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  • Hand at My Back

    Hand at My Back

    The wind blew hard
    o’re tree and stone
    I walked into the storm
    The sky a bruise before me
    The barley laying prone
    Rows of gold
    crushed in the cold
    Its song a bitter moan

    Pushing straight through
    The endless drone
    I wrestled with my thoughts
    The path once laid before me
    Snows long had overblown
    My knees came down
    on frozen ground
    But I was not alone

    I felt your
    hand at my back
    Like the warmth of the sun
    It felt just like midsummer
    as my strength was done
    You brought me fire
    When I was barely embers
    Now my whole soul remembers
    To what it can aspire
    With your hand
    at my back.

    The crystal spires
    Were overgrown
    I brought about the scythe
    The glinting blade before me
    Against the winter throne
    Algific rite
    Welcomed the blight.
    I reaped what they had sown.
    Beneath still stars
    The curse was shown
    I advanced as I watched
    The silent host before me
    Began to move and groan
    Without remorse
    Knowing the source
    Like barley they were mown.

    I felt your
    hand at my back
    Like the warmth of the sun
    It felt just like midsummer
    as my strength was done
    You brought me fire
    When I was barely embers
    Now my whole soul remembers
    To what it can aspire
    With your hand
    at my back.

    I soon came to
    ‘Mid gelid bone
    I sang prayers old and new
    Rimy dead piled here before me
    With no way to atone
    Their sightless eyes
    Answered the skies.
    As green aurora shone

    I felt your
    hand at my back
    Like the warmth of the sun
    It felt just like midsummer
    as my strength was done
    You brought me fire
    When I was barely embers
    Now my whole soul remembers
    To what it can aspire
    With your hand
    At my back

    ——–

    FAWM26 NOTES
    This is a song about realizing who’s there for you, and knowing that they’re there for you, with you, even when you think that you’re alone.

    You can always draw on the strength of people who love you.

    This song is about an adventurer who has to take care of a blight of bitter cold. She’s alone, but when she falters, she’s given strength from those who are far away from her, allowing her to carry on, do the work, and start back home.

    It was initially inspired by a moment I had recently when my best friend literally had a hand on my back during an intense (in a good way) moment. The feeling of his huge hand giving me stability has been something I’ve continued to feel, long after that moment passed. I’ve always known that hand was there, but I’ve not had cause to think of it so literally before.

    It’s also partly dedicated to my D&D group, who are currently on a freezing island hoping to save the world and not die in the process. So that setting was on my mind – the epic fields swept with snow, the places where there’s nothing but trickery and desperation. And as long as one of us is there, we’re all there. Characters develop interesting relationships, and one of our group has been traveling for work, and I really miss his character (and him too, of course!) My husband is our game master, and I know that I have his hand at my back too – both in and out of game.

    #electronic #electropop #nerdfolk

    I wanted to start it with a nod to some of the fantasy epic prog rock songs, so the little acoustic guitar riff seemed perfect. Ultimately, I wanted it to be more modern, because that’s how it felt it wanted to be. It’s all done in LogicX with a mix of stock loop bits and a little hand played midi.

  • The Clock in the Hall is Always Running

    The Clock in the Hall is Always Running

    Tick tok
    The clock
    In the hall
    Is always running
    Its been
    Unlocked
    Because it
    Isn’t running
    Time is long
    But isn’t very cunning
    So she waits
    And she waits
    Sometimes I hear
    I hear her humming

    She walked a million miles
    Pacing through halls
    Going through the years
    Watching all the stars
    As they came and went
    She passed
    Passed throught all the memories
    Forgotten memories
    I know
    Inknow
    What it’s like to be forgotten
    Memories
    I know
    I know
    What it’s like to be
    Forgotten

    Tick tok
    The clock
    In the hall
    Is always running
    Its been
    Unlocked
    Because it
    Isn’t running
    Time is long
    But isn’t very cunning
    So she waits
    And she waits
    Sometimes I hear
    I hear her humming

