Louie, Louie” were worried about “contextual clues”….

 

[DanvillRob]

4 minutes ago, dhanners623 said:

Another one on the J-35, strung with DR Sunbeams. I’m part of a Facebook songwriting challenge group; we’re given a prompt and then we write a song inspired by it. A couple of weeks ago the prompt was “Eagle.” So here is, “Las Luces de Eagle Pass.” It is still kind of a work in progress. It is based, in part, of my experiences living on the Texas-Mexico border years ago.

This version is short and meant to be somewhat cryptic. A song doesn’t have to explain everything.

A note on the lines in Spanish: Along the border, when bilingual people converse, it is not uncommon for them to switch between English and Spanish and back again, or vice versa. Sometimes, Spanish has the more precise word for something, and sometimes the concept is more clearly expressed in English. In this song, the switch to Spanish is intended to create some tension by putting the listener in an environment where he or she is unfamiliar and has to use contextual clues to figure out what is going on.

I’m sure the guys who wrote “Louie, Louie” were worried about “contextual clues”….

 

CRAP!    That's GOOD!

[AnneS]

Very nice!!

And what is the deal with your upside-down guitar? How do you chord that thing (and why have I never noticed this)!? 🙃

[dhanners623]

39 minutes ago, AnneS said:

Very nice!!

And what is the deal with your upside-down guitar? How do you chord that thing (and why have I never noticed this)!? 🙃

Thanks for the kind words. It’s just the way I taught myself to play years ago. My late brother had an old Stella he left behind when he went to college, and I got a book of guitar chord diagrams from the library and taught myself. The Stella had no pickguard, so being left-handed, I held the guitar in the way that felt natural. Later, I discovered I had the guitar “upside down” (although that is a matter of perspective…) but by then it was too late. I already knew D, A and E and I was on my way.

Not to sound Zen-like or New Agey, but the guitar really doesn’t care how you hold it.