original artwork Mark Reutter [my 'cuz]
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The Band & Our Friends!!
Welcome to the site!
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Hymn 4- A Holy Air is Breathing Round
Here’s a hymn I set to my own new music. It’s from the Christian Science Hymnal 1932 edition, #4.
Words by Abiel Abbot Livermore
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Routine Lyrics: two sets and why….
After I recorded the song ‘Routine’ for my 11:59 CD I rehearsed for a new version on piano. I decided to change up the lyrics and there was one new part in the piano version (on the CD its just me on acoustic guitar and cello).
So the newer lyrics are the one that are posted on the time4thinkers podcast site.
The ‘classic’ lyrics are hence reprinted below.
As for the piano version, it was never recorded but I surely will put in on my next cd because it sounds great.
Routine (Classic lyrics).
I’m trapped inside routine
like a loop in a movie scene
there is motion but I feel dead
Something’s ticking inside my head
Sometimes I feel like I’m a fish inside a bowl
limitations on display
but I’m growing wings and want to fly away
I will be transformed
There’a a light shining on my face
it’s an image of you
your my partner inside this wilderness
we’ll help each other cut through
Sometimes I wondered if we’d ever find our way
and yet we always find some clues
who left them here for us to find? in our curious minds
Something’s torn at the scam- I’m awake in this dream
there’s no walls, just my fears, there’s no death, just my tears
old layers peal back, rusted hinges crack
i can’t find my way- help me find my way
Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever find our way
and yet we always find some clues
who left them here for us to find? in our curious minds?
by Dean Wolfe
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Songwriter’s Diary: On & On (Chile)
On and On by Dean Wolfe Band not mastered.mp3
Here’s a new mostly instrumental song!
I came up with this tune on my Ovation acoustic with a new set of strings on it- hooray! I layed 2 tracks of the main thing- some harmonies, slide geeter (on my standard tuned Profile Tele copy that’s as good as any tele). I use a glass slide glass over my middle finger. Then a few more guitars for expansion, texture and reinforcement…like cement!
Ahh. Wonderful. A very fulfilling and moving session it’s been. Stuff like this can only come from heaven. It reminds me a bit of Zeplin’s Page on the acoustic- what do you think???
I call it On and ON cuz that’s the words that came to me. I guess it’s about infinity and eternity, since the choruses kind of have a 3 part that fits in 4, so it can repeat ad infinitum in a way….and actually- tonight the 33rd Chilean miner was rescued from the depth of the earth! It was moving to watch them unite with their families. I think I should dedicate this song to them: the timing is too obvious! It’s got a celebratory feel to it– hmmm- I’m just channelling it you know- its a vibe in the world right now…And On and on fits too- they can all go on with their lives again- and so can we- in peace more or less…
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Genesis of a Song Series: Long My Way
I’ve re-recorded this song so often because it’s such a good song- and it needs to be heard far and wide someday (there was an original contest-winning one in 1995- with a grunge sound of that day; a version on my Reality CD in 1999- my least fave; then yet another incarnation in 2005 on my 11:59 CD which has world-music influences; there’s a 2009 unreleased version which sounds like a Beck’s version [i'll release it as a rarity some day]; and then this latest inspired version- a demo of which can be heard by clicking at the bottom of this blog entry).
I wasn’t sure about re-recording it this time around- didn’t think it would fit the new version, but surprise surprise- it came in an inspirational moment and fits right in with the americana/ Doobie Bros. feel- maybe some fiddling would be just right for this version too.
It was originally written in London Ontario while I was a chef in Ingersol’s Elmhurst Inn. I got to hear it while on shift on the kitchen radio because I’d entered it in a contest with FM96 and it won 4th runner up- out of 74 entries. I was the only of the top 5 to land there with a bedroom 8 track recording- the rest were professionally done. That gave me the most satisfaction- my song was well enough produced to get on the radio and sound quite good!
Emm Gryner got first place. The prize was studio time and probably some other cash prizes at the local music store John Bellones.
The song is about me as a kid. I was thinking about innocence, energy, fearlessness- qualities youngsters easily express. I grew up in St. Catharines- and lived mostly in an apartment complex, and a townhouse development. There were lots of kids around, and everyday was approached with wide open expectations and curiosity.
This newest version was inspired, and so i went with it. It doesn’t feel like a rehash but a rebirth. (it’s a demo done in my basement studio and not a final version)
L o n g M y W a y
© Dean G Wolfe, circa 1995
intro
Can you see ‘long my way?