    She lived here
    When everything was grand
    When the beach in front of the manor had sand
    She walked an alligator on a chain
    And she danced and made love in the rain
    But now
    She’s stuck here
    Going nowhere
    Nowhere
    But I know a thing or two
    About going
    going nowhere
    I know
    going nowhere
    Too

    Tick tok
    The clock
    In the hall
    Is always running
    Its been
    Unlocked
    Because it
    Isn’t running
    Time is long
    But isn’t very cunning
    So she waits
    And she waits
    Sometimes I hear
    I hear her humming

    Liner Notes

    So I’m super late to this skirmish since I only saw it tonight, but it inspired this song, the song that is number 14. The theme was supernatural, and I started thinking about the ghosts in houses in New England (where I live) and what that must be like, how tedious, really, when they probably had exciting lives (to some degree at least) before they were trapped being ghosts. So this song is about that.

    I like this demo more than I expected. I may refine lyrics on a future pass, and tighten up the verses, though I kind of like their musing quality…like what you say when nobody can hear you.

    #songskirmish, #SuperSkirmish, #022623F, #Supernatural 

    “THEME/TITLE: SUPERNATURAL
    Use in the title, or lyric or any way you interpret the word – witch, ghost, psychic, superpowers, esoteric, occult…” 

    It’s made with loops and snippets from the Garageband library and a handful of effects.

  • Into the Woods We Follow

    Into the Woods We Follow

    The king’s man took into the wood
    to catch some coneys, fleet and good
    He caught a flicker in his eye
    as flash of gold went bounding by.
    It was a stag with antlers tall,
    surely the lord of wood stags all.
    He left his hounds in thicket green
    Catch this creature he had seen

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    for to catch him with the bolt and bow.
    With a hey hei watch him fly
    as the lord of the wood we follow.

    The king’s Lady on her palfrey white
    went a-riding in the sunshine bright.
    when came a sound upon the trail
    as doe of silver past did sail.
    To see the doe made her heart bloom
    and so she took off through the broom
    to touch with her own gentle hand
    this hind most lovely in the land.

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    to see the hart in the summer’s glow.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as through the wood we follow.

    Into a clearing verdant green
    the golden stag ran, clearly seen.
    The silver doe met his stride
    as the Lady and king’s man did ride
    The king’s man poised to bring them down
    as gift to serve before the crown.
    The Lady saw his bolt on high
    and galloped ‘ere where the bold would fly

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    though the hunt we now forgo.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as into the wood we follow.

    The lady’s hands rushed to her breast
    where now the bolt did redly rest.
    The yoman looked where the Lady fell
    amid the leaves of mossy dell,
    The golden hind did lift her head,
    and then his sliver lady lead
    the bold young hunter unto her side
    to pull the bolt ere lady die.

    With a hey ho to the wood we go
    to find them in a thicket low.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as into the wood we follow.

    Though it broke his heart in two
    He tore the wounding arrow through.
    as the Lady weakly swooned
    The doe’s kiss staunched the bleeding wound
    With queen, yet living, in his arms,
    the king’s man fled the clearing’s charms.
    At the charger’s side the palfrey ran
    from this kingdom not of man.

    With a hey ho to the wood we go to
    the realm of stag and merry doe.
    With a hey hei watch them fly
    as into the wood we follow.

    As the noble stag walked with his mate
    In the greeny wood with a steady gait
    The sun sank down and the bright moon shone
    And the clearing was once more alone.

     

    Liner Notes

    #harp #acoustic #folk #medieval #fantasy

    This is an old set of lyrics that needed work, as it was written as an exhaustively long ballad. I rediscovered them earlier in February, and I realized that with some editing, I could have a nice little “trad” folk song that would be good around a fire some cold evening.

    There’s a little mystical sense – the stag and his doe are clearly supernatural creatures — and the story has a happier ending than it could have. I’ve enjoyed spending time with this piece, setting it, and then making a more workable song from it.

