Feb 2022 person-with-guitar bicyclechallenge alternatetuning
I tuned my acoustic guitar to DADGBD and suddenly this heartfelt tune came out. As soon as I played the first notes I knew I wanted to make it a letter to my sister, talking about family.
It was really hard to record this, because I would break into tears every time. But here it is, and it's probably my favorite song ever.
Hey, sister
It’s been a while we talked
I hope you are OK
It’s such a lovely day
I wonder how you are
It’s hard to live so far
Your boys, they grow so fast,
They’re turning into better versions of ourselves
It’s been 10 years since our father passed
I’m sure he would be so proud of them
And in these times I remember him
And see that life is precious as it is
Hey, sister
How’s the new job?
I heard you like it more
It opened many doors
I wanna fly to see you
Mom and everyone too
Just waiting for the world
To calm down a little bit more
It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long
Since we last saw each other
And life’s not easy but I can’t complain
I still think that we're the lucky ones
Hey, sister
Now I have to go
It’s been a busy weekend
These chores they never end
I have to finish dinner
We’re having beans again
I’d love to cook for you
One of these days when you’re around
I hope this letter will find you well
And say the things that I could never tell
Say hello to our mom for me
Soon we’ll be together, you will see
===
(Portuguese translation for my mom.)
Oi, mana
Faz tempo que gente não se fala
Espero que esteja tudo bem
Hoje o dia está tão bonito
Como você está?
É difícil morar longe
Seus meninos crescem tão rápido
Se tornando versões melhores de nós
Faz 10 anos que o papai morreu
Sei que ele teria orgulho deles
E nessas horas sempre lembro dele
E vejo como a vida é preciosa
Oi, mana
Como está o emprego novo?
Ouvi dizer que é melhor
Abriu várias oportunidades
Quero voar pra te ver
A mamãe, e todo mundo mais
Estou só esperando o mundo
Acalmar um pouco mais
É difícil acreditar que faz tanto tempo
Desde que a gente se viu
A vida não é fácil, mas não posso reclamar
Ainda acho que temos sorte
Oi, mana
Agora eu tenho que ir
O fim de semana foi corrido
Essas tarefas nunca acabam
Preciso terminar o jantar
Vamos comer feijão de novo
Adoraria cozinhar pra você
Um dia desses quando você estiver por perto
Espero que esta carta te encontre bem
E diga as coisas que nunca soube dizer
Manda oi pra mamãe por mim
Logo vamos estar juntos, você vai ver
@kiffa Mar 2022
This is beautiful. It can be painful to write from such an honest place, but it seems like it tends to bring out our best. I hope you get to see your family soon!
@seemanski Feb 2022
Wow, this is powerful stuff. Amazing write, well done.
@jayjay Feb 2022
Beautiful tribute to your family
@sapient Feb 2022
Ah, this is so heartfelt.
I love how the top notes of that tuning ring out and give the chords a differnent way of sitting next to each other. It add layers to the emotion of the lyrcs. And your vocal performance is just so sweet...
@arthurrossi Feb 2022
Beautifully written lyrics with many lovely lines... For example, I love these: "Just waiting for the world / To calm down a little bit more". The melody is gorgeous and the guitar was a very good choice here. It feels so natural and heartfelt. Awesomely done!
@audrey Feb 2022
What a sweet song! Have you considered sending an mp3 of it to your sister? I bet she'd love it. I like this chord progression and your gentle strumming. To me, they convey the warmth you feel for her, but also the sadness of being out of touch for so long. Lovely song. I enjoyed it.
@wylddandelyon Feb 2022
This is sweet, and so very, I don't know that there's a proper word for sibling-like, but this is it. Alternate tunings can be magical that way. I got like five songs really fast when I first tried DADFAD last year,
@nadine Feb 2022
Oi que lindo!
This a heartfelt song. I don't have siblings but I relate so much to these lyrics. I love the chords. All weird tuning magic? Don't care how that happened it's a lovely and strong song.
@coolparadiso Feb 2022
this is great Beto and so emotional and personal thx for sharing. Its a cool song in any scenario! top class mate Bravo
@guatecoop Feb 2022
Wow, you really tapped into something here. Great song! It is amazing to me that you were so emotionally connected and open when you were writing the song. What an awesome song! I am going to have to bust out my partial capo, as I think that puts a guitar into that tuning, which is really inspiring in a completely different way. I think that it really lends itself to emotional-type songs. Really well done!
@andygetch Feb 2022
I love this!
@zecoop Feb 2022
Emotion flowing and musical tears just flowing. I felt it strongly as you sang it and felt it deep in my heart for my own losses. This was a completely wonderful gift to us from you. I appreciate you sharing it and can tell how much it means to you, just in your delivery. Beautiful.
@scubed Feb 2022
Beautiful and deeply moving - and very relatable for so many when the Pandemic has kept so many families apart. (BTW, I’ve been told that you know you’re writing a great song if you keep crying as you write.). The double drop D sounds great!
@darcistrutt Feb 2022
Lovely guitar and heart-felt lyric. The topic was "normal" and yet had a deeper universal feeling to it. Beautiful.
@billwhite51 Feb 2022
the melodic quote from tommy came as a pleasant surprise giving the song a recurring jump out of the its folkie circumstances. perhaps it provides a link between the singer and his sister. youu know how certain musics can create a bond between siblings.
