Here's the poem: Adrift! A little boat adrift! And night is coming down! Will no one guide a little boat Unto the nearest town? So Sailors say – on yesterday – Just as the dusk was brown One little boat gave up its strife And gurgled down and down. So angels say – on yesterday – Just as the dawn was red One little boat – o'erspent with gales – Retrimmed its masts – redecked its sails – And shot – exultant on! | Of course, with the song, I altered the words of the poem a bit to fit the rhythms/nature of the song: Adrift, adrift, adrift, adrift, A little boat, one little boat adrift. And night, yes night, and night, dark night, Yes night is coming down. Will no one guide a little boat Unto the nearest town? So ailors say on yesterday Just as the dawn was brown One little boat, a little boat gave up its strife And gurgled down and down. So angels say on yesterday Just as the dawn was red One little boat, a littel boat o'erspent with gales Retrimmed its masts, redecked its sails, And shot exultant on! |
I've finished the song -- although I'll proofread it tomorrow with a fresh set of eyes -- and then I'll repost corrections if needed. For now...
1. I don't have a metronome, so I don't have an exact tempo -- but it should be played sprightly -- and perhaps with some mock solemnity in the lines with the D-minor key. It's meant to be a fun song.
2. The first eight bars = the introduction, and it's meant to suggest the rise and fall of the sea.
3. The chromatic runs in the bass on pages 2, 3, and 4 are meant to be played in octaves (with the lower octave).
4. Note the rallentando on pages 2 amd 4 -- and then pick up the tempo again when the lyrics pick back up.
PAGE 3 | PAGE 4 |
Good grief, I was just looking at all of my music, and I had forgotten how much I have. Sooo...keep checking back from time to time, and I'll post more. Here are the next few I'll do:
1. Of course, I'll finish the song above, "Adrift," first.
2. Next, I'll post a really beautiful song I wrote based on a poem by E. E. Cummings called "When God Lets My Body Be."
3. After that, I'll post a sweet, short song based on a poem by Langston Hughes (I have a much more complex song based on Hughes' "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" -- so I'll get to that one eventually).
4. Following that -- for you parents out there -- I'll post three original lullabies. Let me know which of the three is your favorite.
5. After that -- we'll see -- either another Dickinson or another song inspired by a poem by E. E. Cummings. I also have a song for Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," and a beautiful song based on poem by Rita Dove called "Testimonial."
6. Sometime this winter I'll post a great song called "Let It Snow" (and no -- it's not that "Let It Snow").
Lots more after that.