Can you see ‘long my way?
pre-chorus 1
Winds begone now;Waves begone now; Fear begone now
Hate begone now, blame begone now, lies begone now
verse 1
You played- the world was your toy, nature was your friend
You grew- more than physically, – the breadth, you took it in
You knew- the sun didn’t always shine, but still it was always there
You pushed-at night you flew like an eagle, your bike was like a torpedo
pre-chorus 2
Winds begone now;Waves begone now; Fear begone now
Hate begone now, blame begone now, lies begone now
Chorus 1
Run. Life’s begun. Every moment is on fire
Fun. Lots of fun. Joys abound in you today.
Leap to your feet, the world is like your trampoline
Sweet it’s so sweet, every moment filled with awe
verse 2
You shared. Your ideas were so free
the interchange was sweet
You dared. Fear didn’t keep you down.
Adventure all the way.
Bridge pt. 2
There are some places you remember, There are some places you forget
There are some faces you remember, There are some faces you forget
Chorus 2
Run. Life’s begun. Every moment is on fire
Fun. Lots of fun. Joys abound in you today.
Leap to your feet, the world is like your trampoline
Sweet it’s so sweet, every moment filled with awe
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Tagged as: dean wolfe, dean wolfe band, emm gryner, songwriter's diary, songwriting
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Songwriter’s Diary: Sanity
This song just fell out of the sky onto me.
I wrote it while I was living in Brampton- some time after I recorded my “11:59″ CD (by the way, no more numbers in the titles of future albums…they’re so impersonal!).
I came up with the idea on an alternate guitar tuning- and need to use a fret capo to get just the right feel for some reason. It’s a kind of bouncy piece.
The lyrics were inspired by the US led invasion of Iraq and the Bush-league’s highly suspect motives. So it’s about OIL. It an OIL song. Another oil song! Who thought i’d write a ‘political’ song. But it’s kind of abstract. There’s a twist on my oil song: it’s not angry, but more thoughtful and healing-centered.
It’s a great tune live. I’ll never forget doing a benefit show at the Tequilla Lounge in Toronto for the non-profit EcoSanity group. Of course, I played the ‘sanity’ up a bit- seemed like a good match, and there is a lyric in the song about the need to ‘heal the broken ground’- so it’s an environmental song too!! Wow, I’m so green, and left leaning!
Anywhoo, there’s a definite Bruce Cockburn-esqueness to it. Gosh: I’m a Canadian Green Lefter Guy through and through!
Oh, and Glen the founder of EcoSanity decided he’d help carry my amp down a steep stairwell and wiped out at the bottom (dropped my amp too- which is loose inside now, but works fine). That’s the last time I let anyone else bear my burdens.
This demo version features an antique accordion i picked up near High Park through Craigslist. The chattering part before the bridge is not going to make the final cut- the song structure had a gap i had to fill (what do we need all that oil for anyhow? to survive…duh). And of course after the more recent apocalyptic oil spill this song is all the more relevant.
It’s not a very romantic song- not a candle-light- hold your girl’s hand- and whisper ‘honey, i love oil…er…you! I meant to say You!! (slap)
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Songwriter’s Diary: Love’s Bigger
A real lesson in lyric writing.
The music as usual came relatively easily- just flowed right out when i picked up a guitar in our holiday cabin rental near Sault Saint Marie.
But the lyrics were torturous. It started off way too clever. A good lesson in being honest when you write.
My wife was a great help encouraging me to dig deeper.
Now it’s a kind of classic sweet western-y themed song, nice and poppy, catchy, and fun live cuz all the harmonies.
This demo tells me that there’s a little too much repetition though. More work on the last choruses- some lyrical variations perhaps- b4 it makes the new album….
The song is about marriage and its’ challenges- in a good way. Written just around our 13th anniversary too.
I didn’t feel like painting a pretty veneer on being a couple. But the work is never for naught. Relationships only get better, or stay great, if you work at ‘em. Don’t fool yerself on that, partner (this love roped me in, this love holds us tight)…
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Songwriter’s Diary: Goldfish
When I played my first ‘comeback gig’ last year at CJ’s cafe in Bronte (Oakville) I swapped my 11:59 CD for Cj’s book of poetry “But Tonight” (she also owns and runs the cafe and is heavily involved in the arts and support organizations for the arts).
I took it home and was impressed. Then the book got shelved for a while.