    That greeny wood is a good place, especially in the bitter winter.

  • Moonfalling

    Moonfalling

    He says I love you in reflected sunlight
    When the evening / arrives so brightly
    In ebbs and flows he is calling
    The rhythm of love in the tides is a Moonfalling

    He watched with one eye
    As the world was growing
    Observed the islands
    In their fire exploding
    A being of time
    And reflecting dust
    Covets the vast water
    With a gentle lust

    The day that he saw
    Her dark, dancing form
    He would ever follow her
    Whether still or storm
    She broke through the waves
    Of the shining deep
    Her spray shone like the stars
    And Made him feel complete

    He says I love you in reflected sunlight
    When the evening / arrives so brightly
    In ebbs and flows he is calling
    The rhythm of love in the tides is a Moonfalling

    Her vast graceful form
    Caught his brilliant gaze
    Now he searches for her
    In the storm’s thick haze
    Their great grey eyes met
    Only once by chance
    Now the dark waters pull
    In a steady slow dance

    Those strong rolling tides
    Are his songs of love
    Drawn from a stony heart
    Set vast leagues above
    Her echoes in the earth
    So far down below
    Ripple out for miles
    Beneath his silvery glow

    He says I love you in reflected sunlight
    When the evening arrives so bright
    In ebbs and flows he is calling
    The rhythm of love in the tides is a Moonfalling

    Two souls bound as if by tether
    Both sending glitter to the aether
    One lost in pale starlight
    One lost in plankton bright
    This love so very rare
    A love that reaches everywhere…
    Whether there’s an atmosphere
    Love reaches everywhere…
    Whether there’s an atmosphere
    Love can reach you everywhere…
    Whether there’s an atmosphere
    Love can reach you everywhere…

    He says I love you in reflected sunlight
    When the evening arrives so bright
    In ebbs and flows he is calling
    The rhythm of love in the tides is a Moonfalling
    The rhythm of love in the tides is a Moonfalling

     

    Liner Notes

    A friend of mine posted on Twitter a long time ago this statement, “If Moonfall isn’t about The Man In The Moon falling in love with a Humpback Whale and using his control of the tides to express affection, I ain’t watching it.”

    I’ve wanted to write this song for ages, and now I finally have. About 70% of the lyrics were complete a week ago (it’s the 28th now) and I had an idea for the tune. Fortunately, I had these beautiful loops of soft guitar by Hamood that nearly perfectly matched my vision for this piece

    https://www.looperman.com/loops?mid=hamood
    looperman-l-0893366-0245028-cm-nylon-guitar.7
    looperman-l-0893366-0245028-cm-nylon-guitar.10

    The sea sounds and chimes are both straight from garageband loops.

  • Tinderbox

    Tinderbox

    My self-control
    is hanging by a thread
    Replaced by something
    demanding to be fed
    I feel the connection
    That we make when we touch
    I don’t know what I’m doing
    But I know
    That I’m not
    thinking much

    Out all night prowling in the dark
    Yea I’m breaking in, I’m picking locks
    I can tell you’ve really left a mark
    Baby every fire needs a spark
    Is it arson when I know that you’re a tinderbox?

    You look so sharp
    you could be made of knives
    I’m like like a cat
    using all its lives
    I burn like convection
    Your radiance is hot
    I don’t know what I’m doing
    But I know
    that I can’t
    hold a thought.

    Out all night prowling in the dark
    Yea I’m breaking in, I’m picking locks
    I can tell you’ve really left a mark
    Baby every fire needs a spark
    Is it arson when I know that you’re a tinderbox?

    You sublimate
    Me directly to steam
    That scalding glance
    I saw in a dream
    Your gaze a dissection
    When you meet my eyes
    I don’t know what I’m doing
    But I know
    That it’s not
    A surprise.

    Out all night prowling in the dark
    Yea I’m breaking in, I’m picking locks
    I can tell you’ve really left a mark
    Baby every fire needs a spark
    Is it arson when I know that you’re a tinderbox?
    Is it arson when I know that you’re a tinderbox?

