%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  Look around. Let Nature nurture your Soul. I record images I sense and share them here. |
|
NURTURE your NATURE  Nature can nurture our writing, can nurture our soul. What is the language of Nature? And how do we learn it? We look at the natural wonders around us and do not see them, hear, taste nor smell them. They do not touch us anymore than we dare touch them. And then we wonder why we feel so dead. To breathe in and live like a child again opens the Land of Wonderment. It's still there after all these years.   |
| O fado 🇵🇹 Went to hear fado in Evora last April; but I remember the first time I heard this in Coimbra. Fado can be funny but I prefer the bittersweet laments. I sing "A vida tem mais encanto na hora da despedida" Life is most enchanting at the hour of saying goodbye. I would sing it to Jimmy Carter if I could. He's had a long fulfilled life. I wish him well. At 98 it's time to let go. We faced this last year when my mother died in March at 99. This evening I was brought home by a young man of 81 years on his peddle cab. I was thrilled. May he too have an enchanted end; may he have many more years of health. In the past I couldn't hold back the tears when I sang this song. Tonight I don't want to wake up Ponnya. Yes... life can be sweet at the end. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Que as lágrimas do meu pranto São a luz que me dá vida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Quem me dera estar contente Enganar minha dor Mas a saudade não mente Se é verdadeiro o amor. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Não me tentes enganar Com a tua formosura Que para além do luar Há sempre uma noite escura. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Que as lágrimas do meu pranto São a luz que lhe dá vida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. Coimbra tem mais encanto Na hora da despedida. |
| 🏴 Loch Lomond 🏴 Song of my youth. Such a boring song... unless sung by Maxine Sullivan (1911-1987). I heard her sing this many years later as a white-haired senior singer. I was amazed by her version of a simple song sung by a great voice with immaculate style. I also grew up in an uber-White suburb (think German, German-Irish). Yes, we sang this song... without true emotion or any style (think J.S. Bach). Elvis may have learned from Negroes (that was the polite word at that time) but we sure didn't. Yes, we sang gospel songs. Yes, we were made aware that THOSE folks could sing and dance. No, there was little opportunity to actually have any experience that would have busted those stereotypes. I grew up in a segregated world... such a pity. I moved on from that later in life. This video clip is from a 1939 movie... and it shows. Lyrics (one version of the traditional song) By yon bonnie banks, And by yon bonnie braes, Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond, Where me and my true love Were ever want to gae, On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Oh! ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low road, And I'll be in Scotland afore ye; But me and my true love Will never meet again On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. 'Twas then that we parted In yon shady glen, On the steep, steep side of Ben Lomond, Where in purple hue The Highland hills we view, And the moon coming out in the gloaming. Oh! ye'll take the high road and I'll take the low road, And I'll be in Scotland afore ye; But me and my true love Will never meet again On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. The wee birdie sang And the wild flowers spring, And in sunshine the waters are sleeping, But the broken heart it kens Nae second Spring again, Tho' the waeful may cease frae their greeting. |
| 🇪🇸 Eres Tú 🇪🇸 This was 2nd at Eurovision 1973 and was extremely popular in the USA. I was in Costa Rica in 1974 so I heard it a lot there as well. It's wasn't my fave song sung in Spanish at the time; but, it grows on me. The message is simple starstruck love. The voices blended perfectly. The melody is sweet. The song is sung in Spanish but the group, Mocedades, is Basque. Como una promesa, eres tú, eres tú Como una mañana de verano Como una sonrisa, eres tú, eres tú Así, así, eres tú Toda mi esperanza, eres tú, eres tú Como lluvia fresca en mis manos como fuerte brisa, eres tú, eres tú Así, así, eres tú Eres tú como el agua de mi fuente (algo así eres tú) Eres tú el fuego de mi hogar Eres tú como el fuego de mi hoguera Eres tú el trigo de mi pan Como mi poema, eres tú, eres tú Como una guitarra en la noche todo mi horizonte eres tú, eres tú Así, así, eres tú Eres tú como el agua de mi fuente (algo así eres tú) Eres tú el fuego de mi hogar Eres tú como el fuego de mi hoguera Eres tú el trigo de mi pan Eres tú Writer: Juan Carlos Calderón |
