All my poems and songs that I care to share that aren’t part of a larger work.<\/p>\n
Zip file of everything here<\/a> with MIDI, Cakewalk and PDF files (not MP3).<\/p>\n The Four Physicists<\/b> – Oct 98<\/p>\n Christian is a physicist, his exam mark was HD Eric is a physicist, our party’s youngest member Matthew is a physicist, his accent is a laugh Philip is a physicist, a famous one for this My spree of writing music didn’t start until a year later, but this was a precursor. I worked with Matthew, Philip and Christian for our Physics II project, in which we calculated the speed of sound by finding resonant frequencies in a pipe. There was not that much work for the four of us to do most of the time, so we spent much of the time looking out the window, playing on the computer in the lab and doing nothing. Once the four of us played a large-grid game of noughts & crosses. Our apparatus looked like something from Play School with its cardboard boxes and PVC pipe, so I set out to write a Play School style song. After writing a verse about each of us I decided it would be better left without music.<\/p>\n Colin is Late<\/b> – May 00 –\u00a0MIDI<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0PDF<\/a><\/p>\n Colin is late! We think it’s time we got here Colin is late! Therefore we could Colin is late! So we’ll go creeping 2000 was Colin’s first year at uni, and he soon got into the habit of leaving home late and missing the beginning of the first lecture of each day. I said that if Physics I was a TV show, he would not know its theme song because he had hardly seen the beginning of any physics lectures, being at 9:10 three mornings a week. This gave me the idea, and I wrote the words. In my excitement I couldn’t wait until I had written 24 lines to write the music (SATB quartet), so there were only 22 lines, with two lines missing (filled in 21 months later). The first four lines of each section have the same tune, but the other 12 lines are different. We sang it before the physics lecture on Fri 12 May just before Colin arrived (on time that day). The song was written with no specifics to Colin’s particular situation, so his name could easily be replaced by another’s.<\/p>\n Sonata for Clarinet and Piano<\/b> – Dec 00 – MIDI<\/a>\u00a0– PDF<\/a><\/p>\n In Dec 99, I met Kate and Jacinta Gibbs on holiday from Melbourne, who were playing the clarinet and keyboard at the shops where I worked. I spent some time (on the job!) juggling with them, adding to their takings. They didn’t have any arrangements they could play together, so I said I would write one and send it to them. It took me a year to get around to it. Two eight bar tunes are exposed, developed and recapitualted in the usual sonata style. The clarinet part is written in G major but sounds in F.<\/p>\n Boehm Family Farm<\/b> – April 01 –\u00a0MIDI<\/a><\/p>\n Well before five in the morning we drive to Uraidla which isn’t too far Then when it cools down and it’s pleasant in town on the farm it’s uncomfortably cold She’s an asset to the place Deane can always keep his calm We’re glad to work for H. K. Boehm and Co. My time working at the Boehms’ farm in 00-02 was so good that it warranted this song. I liked it there for many reasons – everyone was nice to each other, we ate lots of food on the house and we were paid well, all in contrast with the flower farm where I previously worked for a fortnight. It took three weeks for me to realise that half of the workers there were related (three different surnames). That explained why it was the good place I described, and the great thing was that people outside the family working there, like myself, were treated as one of the family, even though in my case I didn’t learn the skills the others had, and did the simpler tasks. Also noteworthy is that Deane didn’t shout at us when we erred, when others in his position could have lost their temper with us, and in my case, dismissed me.