     

    Liner Notes

    #rock #badboys #electronic #fire

    UPDATE: I re-did it.

    I cut out the center double chorus because it didn’t move anything forward. I redid the lyrics, dumped the placeholder guitar solo thing, and added a big drum piece in its place. Added a backup vocal to the end of the chorus to give it a little more sparkle.

    Still not sure I’m sold on the fuzzy amp vocal effect, but it may be that I’m not skilled at adjusting it. Eh, it’s ok.

    Revised demo above; original link provided below.
    ***
    This one hit quickly, based on a few lines that I sang into the phone while on vacation. I am not super happy with the demo, so I’ll probably redo it in March. 😉

    Original demo: https://mbouchard.com/FAWM/tinderbox-demo.mp3

  • The Snow Is Stars Around Us

    The Snow Is Stars Around Us

    Low clouds fumble the rain.
    Low clouds fumble the rain.

    Lo see there –
    The snow is stars around us
    Is bones
    Is hearts
    Around us

    Does this space
    Does this space
    Where the stars don’t exist
    Does this space
    Does it bring you
    Bliss?

    As the clouds fumble the rain.

    Low clouds fumble the rain
    The snow is stars around us,
    Is bones,
    Is hearts,
    Does it bring you?

    Liner Notes

    #ambient #spoken_word #fusion #expansive #space #electronic #vocal

    This poem was one that I sang last week into my phone, except it was basically completely different. It’s engineered in Garageband using midi instruments I played and layered effects through. It’s gone much more “wall of sound” than I anticipated, given that it started out spooky, acoustic, and delicate.

    I’m always amazed at where some of these things go sometimes – they seem almost independent.

    It didn’t go anywhere near where I expected it to either, becoming this echoing, swirling thing that could very well be my FAWM end title this year.

  • Never Give It Up

    Never Give It Up

     

    Never give it up for the girls
    You’re just a thing like diamonds, emeralds, pearls
    When their perfume and all their coyness round you swirls
    You’ll just be waiting for the end as it unfurls
    You never give it up for the girls

    Never give it up for the boys
    Don’t give in to satisfy their petty joys
    They’ll only see you then as one of their toys
    You’ll be waiting while they’re following the noise
    Never give it up for the boys

    Why do we do what we do when we do the things that we do to each other
    Why do we do what we do when we do the things that we do to with a lover
    Why do we do all the things that we do
    Why do we do what we do

    Never give it up for the one
    It’s just a story told, an old tale spun
    Ever-after can look so fun
    Until the book is closed and the verse is done
    Never give it up for the one

    Why do we do what we do when we do what we do to the one?

    Liner Notes

    #AntiLoveSong #Vocal #Bass #jazz #Noir

    This came to me in a moment of need, since I had a vacation that was rescheduled and I knew that I wouldn’t make my FAWM goal this year. This kind of bitter little thing came in at the end to give me another one.

    I’ll take it, even if the mix is pretty messy, a #demo is a demo, especially at this point in the game.

  • What’ll you do tomorrow?

    What’ll you do tomorrow?

     

    What’ll you do tomorrow?
    What’ll you do tonight?
    What’ll you do tomorrow
    to make things right?
    I don’t know.

    I know I’ve got tomorrow
    I know I’ve got tonight
    I know I’ve got you with me
    And everything is gonna be alright

    The thing about tomorrow
    Is that it comes so fast
    How can I know what happens tomorrow
    Is going to last?
    I don’t know

    Will you be there tomorrow?
    Or is tonight our past?
    I can’t worry ‘bout tomorrow
    If the die is already cast….

    I’m afraid
    As the bells start to ring
    I won’t know anymore
    Anything
    I’m afraid
    You will go
    And after that
    There’s no point
    In tomorrow.

    Maybe it will be alright.
    Maybe I’ll wake and the sun
    Will be there shining bright and
    You’ll be
    here beside me.

