Feb 2022 folk filk pratchett gnu rememberance acoustic onetake
Terry Pratchett is a big influence on me. He's a favorite author of both Jen and I.
GNU is "Clacks code" from his book Going Postal. (More info here: http://www.gnuterrypratchett.com/)
"A man is not dead while his name is spoken". We've lost too many friends - this is to help keep their memories alive and their names spoken.
This is a song that I had written chunks of way back in 2018, but never got around to putting it all together.
The main performance is an acoustic one take first take... but I heard bass and harmonies in my head so I did a pass for each of them.
This one might deserve a "full redo". (There outro could use a bit of trim?) What do you think?
Comes the hour
The wire is clipped
Loss of power
When the circuit is tripped
precious light has gone
And the darkness grows
We feel the night
Pressing close
Patterns light up in the night
Flowing forward with a memory of sight
There is power in a name
When their echoes fades
We are never the same
Shout it out to the stars
We remember
Shout it out to the stars
We remember
Let their name burn bright
And hold back the night
Endless search for endless youth
Fatal fog of fear obscuring the truth
The secret key to times chains
We’re made immortal in the love that remains
Shout it out to the stars
We remember
Shout it out to the stars
We remember
Let your heartfire burn bright
And hold back the night
Keep the name
Circling
Keep the name
Circling
They will live on
While their name is spoken
Let it go on
In a chain unbroken
May their light
Shine forever on
@estelme Feb 2022
Oh, I adore this one!! Terry Pratchett's work is so important to me and this is a beautiful tribute. I love the harmonies on the chorus and the repetition of "keep the name circling" at the end.
@tseaver Feb 2022
Great write! This kind of tribute still chokes me up.
FWIW, I've still got a webserver running somewhere which adds the 'X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett' header.
@jdschramm Feb 2022
Love the chorus Eric! I am always a fan of doubling up a chrorus at the end but I don't think the outro is too long.
@mhorning Feb 2022
I also came in thinking this would be a Unix/Linux song.
Great tune and subject.
@elesimo Feb 2022
I never heard of GNU in this context until today (I came from https://fawm.org/songs/135038/). I love it, and this song is such a lovely homage to the concept. Beautiful song!
@jlampson Feb 2022
I hear the full arrangement in this. Soft, sustained harmony guitars in the interludes, some light percussion building into a tight, tasteful drum groove. The call and response at the end enhanced (not shortened, though). Ooooohhhhhh yeah. My heartfire burns for this song. (that is also my way of volunteering after February for any tracks you want to outsource)
@headfirstonly Feb 2022
What a lovely sentiment. I hadn't heard of the GNU Terry Pratchett thing before, but it's *perfect*. The older I get, the more gaps I see in my social network and I've written pieces of music to commemorate more than one of them.
And what a gorgeous song. Those gentle harmonies on "hold back the night" are just right. "Keep the name circling" feels like it should go on forever, and rightly so.
@jmadison Feb 2022
With this title, I was expecting a song about Linux, Unix, the Free Software Foundation, or something. Recursive acronym GNU = GNU's Not Unix
Still great song and now I know the Terry Pratchett angle on it. :-)
@wylddandelyon Feb 2022
Oh, this is wonderful. It's heartwarming, which is, I think, a very important thing to offer on the topic of remembering those we've lost.
I wonder if you could do a round with the end?
@p3t3h4rv3y Feb 2022
Nice end of the world campfire song. Good chorus. Reminds me of a film where someone is watching a fire burning inside a TV. Repo Man?