English-flute/tenor-recorder introductions to un- & keyboard-accompanied vocals;
Plus poetry (and prose) readings.
Influences
English traditional singers, poets, and hymnals (The New English Hymnal, Hymns Ancient and Modern, and The Oxford Christmas Carol Book), and radio- plus television-programmes presenting suchlike - of which there should be many more, instead of the plethora of pop-culture clogging English airwaves!;
Church evensongs, plus folk and poetry clubs and festivals - gigs, sing-arounds, readings, competitions, etc.;
Internet discussion-forums and computer-room chin-wags;
Mudcat's Digital Traditional Mirror (DigiTrad), and other such web music-sources;
English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS);
Nationalism: with eco-tourism and fair-trade, via the U.N. - rather than yet more imperialistic-conquest and economic-immigration.
Sounds Like
Use some multi-voicing but, mostly, try to sing like I play/and play like I sing just the tune (as English folkies have done for centuries), with tenor-recorder/English-flute and, less often, keyboards.
Accordingly (if you'll pardon the pun!) whether reading, flauting, chanting, or singing, I nearly always take one breath per line, and one swallow per stanza - a phrasing that makes it easier to know where I'm up to.
As for selection, in public/here, I usually alternate between my WalkaboutsVerse and English traditional-songs or hymns - the latter sung in a somewhat sweeter "Sunday best" voice.
And, as for occasional self-accompaniment, I double the melody with e-keys or plead to play a pub's proper piano!
So far, I've made one C.D., "Chants from Walkabouts," which derives from my poetry collection, "Walkabouts: Travels and Conclusions in Verse" - for both, please use the above links.
Finally, I try to go through the following repertoire once per week so can, potentially, take live requests from it...
RECORD OF REPERTOIRE
CHANTS FROM WALKABOUTS
(There is an unaccompanied C.D., and an accompanied one is being made...)
01 (WALKABOUTSVERSE 2 OF 230): WALKABOUT WITH MY PEN (now playing)
02 (WAV 5 OF 230): STATE TO STATE
03 (WAV 10 OF 230): LAND'S END TO JOHN O' GROATS
04 (WAV 33 OF 230): TO CARE AND SHARE
05 (WAV 42 OF 230): IMPRESSIONS OF LONDON
06 (WAV 101 OF 230): JUST SUBSIST
07 (WAV 107 OF 230): ON HONEYMOON
08 (WAV 108 OF 230): YOUR SALT UPON MY LIPS
09 (WAV 109 OF 230): WE GO TOGETHER
10 (WAV 111 OF 230): THE MERSEY AT DIDSBURY
11 (WAV 123 OF 230): FONDLY AND VIVIDLY
12 (WAV 130 OF 230): ENTRÉE
13 (WAV 136 OF 230): LANCASHIRE SUNG SIMPLY
14 (WAV 141 OF 230): IN A SMALL POT
15 (WAV 144 OF 230): LINGOLF
16 (WAV 162 OF 230): TEES TO TYNE: FIRST IMPRESSIONS
17 (WAV 230 OF 230): CHRISTMAS SUNG SIMPLY
(Along with the lyrics, the music - in a simple letter-notation, such that you'd have to hear me to get the rhythm, sorry - of these chants/songs may also be found via the above links; see above-right or below for an e.g.)
Poem cum song 5 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse (links above): STATE TO STATE
(TUNE:
C F G F
C F G F
C F G F
C F G F
F G F C
F G F C
F G F C
C F F F)
From Sydney Town,
In uni. break,
I drove out west
To earnings make
Onion picking,
On the fields
Of Echuca,
That year’s yields.
After day’s work,
From Y.H.A.,
A group of us
Would not delay
To walk on down
To the dirt rim
Of the Murray,
For a cool swim.
On one such day,
I do declare,
Some three of us
Had a big dare
To swim across,
From state to state,
The wide Murray -
I took the bait.
Yes, foolishly,
I took the bait -
A choice that I
Would come to hate,
For I almost
Did drown that date,
Making the swim
From state to state.
(C) David Franks 2003
ENGLISH TRAD. REPERTOIRE
(A C.D. is being made...)
