Please make yourself comfortable, and allow me to tell you a true little mouse-tail...I mean, mouse-tale.
Many moons ago, in my adolescence, I purchased an inexpensive acoustic guitar, and I taught myself how to play the basic chords. Subsequently, between the years 1978 and 1983, I wrote quite a few original songs...although it may be argued that I use the term “songs” loosely. I wrote all of the lyrics, and I composed all of the music, pouring all of my joys and sorrows, my tears, and a good measure of my soul into my compositions, despite the fact that I had never learned the “proper” way to do so.
Since I did not know how to manually transcribe the musical notes onto paper, I used the only means which was then at my disposal to create a permanent record of my efforts. Sequestered in a quiet room, well out of earshot, I made a series of amateur mono cassette recordings of myself while I played my guitar and sang. Although the full band orchestration which was playing in my head could not be captured through this crude method, the basic tunes were preserved...complete with tape hiss, occasional drop-outs, sour notes, cracking vocals, and all of the general errors one might expect to find in a nervous novice’s live performance.
The musical category for the resulting music might best be defined as “amateur alternative folk”. Of course, I might also call it something less artistic, such as senseless noise. If nothing more, it is original. The songs are mostly contemporary ballads, some of which have a country “twang”, and many of which address love’s arrival or lament love’s loss.
These live and sometimes embarrassing recordings were then carefully stored for nearly two decades while I debated whether or not to ever share them with anyone. Yes, I became very sore from sitting on the proverbial fence for so long.
After so many years, I finally copyrighted the toil of my youth in November 2001. In January 2002, I converted a handful of my musical compositions from their original mono audio format to compressed sound files, and I included them on my website, thereby allowing anyone with an interest to hear a sample of my work.
Please note that I was not attempting to sell my musical compositions. I was hoping to possibly obtain feedback, for better or worse, from whomever might be willing to lend me their ears. Little interest was expressed by website visitors, and so, in April 2002, I removed all of my music compositions from my website, allowing more web space for my other interests.
Subsequently, I increased the overall size and traffic allowances of my website. Now, the same twelve songs which were briefly offered as compressed sound files are included here again for your possible consideration.
This seems as good a place as any for me to comment on my selection of the songs which were briefly included, removed, and now included again. Originally, I could not include certain songs because they would have taken too much web space and also would have taken too long to download and be heard. Therefore, most of the selections were chosen due to their acceptable size, rather than their content. As a result, these songs were not the best which I have ever composed, and they were not the worst...they were simply the right size for conversion from analog to .mp3 using 64kbps and 44.1Hz.
Any of my songs could now be included on this website, but I have chosen to use the same twelve selections which were previously made available for those who may be interested in hearing what they missed.
I would also like to state, for the record, that not all of the song lyrics which I have written reflect my personal experiences. Simply put, it would have been impossible for me to do so, given my age at the time these songs were composed. In my youth, I sometimes wrote and sang of things which I had never experienced firsthand, but which I had observed from a removed perspective. I would sometimes write lyrics as if I had been placed into someone else’s circumstances, or sometimes even create a fictitious character and scenario, and then write lyrics to suit that unique situation. Of course, some of the song lyrics which I wrote were inspired by my personal life lessons. However, please refrain from making any assumptions about me or my beliefs based solely upon what you might hear within my music, since any such conclusions are likely to be partially or wholly erroneous. If you wish to know more about me, or my inspiration for any song, you would do better to simply ask.
Looking to the future, it is my intention to eventually update my musical compositions, using better sound equipment, such as a multi-track mixer and quality stereo recorder, and more instrumentation, such as drums, lead guitar, bass, and possibly organ, as well as layered harmonized vocals. I am curious to hear if I can improve the overall quality of my songs. (The way I see it, I certainly can not make them any worse!)
The links listed below will enable you to view the lyrics and/or hear the sound file for any of a dozen songs. (The lyrics links are located in the left column, and the sound file links are located in the right column.) Each lyrics webpage should open immediately. The sound files listed below are provided in .mp3 format. To hear them, you must have a .mp3 Player program installed on your computer, such as Windows Media Player or WinAmp. The actual play time of each sound file is provided beneath the title in minutes:seconds. The length of time that it will take to download any sound file will vary, depending upon the speed of your Internet connection and that of this website's server. The process might take a few seconds, or it might talk several minutes. This fact should be carefully considered if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or your telephone service provider charges for your Internet access by the minute.
And now, it is time for me to become as quiet as a mouse so that you can listen to a sample of my music in its original state, if you wish to do so. Thank you for your kind consideration.
The Pumamouse
(MaryAnne)
June 2003 |