    What’ll you do tomorrow?
    What I’ll do tonight?
    What will we do tomorrow
    To make things, make things right?

    I don’t know
    But I’ve got tomorrow…

    We know we’ve got tomorrow
    So let’s make up tonight
    And maybe our tomorrows
    Will be alright.

     

    Liner Notes

    #Lovesong #Musical #UntunedPiano #Vocals #StageProduction #Hope #Acoustic #Cheerful #off-off-broadway

    This came really quickly today, as I played around on the piano we keep thinking of giving away, because we never tune it (you will be able to tell. If you have perfect pitch, this is not the piece for you my friend.)

    The lyrics “what will you do tomorrow” were in my head as I played the main chords. As I wrote tonight, I had to remember that not every song has to be deep and meaningful — sometimes it’s just a person who has left their lover in bed and walks to the center of the stage where the spotlight is bright and they sing about uncertainty and vulnerability and hope…with an out of tune piano because the show is still in rehearsal.

    And there we are. That’s this song.

    I think there is solid potential for harmonies in this piece.

  • Everything Happens at Once

    Everything Happens at Once

    Everything Happens at Once

    I’ll watch you auger out fifteen feet of line
    While I’ll sit and imagine fifteen bottles of wine
    We’ll break up the walkway just for a start
    But we’re here together, no matter what else falls apart

    (chorus)
    Everything happens at once it seems
    Layers and layers of warped sitcom dreams
    But the lights are still on in this hurricane
    And I guess if I had to
    I think if I had to
    I know if I had to,
    With you
    with you,
    with you,
    I’d do it again.

    The roof saw me cryin’ and it joined right in
    Now two rooms are weeping down on buckets of tin
    Raindrops are falling right here next to my head
    At least you’re beside me in this soggy bed

    (chorus)

    Even when it pours, I guess the well can run dry
    I can’t even raise my voice to the ironic sky
    I’ve started to laugh ‘cause what else could we do
    It’s never too much though when
    It’s never too much though when I’m here
    when I’m here with you.

    (bridge)
    I know the roots we’ve grown are strong,
    I can’t let this one string us along
    All these reminders are in the wrong places
    But everywhere I look are traces
    Of your love of our love

     

    #Updated #pop #adultcontemporary #love_song #mellow

    Everything Happens at Once is a love song that doesn’t sound like a love song. A friend is going through serious medical stuff and shared today that all at once the septic flooded the house )they had a huge tree root right through it), the roof is leaking in two rooms (including beside her head), the well ran dry (they had to have it dug deeper)…and through it all her partner is holding down the fort with real love.

  • 12 Live Frogs

    12 Live Frogs

    Improvised vocal based on the following answer to the question, “What are you going to do with the 12 live frogs?”

    Open box
    Be delighted
    Watch frogs escape
    Cue Boots Randolph
    Frantically try to contain frogs
    Watch frogs jump around house
    Capture frogs
    Put back in box
    Go to barn
    Drag in giant unused aquarium
    Create frog habitat
    Put frogs in habitat
    Go to pet store
    Buy more habitat items
    Buy food for frogs
    Watch frogs in habitat
    Watch frogs eat
    Complain about having to buy food for frogs
    Take out frogs for occasional “enrichment”
    Enjoy frogs
    Get attached
    Observe circle of life
    Conduct occasional frog funeral services

    Get more frogs.

    Comments

    #vocals #frogs #beats #experimental #femalevocal #vocals #frogs #beats #improvisation

    Ever since I saw that one could get a box of 12 Live Frogs from a scientific company catalog, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with the idea. I’ve joked to my family that it’s what I wanted for Christmas, and then for Valentine’s Day. (I did not get a box of 12 live frogs.)

    Someone asked what I’d DO with them. I made a list.

    Then I made a song out of that list.

    So, um, here’s like five and a half minutes of what I’d do with a box of 12 live frogs. With cowbell.

