Music: Mothers Day

Mothers Day
by Gustavo Lopez, Paul Battersby

[ October 1, 2017 ]

(New video added May 6. 2022)
A piano piece that Gustavo wrote for Mother’s Day. I had some orchestration ideas as soon as I heard it so thought I’d see what I could do.

Gustavo Lopez	original piano composition
Paul Battersby	piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, celesta, harp, percussion (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), mixing, video

YouTube video
Audio only

Cat Eyes
by Gustavo Lopez, Paul Battersby

[ July 15, 2017 ]

Another nice piano instrumental by Gustavo Lopez. I wanted to add subtle orchestra to support the piano and I mostly did that, but I still ended up with a big full orchestra crescendo in the middle.

Gustavo Lopez	original composition, piano
Paul Battersby	piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, percussion (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), mixing

You might also like: Red Nose, Playing With Autumn Leaves

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Breaths Of Maidens
by Matt Kresling, Paul Battersby

[ May 19, 2017 ]

(New video added Aug 29. 2021)
When I first heard this song, I really liked the lyrics. It was just vocals and ukulele originally so I decided to add guitar, bass and drums to finish the song and give it a more standard instrumentation.

Aug 29, 2021 update: I had the idea to use an old story from Greek mythology as the inspiration for the video since the theme of the story seemed to generally fit the music.

show / hide lyrics

Breaths of Maidens

Lyrics by: Matt Kresling

(Verse 1)
I’ll never grow old. That’s just somethin’ that I chose
and never to participate in

How do I maintain the appearance of youth
While my peer group resembles
a bunker you’d thrown a grenade in

(Chorus 1)
By breathing the vapor distilled from the breaths of maidens
By breathing the vapor distilled from the breaths of maidens

(Verse 2)
I don’t need stuff. Know employment enough
that I’m 30 years going on 80

My unwrinkled brow
be wrecked wondering how many years yet
will I pull the plow ’till I drop a Mercedes

(Chorus 2)
And I’m breathing direct from the mouths of maiden ladies
And I’m breathing direct from the mouths of maiden ladies

(Break)
And you would do well to recall
unless you’d like to age like the rest of them all
It isn’t the medicine, but how it’s administered
so find you a maiden if you’ve got the wherewithal

(Verse 3)
In-spite of the surgery she can’t afford
youthfulness means to escape her

It never was somethin’ that money can buy
in fact it often comes out the inverse of assets on paper

(Chorus 3)
So I’m breathing the young ladie’s distilled exhaled vapours
So I’m breathing the young ladie’s distilled exhaled vapours

Verse 4
Now I can’t pretend to have life figured out
but it pays back about what you paid in

The minute you worry about the amount
when your years will run out is about when you really start fading

(Chorus 4)
And you can’t even sweat about breathing the breaths of maidens
No you can’t even sweat about breathing the breaths of maidens

Most of all you can’t sweat about breathing the breaths of maidens

Matt Kresling	original song writing, vocals, ukulele
Paul Battersby	guitar, bass, drums, mixing

YouTube video
Audio only

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.

Cemetery For The Soul
by Scott Thomson, Paul Battersby

[ May 14, 2017 ]

This started out with a couple of electric guitars, a couple of synths and a drum track. In the repeating chord progression of the original music I heard a few things that gave me a lot of ideas for a melody and orchestral accompaniment so I added all those original ideas and more to this instrumental. Except for the above mentioned instruments from the original version, all the orchestra sounds are from my Virtual Playing Orchestra sound library.

Scott Thomson	original composition, guitar1, guitar2, synth, drums
Paul Battersby	piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, english horn, bassoon, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, synth harp, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, glockenspiel, misc percussion (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), mixing

YouTube video
Audio only

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Cerulean
by Nielson, Baldwin, Emond, Battersby

[ April 18, 2017 ]

From Samuel Nielson:

A peaceful, hopefully emotional piece

I started out planning to use a full orchestra but it didn’t take me long to realize this song needed a smaller softer approach so I decided to limit myself to solo instruments : a string quartet, woodwinds and a harp all from my Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library.

show / hide lyrics

Cerulean

Lyrics by: Suzann Baldwin

All the mist on the ground,
grey spreading all around,
is just a lost cloud that has found
a quiet place to sleep.
Leaving the bed unmade.
Waiting for pain to fade.
I always thought the plans we made
were promises that you would keep.