<\/p>\n The song is in 6:8 time. The first section is in quavers, and the second is in crotchets, so the speed is such that you can pronounce all the words in the first part without getting bored in the second, in fact the second part should probably be accelerated. There are a piano and flute accompaniment (the flute had to be included as the modern flute was designed by Theobald Boehm). The two tunes, both eight lines lone and played twice for the 64 bars in each section, have the same piano part. The third section is an anaccompanied quartet. Then the first and second sections are played at the same time. CABBAGE is one of the longest words made up only of notes of the scale, so the word in its tune is heard a few times. The vocal parts were all written for myself, hence the quartet with limited range.<\/p>\n The influence of Gilbert & Sullivan is seen in this song (I was in the chorus for The Yeomen of the Guard when I wrote it). It’s the first song in which I have kept to a rhythmic pattern like this, with no missed syllables in the middle of a line, and with a high frequency of rhyming words. It could be the result of having in my head the double chorus from Ruddigore (“The sons of the tillage…”). I worked hard to get all the words I could to say what I had to say before realising it would be 271 bars long, coming to four and a half minutes at six syllables per second in the fast section.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/b>Duet from Eva\u2019s adventure<\/strong> – Apr 02 – MIDI<\/a> – PDF<\/a><\/p>\n Eva: Eric: Just like in your story books, you may run into some with crooks I wrote a non-linear play for a kids holiday programme at church. Eva was the main character, who goes to Blackwood Forest in search of some hidden money. Upon reaching the middle of the forest, she sings her verse. Then my character comes out of nowhere and sings a quicker verse which fits with the same chords. Then the two verses sing on top of each other. When we performed the play, Eva didn\u2019t want to sing to the duet so the verses were spoken at that point in the play.<\/p>\n Happy Birthday<\/b> \u2013 Jun 03 –\u00a0MIDI<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0PDF<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0MP3<\/a><\/p>\n I wrote a barbershop arrangement to sing at Colin\u2019s 21st\u00a0birthday party. The lower-middle part is the Mildred Hill’s standard song, and the other three parts are stacked around it. I used to take a copy of this when went to a birthday party, hoping to find a few others who could sing it with me.<\/p>\n Misfortune<\/strong> \u2013 Oct 05 – YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n If I buy something, then wait just one day, If someone who’s in charge exists up there, Is there a Six upon the dice I’ve got? It’s so unfair that all the girls I see O God, O Circumstance, whoever’s there Is there a King remaining in the pack? Through my car window shines the sun so bright O James, O Fortuna, whoever’s there, Is there a Six upon the dice I’ve got? I worked at Unley Shopping Centre during in Jun-Dec 02. I had ample spare time, and used to hang around with the Coles workers (although my work was based around Bi-Lo). One of them, Lauren, used to make complaints about her misfortune, which became this song three years later. It\u2019s written entirely in iambic pentameter, and although nearly every note in the melody is a quaver, the song avoids a repetitive rhythm by starting its lines on different beats in the bar.<\/p>\n This is the first song I\u2019ve written (where I\u2019ve done both words & music) for just one singer. Ben\u2019s, Alice\u2019s and Rod\u2019s songs in Keep On Coding and the central song in Pitch Drop were written to existing arrangements (most popular music is for one voice). Bob\u2019s song in KoC and Goliath\u2019s song in D&G have chorus parts, while the majority of my catalogue is duets, quartets, choruses, etc. This song therefore is one I like to belt out on the piano.<\/p>\n The Maranatha Song<\/strong> – Nov 05 – words by Andrew Turner – JPEG<\/a> –\u00a0MP3<\/a><\/p>\n When your hammer slips and lands on the wrong nail When it all seems too much and you just want to weep In the nightly news a litany of woe When it all seems too much and you just want to weep When the Lord says He\u2019s preparing us a place When it all seems too much and you just want to weep Andrew Turner wrote most of the words for this song to go with a sermon for the start of Advent 2005. I added a few words and wrote the music. The idea of this song is that a Christian response to frustration and disaster in the world is to cry out for Christ’s return, that ‘Maranatha’ would be our swear-word. Michael Findlay, a member of our church at that time, went on to found Maranatha Health.