    I based this off these fabulous bass riffs
    looperman-l-4228984-0310471-disco-bass-groove
    looperman-l-4228984-0310628-disco-bass-2
    by MarloeDK: https://www.looperman.com/loops?mid=MarloweDK

  • Exhaustion

    Exhaustion

     

    #instrumental #electronic #electropop #electric_piano #harp

    There may be lyrics added at some point, but for the moment, it’s an instrumental.

    I was feeling pensive and fell in love with this piano loop by DeepKode: looperman-l-0862877-0062654-deepkode-deepkode-piano-1 merged

    This is constructed of a mix of midi instruments and loops from Garage Band.

  • Neuer ic Yeve Away

    Neuer ic Yeve Away

    The Lay of Richard Rollings, Troubadour and Poet d’Amore

    THE LAY OF RICHARD ROLLINGS
    (as told in Middle English by Aneleda Falconbridge)

    Forswear thy pledge, myn weneth
    nat everich oon yeven thilke
    I but mine thoughts unbinden
    ant thou understandan mak.

    Neuer ic the ne yeve away
    Neuer ic the nolde na doun
    Neuer ic sette forth and forsake thee
    Neuer ic yelde wepen mak
    Neuer ic farewell spake
    Neuer ic thee disceyve and peyne

    We ken our leman mony a day
    achen thou hart, thou fain would ne hit spake
    we ken wot is now befalle
    we wyste the sport and we wolde it play
    Ant shoud thou ask mine heart,
    are thee ne blind to ken?

    Neuer ic the ne yeve away
    Neuer ic the nolde na doun
    Neuer ic sette forth and forsake thee
    Neuer ic yelde wepen mak
    Neuer ic farewell spake
    Neuer ic thee disceyve and peyne

    Neuer ic the ne yeve thou.

    This performance was recorded at the East Kingdom Bardic Championship in February 2023.

    lyric and arrangements © 2013 & 2023 Monique Bouchard (known in the #SCA as Aneleda Falconbridge) inspired by the immortal poet #rickastley

    I’d long wanted to perform this piece, which I translated to Middle English many years ago. It was just a couple days ago, however, that I discovered how I would finally set it to harp and sing it. This is its debut performance, live, at a performance event Saturday.

    The story our poet tells is one of great and enduring love. He speaks of faithfulness, loyalty, and perseverance–among the best of the chivalric virtues…you may recognize its inspiration.

    #rickroll #bardic #bardcore

  • Shan, You Can’t Take on the Ocean

    Shan, You Can’t Take on the Ocean

     

    Shan,
    You can’t take on the ocean
    You can’t try on others’ lives
    You can’t forge emotions
    Like you can forge a blade for knives.
    Shan,
    You can’t take on the ocean
    You can’t take on the sea
    You have to live with who you are
    And who you’re meant to be.

    (more…)

  • City Down

    City Down

     

    I never thought I’d be living in the city
    Never thought it could be so gritty
    I never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty
    Never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty

    Feel the shove out the airlock
    Just as damned as the cell block
    It’s all ice on the skin shock
    Memories of the boardwalk
    There’s nothing I can see
    And I know that its gunna be
    a while
    Be a while
    Be a while

    I never thought I’d be living in the city
    Never thought it could be so gritty
    I never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty
    Never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty

    You can feel all the new highs
    That the void’s gunna baptize,
    You’ll be born of your dark cries
    Rainbow frost in your ice eyes.
    There’s nothing I can see
    And I know that its gunna be
    a while
    Be a while
    Be a while

    Feel the shove out the airlock
    Just as damned as the cell block
    It’s all ice on the skin shock
    Memories of the boardwalk
    There’s nothing I can see
    And its gunna be a while
    Be a whileCity
    Be a while

    Flying in hot and hoping for fair trial
    Search the place, fronting for a real smile
    Is this neutrality or is it something hostile?
    See them glaring like you fit some kind of profile
    Wooden gavel lands and gives it to us old style
    Cameras flash then we’re walking down a dark aisle
    Hope remains that they’re sending us to exile.
    But I feel the pressure of a one way spinning turnstyle