01. Cob-a-Coaling
02. The Prickle Eye Bush
03. Rose in June
04. Young Emma
05. Goodbye, Fare Ye Well
06. Country Life
07. Barbara Allen
08. The Drunken Sailor
09. Johnny Todd
10. Two Young Brethren
11. Scarborough Fair
12. Greensleeves
13. Tommy's Gone to Hilo
14. The Water is Wide (now playing)
15. English Country Gardens
16. The Northumberland Bagpipes
17. Tyne Exile's Lament
(The lyrics and music to most of these folk-songs may be found in the above-mentioned DigiTrad.)
ENGLISH CAROLS
(A C.D. is being made...)
01. Once in royal David's city
02. Corpus Christi Carol
03. Sans Day Carol
04. The holly and the ivy (now playing)
05. The Ditchling Carol
06. Christmas Sung Simply (by me, as above)
07. The truth from above
08. While shepherds watched
09. O come, all ye faithful
(The lyrics and music to these carols may be found in the above-mentioned English hymnals and DigiTrad.)
ENGLISH HYMNS
(A C.D. is being made...)
01. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide
02. All things bright and beautiful
03. And did those feet in ancient time
04. Christ is made the sure foundation
05. Eternal Father, strong to save
06. Fight the good fight with all thy might
07. God be in my head
08. Holy Spirit, come, confirm us
09. I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above
10. Love divine, all loves excelling
11. O Jesus, I have promised
12. Rock of ages, cleft for me
13. Take my life, and let it be
14. The God of love my shepherd is
15. The King of love my shepherd is
16. The Lord's Prayer - Chanted
17. When I survey the wondrous Cross (now playing)
(The lyrics and music to these hymns may be found in the above-mentioned English hymnals.)
I'm David Franks, an English folk and Christian musician plus poet; and my web-nickname, WalkaboutsVerse, is an abbreviation of my paperback/e-scroll/e-book: "Walkabouts: Travels and Conclusions in Verse" - which, along with info. on a related C.D., "Chants from Walkabouts," you may read, for free, via the above links, where you'll find further links to other things about me (other info. on repertoire, other publications and performances, messages, etc.), as well as links back to this Space.
But here is THE BLURB from WALKABOUTS, and some other abridgment - "ABOUT THE POET AND THE POETRY: David Franks was born and, after a long time away, lives in England. The four-part collection has travels and conclusions, in poems and songs, from his nomadic first-thirty-six years. The experience behind the verse includes shoestring-travel through about forty countries, A-grade junior sport, a B.A. in humanities, four technical certificates in manufacturing, plus several years on the shopfloor. The style is mostly direct; and the substance informative, humorous and didactic."
Armed with poems, unaccompanied Chants and E. trads, I began participating in folk and poetry clubs, festivals, and forums during 2004, before beginning to teach myself keyboards and recorders a year later. I've since placed in folk-festival competitions, done a few mini-gigs, recited on radio, and, as suggested above, some WalkaboutsVerse has also been published in journals, etc.
In broad summary, then, I travelled and studied in humanities, before writing the verses and finding a way to sing or chant some of them; I learnt (formally and informally) desktop publishing, P.C. recording, as well as other I.T.; and, lastly, I taught myself to read and play music plus, eventually, to write it by mimicking my singing with the above instruments.
Other main interests are - as with many English folk - gardening and tennis (again, use links).
About this Space: the (above) blogs offer samples of my work; as do the tracks, which vary but always include at least one poem, Chant, folk-song, hymn, and carol - corresponding to my e-scroll/book of poems and my C.D. of Chants, plus the other repertoire lists in "Sounds Like" (below-left); you may also read the Playlist Poems (below), &/or view the silent Video of my recorder-techinique (above-left link) plus the Pics of me (below, or above-left link for them all) and my Friends (below). Furthermore, please do leave a Message/Comment, if you wish. (For non-MySpace-members &/or to join my mailing list, email - david1franks@yahoo.com)
POEMS/WALKABOUTSVERSE, E.G.
Poem cum song 2 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse (links, & Playlist, above): WALKABOUT WITH MY PEN
(TUNE: C F G G A A G G, C G A A G G F F, C A A A G G F F,
C G A G A G F F; C F G G A A G G, C F G G A G F F)
Once drove an old sedan, up north,
From a place in Sydney to Cairns;
Then to Kuranda I went forth,
By train, to look without set plans.
I browsed through the trendy market,
With fresh fruits of tropical kind;
Walked to the creek through lush thicket -
Nature’s hand giving peace of mind.
I dined in a scenic cafe;
Then, outside, as I wrote for yen,
Some passing Kooris called-out: “Hey,
You go walkabout with your pen.”
