Posts Tagged ‘Barbra Streisand’
Windmills of Your Mind (Words and Music and Pictures in Your Imagination)
Posted on: February 27, 2012
Muppets are big in my house. My son reminded me of this funny segment from one of the Muppet Shows. I’m not sure if it would transfer very well into a SPB, but it sure is funny. Plus, it pretty well captures my “inner” environment,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu_6hdGZ6gU
Humor aside, though, this is an absolutely wonderful song. Something about the feelings and images produced by the music of Michel LeGrand and words of Alan and Marilyn Bergman are very special. One argument for singing songs like this with children is that the songs are FILLED with amazingly robust vocabulary, gorgeously written images, and glorious poetry.
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The song is
WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND
Music by Michel LeGrand
Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Round, like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousell that’s turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly
Was it something that you said
Lovers walk along the shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
You were suddenly aware (alt=In the autumn of goodbyes)
That the Autumn leaves were turning (alt=For a moment)
To the color of his hair (alt=You could not recall the color of his eyes)
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circle that you find
In the windmills of your mind
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Hear the ever astounding Barbra Streisand sing this song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxPp-wRxNoc
Revel in the words and her attention to detail in singing them. Listen to her and let the images form in your imagination. This song is glorious.
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Click these links for some interesting illustrations for the song:
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A brain made up of windmills:
http://claireevabenoit.blogspot.com/2011/05/windmills-of-your-mind-by-dusty.html
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A rendering in calligraphy:
http://www.chooseit.org.au/calligraphy/gallery_pics/Ailsa_Fergusson_-_Windmills_of_your_mind_Jan10.jpg
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A female head with windmills:
http://koukoula.tumblr.com/#13402464167
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Water gate of the Palazzo Barbaro
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/4811/102010venice2gb151.jpg
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SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK WISHES 2 (SONGS THAT WISH TO BE ILLUSTRATED)
There songs are BEGGING to become Singable Picture Books
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/singable-picture-book-wishes-2-songs-that-wish-to-be-illustrated/
- In: Case for Singable Books | Girl Scout Song | Heartfelt Musings | Lyrics | Poetry | Power of Music | Quotes of Note | SBWE in Person | SBWE Sing-Along Program for Classrooms and Families | Sing Along Tracks | Sing Books with Emily Sing-Along Materials | Singable Book Title | Singable Picture Book Video | Singable Poem | Singable Poetry | Song History | SPB List for Special Occasion | Vocal Tracks | Written by ELEG
- Leave a Comment
I love that “Jingle Bells” is a WINTER song. Lots of Christmas albums include a rendition of “Jingle Bells,” but this is a joyous song anybody and everybody can enjoy.
Being a busy mom, and magazine lover, I save up unread magazines (only my favorites, though) figuring that I’ll get to them at one time or another. Smithsonian Magazine is one of my favorites and I just discovered the September 2007 edition patiently waiting in a basket. It is filled with delights, but the smallest entry caught my eye: about Jingle Bell’s 150 year anniversary entitled “Dashing Ditty.” The small item says that the song was first published in 1857 (under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”) and can claim over 1,500 recordings.
An interesting historical account of the song including biographical information about the songwriter James Pierpont, here:
http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/jinglebellssong.htm
Smithsonian Magazine maintains a terrific website with archived editions online. I went looking for “Dashing Ditty” and didn’t find it. But a search for “Jingle Bells” revealed a terrific article about the Gemini 6 space mission in December 1965 when, just before coming back to earth, Walter M. “Wally” Schirra Jr. and Thomas P. Stafford said the saw a space module piloted by a man wearing a red suit and followed that up with a rendition of “Jingle Bells” complete with harmonica and homemade jingles which they’d stowed at personal items for the trip. The items are on display at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum:
Read the article here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Christmas_Cards.html
This Wikipedia article tells the story as well, including pictures and information about the whole Gemini mision:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_6A
One more Wikipedia article, about “Jingle Bells” which also includes pictures and relates the story of “Jingle Bells” as the first song sung in space:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells
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“Jingle Bells” has been given some charming Singable Picture Books:
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Jingle Bells
Traditional Tune
Words Adapted by Iza Trapani
Illustrated by Iza Trapani
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Jingle Bells, A Pop-up Holiday Song
Traditional Tune
Poem excerpt by James Lord Pierpont
Illustrated by Eren Blanquet Unten
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Jingle Bells (Spin Me A Storybook)
Traditional Words and Tune
Published by Playmore Inc. (Hackensack, NJ)
ISBN 1-59060-592-6
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Jingle Bells (Golden Book)
Poem by James Lord Pierpont
Traditional Tune
Text by Kathleen N. Daly
Illustrated by J.P. Miller
Jingle Bells (Sing and Read Storybook)
Poem by James Lord Pierpont
Traditional Tune
Illustrated by Darcy May
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Jingle Bells
Poem by James Lord Pierpont
Traditional Tune
Illustrated by Michael Hague
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“Jingle Bells” is also included in many anthologies of Children’s Poetry.
