Music: Cemetery For The Soul

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.

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
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Hear the original version on SoundClick

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
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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.

Seven Ages
by Dave Semple, Paul Battersby

[ March 25, 2015 ]

(New video added Feb 4, 2024)

A folk song with orchestral accompaniment, about the seven ages of life.

Dave’s idea for this song came from the “All The World’s A Stage” monologue in Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It“

Feb 4, 2024 update: I wanted to make a video for this song for years but only recently, thanks to artificial intelligence, has it been possible to make the images that I needed. All images were created using Playground

show / hide lyrics

Seven Ages

Lyrics by: Dave Semple

When you were seven, so colour blind,
So undefined. Your song: unsung.

From seventeen to twenty-four,
You play at love and tell your lies: the heart’s disguise.

At thirty-one a brand new son
A daughter’s cry a lullaby. The years rush by.

We walk the path. The path we call life.
All the world is our stage, and we all play our parts.
At the end of the game, the king, queen and pawns,
All share the same box.
At the end of the day we all drift into dreams.

Soon forty-five, you realize,
Your jaded eyes make you the fool. The world’s so cruel.

Then sixty-four, another door,
Awaiting you to soon pass through. Will life renew?

We walk the path. The path we call life.
All the world is our stage, and we all play our parts.
At the end of the game, the king, queen and pawns,
All share the same box.
At the end of the war, we all bleed the same shade.

Another turn at seventy-two
The friends that you knew have begun to head home.

At ninety years as memories fade,
The setting sun will soon set for you.

We walk the path. The path we call life.
We are born o’er the tomb, there’s a flash, then there’s night.
The candle burns brief, just an hour in the light.
Will you offer a verse will the song in your heart,
Cross over unsung?

Did you savour each rung?
All the world is our stage, and we all play our parts.
At the end of the game, the king, queen and pawns,
All share the same box.
At the end of the road…

We all fade away.

Dave Semple	songwriting, vocals, 6 string guitar, 12 string guitar, bodhran
Paul Battersby	drums, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, (all from Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library) mixing

YouTube video
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Visit Dave Semple at Reverb Nation

Orange And Bronze Colored Waltz
by Tom Gibson, Paul Battersby

[ February 24, 2015 ]

I was initially drawn to this song by the name alone. I had to hear what an orange and bronze colored waltz was. I wasn’t disappointed. Very poetic and symbolic lyrics in this one.

From Tom:

It’s a vision piece lyrically, because that’s how we experience a sunset.

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Orange And Bronze Colored Waltz
Lyrics by Tom Gibson

The most beautiful girl in the village
Was taking the sun for a walk
The day turned into evening
In an orange and bronze colored waltz
They strolled thru the sand weathered mountains
Silhouette cactus and palms
But the blues watch deserved its relieving
By the orange and bronze colored waltz

(chorus)
Hi dee dee Hi
and it rises
Hi dee dee hi
and it falls
The earth and the moon turned in circles
‘Round an orange and bronze colored waltz

With vision as true as gun barrels
Sighting down worn desert walls
Bloody but still faintly breathing
The orange and bronze colored waltz
The ring the sun gave her turned moonlight
She feared his promise was false
But the love in her heart kept beating
An orange and bronze colored pulse

(chorus)

She went home and dreamt of her lover
As the Sun and Mimosa, Chagall
She held his embrace for the healing
Of his orange and bronze colored fall
The earth is the girl in the village
She’s dressed for the sun in chiffons
The moon’s only there for the dreaming
As they waltz thru the orange and bronze

(chorus)
(chorus)

Tom Gibson	song writing, guitar, vocals
Paul Battersby	drums, bass guitar, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, flute, piccolo, mixing, video

YouTube video
Audio only

Emmanuel
by Tim Smith, Paul Battersby

[ December 24, 2014 ]

(New video added Nov 13, 2020)
This instrumental was composed by Tim Smith but he was looking for new ideas to finish it. Guided by what he already had, I provided new strings, pan flute and choir.

Nov 13, 2020 update: I had an idea for a space themed video to go along with the music so I gathered together some 3D animations and stitched them together in the video below.

Tim Smith	original composition, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, synth, electric drums
Paul Battersby	strings, pan flute, choir, drums, tubular bells, mixing, video

YouTube video
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Red Nose
by Gustavo Lopez, Paul Battersby

[ October 26, 2014 ]

Gustavo wrote this piano part while he had the flu so he called it “Red Nose” because as he said

I have flu… and big red nose…

I heard this piano part, and really liked it. I worked on this slowly, a little bit at a time until I arrived at a full orchestral accompaniment.

Gustavo Lopez	piano composition
Paul Battersby	piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, cello, string bass, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, glockenspiel, xylophone, timpani, drums, mixing

YouTube video
Audio only

You might also like: Playing With Autumn Leaves, The Lighthouse

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

Promise
by Sean Simmons, Paul Battersby

[ March 28, 2013 ]

(New video added Jun 25, 2017)

This was originally a 1 minute piano piece by Sean Simmons. He posted the song encouraging anyone to do whatever they wanted to it, so I did. I started by doubling the length of the piano part and creating a new ending. Then I began adding other parts to it.

Jun 25, 2017 update:: this song was originally completed on Mar 28, 2013 but was reworked in Jun 2017 to use the new Virtual Playing Orchestra sample library which is also when the video was added.

Sean Simmons	Original Piano Composition
Paul Battersby	Modified Piano Part, Added Drums, Bass Guitar, 1st Violin, 2nd Violin, Viola, Cello, String Bass, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Glockenspiel, Harp, Mixing

YouTube video
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Fly Like A Bird
by Joel Sattler, Kevin Skiles, Paul Battersby

[ December 28, 2012 ]

When I first heard this song I liked the melody and the instrumentation of the original version but what really got me was the style of the vocals. Apparently Kevin (the singer/guitar player) sang Opera for 30 years but likes to sing Folk now.

This song presented a particular challenge for me in that I wanted to use full orchestra for it but it just wasn’t sounding right and the instincts that I was fighting, gave me the feeling that what I mostly needed to add was strings playing chords but that just seemed too plain to me. Then I remembered what I read as I was researching tips on creativity years ago and one tip was to limit yourself to a subset of instruments. Sometimes that adds focus rather than having too many choices. Once I chose to restrict my instruments to strings and a solo flute (and stop fighting my instincts), I knew I was on the right path for this song.

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Fly Like A Bird

Lyrics by: Joel Sattler

How many times have I heard you say
All you want is your life all you ask for each day
Is to fly like a bird never to fall
To be free as the air to climb over every wall

And if I could I would give you the sky
I would stand on the ground and I’d watch you fly

And if you flew a way never seen a gain
I would stay here for you as your for ever friend

Fly little lady fly like a bird
Fly may be fly like a bird

(instrumental)

But you’ll never soar and you’ll never fly
No matter the wish, no matter the try
We are rooted to earth, we are creatures of land
To live on the soil, and be buried in sand

But if somehow, you could spread your wings
And take to the sky, I would sing as you sing
So never the less, no matter the end
Whatever occurs, I’m your forever friend

Fly little lady, lady do fly
If you fly like a bird, don’t ask why

Joel Sattler	lyrics
Kevin Skiles	vocals, guitars
Paul Battersby	1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos, string bass, flute, piccolo, mixing

YouTube video
Audio only

You might also like: When I Get Over You

Note: the above, is my own personal mix of the song. You can listen to the mix Joel and Kevin created (that also includes my tracks) by clicking here

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.