(chorus)
Fear makes my blood run cold
in every shade of blue
I can’t stop my mind from running
back to you.

Saw a doll in a tree.
Sadly she looked at me.
Tattered eyes, hair caught in a breeze.
Misguided fantasy.
Give me the time I spent,
those days that came and went,
I was waiting dumb and silent,
for your rehearsed apology.

(instrumental)

(repeat chorus)

I watch as sorrow comes,
so dark and bittersweet,
while all the things you never said
lay silent at my feet.
Fear makes my blood run cold
in every shade of blue
I can’t stop my mind from running
running forever back to you.

Samuel Nielson	piano composition, melody
Suzann Baldwin	lyrics
Gregg Emond	vocals
Paul Battersby	flute, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, harp (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), mixing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.

When I Get Over You
by Neal Klassen, Paul Battersby

[ October 28, 2016 ]

(New video added Nov 5. 2022)

From Neal:

My dad sang in Barbershop Quartets so, through him, I learned to appreciate the work of Irving Berlin and other great songwriters of that era.

This is my attempt to write that kind of song: simple words, soaring melody, unabashedly sentimental… with lots of open vowels for the singer to play with.

As I was working on the orchestration for this song, I tried to imagine the singer on the stage, singing this as part of a popular Broadway show, with the musicians in the orchestra pit. I saw a few musicals as a kid, so working on this song takes me back in time. It would be a dream come true if I could compose musical accompaniment for something that would appear in a musical.

NOTE: this was originally published on Apr 5, 2015 but reworked to use the new Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library.

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When I Get Over You

Lyrics by: Neal Klassen

You’ll see me dance, you’ll hear me laugh
You’ll know that I’ve torn up your photograph
These are the things I’m going to do
When I get over you
When I get over you

I’ll stand up tall, I’ll smile again
I’ll tell myself to stop remembering when
The love we shared was all I knew
When I get over you
When I get over you

So many plans I’ve got to make
So many chances I’ve got to take
I don’t know if I’ll have the time to cry
So much more love I’ve got to give
So much more life I’ve got to live
I don’t know if I can but I will try

You’ll be surprised, I’ll be so strong
I’ll show the world that I can carry on
And then I’ll find somebody new
When I get over you
When I get over you
When I get over you

Neal Klassen	songwriting, piano
Barbara Samuel	vocals
Paul Battersby	flute, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, glockenspiel (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library), mixing, video

YouTube video
Audio only

Hear the original version on SoundClick

Ride Outlaw Ride
by Michael Price, Arlen Graves, Paul Battersby

[ May 16, 2016 ]

A song about an outlaw on the run. I liked the fast tempo and rhythm of the vocals so I thought I’d try my hand at adding all the music for this old time country song.

show / hide lyrics

Ride Outlaw Ride

Lyrics by: Mike Price, Susan Graves

(verse 1)
The night is cold your horse is tired, the possie’s on your tail
Better ride outlaw, better ride
You robbed a man in Fordland, left him dying by the trail
Better ride outlaw, better ride

(chorus)
You’d better ride outlaw, better ride
You can run but you can’t hide
Better men than you have tried
Better ride outlaw, better ride

(verse 2)
You left a woman waiting in a house in New Orleans
Better ride outlaw, better ride
A Cajun sworn to kill you and a child you’ve never seen
Better ride outlaw, better ride.

(chorus)
You’d better ride outlaw, better ride
There’s nowhere left to hide
Better men are close behind
Better ride outlaw, better ride

(piano break)

(verse 3)
Your fast and steady gun has left you heavy shoes to fill
Better ride outlaw, better ride
If faster guns don’t get you, you know the hangman will
Better ride outlaw better ride

(chorus)
You’d better ride outlaw, better ride
There’s nowhere you can hide
Better men than you have died
Better ride outlaw better ride
You’d better ride outlaw better ride
Better ride outlaw, better ride

Michael Price	songwriting, vocals
Arlen Graves	songwriting
Paul Battersby	6 string guitar, 12 string guitar, piano, bass, drums, mixing

A Color Of The Sky
by Mantecon, Singh, Noble, Battersby

[ March 26, 2016 ]

(New Video Added Mar 4, 2022)
A high energy song with a slight hint of country rock, about never giving up because you never know what’s around the next corner.