Jingle Bells
Words and Music by James Pierpont
Dashing thro’ the snow,
In a one horse open sleigh,
O’er the hills we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring,
Making spirits bright,
Oh what fun to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight.
Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.
(Repeat)
A day or two ago
I thought I take a ride
And soon Miss Fannie Bright
Was seated by my side,
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
He got into a drifted bank
And we, we got up-sot.
Jingle bells, Jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what joy it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.
(Repeat)
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Some fun sing-along videos:
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeNJmOsBS94
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU9d79ho6dE
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgNSX5YzDSs
(I have always loved Barbra Streisand’s version)
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a2u3b6-aak
(I also adore Andy William’s singing Kay Thompson’s fabulous Christmasy arrangement for “Jingle Bells”)
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Artist Nour Tohme created a DRAW ME A SONG poster:
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Jingle Bells (Draw Me a Song)
Draw Me a Song (Singable Posters)
Traditional Tune
Poem excerpt by James Lord Pierpont
Illustrated by Nour Tohme
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10\1\2011
JINGLE ‘BOT, NEW WORDS TO AN OLD SONG BY ELEG
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/jinlge-bot-new-words-by-eleg/
I was sitting ’round the kitchen with the kids and we were goofing off and these words came to mind. We thought they were funny. Maybe it would be fun to make a book for this sometime.
JINGLE ‘BOT
Traditional Tune (sing to the tune of “Jingle Bells”)
Words by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Dashing through deep space
In a polka dotted jet,
O’er the galaxy
Delivering pres-ents.
The robot has some gifts
For extra-terrestrials.
The speed of light
She flies tonight
To far away plan-ets.
Oh…
Jingle ‘bot, this robot
Jingles all the way.
Who’s good or bad,
It’s sure to say
On the digital display.
Jingle ‘bot, this robot
Jingles all the day.
She knows who’s nice
And who is not,
She’s Santa’s elf in space.
A day or two ago,
She thought she’d take a ride.
And soon space junk, not snow,
Was drifting by her side!
With her space arm long and lank,
She knew just what to do.
She grabbed the junk and off she flew
To Santa’s recycling bank!
Oh…
Jingle ‘bot, this robot
Jingles all the way.
Who’s good or bad,
It’s sure to say
On the digital display.
Jingle ‘bot, this robot
Jingles all the day.
She knows who’s nice
And who is not,
She’s Santa’s elf in space.
Now that space is clean
Go out and have some fun.
Hop in your space machine
And sing this robot song!
Just try and take the lead
Of our robot friend’s good deed,
Let’s keep space clear
For Santa’s deer [Alt.: "For Santa to Steer"]
To fly on Christmas Eve [Alt.: "His sleigh on Christmas Eve"]
Oh…
Jingle ‘bot, this robot
Jingles all the way.
Who’s good or bad,
It’s sure to say
On the digital display.
Jingle ‘bot, this robot
Jingles all the day.
She knows who’s nice
And who is not,
She’s Santa’s elf in space.
ALT 3rd Verse:
Now that space is clean
Go it while you’re young.
Hop in your space machine
And sing this robot song!