    I never thought I’d be living in the city
    Never thought it could be so gritty
    I never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty
    Never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty

    Feel the shove out the airlock
    Just as damned as the cell block
    It’s all ice on the skin shock
    Memories of the boardwalk
    There’s nothing I can see
    And I know that its gunna be
    a while
    Be a while
    Be a while

    I never thought I’d be living in the city
    Never thought it could be so gritty
    I never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty
    Never thought that the lights
    in the night would be so pretty

    Never thought of the skin shock
    Memories of the boardwalk…

    #electropop #R&B #vocals #rock #experimental

    I’ve been trying to stretch my production chops this FAWM, and I’m trying to be less afraid to experiment with all the tools at my disposal. Super out of my comfort zone.

    I was looking through some loops and hit on this old-school grind piano riff by JoeFunktastic on Looperman. As it played, a few phrases started to materialize and then there was this concept. It’s kind of adjacent to the space pieces that I seem to be pulled toward every FAWM. I’m also feeling tension in a lot of places about people casting really harsh judgements at each other, and some days it feels like everyone is on trial. I realize that’s reflected here too. Kinda cheerful for a “pushed out the airlock” kind of song I guess?

    With samples and a little keyboard synth work, it came together.

  • Hit It Till We Drift

    Hit It Till We Drift

    Hit It Till We Drift

    You’re like a smooth road after the rain
    The surface of you drives me insane
    Take over my senses with every turn
    Feeling nothing but the afterburn

    Hug every corner, flirt with the edge
    I want to push it right to the ledge
    Come on race me down the thruway
    You’re driving me crazy like a cliche

    I feel the shift we’ve got to
    Settle this crush together
    Settle this crush together
    Settle this crush together-her
    Come on boy Lean in and
    settle this crush together
    Or we’ll crash together so
    Hit it till we drift boy
    Hit it till we drift
    Hit it till we drift boy

    I know the sound of that throaty growl,
    See you in leather faking a scowl
    Like you don’t care, but it’s not true
    But I’ve never let on that I knew

    Rev your engine, pull up beside mine
    You’re not too shiny, might make the line
    Lay it down hard and off we’ll go
    Give everybody a big damn show

    I feel the shift we’ve got to
    Settle this crush together
    Settle this crush together
    Settle this crush together-her
    Come on boy Lean in and
    settle this crush together
    Or we’ll crash together so
    Hit it till we drift boy
    Hit it till we drift
    Hit it till we drift boy

    Red light flashing Drive right on through
    Chrome and steel crashing What could we do
    Scream through the dark
    Slam on the brake
    How many times
    Is this gonna take?
    Scream through the dark
    Slam on the brake
    How many times
    Is this gunna take?

    I feel the shift we’ve got to
    Settle this crush together
    Settle this crush together
    Settle this crush together-her
    Come on boy Lean in and
    settle this crush together
    Or we’ll crash together so
    Hit it till we drift boy
    Hit it till we drift
    Hit it till we drift boy
    Hit it till we drift boy
    Hit it till we drift
    Hit it till we drift boy

     

    This first FAWM represents how fast I have to race this year, because I have a pile of traveling to do during FAWM, and I’m worried about the deadline!

    This tune is constructed in GarageBand, with a digital percussionist, bass riff, and loops from Looperman:

    – looperman-l-5998492-0318853-maybe-juice-wrld-style-acoustic-guitar-part-1
    https://www.looperman.com/loops?mid=CharlieDanso
    – looperman-l-5383014-0294273-iamroofa-your-eyes
    https://www.looperman.com/loops?mid=iamroofa
    – looperman-l-2595245-0315928-counter-piano https://www.looperman.com/loops?mid=ProdSuzukisan

  • Age of Worry (cover)

    Age of Worry (cover)

    I only recently learned about this song by John Mayer, and immediately fell in love with it. I don’t usually record covers, but this was one I just had to.