<\/p>\n Some other songs I thought of writing include\u00a0a Handel-style aria about something that is too hot to handle, an anthem conveying the very warm welcome enjoyed by Pizza Haven delivery drivers and\u00a0an ensemble number about hat hair (the phenomenon observed when one\u2019s hat is removed after wearing it for a while). I even had an idea of writing a musical “Glenunga” that would include these three along with some of those already written. Characters included a punk-style singer and a teacher who sings in monotone throughout.<\/p>\n The Lake<\/strong> – 2016-17, for Peri<\/p>\n\n
\nHe sits upon the window sill to see what he can see
\nOr he sits at the computer playing Vegas Solitaire
\nHe loses nearly every time but doesn’t really care<\/p>\n
\nHe hasn’t combed his hair this week or shaved since last December
\nHe’s an expert at Minesweeper and he’s not too bad at Hearts
\nInstead of doing physics he’d prefer performing arts<\/p>\n
\nHe comes from across the border and says “graff” instead of “graaph”
\nMatthew is a chemist, sometimes he goes to do some chem
\nAnd comes back in an hour to find we haven’t worked since then<\/p>\n
\nHe gave us Philip’s Postulate, and this is what it is:
\n“Suppose I had a lot of cash, five thousand dollars, say
\nThen I would buy a motorbike and ride here every day”<\/p>\n
\nHe’s never on time, but it still is not clear
\nWhy his whole life is ten minutes behind
\nThe rest of the class but he doesn’t mind
\nIt doesn’t look like he can get ahead
\nLate to rise and always late to bed
\nThis is the story every day
\nAnd this allows us to come and say<\/p>\n
\nTake advantage of his absence, he should
\nBe here but since he isn’t, nothing prevents
\nUs singing a song about him at his expense
\nTo change someone’s habits isn’t in our power
\nBut we want him to come here at the proper hour
\nAlthough Colin’s lateness is a source of fun
\nIn the end something must be done<\/p>\n
\nInto his house tonight when he is sleeping
\nChange all the clocks so they’re ten minutes fast
\nColin will come here on time at last
\nThat trick is short-lived, he will turn the clocks back
\nWhen he finds what we’ve done, then again he’ll be slack
\nIf he changes his ways then that would be great
\nUntil he does, we can sing Colin is late!<\/p>\n
\nBut it’s so very dark that it’s quite hard to park without hitting a tree or a car
\nOur job is to toil and take from the soil of the Boehm family farm on Swamp Road
\nWhere the big lettuce field won’t fail to yield a good crop every time it is sowed
\nAll of the lettuce we cut doesn’t get us the profit we wish we could pull
\nFor the price is so high for the cartons we buy, that we hardly get more when they’re full
\nThough Adelaide may have a very hot day on the farm it’s so cool, it’s much better
\nAnd whenever it rains on the Adelaide plains, in the hills it will always be wetter<\/p>\n
\nIt’s below eight degrees and your fingers will freeze from the frost-covered lettuce you hold
\nThe most blessed of the crew must be those of us who though we are not related by birth
\nAre treated as such though we don’t cut as much yet are paid a bit more than we’re worth
\nWith pure city blood and not used to the mud when we started to work in the hills
\nSince we were hired we never acquired the techniques nor the methods or skills
\nWhen we’re at the Boehm family farm we’re at home and the credit for that goes to Mary
\nWe’re the most lucky ones, Mary treats us as sons, even though it is not necessary<\/p>\n
\nShe tells us that we needn’t race
\nWhen we, not keeping with the pace
\nRing to say we’ve overslept
\nWe’re glad to have a boss like Deane
\nAt other places we have been
\nThe bosses could be rather mean
\nDeane’s patient though we are inept<\/p>\n
\nWhen one arrives late at the farm
\nBecause he’s slept through his alarm
\nDean grins and asks him “How was she?”