Be good and you’ll do great,
And go to bed at eight,
So Santa’s elves who stay up late
Can make more toys and celebrate!
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Important considerations that went into my new version of “Jingle Bells” (Yay!)
- This new rendition of “Jingle Bells” takes place in space and “Jingle Bells” are thought to be the first musical instruments played in space, when the astronauts sang the song in space during the Gemini 6 mission in 1965 (see picture and article link above)
- The song is about a FEMALE (males are far more often the central characters)
- The female robot elf is presented with a problem which she solves because she knows just what to do repersenting girls who are intelligent, self assured, and independent
- The female robot elf does the right thing!
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I just recently wrote a post about my new song “Jingle ‘Bot,” and this morning saw an item in the Style section of the Sunday NY Times (10/16/2011) about a woman who has an incredible collection of toy and folk art Robots.
This article is by Lynn Yaeger and is an installment in a series of articles about people and their collections.
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7/31/2012
Last year, I had a great time with my kids writing a new version of “Jingle Bells,” called “Jingle ‘Bot” about a robot in space whose polka-dotted ship picks up space junk. My son made a picture for the song at the time, which I just found in a pile of papers and of course it makes me want to SING!
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Addendum 12/2/2012
A page for the Sing Books with Emily SINGABLE ADVENT CALENDAR
“Jingle Bells,“ what fun is is to sing a sleighing song tonight…
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Jingle Bells
Poem by James Lord Pierpont
Traditional Tune
To view or print this SBWE Singable Advent Calendar page for “Jingle Bells,” click here:
SBWE Advent Calendar Jingle Bells
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Related Posts
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JINGLE BELLS, A SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/jingle-bells-in-the-history-of-space-and-singable-picture-books/
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POETRY SINGABLE POETRY IN COMPILATIONS
An list of singable poems from compilations of poetry for children
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/singable-poetry-a-list-of-poems-that-can-be-sung-from-illustrated-compilations-of-poetry-and-singable-picture-books/
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POETRY, SINGABLE POETRY IN INDIVIDUALLY ILLUSTRATED SINGABLE PICTURE BOOKS
A list of individually illustrated poems that have been set to music and can be sung
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/poems-individually-illustrated-spb/
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WINTER
Singable Picture Books for Winter
Some of these are sung at Christmastime, but this is a list of songs about Winter that you can sing all season long!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/singable-picture-books-for-winter/
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SING BOOKS WITH EMILY SINGABLE ADVENT CALENDAR
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/the-sing-books-with-emily-singable-advent-calendar/
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CHRISTMAS
A Collection of Singable Picture Books that celebrate CHRISTMAS!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/singable-picture-books-for-christmas/
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DRAW ME A SONG, SINGABLE POSTERS
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/draw-me-a-song-singable-posters/
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JINGLE ‘BOT, NEW WORDS TO AN OLD TUNE BY ELEG
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/jinlge-bot-new-words-by-eleg/
The Lord’s Prayer has inspired many lovely illustrated books for children. These books are especially wonderful when sung with Albert Hay Mallotte’s inspiring musical setting.
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Give Us This Day (The Lord’s Prayer)
Traditional Words
Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Tasha Tudor
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The Lord’s Prayer
Traditional Words
Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Tim Ladwig
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The Lord’s Prayer
Traditional Words
Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Heidi Holder
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The Lord’s Prayer
Traditional Words
Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Debbie Lush
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The Lord’s Prayer
Traditional Words
Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Heidi Holder
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The Lord’s Prayer
Musical Setting by Albert Hay Malotte
The needlepoint shown was created by my paternal grandmother
GRACE EVANGELYN MORGAN EVERSON
I called her Penny. She was a wonderful, loving person.
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Wiki article about the Lord’s Prayer history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord’s_Prayer
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Wiki article about the musical setting of the Lord’s Prayer by Albert Hay Malotte:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord’s_Prayer_(song)
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YouTube has a collection of videos called “Music That Makes Community.”