| Four Strong Winds 🇨🇦 Ian & Sylvia I grew up on the Canadian border and listened to CFRB and CHCH. I also spent one summer living there. This song hails from my teenage years. It tells a story that resonated with my inner longing... still does. Odd how some songs speak to what one can't even voice. Years later I lived in the open plains and have resided in Montana, just south of Alberta, for 14 years. It reminds me most of Kansas, though, where I fled and where eventually I had to leave and move on. Lyrics (written 1963} Four strong winds that blow lonely Seven seas that run high All those things that don't change, come what may But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for moving on I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way Think I'll go out to Alberta Weather's good there in the fall I got some friends that I can go to working for Still I wish you'd change your mind If I asked you one more time But we've been through that a hundred times or more Four strong winds that blow lonely Seven seas that run high All those things that don't change, come what may But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for moving on I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way If I get there before the snow flies And if things are goin' good You could meet me if I sent you down the fare But by then it would be winter There ain't too much for you to do And those winds sure can blow cold way out there Four strong winds that blow lonely Seven seas that run high All those things that don't change, come what may But our good times are all gone And I'm bound for moving on I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way Songwriter: Ian Tyson (1933-2022) |
| This version is wonderful with the late (1962-2017) great Dmitri Hvorostovsky's low baritone voice. The tune is an ear-worm for me. No idea when I first heard it. Never did learn the words. Russia has given the world some deeply emotional melodies and lyrics. The old Soviet anthem is another favorite. Very stirring. When the song gets into my head, I imagine myself spinning very slowly and then upping the tempo until I can no longer stand, then slow down and collapse. The piece is peaceful, a bit melancholic, hopeful. May be what I need to hear right now. 🇷🇺 Moscow Nights 🇷🇺 English translation (U of Pittsburgh) Even whispers aren't heard in the garden, Everything has died down till morning. If you only knew how dear to me Are these Moscow nights. The river moves, unmoving, All in silver moonlight. A song is heard, yet unheard, In these silent nights. Why do you, dear, look askance, With your head lowered so? It is hard to express, and hard to hold back, Everything that my heart holds. But the dawn's becoming ever brighter. So please, just be good. Don't you, too, forget These summer, Moscow nights. Не слышны в саду даже шорохи Всё здесь замерло до утра Если б знали вы, как мне дороги Подмосковные вечера Если б знали вы, как мне дороги Подмосковные вечера Речка движется и не движется Вся из лунного серебра Песня слышится И не слышится В эти тихие вечера В эти тихие вечера Что ж ты милая, смотришь искоса Низко голову наклоня? Трудно высказать И не высказать Всё, что на сердце у меня А рассвет уже всё заметнее Так, пожалуйста, будь добра Не забудь и ты эти летние Подмосковные вечера! Не забудь и ты эти летние Подмосковные вечера! |
| Orange submersion Leaves are soooooo replaceable... just saying. Kinda like slaves workers in a factory. One dies or gets old or no longer is useful... get rid of it! The Capitalist and/or Mafia solution (in some unmentionable places, both). As for water. We are water. The leaf is water. All life on earth is apparently water (or revived by it). And all events are just ripples on the surface. Even humans are just ripples in time. Not that all will be calm when humans cease to exist. In time everything is recycled: the earth, the sun, the solar system. Yet, to view a leaf, already dead, whether it knows it or not, is to connect on some level to the beauty of the ephemeral. I wax poetic. BUT, Robert Waltz has already covered the technical side. Land thirsts under cloudless skies Leaves fall in rainbow colors, penance to welcome the rains. https://leisameeuwenristuben.zenfolio.com/p817665884/hA4FFBDD4#ha4ffbdd4 |
| There is no emoji for African Americans... or Native Americans, or Aboriginal Australians; not for their existence, not for their communities. So chose between these two! 