Music – movingforwardslowly

It Started with a “Twang”

Late this morning I was making egg salad for a sandwich. I opened a new jar of Duke’s light mayonnaise. On the top of the lid are the words: “Duke’s. It’s Got a Twang!” _TM

This got me to thinking about this word and its meaning. My first thought is that it is an onomatopoeia which is a word that is a vocal imitation of a sound, (Ex: bang, buzz, whop). Then I thought that mayonnaise does not make a sound, so I had to look the word up. It has a 3rd definition not used by me. (All definitions here are screenshots from Merriam-Webster online dictionary.)

I have used this word to describe a person’s voice that has a high nasal accent like in many Southern US accents. I immediately thought of Jim Nabors, aka Gomer Pyle, who was an actor (The Andy Griffith Show, and Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.) and a singer. These shows were popular when I was growing up.

My brother, sister, and I would tease my mother, and we associated her with Gomer Pyle. She grew up in Branson, Missouri near the Ozark mountains, and when she went back there she would start talking in a high nasal voice, which I guess was a throwback to her childhood. We would say to my mother, “How come I talk like this, but I sing like this?” We would try to imitate her high nasal accent and then try to sing smoothly like Jim Nabors. It was all to tease her, and my brother, the family comedian, was the leader of this.

I wanted to give you audio examples of what I am talking about. The files were way to large for this format here. I will give you pictures to research. (The album cover is from Internet Archive.) (I quickly grabbed the Gomer Pyle collection picture, so I don’t remember the source. But it is an ad.)

His voice is incredible smooth when singing.

There are several clips of Gomer Pyle on the internet where you can hear the high nasal twang that his character had. You can also research his singing voice which was incredibly good, and nothing like his speaking voice.

He had an opportunity to sing on his Gomer Pyle show during the 4th season, in an episode titled "The Show Must Go On" which was aired November 3, 1967. Nabors sang "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. (This information is from Microsoft Co-Pilot.)

https://youtu.be/PCC9fUTDO3E?si=HjOITgRW3KKWPgs8

Choose Reason Not Resonance

A spiral shell within a sea of sound.
Waves crash within the shell, bouncing off
the hard smooth walls.

Sound flows within this spiral, and mimics the motion of the ocean, and
brings the symphony of the sea to any waiting ear 
that holds it to their ear.

This symphony is written by the surrounding sound waves that fill our air.
We can become the prisoners when we hold this resonance too close.
Stand back and away from the shell for awhile. 
Let your heart and mind contemplate with reason.

A Swallowtail Celebration

A collage of Swallowtail butterflies in my garden.

I found the swallowtail butterfly collage I put together long ago. I no longer do collages. Where does the name 'swallowtail' come from? I read somewhere that it is named after the barn swallow bird because they both have a forked-tail. I cannot vouch for the validity of this, however, I like this explanation.

I decided this post needed an audio addition. So, I went looking for an appropriate tune, and discovered the traditional Irish jig fiddle tune named, Swallowtail Jig.

I found an audio file here: https://archive.org/details/SwallowtailFast

I want to thank Rebecca Dunne for uploading this free audio file!

I love to learn new things!

Flashback Friday

Old songs continue to be on my mind. My parents were not album or music collectors, though they did enjoy music. So, when I received as a birthday gift in 1971 a Sugarloaf Green -Eyed Lady 45 rpm vinyl record from my friend Judy Moreau, it was a big deal to me. Above you can hear the song. I will also post the lyrics here.

I did not get the album as a gift. I only got the small record of this particular song. I was floored when I just read above that Jerry Corbetta wrote the song about his girlfriend, Kathy, who had green eyes.

The heat wave has been broken. Today is overcast, a lot cooler, and damp. I now plan to get outside and get some work done. Until later…

Summer Vibes

The other day I was reading something and playing with numbers when I was reminded of a TV series that was on during my late teens (1976-1981). Do you remember the original Charlie’s Angels? I do. I even tried to make my hair look like Farrah’s hair. I never quite pulled it off, not to mention I looked nothing like her. Anyways, this morning I looked at what happened on this day June 25th in history. I was surprised to see that Farrah Fawcett died on this day in 2009. Her death was a little overshadowed by the death of Michael Jackson which happened on the same day. This coincidence with thinking of the TV series, and then seeing that the anniversary of Farrah’s death is today, made me look up the series opening soundtrack. Listen to it above.

The weather today is still too hot and humid for me. I am busy inside with other responsibilities, and when given the chance I still like to enjoy my favorite past time of looking at old garden pictures. It serves as a motivator for me. Look above at a picture from my past. I don’t have too many pictures of damselflies because they were shy and not as noticeable as the more flamboyant dragonflies.

I hope you are staying cool and refreshed. Don’t read the news if you want to stay in a good mood. This is my strategy when I can muster the willpower. The weather needs to get a little cooler and less sauna-like for me to get outside in the garden.

The Mission by Ennio Morricone (1928-2020)

Something reminded me of one of my favorite albums today. I listened to the song, The Mission, over and over again many years ago when I was mourning the loss of my parents. See below to listen.

Now I listen to it rarely. I decided to share it here and easily preserve it for my enjoyment.

I will share one more song, and this one is in memory of my mother. Her second husband was born in Paraguay. He speaks Guarani, Spanish and English.

This week of spiritual reflection seems like an appropriate time to revisit these songs.