\nOh, they pay us very well
\nThe other veg’table they sell
\nIs one which we can sing to spell
\nC A B B A G E<\/p>\n
\nThere’s nowhere else to work we’d rather go
\nThis season we will cut whatever will grow
\nAnd if anyone offers us higher-paid jobs, we’ll say no
\nThe work that everyone of us enjoys
\nIs cutting the CABBAGE, especially the savoys
\nWe do it so quick that Deane has to tell us “Slow down boys”
\nBecause we love to throw the cabbage around, especially the savoys
\nOnce a month, before the end of night
\nWe see the full moon setting, something seen by few
\nAnd when the Picadilly valley comes into light
\nNot many workplaces offer such a view
\nMount Bonython and Mount Lofty are in sight
\nIf anyone out of work only knew
\nHow great this workplace is they would write
\nLetters to Dean saying “Let us cut lettuce we want to cut lettuce with you”<\/p>\n
\nThis forest is quite picturesque, it looks
\nJust like the forests in my story books
\nThough I don’t go in for hiking, this adventure’s to my liking
\nThere’s thousands of trees, as far as one sees!<\/p>\n
\nHow nice! Hello there dear, I don’t meet many people here
\nWhat mood or inclination brought you to this great location
\nFar from anyone’s address?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I guess
\nYou have heard about the stash, a hidden suitcase full of cash<\/p>\n
\nThis seldom travelled space, just seems like the perfect place
\nFor a crook to have his hideout.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And I doubt
\nThat if caught by one today you could ever get away!<\/p>\n
\nThe price drops under what I had to pay.
\nMy luck continues always as if planned.
\nThroughout my life here nothing goes my way.<\/p>\n
\nIf you can hear my cry and if you care,
\nI know there’s much that I don’t understand
\nBut turn your ear with favour to my prayer.<\/p>\n
\nIs there an Ace among the cards or not?
\nI feel that I’ve been dealt a lousy hand!
\nO God, work with me, please improve my lot.<\/p>\n
\nHave boyfriends if they want them, all but me!
\nTo have a bloke who loves me would be grand
\nSo heavenward I look and state my plea:<\/p>\n
\nIn that great lighting booth up in the air.
\nAm I supposed to go through life unmanned?
\nThere must be someone decent you can spare.<\/p>\n
\nTo tell the truth, I’d settle for a Jack.
\nI feel that I’ve been dealt a lousy hand.
\nO God, have mercy, grant me what I lack.<\/p>\n
\nAnd over time the ultraviolet light
\nHas left me with a right arm darker and
\nA left arm so much lighter, it’s not right!<\/p>\n
\nIs not what I deserve, it isn’t fair
\nThat I have one arm pale and one arm tanned.
\nThis everyday misfortune I can’t bear.<\/p>\n
\nI haven’t rolled one yet. O am I not
\nThe most unfortunate in all the land?
\nGod, work with me, give me a decent shot!<\/p>\n
\nWhen you try to catch the final bus and fail
\nWhen your washing is exported by a gale
\nWhen you do your best, but all to no avail<\/p>\n
\nAnd you don\u2019t know whether you\u2019re Arthur or Martha
\nDon\u2019t say \u2018crikey\u2019 or \u2018blimey\u2019 or \u2018bother\u2019 or [BEEP]
\nThere\u2019s a better word for it- say \u2018Maranatha\u2019<\/p>\n
\nAnd there\u2019s nowhere in the world that\u2019s safe to go
\nWhen disaster lands the poor a further blow
\nAnd relief is far too distant and too slow<\/p>\n
\nAnd you don\u2019t know whether you\u2019re Arthur or Martha
\nDon\u2019t say \u2018crikey\u2019 or \u2018blimey\u2019 or \u2018bother\u2019 or [BEEP]
\nThere\u2019s a better word for it- say \u2018Maranatha\u2019<\/p>\n
\nAnd a day when we will see Him face to face
\nAnd reward for those who persevere with grace
\nBe assured, it\u2019s not just talk, but it\u2019s the case<\/p>\n
\nAnd you don\u2019t know whether you\u2019re Arthur or Martha
\nDon\u2019t say \u2018crikey\u2019 or \u2018blimey\u2019 or \u2018bother\u2019 or [BEEP]
\nThere\u2019s a better word for it- say \u2018Maranatha\u2019<\/p>\n
![JPEG<\/a> –\u00a0](\"\/music\/misc\/mara.jpg\"){kind=link}