Noises in the Night (Protest at the Airport)

Monday, Nov 31, 3AM.
I just heard an explosion of some sort as I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep. The PAD protesters have been occupying both airports in Bangkok for some days now, and pressure has been mounting for the government to clear them out, so while the noise could have been anything, my first thought was of the airport. And I realized as I thought of what might be happening right now (tomorrow's news will tell, but it doesn't change the point) that I need to embrace the protesters more in my thought. I've been thinking of them as, in a sense, spoiled: anti-universal-suffrage activists (authoritarian royalists) who have been running wild in the city with almost no police intervention, and now on the 4th or 5th day they've been holding the airport, as the country has been losing truckloads of money in tourist revenue every day because of them... well I'd been eager for the police to break it up. I felt like in any other country in the world they would have been evicted by force on the first day, and that at very least a little tear gas would be an extremely restrained and appropriate response. I realize now though, that what's important is that I be praying for the safety of the protesters and the police and the army all together. And to do that I need to let go of my feelings in any direction on the protesters' actions, and remember that not a hair on the head of a single person at that airport needs to be harmed for this to be resolved peacefully*.

Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד

*Also, I should remember that Thai politics is none of my business, but praying for humanity is mine and everone's.

Lime-aid

I know this picture is fuzzy, but I think the subject is clear. I'm making agua de limón just like back in Guadalajara in 2003. (I studied there. Host family. Lots of lime-aid.)
It's great to be living in a place with an abundance of limes. And papayas and mangoes and the nasty-looking custard apple and jackfruit, even though jackfruit is kind of gross, truth be told. Definitely edible, but just a little on the gross side if I have more than a piece.

The Great Divide: Rise Up Singing Gets Its Own Blog

Ok, I've decided that it's weird to be posting a song a day (so far so good!) from Rise Up Singing on my "None of your Business" blog. I mean, what if strangers come because they want to learn songs and then they see my heading and news about living in Thailand and stuff. They'll think "Am I in the right place? Who's this guy?"
So, to avoid people asking "Am I in the right place?", I've just made a new 'right place'. From now on, the right place to go for songs from Rise Up Singing and nothing else is here, at the brand new Rise Up Singing Project blog:

http://riseupsingingproject.blogspot.com/

Everything else in my life, you know, all the stuff that's "none of your business", you can still get right here. I've got a post about toilet paper in the works which I might hit you all with tomorrow.

R.U.S. Bonus: Follow Me

This bonus song isn't from Rise Up Singing, but I've written down the lyrics in my copy of Rise Up Singing because that's how much I like it.

Words by Dennis Lee
Music by Philip Balsam
Performed on Fraggle Rock by Gobo and Uncle Travelin' Matt

FOLLOW ME

Every day the world begins again
Sunny skies or rain
Come and follow me
C - F / C F / C G -

Every sunrise shows me more and more
So much to explore
Come and follow me

Chorus:
Every morning, every day
Every evening, calling me away
F C F C / F C Am G

While the sun goes 'round I'll still be found
Following the sound
Something's calling me

When the world goes drifting back to bed
Memories in my head
Wonders follow me

Chorus 2X

Rise Up Singing: Episode 6 - There but for Fortune

Words and music by Phil Ochs
Rise Up Singing chapter: Rich and Poor, p.186

Rise Up Singing has:
C Fm C Fm / C Am Dm G
C Am F Dm / Em C Dm G     C (Fm C -)

I use:
C Fm C Fm / C Am D(major!) G
C Am Dm G / C Am D(major!) G     C (Fm C -)

I've tried both, they both sound good. I feel like Phil Ochs does this pretty rocking, and I try to rock it when I do it too, because otherwise it just sounds soooo mouuuurnful.

I wrote to Annie Patterson (co-editor of Rise Up Singing) 3 days ago now to ask her if it was ok that I do this, posting chords and all, and she hasn't written back yet, so for now I assume everything's ok. And here's her daily plug:
If you want a serious learning resource, you can buy the complete Rise Up Singing teaching CDs at Annie's website: www.quakersong.org/teaching_discs/ . So go check it out. Then, once you know all the songs, come back here to YouTube and help me learn them by posting your versions!

Rise Up Singing: Episode 5 - My Land is a Good Land

There'll be a new president in the United States soon, and even though I'm from Quebec and live in Thailand, that's meaningful to me. So here's a patriotic song. I'm pretty sure it's about the US, even though it doesn't name names, but I like that in the lyrics "my homeland" is nameless. It could be Canada, and if I don't feel comfortable with that, it could be just Quebec, or Thailand, or anywhere. That's an "I love China" T-shirt I'm wearing, by the way, and I really do. Love China.

(Can't see the movie? Click here. )

Words and music by Eric Andersen
Rise Up Singing chapter: America, p.3
F G C Am (2x)/ F G C Am / / F G C -
You'll notice that when I play the song I prefer leaving out some A minors, so it's more like this:
F G C - (2x)/ F G C Am / / F G C -
Also I say "rainbow blades" not "rainbow waves". I think that's what Pete Seeger says, although I my have just imagined it. Either way, I like the word contrast in "rainbow blades" more, so that's what I always go with.