The following video studies the liturgical musical interpretation (The Lord’s Prayer as a Rabbinic Teaching Prayer) and ancient gestures to accompany the recitation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nObTOZ5HmVM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZYk4MuDGDc
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFj2-u2cGQ
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I grew up listening to Barbra Streisand singing “The Lords Prayer” (and all the songs on her wonderful Christmas Album, which is indelibly marked in my brain as essential to the celebrations as a tree, lights, gifts and Charlie Brown):
http://www.amazon.com/The-Lords-Prayer/dp/B0013AWD4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1291385732&sr=8-1
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THE LORD’S PRAYER
Musical Setting by Albert Hay Malotte
Our Father which art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom
And the Power and the Glory
Forever
Amen
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The Lord’s Prayer, A page for the Sing Books with Emily SINGABLE ADVENT CALENDAR
The Lord’s Prayer
Traditional Words
Musical Setting by Albert Hay Malotte
To view or print the SBWE Singable Advent Calendar sheet for “The Lord’s Prayer,” click here:
SBWE Advent Calendar Lord’s Prayer
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Addendum 12/15/2012
I put this post and Singable Advent Calendar sheet together in the first part of the day on 12/14/2012 before I’d learned of the tragic events of that day. Then I realized that The Lord’s Prayer was a particularly appropriate choice for that day. I wrote the following note on my Facebook page and included a picture of Penny’s needlpoint…
Not long ago, my dad gave me a needle point of The Lord’s Prayer that his mother, my grandmother who I called Penny, had made. It hung in my parents’ house and I always loved looking at it, both as a beautiful object and reading the words to the prayer, and the song for the prayer humming in my head.
A few weeks ago, when I embarked on my long desired wish to create a Singable Advent Calendar, I planned to make The Lord’s Prayer” one of those days’ songs, using Penny’s work as the picture for that day.
My husband Charlie is recovering from surgery (he’s doing very well!) and I’ve not been watching the news or listening to the radio so did not hear the news of yesterday’s terrible events until much later in the day. But the Advent Calendar project and goal has been so important to me (I’ve wanted to make it for so long) that I carved time out for it, and decided that The Lord’s Prayer would be the one I made up yesterday.
I photographed the needlepoint, cleaned up the picture, put the sheet together, made a PDF and wrote the post. It turns out to have been an appropriate choice on a day that we would all pray:
Deliver us from evil.
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Related Posts
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ADVENT CALENDAR
Sing Books with Emily Singable Advent Calendar
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/the-sing-books-with-emily-singable-advent-calendar/
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CHRISTMAS
A Collection of Singable Picture Books that celebrate CHRISTMAS!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/singable-picture-books-for-christmas/
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SUNDAY SCHOOL SONGS
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/sunday-school-songs-in-singable-picture-books/
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SBWE Singable Advent Calendar: The Lord’s Prayer
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/sbwe-singable-advent-calendar-the-lords-prayer/#
New York State of Mind, A Singable Picture Book (plus Song Craft/Research)
Posted on: September 19, 2010
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New York State of Mind
Words and Music by Billy Joel
Illustrated by IZAK
Scholastic Press, New York, 2005
ISBN 0-439-55382-2
The pictures in this book are created by Izak Zenou (IZAK is the single name, like Cher, written on the cover) who is a renowned fashion illustrator. The pictures are fabulous watercolors that evoke the “cool” of New York, but his use of warm colors and depiction of classic New York locations (like Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain, the Empire State Building, and Radio City Music Hall done up for the Christmas Spectacular), visited by courting pooches, give the city a feeling that is simultaneously cozy and exciting.
Learn more about Izak Zenou at his website:
http://www.izakzenou.com/
ONLINE REFERENCES
Billy Joel’s official site:
http://www.billyjoel.com/
BillyJoel.com offers a useful timeline of the songwriter’s life:
http://www.billyjoel.com/biography
This wiki article is helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_of_Mind
VIDEOS (a few of my favorites)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZh8YjbDiVk
Soooooooooooooo 70′s. Yum. That sax is delish. I love his piano solo at the beginning and the middle. He’s playing, literally playing, and having fun. That makes it fun.
The Muppets
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i06cGfI3psM
Whenever possible, I study The Muppets!
