Wednesday 16 December 2015

This made me cry today - I feel so honoured!

December, as always, has been hectic, and will continue to be so right up to Christmas. It’s always the same; in October I start to get the miseries because summer has gone and we are into the long, dark fall into winter; November sees me cleaning windows and glass to try and make them sparkle and lighting candles to try to displace the murk - and I start to do small Christmassy tasks like buying cards, then December arrives and all is chaos – just too busy to be the slightest bit grumpy. And much activity has been uke or music-related. I don’t really know where to start, to tell you all about it!

I know…. One lovely thing was that in November LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) and I went to see the wonderful folk-rock band Steeleye Span in concert. Maddy Prior, my personal goddess of song was front of house afterwards, and as Maddy remembers everyone who has ever been to her singing workshops at Stones Barn in the Scottish borders, she greeted me warmly, and - wait for it - I told her how pleased I was to see her playing a ukulele in one the band’s numbers! This is new, this really new! Maddy said that, yes, the uke is just great for song-writing…

Well, I discovered that myself, about eighteen months ago, when I was inspired by my friend’s daughter’s beautiful wedding in Scotland, and wrote a song about it. My next attempts were for a competition on the Ukulele Underground, “Write a Christmas song…” I wrote two songs, a novelty song about snowmen and a carol. I was thrilled to bits when the carol won – what a Christmas present! The lovely man in Australia who hosted the competition did his own video of my carol, a version I really love – he does it so much better than I do… there’s a link to it on the page “My own songs”.

And that brings me to the thing that has made my day, that moved me and made me weep this morning. I had a message on my own video of the carol, “Tread Softly To The Stable”, a kind soul saying he liked it and would use it with his uke group next year – and that he had seen it because of the version posted by “pabrizzer” on the Ukulele Underground today… now, it was pabrizzer in Australia who held that competition and chose my carol, and he has indeed recorded another version of it accompanied by beautiful cello and a lovely vocal by members of his family, which I’m sharing here. I feel so honoured and moved by this and it made me cry. So I have to, just have to, share it with you…..



You know, I would never have written this song if it were not for the ukulele... the reasons for this will make a good subject for more posts!

Thank you for dropping in, thanks for reading, thanks for watching, I appreciate your company. Please come back, I'll be here soon.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Lesley, I am the "kind soul" who alerted you to this new version of your carol. I have just put my uke down from learning it myself - I WILL play it to my weekly uke group next week, even though it is a bit late for this year's festive events. Quite simply, it is one of the prettiest songs I have heard for a long long time, and it needs to be heard. Cheers!

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    1. Steve, thank you, thank you - you made my day at the beginning, and now you've made my day again at the end - I shall be going to bed the happiest woman tonight, with the broadest smile stuck on my face!

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  2. A beautiful song indeed! I heard the solo version sometime during the year and loved it, but this one with cello made me cry, too. Most songs don't do that, but I have a soft spot for Christmas carols. Thank you for writing this and allowing others to share it! Hugs!

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  3. You can smile again Lesley. I played your carol to our uke group last night. By the end of the second verse they were playing & singing along, and all agreed that it is a winner. It will be on our list for next year!

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    1. Oh that's wonderful, I'm glad it was enjoyed - and thank you! Yes, I am smiling.... that is such a compliment you have paid me! Merry Christmas!

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