Today is Tuesday and my Three Tunes for Tuesday are all lost in the desert. From Friday I will be on the West coast of the US in California and Arizona. I figure it is better to visit the desert in the Winter than in the blazing summer sun. One of my younger brothers is planning to get married outside of Phoenix so I decided to make a big deal out of it.
Anyway to get me in the mood I found some songs about the desert. The first is "Desert Song" from Säje. The song contrasts the ocean and the desert in vocal harmony accompanied by acoustic guitar. The Grammy nominated group consists of Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage.
The music lifts me up and carries me on the ocean waves like a sea turtle. I feel like a new creation standing in the sand at the side of the ocean. But the desert is calling me deeper in. That someday is soon and I will breath in the desert and see myself reflected in her eyes. I will realize that song of life and love and I will sing along with her. I feel welcomed in the desert and will share my voice with her in song.
She is calling me.
"A Horse With No Name" is the first song I think of when I hear the word "desert". Dewey Bunnell from the band "America" wrote and sang the song. He seems to follow Neil Young's haunting vocals giving it a groovy feel.
The interesting thing about the band "America" is that the band started in London by US expats. They were military family kids stationed in London.
The interesting thing about the music here is that this song "A Horse With No Name" is one of the first songs a beginner guitar player learns. That's because almost the entire song is played with an Em chord. The funky feel to the recording is that it's played with a 12 string and is tuned lower than usual.
The song itself is basically a story of a journey in the desert. The lyrics are sometimes paradoxical and gives the listener the sensation of heat stroke. Like this line:
"In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain"
If we look at it logically we negative negative negative = positive. It really never registers with me but it feels good as if in the desert I will find who I am because no one is there to bother me.
America
Finally is The "Desert Song" with Mario Lanza and Judith Raskin on Soprano. The song is an operetta written by Sigmund Romberg in 1926. The Mario Lanza recording was done in Rome in 1959. Lanza was recovering from double pnemonia at the time and died a month after the recording. The interesting thing about this recording is that the Soprana part at the end by Judith Raskin was actually recorded in New York after Lanza's death and mixed over.
Too much talk and not enough music. Just listen and be taken off your feet by the orchestra. Close your eyes and step a little closer to the soprano in this delightful operetta. Soon you will have a smile on your face and dream together. Follow some of the last breaths of Mario's tenor as he gently embraces this desert song. A way is made in the desert through song. A picture is painted through words and music. I'm swept off my feet and consoled for a moment of peace and love.
Do you want to dance?
That's the interesting thing that happened in the hall today. I was passing by the multimedia room and someone was practicing piano for graduation. Suddenly a second grade student came up to me and asked me why I don't teach second grade English. This was the same girl who asked me why I don't date her mom. I really wanted to run away but she was blocking the hallway and started to grab my hand and pull me the opposite direction of my class.
There was not much I could do in this situation but the music gave me an idea. I followed the beat and in two steps danced her into the opposite direction and gave her a little swing and she was in a dream. By the time she opened her eyes I was down the stairs and had disappeared. It wasn't easy to escape the grip of an 8 year old but the music helped me a lot.
Music brings us back to where we should be. She was back in her class and I was back in my class and very thankful she doesn't know where my office is.
Vacation starts Friday!!!