This is day 5 and song 5 for me.
I'm trying to learn and record all 1200 songs in the Rise Up Singing songbook. If you're interested, you should help out and make your own video.
If you just want to know the songs a.s.a.p. though, Annie Patterson (co-editor Rise Up Singing) recorded and sells CDs of these songs here at www.quakersong.org/teaching_discs/ . So go check it out. You can buy the set, or individual CDs at 12$ each.

Rise Up Singing: Episode 4 - Pretty Saro

Arr. and adap Jean Ritchie
Rise Up Singing chapter: Mountain Voices, p.149
D Em D A ////
I like to switch the second D for a G:
D Em G A ////
On the video I play it in the key of G, so:
G Am C D ////
It all works.

This is song 4 for me. I'm trying to learn and record all 1200 songs in the Rise Up Singing songbook.
If you're interested, Annie Patterson (co-editor Rise Up Singing) recorded and sells CDs of these songs here at www.quakersong.org/teaching_discs/ . So go check it out. You can buy the set, or individual CDs at 12$ each. I'm going to keep trying to do it song by song though, free and easy (and slowww).

Rise Up Singing: Episode 3 - River

(If you're reading this on Facebook, you'll be wondering where the video is. That's Facebook's problem. You'll have to click on "view original post" and get over to my blog to see it.)

Words and music by Bill Staines
Rise Up Singing chapter: Time & Changes, p.226
Verse:
D - G D / - - A - / D - G D / - A D - ://
Chorus:
D Dmaj G A / / G - A D / G D G D / G A - G - D

My version (in G)
Verse: same as above, transposed to G
Chorus:
G - C D / / C - G - / C G Am Em / C D C↓ G

As you can see, there's a little difference between my version and the book's, but not too much. You can play the song with the same melody either way, so it's just a difference of taste. That, and Rise Up Singing seems to draw out the last line of the chorus more than I do. No big deal. Still, if someone else knows the song more precisely the way Bill Staines does it, please post it up too for comparison.

This is the third song I've recorded from the Rise Up Singing songbook, with the end goal of recording all of them. I'm most interested in the ones that aren't widely known these days, and the problem there is that in most of those cases, I don't know them either. So I'm simultaneously trying hard to dig up recordings, and learn the songs as quickly as I can.

For those who have a little bit of cash and want to bypass this process, Annie Patterson, who co-edited Rise Up Singing, sells her own lovingly-made CDs of these songs here at www.quakersong.org/teaching_discs/ . I hope if I direct you to her site, she won't feel like I'm trying to undercut her business, which, in all honesty, I wouldn't ever want to do. There you can also find out how you can help get Pete Seeger nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. So check it out. I'm still going on with the project, though. I have a high enough chance of failure and a low enough quality index that I don't think there's much danger of me cutting in on Annie's turf.

Rise Up Singing: Episode 2 - Hobo's Lullaby

Words and Music by Goebel Reeves
Rise Up Singing chapter: Lullabies, p.133
D G / A D ://
or, as played in the video:
G C / D G ://

This is the second episode in my project of recording all of the songs in the Rise Up Singing songbook, which was conceived, developed and edited by Peter Blood and Annie Patterson, illustrated by Kore Loy McWhirter, and given a lovely introduction by Pete Seeger.
I have a well-cherished copy bought by my mother, and I'm a big fan, even though I occasionally find myself frustrated when the chords they give for a song I know don't seem to fit the way I expect them to. I can't really complain. I just switch them up and play them like I feel like. And so should you.

Also, if you know any songs in Rise Up Singing, you should record them yourself and put them on YouTube! It doesn't matter if you can't play an instrument. Rise Up Singing has the chords and lyrics, all you need to do is hum the tune. Or whistle, or anything. The more versions of good folk songs we get on up on the Internet, the richer the slice of musical culture we spread. Otherwise hard-to-find albums from a few decades ago are still not that hard to order online, but that might not be the case 20 years from now, and these songs shouldn't stop getting sung because no one wants to pay to publish them anymore.

ALTHOUGH....... here's an update:
I just found out that Annie Patterson, who co-edited Rise Up Singing, sells her own lovingly made CDs of these songs here at www.quakersong.org/teaching_discs/ . I hope if I direct you to her site, she won't feel like I'm trying to undercut her business.

Rise Up Singing: my project

Because All Men Are Brothers
Words by Tom Glazer
Melody by J.S. Bach ("Passion Chorale")
Rise Up Singing chapter: Unity, p.238

F Dm G C     Am E Am - /    /
F G F C     F Dm A - / G Am D G     F G C -

This is the first video in my project to learn and record all the songs in the "Rise Up Singing" songbook, so that everyone can learn the tunes and teach the songs. Priority will be given to hard-to-find songs over still popular songs, although exceptions will be made for songs I just happen to like best. I'm not sure if there's trouble with copyright law ahead. Let's hope not.

Update:
I just found out that Annie Patterson, who co-edited Rise Up Singing, recorded and sells CDs of these songs here at www.quakersong.org/teaching_discs/ . So go check it out. You can buy the set, or individual CDs at 12$ each. I'm going to keep trying to do it song by song though, so stay tuned.