Request or question, I don’t know -
Assured voices, elderly men.
That’s now several years ago,
And I’ve seen the world - with my pen.
(C) David Franks 2003
Poem cum song 162 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse (links, & Playlist, above):
TEES TO TYNE: FIRST IMPRESSIONS - SUMMER 2001
(TUNE: E Fsharp Fs E D E Fs Fs, Fs G G A B A G G, D G A A B B A A,
Fs G A B B A A-G G; D D Fs Fs Fs-G Fs E E, E E E E Fs E D D)
Where traditions are not so rare;
Sea, country and works scent the air;
A multitude of monuments,
Planted tubs and patterned pavements.
The longish pedestrian malls;
The remnants of defensive walls;
Historic buildings are a gauge
Of the respect for heritage.
Wheat, rape and pines in the fields;
Estuaries guarded by shields;
Long sandy beaches and wide scenes;
Romantic-ruin go-betweens.
Rivers in parts licked by trees,
Or fringed by boat clubs, wharfs, gantries,
And crossed by practical delights -
Varied spans, forming pleasing sights.
Fine churches headed at Durham;
Football kits ad infinitum;
Kept castles - one for study;
Masonry behind masonry.
And, with moulding-works out that way,
It’s somewhere for a longer stay..?
(C) David Franks 2003
Poem 187 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse (links, & Playlist, above):
A SOUTH SHIELDS WALKABOUT - AUTUMN 2001
Out of the museum-and-gallery
(Wiser on Cookson and the local way),
Down Ocean Road with, to the right of me,
Its eateries and, left, neat places to stay;
Before, on either side, Marine Parks -
The southern-one a most beautiful place,
Teeming with moorhens, swans, grebes and mallards
In a small lake at a scenic-hill’s base.
Then (holding chips from the parade’s cafe
And, thus, a flock of gulls squawking above)
Onto the South Pier I made my way:
Seeing seaweed over rocks - like a glove -
And high-and-dry sands held from transgression
By growth of grass and the weaving of wood,
Plus, in the dim light of a sleepy sun,
Fishing boats returning to Tynemouth’s hood.
(C) David Franks 2003
Poem 105 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse (above links):
GLOBAL REGULATIONISM
No income-scale would be unjust -
It’s a matter of degree;
And, to have less inequality,
Regulations are a must.
For, in Millennium’s status quo,
The pay-gaps for human work,
And what’s gotten simply as a perk, Are wrong - inhumanely so.
(C) David Franks 2003
Poem 76 of 230, WalkaboutsVerse (above links):
LAND RIGHTS
If there is a good thing,
From the Second World War,
It’s that most peoples learnt
To conquer lands no more.
In Africa, Asia,
And the Pacific, too:
Post-war independence -
Steps only bigots rue.
But for some indigenes,
Outnumbered much-too-much,
It has all come too late
For liberty, as such.
So ‘tis in Australia,
And America’s sites,
Where the best now, I think,
Is to respect land rights.
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Dear New Friend: Thx 4 adding me, as it is my hope that you are glad that I had requested of you an invite for add!
Your 'uniqueness' knows, only the bounds on the grounds and sounds that you put down according to the belief and faith, that you have in yourself and the Creator God of your understanding, as you make your rounds on this, divinely sacred Planet’s Earthly ground, for as long as, you are around, in the light of the Sun of this dawn of a new day begun, with the fact that President Obama won. So Mr. or Ms. Good-to-great, I decided to request and invite you, for to be an extended friend, and to that end, I have no regrets. And to answer your questions of 'do I like you' for instants, or what do you sound and look like to me? I pose these questions, and that is basically, do you, like you, and or what do you sound, and look like to you? And also how do you see yourself within our rife, Ecology of life within the natural scheme of things, as a living human being?
Best wishes for you to keep on being, and doing you, uniquely, your style, you know how you do, with continued better, greater success, whereby, with all of your good, heart, of hearts inspired, desires for what you aspires too, depending on how you see yourself. Hopefully it is, in good health and happiness by the permissive will, grace and mercy of the God of the Heavens and this Planet Earth of your understanding! For ultimately after the preachers, preach, and or after the great teachers, teach, it is according to your faith, vision and conviction, so be, it, unto you!
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If this is posted on your page more than once I apoligize.
Thanks for the poem Mr Franks:) Check out my songs anytime you want to relax to some nice accoustic guitar and heartfelt lyrics...Peace everyone from Rolland Hassall
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