"I've Done the Math" - original by Ted - Live in the Grand Canyon

[Ted]

"I've Done the Math"
© 2014 Ted Johnson

Ted: guitar, bass, and vocals
Recorded and mastered on my Micro BR (none of that GarageBand cheating this time.)

I've done the math.
I know I'm right.
I wish I knew
How to fight this fight.

This ancient chasm,
This tourist draw,
Doesn't care one way or the other
About our law.

A squirrel just came up to me
Begging for bread.
I reached out my hand
And thunked it on the head.

Don't depend on people.
I know your hunger yearns.
Don't depend on people.
I wish I'd learn.

I know I'm right.
I've done the math.
If I was the first down here
There wouldn't be a path.

Two days ago I did something I've always wanted to do: I hiked down to Indian Garden in the Grand Canyon with my backpacker guitar and wrote a song.

First I hiked from Indian Garden to Plateau Point:



Then I hiked back to Indian Garden, found a table, pulled out the notebook, and wrote the date at the top of the page:



Then I took a picture of myself:



Then I wrote the song. There was a Park Ranger nearby giving a presentation on Bighorn Sheep, so I found a more private location to record the song:

You can hear some wind noise in the song. I forgot to bring headphones, so I just recorded mono in the MBR's MP3 mode.

It's very unusual for me to write and record a song this fast, but I didn't want to leave the canyon without having done both -- and I didn't have a camping permit.

I added bass tonight.

[Oldrottenhead]

great song and recording ted, the wind  sounds incredibly like the sound my dog makes when he runs down the stairs just as i record my vocal tracks on my mbr.

[Greeny]

Great story, great experiment, and great song! That last, hanging 'if i were the first down here, there wouldn't be a path' line is so friggin' cool! A brilliant performance too. Bravo!

[Geir]

I tanked this down to my phone before heading to work today and listened .....  and listened ..

And now I'm listening and enjoying it again !

Excellent Ted. Love how you did this .... and that first picture is just beautiful ... nature and the silver brick ...

Inspiring !!

You sure don't need several days to make a great song

I'm a fan !

[Jarle]

Great song and performance. It sounds really fresh.

[Ted]

A little more about Plateau Point, because my photo doesn't do it justice. It's one of the most dramatic spots in the Grand Canyon; about 1,300 feet (400 m) above the Colorado River, and 3,000 feet (900 m) below the trailhead at the south rim.

I like to think this is where no MBR has gone before, but I can't know that for sure.

My MBR selfie was taken about right here:

Click on the image to go to an interactive panorama of Plateau Point.

I'm not sure how much longer I'll be living in Flagstaff, so I need to do more hikes like this.

That last, hanging 'if i were the first down here, there wouldn't be a path' line is so friggin' cool!

I wasn't sure how I felt about that, it's so unresolved. But with the Greeny Stamp of Approval, I think I'll keep it. I may do a more polished version of this in the future.

Thanks, Jim, Greeny, Geir, and Jarle for your comments.

[steelguitar]

Beautyfull!!!
Voice as great as Neil Young... Superb acoustic performance...

I sincerely think that the energy , the "spirit'" of the place where you play ang sing influence your way to play or compose... Positive vibrations, natural and large winds of "force"...

The Force : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUKGTkiWik  

Easy to do a "Live In The Living Room" for anyone...  

But a "Live In the Grand Canyon"     Great idea!!!  

Really excellent inspiration...

Thanks for your lyrics in manuscript

Jean-Sébastien

[steelguitar]

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=15502.msg260833#new

I propose for a future festival : "Live In A Great Natural Place",

Place known as the Grand Canyon or totaly unknown as a little place in the middle of the south of France in the garrigue in french, scrubland...

Jean-Sébastien

[Bluesberry]

Sounds really good for how it was recorded.  Its a really good song, nice chords and excellent lyrics and vocals.  Its a top flight song.

[T.C. Elliott]

I love the squirrel verse. I'm expecting a connect with nature scene and you teach us a hard lesson. I love that you went on this journey and completed it so well.