@bradbrubaker Feb 2022
I like how it's not an "easy" chord progression, as these are not easy feelings to have, the wanting to be there when one cannot. Favorite line: "They’re turning into better versions of ourselves"
@odilongreen Feb 2022
Such a wonderful, heartfelt song of family and love. Very moving, and the genuine emotion in your voice is utterly compelling. I'm truly touched - there's a warmth here that's so inviting and so true. Outstanding!
@sirius Feb 2022
This is gorgeous, I like everything about it. Your lyrics ooze love, and you sing them in all simplicity, which only adds to the beauty of the moment you're sharing with us here. The warm guitar chords sound so well, it's really delightful. Wonderful song, thanks for sharing!
@sailingmagpie Feb 2022
I love how alternate tunings can unlock songs you'd never write normally. Beautiful, heartfelt lyrics and the chords are dreamy. Cool track!
@silvermediapro Feb 2022
aww what a nice lil tune! i love the framing device of a written letter as the basis for the lyrics! :D
@mikeskliar Feb 2022
This is heartfelt and genuine- sounds like an overheard conversation and the music is perfect for this- I can hear the emotion catching in your voice and I've been there, its one of those 'power of music' things that happens sometimes when we're lucky and tap into something powerful. Great work, and I hope your sister pings you back with something equally musical and profound :)
@wobbiewobbit Feb 2022
lovely, gave me the sense of eavesdropping. love the coversational flow. beautiful performance.
@dzdandcunfsd Feb 2022
This is really touching. That is one of my favorite tunings as well and this sounds great. That little harmonic pause does a lot for this!
Just came from your recording vocals thread, I'd say that mic works just fine for you and you're doing great LOL. As far as the recording, and this is an amazingly heartfelt performance! Great stuff.
Do you ever sing in Portuguese? I don't understand it, but have always thought it was the most beautiful language.
@eargoggle Feb 2022
I love this tuning, guitar sounds so great and full like this, I totally know what you mean that sometimes a new tuning just forces you to play a song on it sometimes! You do a great job on these emotional lyrics…I don’t think I could get through something like this, maybe that’s why all my songs are weird crazy characters, cause I’m too scared to open up and sing something honest like this. Bravo!
@downburst Feb 2022
Your voice sounds great! I mean both from a recording perspective and from an emotional one. This is a really moving song and you sound really openhearted in it.
@kanttila Feb 2022
Such a nice song, really great lyrics that truly sound like a letter with everyday life details like cooking beans. Gives it some life. It's obvious by how you sing it that this song means something to you. Well done, you did great conveying something real here!
@eas3637 Feb 2022
There's so much feeling in this song, and the chords support your melody line well. I love those harmonics also! I appreciate that you went to such an authentic emotional place - thank you for sharing this.
@pfoo Feb 2022
It's nice how you mixed little details in with bigger emotional topics, like the ebb and flow of conversation. Genuinely touching song. And nice guitar!
@dock Feb 2022
Wonderful concept, letter to a sib. Poignant. Nice guitar sound.
@loveonamixtape Feb 2022
The guitar is really lovely, as is the heartfelt delivery. The sort of mundane details and questions really add to the poignancy of the lyric -- the beans verse was particularly moving, actually, because of the image it captured of how someone you're missing is always in your thoughts, even (perhaps especially?) when doing the simplest thing.
@pearlmanhattan Feb 2022
This really touched me...im a sister and a mom. You captured so many emotions here. Very beautiful!
@aeye Feb 2022
As someone who has a sister, this is great. It's a really nice musical letter to her that's straight from the heart.
@alyxanderjames Feb 2022
I love this tuning, and the conversational quality of the lyrics. There's so much heart in here! Beautiful song.
@atam94 Feb 2022
Beautiful song with heartfelt lyrics. It's a really nice letter to a family member. My favorite lyric was "I wanna fly to see you, Mom and everyone too, just waiting for the world to calm down a little bit more" because of how relatable it is. Really nice song!
@gilhari Feb 2022
It’s a beautiful lilt in the playing of the guitar … but the emotion in your delivery has so much impact. For some reason, the delivery of the title line “hey sister” and “one of these days when your around” struck something deep within me. I really enjoyed this piece so much. It’s a favorite.
@sadloaf Feb 2022
This tuning always make me play in a similar style to this, like a 90s Goo Goo Dolls sort of thing I guess? But then I'm always too lazy to tune back to that tuning to play them lol. I like that you provided Portuguese lyrics. You could mix and match Portuguese and English and I think it would drive the whole theme of family home quite well.
@nereida Feb 2022
Parabéns Beto, pela música e Parabéns Ana pela bela homenagem!!! Adorei
@standup Feb 2022
Beautiful job. Such a great heartfelt letter to your sister.
I like the descending melody in the verse, the whole flow is very good.
It is great to hear something that is very real.
@kenmattsson Feb 2022
This was beautiful in so many ways. I can hear it in your voice how much this touches you. Regardless of anything I could say technically about it, most importantly it's heartfelt.
@phylo Feb 2022
Such a sweet song to your sister. I love everything about this, the unconventional rhymes, the conversational meter. It's so wonderful.
@anac2489 Feb 2022
Wow! This is so great! My favorite song for sure!! Thank you for such a moving lyric! Love to be your sister and very proud of your songs.
Love you!
@nancyrost Feb 2022
This is really beautiful! It sounds like a real letter, the kind I used to write on paper to my own sister, with insights and sentiments and beans. :-) The chord progression's really nice, too.