Dirt and Dust by Oldrottenhead

[Oldrottenhead]

my attempt at Americana, song could be about the present day or the dust bowl.

Drums where done on the ipad then recorded via the line in to a stereo track on my BR800, i then plugged in my jasmine electro acoustic and recorded that to a stereo track on the br800. then got out my epiphone bass guitar and recorded that to a mono track, then recorded vocal to another mono track. Then used thumbjam on the ipad to record a cajun accordian to a mono track, then with last remaining track i used thumbjam to record the violin, whilst playing violin on ipad i had my korg nanokey plugged in and played the lead violin part on that.

hope it's not too depressing and dirgey.

well my old homestead is tumbling down
the golden days behind us the golden days behind us
in this once proud place we were industrious
hey welcome to our ghost town welcome to our ghost town
all this dirt and dust will no one sweep it away
there's been too much bad luck and no one wants to stay
well the old schoolhouse has only broken windows
and no one to replace them no one to replace them
the class ain't half full but our glass is half empty
welcome to my hometown welcome to my hometown
all this dirt and dust well we've been trying to sweep it away
but it just won't shift cos it's here for good
all this dirt and dust well we've been trying to sweep it away
but it just won't shift cos it's here for good
well my old homestead is tumbling down

[cuthbert]

No, not too depressing or dirgey. I like the TJ Cajun Accordion (sounds a lot like a harmonium), and how it sort of carries the song. Blends really well with your electric guitar and vocal.

[Groundy]

Nice one James, like it....



Alex

[Redler]

Brilliant James!

The backer with all those instruments sounds so good and the lyric fits well on the atmosphere! Very captivating melody indeed and your vocal interpretation is outstanding!

Amazing job, James!!

[kenny mac]

It's a good song james, I'm not getting the Americano connection though?
Maybe it's me I'm struggling with the concept to be honest.
I can see the list of Artists but one of them is Tom petty and songs like don't come around here no more wouldn't strike me as Americano.
I love the sounds and the lyrics on this mate,good song.

[Oldrottenhead]

americano is a coffee kenny lol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_(music)

[kenny mac]

Bloody predictive text lol

[Oldrottenhead]

a few facebook pals asked me how my weekend was in Dublin i was in Dunoon. yup Bloody predictive text

[IanR]

Hi James,

I love the song. It is a bit dirgey but that's the right feeling for this song, which is a lament about the disintegration of the narrator's home environment.  I think it nails it.

In relation to Americana - this is a problematic term, just like "rock", "pop", or "folk"". It can mean almost anything and the list of Americana artists on Wikipedia is not the extent of it.

It seems to be a response to the overproduced, slick, "perfect" music that is dished up on mainstream radio these days.

My feeling is that Americana could be anything played with a folk/rock/ballad style with a lot of (old fashioned) acoustic instruments in it, with a LIVE sound. This should be acceptable for the festival, especially if there is NO chance of it ever being played on the radio.

Ian

[Farrell Jackson]

Good song ORH! The TJ instruments sound excellent.

If you want to know what Americana music is just ask any American and they'll tell you "Hell if we know". LOL I think it's a catch all genre that originated from a combination of bluegrass, folk, and rock. Usually a lot of acoustic instruments involved but also electric instruments and drums. So there you have it, it can be most anything  . I think your song fits as good as any in that category. The lyric most certainly does..well done!

Farrell