Lyrics

I wrote a song many moons ago to describe the thought of freedom.

This morn I walked out on my porch to view the new sunrise
It’s rays cut through the mist of night and brightened up the skies.
The coffee smell began to drift out through the door to me.
My breakfast done, I thank my God for letting this day be.
If one would ask what freedom means, I think of my new day
morning time with breakfast coffee, liberty to pray.

I change my clothes, fight traffic jams and start my new work day
My boss wants things I do not like, but do them any way
My check comes in and puts to mind the reason for this chore
I pay my bills take wife and kids out to a sandy shore
If one would ask what freedom means, I think of my employ
The privilege that I have to work, and family times enjoy.

I get back home and settle down to read a brilliant book
it tells of those who gave their all to let this country be
the wars and fights the battles won, negotiations too
It told of warriors on the land, in air, and on the sea.
If one would ask what freedom means, I think of those who fought
what we have now is due to them the country we have wrought.
Let’s thank the fighting force today descendants of the ones
who gave their all, that may live, this is what freedom means.
(taps)

 

Extra! Extra! Read all about it…

I have received notice that Snapshots of Samson is now copyrighted. That makes a total of 24 songs I have finished with copyright. It doesn’t say anything about them being published, but hey, they are done.

 

It’s the simple things

I have been working on the Samson project for some time and was in need of a fulcrum for the grinding mill that Samson would use in the later portions of the story. I had already obtained the box and styrofoam and painted them with three cans of spraypaint. This has been completed for a while, however, the bar to hold while walking around in circles has no connection to the styrofoam and the styrofoam had two large holes that were lined up in the center. A fortunate occurance led me to the solution to the holes – the lid of a Maxwell House Coffee jar fit into it perfectly. I just needed another lid. That was accomplished with the sacrifice of having to drink coffee at work until the container was empty. Now I have two lids properly fitting into the styrofoam and just need to drill and apply a fulcrum. The last detail is to figure how this will attach to the cardboard tubes as they are a little thin. Progress has occurred.

 

Time to celebrate

A bit over a year ago, I started on the project of turning the story of Samson into music.  The written part is now finished.  Yehaa!  I counted and have 94 pages of music.  This now has to be turned into cd form, and then a dvd to supply parts that are not possible for a duet.  As an example, the first song – Manoa’s Song is where the angel appears to Manoa’s wife and informs her that a baby is coming.  The angel then provides instruction as to how they are to raise him and later Manoa requests the angel (he didn’t know at the time) to verify what his wife said.  This was done and them Manoa offers supper to the visitor.  The supper is refused and Manoa instructed to sacrifice to God.  Manoa does so and this visitor enters into the smoke and rises to heaven.  We have a duet and I was left with the wonder of how on earth to get someone into the smoke and rise – especially when there are only two of us.  The answer came to use a back projection screen and put this action on video.  Another piece that will be on video is when Samson threw his donkey’s jawbone on the ground, prayed for water as he was parched from fighting, and water came up out of the jawbone.  A video seemed to be the only way to illustrate this as well.  I couldn’t see any church happy with a spring of water running down their platform.    Lastly, there is the temple collapsing, and how could we set up the pillars and knock them down during the performance?  Again, the video seemed to be the salvation.  My map is partially laid.  The journey begins.

 

Yehaa!

Good news.  Number 13 was just finished.  This leaves one lonely song to be completed for the whole set to be done.  I was thinking about this being a project of over a year duration and now that the close is in sight, the next step is coming to mind.  These songs need to have to be recorded.  If things go well we might get to performance by the end of the year.

I hope.

I have a new found respect for those booklets we had in choir for the Christmas and Easter cantatas.  There are an incredible number of hours required to compile one of them – which I have discovered.

 

 

I have come up short

It is just under 2 hours until a new year and I have to realize my goal of finishing Samson won’t be realized.  Actually, I knew that at the beginning of this month, but I have accepted the fact and now have to enjoy the fact that number 11 is finished.  Yea!  I only have 3 more to do for completion of the music.  Then getting them recorded comes next.

With fewer than 2 hours left in this purchasing year, has everyone picked up their lifetime of 100 watt bulbs.  Wally World is still open for the next hour and earlier in the week, I noted a package of 16 for just under $4.  Imagine, 16 bulbs for less than the mandated fluorescent monstrosity the government is trying to force us to buy.  I told my banker that this evening, and she had not heard of the ban.  I informed her that once the bank closed she had a little time to obtain a supply.  I tried my best this last year and will have to hope that 4 cases will do.   One case a decade should work all right, and by that time, I’ll either be so cranky or not care so it won’t matter.

One last thought on the new “improved” monstrosities  – the congress critter’s name and address is as follows:

Fred Upton

2183 Rayburn House Office Bldg Washington, D.C. 20515

I was considering mailing all of the useless florescent bulbs to this dim-wit to remind him of the havoc he has caused, and hopefully Michigan will see fit to throw him in the dust bin with appropriate room ventilation for an hour and hazard waste precautions he wanted to foist on the rest of us.

btw: he also supported the defunding of the law he sponsored.  Can we say political animal?  Michigan – primary season is coming.  How about someone fresh and responsive to the population?  How about someone to represent the people instead of control them?  Too radical?  How about someone dedicated to the rule of law – that it applies to Washington too?  I’m on thin ice here, I know.  How about someone who will repeal obammacare, stop gold -plated parachutes of congress, put all investments of congress into blind accounts, and send to prison all in congress or bureaucratic office who violate these concepts?  Since I’m on a roll here, how about someone who will reestablish the application of the 10th amendment?  Remove the violation of the 4th and 5th amendments represented by the TSA, and actually profile those who desire destruction of our beloved country?  How about someone who actually will admit that the only school district under control of congress is in DC and it is a utter wasteland.  Until they get their own house in order, they have no business even considering a thought of the school systems in the remainder of the states, let alone the regulation of the same.  I will stop for now and wish you all a Happy New Year with bright incandescent lighting for all and to all a bright light.

 

Another one done!

I have just finished Manoa and Wife – number 10 in the set, and the second in the series.  (I’m not writing them in order, of course.)  This one was Manoa and his wife discussing Samson wanting to go marry a Philistine woman.  “The horror!  We have plenty of girls here, and he goes elsewhere.”  This seemed like the classic tale to put to music.  With a little ham on the side (non-kosher, I know) it should be quite fun to do.

 

Silent Night as I have never heard it previously

From Here.

I am curious about the gloves though.

 

Tired and Happy

I can celebrate that my 7th song is now complete.  That puts the Samson series at half-way.  I wonder if the back half will be like riding down the hill…

 

Yehaa! Another one done.

I just finished number 5 of 14 for the Samson songs. I have one more on the series with Delilah. This was the second – “Playing With the Gift.” It is the interaction where Delilah is trying to figure out the origin of his strength so she can subdue him and get paid handsomely and Samson who is just trying to enjoy himself and wondering how much of his strength is just himself. I took that tact because it occurred to me that according to the story, he had that strength from the womb. The old question – does a fish know it’s wet? I can see Samson not knowing what it was like to be without strength until the shaving incident. That will be between this and the next song.