🏴 ⚑ Rant  So... today's choice of song is "Lift every voice and sing." It's a mainstay of any Juneteenth (no flag) observance. Since I lived (for many years) in an African-American community I got to sing it. In reading the lyrics closely, please note the lack of anger. This is a song of hope. It's message is as American as "America the Beautiful" Which was used in a Coca Cola commercial at Super Bowl 2014. The controversy lies not in the song choice of “America the Beautiful,” but how it was presented and sung with the multilingual accompaniment of this immensely patriotic song. It was a more honest portrayal of America: an eclectic diversified representation, compared to a lot of other commercials that try to ideologically represent American citizens and our perceived values in a finite form of representation. Stereotypically, country music, pickup trucks, the American flag waving in the wind and a cold one seemingly is what is represented as a common “American” experience. Sound familiar? Read this: Outrage? https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/voices-the-conservative-outrage-over-the... History: https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/the-story-of-the-black-national-ant... Regardless, Sheryl Lee Ralph was awesome! One personal note though: she sings it in a very slow tempo. This is the link as the NFL, a font of great wi$dom, has blocked embedding it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Qzu6r40_4 So this a cappella version will have to do: The Negro National Anthem: "Lift Every Voice and Sing" by James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 - June 26, 1938) Originally written by Johnson for a presentation in celebration of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. This was originally performed in Jacksonville, Florida, by children. The popular title for this work is: 'THE NEGRO NATIONAL ANTHEM' Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory is won. Stony the road we trod, Bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, Have not our weary feet Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears have been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path, we pray. Lest our feet stray from the places, Our God, where we met Thee; Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee; Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand. True to our GOD, True to our native land |
| "Bésame mucho" was written when the song-writer was 15 or 16 years old (por la mexicana Consuelo Velázquez 1916-2005) in a Cuban bolero style. She grew up to be a great pianist and composer. I heard this as a small child (on a 78rpm I believe). 'Kiss me, kiss me a lot'... I wish! But the idea that 'this night may be the last' and 'I am afraid I will lose you in the end' is a widespread fear understood by many. It resonates with me tonight. Bésame Bésame mucho Como si fuera esta noche La última vez Bésame Bésame mucho Que tengo miedo a perderte Perderte después... This is the artiste herself: |
| Austria 🇦🇹 doesn't do too well in Eurovision. It's been a rough road post-Mozart. No longer the center of a mighty empire it does not have the population, prestige or power it once wielded. These days it's also helpful to have the resources and experience. Enter Conchita... She had placed 2nd in the national contest a couple years before. Her bearded drag queen persona was controversial but she found support even in conservative Eastern Europe. Me? Not my first choice before the contest. The video grew on me however, even when the final performance didn't. Conchita was regal in the competition; but, the video is steamy... like a hot tub full of red roses. I do think her performance goes well with the song and the lyrics. Very strong lyrics, imho. It speaks to me personally as I've had some devastating setbacks that I barely survived. To my friends and coworkers from 20 years ago: You wouldn't know me at all today. "Rise Like A Phoenix" Waking in the rubble Walking over glass Neighbors say we're trouble Well that time has passed Peering from the mirror No, that isn't me Stranger getting nearer Who can this person be You wouldn't know me at all today From the fading light I fly Rise like a phoenix Out of the ashes Seeking rather than vengeance Retribution You were warned Once I'm transformed Once I'm reborn You know I will rise like a phoenix But you're my flame Go about your business Act as if you're free No one could have witnessed What you did to me Cause you wouldn't know me today And you have got to see To believe From the fading light I fly Rise like a phoenix Out of the ashes Seeking rather than vengeance Retribution You were warned Once I'm transformed Once I'm reborn I rise up to the sky You threw me down but I'm gonna fly And rise like a phoenix Out of the ashes Seeking rather than vengeance Retribution You were warned Once I'm transformed Once I'm reborn You know I will rise like a phoenix But you're my flame |
| It was 19.... a long time ago and Alejandra was 3 years old. Her mother Vilma was a friend of mine and a member of the wonderful family I was living with in Costa Rica. "Arroz con leche" was the song she was taught. Very politically incorrect these days, but most old nursery rhymes, stories, and songs are. They were written in a different time. This song is silly but judgmental and, of course, a man must be married because he doesn't know how to do anything. Arroz con leche means rice pudding and is a simple common dessert. And like the desserts of one's childhood the song is an ear-worm that can never be forgotten. You have been warned! |
 Log in to Leave Feedback |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