The parts I added to this song actually came together very quickly for me. I had a clear idea about the strings and the drums right from the beginning. There were a few adjustments along the way but I was mostly able to take what I heard in my head and directly record it. I didn’t need to spend much time experimenting with this one.

March 4, 2022 update: 6 years after working on this (I did the drums, strings, bass) when I went to publish the video, I discovered to my disappointment that the main theme of the music is identical to the song “Think Brave” by Dixie Station, however according to YouTube, they grant permission to use their music provided I don’t try to make money from it so apparently it’s still O.K. to publish this song and publish the video.

show / hide lyrics

A Color Of The Sky

Lyrics by: Mike Matecon, Shiv Signh

When I thought all was lost
And I’d never smile again
I found a new beginning
Waiting near the end

When I thought all was gone
And hope had fled my grasp
I found a shiny future
Lurking in the past

What I thought was an end
Turned out to be a middle
And what I thought was a brick wall
Turned out to be a tunnel

(chorus)
What I thought was an injustice
Turned out to be a color
A color of the sky
A color of the sky

When I lost all my faith
And just threw it all away
I found a second chance
To live another day

And when I thought I was doomed
And cursed my life and luck
I found my soul was yet to soar
A diamond in the rough

What I thought was an end
Turned out to be a middle
What I thought was a brick wall
Turned out to be a tunnel

(chorus) x 2

Mike Matecon	lyrics
Kim Noble	lead vocals, backing vocals
Shiv Signh	lyrics, electric guitar (x2), slide guitar, acoustic guitar
Paul Battersby	drums, bass, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, 12 string guitar
Bruce Valeriani	mixing, mastering
Original Version	“Think Brave” by Dixie Station

YouTube video
Audio only

Dear Boston
by Sattler, Lucas, Lopez, Wayne, Battersby

[ February 22, 2016 ]

A song about how it felt to be away from home at the Boston Marathon bombing.

From Raymond Lapointe:

The feelings that this song expresses is what I want to convey at this moment. Just listen to the feelings that spill out of this song, and imagine that, like me, you are working in Boston, away from your family and loved ones, and in a week when terror strikes and terrible things happened to innocent people who were out enjoying what should have simply been a beautiful day of fun and celebration. Imagine that you now feel stranded away from home, from your family, and your loved ones. Imagine that your family, seeing news reports of the events unfolding in Boston, are only eager to know that you are ok. These are the feelings being conveyed here.

show / hide lyrics

Dear Boston

Lyrics by: Joel Sattler

How I long to hear your, long to hear your voice
How I wish that there no longer was a choice
Between the death of innocence
And the past and present tense
And the choice between the peace and violence

But how I long to hear your long to hear your voice
From the days that we would gather and rejoice
And where spring was always green
And no enemies were seen
And the promises of peace were not a dream

(chorus)
Oh how I wish you were there
Oh how I feel it’s so unfair
To spend the summer in a grief I’ve never known
But in my mind I hear you sing
Of all the love that you bring
And of the memory of happiness at home
Our happy home

Oh how I long to hear your long to hear your voice
As I’m staring at the darkness of the void
All I have is memory
Of the things you said to me
And of a perfect joy

How I long to hear your long to hear your voice
But all I see is just a picture of a boy
Yesterday we were so happy
In the sunshine we were laughing
’till we heard the terror thunder and the noise

(chorus)
(bridge)
(chorus)

How I long to hear your long to hear your voice
How I long to hear your long to hear your voice

Joel Sattler	lyrics
Ryan Lucas	vocals
Gustavo Lopez	piano
Wayne P	guitar 1, guitar 2
Paul Battersby	drums, bass, flute, piccolo, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, trumpet, french horn, mixing

You might also like: When I Get Over You

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Birthday Party
by Steven Fink, Paul Battersby

[ November 12, 2015 ]

(New Video Added Dec 17, 2021)
An upbeat happy tune that started out as a digital keyboard + vocals song until I added more.

You’re like a birthday party; you make me shine

This song interested me because of the rhythm and sound of the digital keyboard that introduces the song.

Dec 17, 2021 update: Loosely guided by the lyrics of the song, I added a video about a birthday party that starts out well but doesn’t go as expected.

Steven Fink	songwriting, vocals, digital keyboard
Paul Battersby	piano, brass, bass guitar, drums, mixing

YouTube video
Audio only

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.