    I’m also proud that I created the entire background track from scratch, which is a skill I’m slowly building.

    Age of Worry - John Mayer cover by Falconbridge

     

    Age of Worry – John Mayer

    Close your eyes and clone yourselfBuild your heart and armyTo defend your innocenceWhile you do everything wrong
    Don’t be scared to walk aloneDon’t be scared to like itThere’s no time that you must be homeSo sleep where your darkness falls
    Alive in the age of worrySmile in the age of worryGo wild in the age of worryAnd sing Worry, why should I care?
    No your fight is not with themYours is with your time hereDream your dreams but don’t pretendMake friends with who you are
    Give your heart and change your mindYou’re allowed to do it‘Cause God knows it’s been done to youAnd somehow, you got through it
    Alive in the age of worrySmile in the age of worryGo wild in the age of worryAnd sing Worry, why should I care?
    Rage in the age of worryAct your age in the age of worry
    Rage in the age of worryAnd sing, Worry, get out of here!
    Worry, get out of here.
    Worry, get out of here.

     

  • My Mother’s Savage Daughter

    My Mother’s Savage Daughter

    This is a cover of a legendary work in the Society for Creative Anachronism, written in the 1990s by Wyndrith Berginsdottir, modernly known as Karen LU Kahan.

    (more…)

  • Reynardine

    Reynardine

    Reynardine is a traditional song taken from an English broadside. It is believed to be an 18th century song, often called “The Mountains High.”  Later iterations infer that Reynardine is a were-fox, who seduces young women on the mountainside and brings them back to his castle.

    Reynardine

    (more…)

  • The Duelist

    The Duelist

    The Duelist

    If with a duelist, you should wish to dance
    Find a partner, bow, and take your stance.
    Though charm seduce you, please believe
    The duelist grants no one reprieve
    Song of swords is sweetest serenade,
    For it’s all done for love –
    But that love is the love of the blade.

    the duelist

    If with a duelist, you should wish to dance

    Find a partner, bow, and take your stance.

    Though charm seduce you, please believe

    The duelist grants no one reprieve

    Song of swords is sweetest serenade, 

    For it’s all done for love –

    But that love is the love of the blade.

     

    The duelist at play will surely beguile

    With drama, flair, and an alluring style.

    For honor, glory, they shall ever fight.

    Be wary if you face the duelist’s might.

     

    Approaching challenges with great panache,

    Devoted both to buckler and to swash

    Their wit and dagger are of the sharpest steel,

    When pressed, their deadly eloquence revealed.

     

    Upon the duelist, you can always rely

    To offer sanctuary or an alibi.

    Every good virtue they will defend.

    Fortunate are you who call one friend.

     

    Be not cruel or unrefined, untoward –

    Else you release the duelist’s flashing sword

    Lovers of the blade are keen and clever,

    May the duelists’ fame go forth forever.

     

    About this piece

    This song was written for swordfighters, particularly the duelist who challenge each other to single tournament combat with schlagers and fencing foils. It was inspired by a conversation in which the evocative words, “It’s for the love of the blade,” were uttered. I’ve been carrying that thought for weeks now, and am glad to finally give it its due.  Dedicated to Duelist Devillin MacPherson. 

    Released: September 2, 2022. Music, lyrics, melody, production by Monique Bouchard. Spanish trap guitar loops by Makalo (Insta: @mvkalo) found on Looperman.com. Kind content feedback by Drew Nicholson.

    Download the demo at ( – https://mbouchard.com/misc/TheDuelist9-2.mp3 – )

  • Ocean of Stars

    Ocean of Stars

    Hoist up the sail

    Catch the suns 

    And we will fly through

    the ocean of stars.

    Across the yawning void

    Heed the ancestors call

    As we see what we hear and we haul

    We will capture the light

    On this vast sea of night

    And we’ll rule the ocean of stars. 

    (more…)