New Playlist - Songs of Hope, Joy and Overcoming Adversity

[dreamshark]

Suggested by pegkerr, sounded like a good idea to me too. I quickly assembled 42 songs that seemed to fit the theme, then picked the following subset to put on a CD for Peg. I hope she'll give me a copy of hers as well. If anybody else wants to get in on this, let me know. We'll probably exchange on Minicon.

markiv1111, I'm unsure of the etiquette here. I have one of your songs in this collection, and in fact I sort of named the collection after it since it seemed to fit the theme so well. Since you actually suggested this same song as a candidate in the original LJ thread, I'm hoping you won't mind. The idea of these compilations is to make new connections among songs we already know not to give away copies of songs, and I like to think that people who hear one song by a local songwriter on a collection will feel inspired to go out and buy the album. But if this strikes you as copyright infringement, I can pay you for the use of the song. I doubt I'll give away more than 5 copies, and to people who may already have their own legal copy of it. (I think I've bought the song twice now, once on tape and once on CD, although I'm not positive it was on the tape).

Anyway, the compilation is called "Keep on Dancing." Here's what's on it. The intent was to start with the theme of overcoming adversity in various situations, then finish up with a handful of songs that are just mindlessly HAPPY. All are songs that I personally find inspiring, encouraging, and touching, and that I think Peg will like.

1 Five Feet High And Rising - Johnny Cash
2 Five Days In May - Riverfolk
3 Julian Of Norwich - Bok, Muir and Trickett
4 Sweet Sir Galahad - Joan Baez
5 Truckin' - Grateful Dead
6 Partners, Brothers And Friends - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
7 Creeque Alley - The Mamas & The Papas
8 With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles
9 Home Is Where the Heart Is - Peter, Paul & Mary
10 We Kept On Dancing - Nate Bucklin
11 I Could Have Danced All Night - Julie Andrews & Betty Woolfe
12 Jeannie O' Bethelnie - Andrew Calhoun
13 Wooden Ships - Jefferson Airplane
14 Superman's Song - Crash Test Dummies
15 Sweet Betsy from Pike - Johnny Cash
16 King Of The Road - Roger Miller
17 The Fun Side Of Life - Matt Wahl
18 My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now - Sleepy Jeffers & The Davis Twins
19 The Happy Wanderer - Bill Staines
20 Joy - Andrew Calhoun
21 At the End of the Rainbow Trail - Riders in the Sky

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I'd check the Hope section in Rise Up Singing for more titles; a couple of my favorites are there: Faith of Man, (by Bill Staines - you've probably got a recording of this somewhere), Turning Toward the Morning, (Gordon Bok), and of course The Mary Ellen Carter (Stan Rogers).

[mle292.livejournal.com]

I'd very much like to play too, I will make such a compilation and bring it to Minicon.

I'd also love a copy of your Drinking mix, I will also bring some of mine to Minicon. Sadly, barondave was the only one willing to play along at Marscon, so I am very much looking forward to the "Minicon Pool Party CD Exchange" and now it sounds like there is a "Minicon CD Exchange".

[carbonel]

I'll be happy to play along at Minicon, too. And I wasn't at Marscon, but I did a Drinking mix, and would be glad to swap with you at Minicon.

[carbonel]

Can I swap? I'll come up with a mix for Minicon.

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

"Passing Through"
"The Mary Ellen Carter"
"Amazing Grace"
"Eppie Morrie"
"Chilly Scenes of Winter"
"The Maid on the Shore"
"Dick O' The Cow" (There are many songs from the Scottish Border about taking from the rich, but this is the only one I've found that has anything about giving to the poor. -"We're not going to give you back your cows; but as long as you're here, you might as well stay for supper. We're having beef."-)
"John Brown's Body"
"The Water is Wide"

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

I must admit that Eppie Morrie is a better example of triumphing over adversity than Jeannie of Bethelnie (I have both on the same album). I picked Jeannie because I adore the melody. Almost all of the songs I chose have either beautiful melodies or nice harmony (the exception being the first one, probably because I love Johnny Cash's voice, no matter what he's singing). In any case, for me the sound of the song is crucial when it comes to "uplifting."

I'm very fond of The Water is Wide, but I don't think I'd call it hopeful. In fact, I consider it a prime example of the huge category of "mournful songs about lost love." I do love the tune, but that's not enough for this collection.

Dick O' The Cow sounds like a hoot. Where did you find a recording of that? It sounds more like "making the best of a bad deal" than triumphing over adversity, but I guess that's better than nothing.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I'm certainly looking forward to receiving it.

I'll have mine, along with my drinking compilation, at Minicon.

keep On Dancing

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I'm thrilled that you want to include a song I am very proud of. Note that my "We Kept On Dancing" may (or may not) have been inspired by a song by the Gentrys called "Keep On Dancing," and in fact, on at least one occasion while playing "We Kept On Dancing" at a con, threw in a few lines from "Keep On Dancing" at one spot before going back to my own song. And the more people hear your compilation with my song on it, the happier I'll be.

Nate B.