Barbra Steisand
www.youtube.com/watch?v=28egEpY2uyo
Mel Torme
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXxqVYmzMYw
(Mr. Torme sings a new set of lyrics for places he’s been. I don’t know what Billy must have thought, but the Velvet Fog is in good form.)
Tony Bennett
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muRwDA8l8A
Joanna Wang
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xcLfVsF-pY
LYRICS
This is the arrangement of lyrics as found in the book.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Words and Music by Billy Joel
Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighborhood.
Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood.
But I’m taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line.
I’m in a New York state of mind.
I’ve seen all the movie stars in their fancy cars and their limousines;
been high up in the Rockies under the evergreens.
But I know what I’m needing and I don’t want to waste more time,
I’m in a New York state of mind.
It was so easy living day by day, out of touch with the rhythm and blues.
But now I need a little give and take, the New York Times, The Daily News.
It comes down to reality and it’s fine with me ‘cause I’ve let it slide.
Don’t care if it’s Chinatown or on Riverside.
I don’t have any reasons, I’ve left them all behind.
I’m in a New York state of mind.
I’m just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line,
‘Cause I’m in a New York state of mind.
“New York State of Mind” is sung by the Muppet, Rowlf the Dog on his album, “Ol’ Brown Ears is Back,”
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I’m thrilled to write that “New York State of Mind” is one of the songs we selected to be part of
“Oh, What a Beautiful Day: Sing Books with Emily, the Cabaret.”
I make a strong committment to each song I perform and completing my Song Craft Worksheet is part of that process,
Because the first section of the Song Craft Worksheet involves background research on the song, I’ll share the answers with you so you can know about the song, too. The more about the song you know (both concrete facts and less tangible artistic choices), the more “authority,” and heart and soul you can put into the singing and sharing of the song with others. If you are interested in improving your artistic abilities for singing songs in any capacity, just simply filling out the Song Craft Worksheet is a great place to start! After the background research, the rest of the Song Craft Worksheet gets VERY personal…don’t worry! I won’t bore you with that.
1 Q: Who wrote the words?
1 A: Billy Joel
2Q: Who wrote the music?
2A: Billy Joel
3Q: When was the song written?
3A: The sheet music has 1975 for the copyright.
4A: At what point in the lyricists’ and composer’s career was the song written?
4Q: “Turnstiles” is Billy Joel’s 4th album, but he’s still towards the beginning of his career. He was 35 when he released the album, he’s 62 now (Sep. 2010). It’s incredible to think of a young person writing such fabulous music that has worked its way into the fabric of our culture.
5Q: What is the song from?
5A: The song first appeared on Billy Joel’s 1976 album, “Turnstiles”
6Q: If from a show, what character sang it?
6A: NA
7Q: If from a show, from what situation does the song arise? Why does the character sing the song? What function does the song/character play in the story?
7A: NA
8Q: What other contextual elements of the song are significant?
8A: For me: New York is my favorite city on earth. Also, Billy Joel figures prominently in the soundtrack of my childhood.
9Q: Was the song written for a particular singer? Why?
9A: Himself
10Q: If not from a show, why did the songwriter write the song?
10A: Billy Joel wrote this song when he was transitioning his life from LA where he’d lived for a few years back to New York City where he grew up (he was born in the Bronx in 1949) and responding to the overwhelming emotions of that move.
11Q: What do you feel the lyricist is trying to say?
11A: New York is a great city. It’s a great place to escape to, providing WORLDS of fabulous things to see and do. It is a wonderful place to just BE, discover, and create yourself. New York is an inspired and inspiring city with soul and it fills its residents with awe and wonder. New York City is exciting, bewildering, dangerous and thrilling and the experience of being there (or even thinking of being there) is as awesome and exciting as anywhere else on earth.
12Q: Does the song tell a story or just express feelings or ideas?
12A: This song does all of that for me…it tells a story and it expresses feelings and ideas.
13Q: Who else has recorded this song:
13A: Dame Shirley Bassey, Barbra Steisand, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, The Muppets (Floyd and Dr. Teeth Band and by Rowlf the Dog), Joanna Wang and many others!
The rest of the questions require VERY personal answers and I will spare you those!