Recently I got looking through it again, having booked a show at her cafe in November for Josh and I and thought it might be fun to pick a poem and set it to some new music. (I’ve done this in the past with songs like 23rd Floor, Take This World, Haunted Hands by Neil Gardiner- and of course, the original lyricists are always surprised at the musical results)
I found Goldfish. It jumped out at me in fact. And it resonated. “Tending to the real me” refers to her spontaneous creative writing sessions and I too know what it’s like to become so involved in creating that I will not stop to eat or drink for hours at a time while ‘delivering’ the new babies/songs. ( a couple words that my middle boy Ben-4- likes: popcorn and goldfish- both snack items it’s worth noting)
Musical ideas flowed and it has evolved into a beautiful jangly-guitarred production/demo recorded in my home studio that can be heard below.
Three influence musically for me on this: the Byrds, Tom Petty, and the production work of a certain Canadian Ben Mink (K.D. Lang).
I absolutely love the easy going flow of the song- i’m completely endeared to the words and the (pseudo) Rickenbacker 12-string guitar sounds (i played a direct telecaster picking right against the metal bridge). It’s slated for re-recording for an upcoming CD.
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Songwriter’s Diary: “Another Vacation”
I came up with the musical idea for this piece on a family vacation at Manitoulin Island in the extreme hot days of August 2010.
I recorded the idea on my macbook using iMovie. You can’t see, but we’re in a cabin literally right on Lake Manitou- and Nathan is playing with his Lego in the background. Mommy is very patient with our whining children ( a fact of life with 3 little boys) and that explains her off-camera comments.
I almost forgot about this piece. So when I was getting resoundingly positive feedback for New Train Bridge video i posted on YouTube, I found this piece which i imagined kind of as a solo acoustic piece too.
But last night, i had an inspiration to slow the song way down, and put some lyrics to it. I was up late into the night recording this demo. I think production-wise it could use a lot more development- drums and bass, maybe banjo, maybe some female backup singers in the choruses. (it should transpose up a half or whole tone too, as it’s a bit low for my range)
I’m so proud of the lyrics: it represents a huge step forward for me. I was at a CMW hosted workshop a couple weekends ago at Metalworks studios in Mississauga. Ralph Murphy, an accomplished Canadian songwriter of over 4 decades- totally transformed my thoughts on writing successful lyrics: Thanks Ralph! Basically engage your listener, draw them in. Oddly simple concept, but not one I’ve demonstrated so well over the years.
My wife pointed out there is no such lake as ‘Manitoulin Lake’ (I was not a happy camper). It’s Lake Manitou. Just like I can’t call Lake Ontario Ontario Lake. Upon checking a map, I realized that Mindemoya Lake was right next to Manitou Lake, and although i don’t think we actually skipped stones on it, we did drive by it several times, and it fits in the lyrics perfectly! (I dreaded the thought of changing a whole chorus just to rhyme it with ‘Lake Manitou’). Tripple thanks to my in-house editor (thanks Sweetie).
This lake has significance in my family history. My uncle Carl as a teenager worked on treasure island in Mindemoya Lake in his summers. My grandparents lived in Mindemoya in the 50s and 60s- my grandfather having taught in the school there. My mom had just moved out on her own with one of her sisters in St.Catharines- where my grandparents were just before going to Manitoulin Island. My grandma painted a native there (insert picture here soon Dean).
This song will be fun to play live and definitely will be on a future CD.
A n o t h e r V a c a t i o n
(c) Dean G Wolfe, 2010
Feel the breeze in your hair
Four more hours and you’re there
Another vacation
Let your cares drain away
They’ll be fine for a day
Another vacation
Ch
Let’s get alone
Let’s make our world small
Turn off the phone
Don’t take another call
vs. 2 | Get away from the noise
From the buzz and the toys
Another vacation
Worked so hard and so long
Now your life’s in a song
Another vacation
Ch 2 | Let’s be alone
The love that we can make
We’re skipping stones
On Mindemoya Lake
Vs. 3 | just ourselves and the car
Gas tank’s full, goin’ far
Another vacation
Worked so hard and so long
Now your life’s in a song
Another vacation
Ch 3 | Let’s get alone
Let’s make our world small
Turn off the phone
Don’t take another call
Vs. 4 | Feel the breeze in your hair
Four more hours and you’re there
Another vacation
Solo
Ch 4 | Let’s be alone
The love that we can make
We’re skipping stones
On Mindemoya Lake
Vs. 5 | Worked so hard and so long
Now your life’s in a song
Another vacation
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