My post title is a lyric line from my song “You Were There.” Click the blue link below to hear my newest arrangement. I am working on my vocal and plan to finish it soon.
YOU WERE THERE #2 KARAOKE-Copyright 2014 by J Unger
Link to other story about this song:
“My music is my inspiration”
I love all of my older songs and have continued to work with a talented musician named George to create beautiful new arrangements for many of them.
A month ago, George and I began working on “You Were There #2.” Within one session, the arrangement was almost finished and it was completely breathtaking for me. But then I wrote a new song, which I named “My Shining Star.”
My newest song eclipsed the older song. I put “You Were There #2″ aside until last week when George and I completed it. This gorgeous arrangement was another winner for me and I’ve already begun singing vocal lines for it.
My singing voice has not been very strong. But in spite of my eyesight issues and depression, music just continues to swirl around me. Because of music, I am completely inspired.
And as I’ve said before, with music I’m never alone.
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Recently, I purchased a classical guitar due to George’s encouragement. I gave my old one from college to my daughter who enjoys playing it.
For over two months, I made numerous trips to guitar shops and probably played at least 100 guitars. Early on, a relatively inexpensive, lightweight guitar stood out for me. It was made in Spain by a company named Cordoba. It had a brighter sound that appealed to me and I liked the idea that it had a built-in electric pick-up.
It has been fun playing my lightweight nylon guitar!
The sound is a nice complement to some of my songs, although I still feel much more attached to my steel-string Lowden guitar.
Lately, I have been doing many guitar recordings to add into my songs. On my newest arrangement of “You Were There #2” I wasn’t sure which guitar to use, so I recorded both of them. In almost all of my arrangements, George also plays a keyboard guitar.
George liked the sound of both my guitars, so the arrangement actually has three guitars in it.
Below are recordings of my guitar with some other arrangements. I have the guitar louder so I can hear it clearly to check my editing.
Click the blue links below to play audio:
THE DOOR #3 GUITAR-Copyright 2014 by J Unger
RAINBOW THROUGH MY TEARS GUITAR-Copyright 2014 by Unger
EVERY SEASON #2 GUITAR-Copyright 2014 by J Unger
MY SONG UNSUNG GUITAR-Copyright 2014 by J Unger
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My post title has a lot of different meanings for me. In my apartment I celebrate when I’m alone because I seldom am. Usually, I have one of my children home with me. I love my two sons, but the silence I crave is broken by the sound of video game gunfire.
It’s when I’m truly alone, that I feel free to sing aloud and enjoy the solitude.
And on a side note, I believe it’s far worse to be with someone you don’t want to be with, than to be alone!
I’m taking a break from performing until my eyes improve. Here I am courageously singing without my guitar!
“The bereaved daughter’s club”
When I wrote the lyrics to “You Were There,” both my parents were still alive. The line of “I’m not alone” reflected how much both of them were deeply ingrained in my life.
Although I shared every aspect of my life with them, I kept my marital woes pretty much to myself. My parents knew my marriage was empty and there was no reason to discuss it with them, because I never believed there were any options for me.
So throughout my adult life, I clung to my parents where I received tremendous love and encouragement.
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It was especially difficult when my parents lived with me for a year before they went into an assisted living facility. I carried tremendous heartache because I was grateful my husband accepted it, while at the same time our marital problems were clearly in view.
It was interesting when I remember how my mother was more excited to remember my anniversary with a gift to me than my husband ever was.
The words of “I’m not alone” carry a new meaning now that both my parents have died.
When my mother’s dementia began to increase, I remember feeling like a small child who was lost in a huge department store. I was terrified.
But then I learned that I needed to become the parent because it was my mother who was actually the lost child!
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My song “You Were There” reflected that shift. It was quite difficult, but eventually I adjusted to the new person my mother became. And I marveled at my own strength.
I was not able to alleviate my father’s suffering, though I desperately tried by searching for different doctors and procedures that might help him. When my father gave up and wanted to die, I prepared myself once again to “be strong” and do what was required of me.
These days, I’m not feeling nearly that strong. Perhaps as a result of my irritated eyes, I am extremely vulnerable and depressed. When I remember the love from my parents, I feel even more alone because I miss them in so many ways.
Last week, I forced myself to have lunch with a good friend. Our lunch was an opportunity to celebrate our birthdays, which was something we had already delayed by several months.
There was a lot of irony about seeing my friend, Janis. We each had lost our mother shortly before our birthday.
The day after my mother’s funeral in October, Janis called me to say her mother was very ill and had gone into the hospital.
Janis was a friend whom I felt very devoted to. We met over twenty years ago when my son, Jason was a playmate to her son in preschool. Janis was really there for me when Jason died and we have stayed friends ever since.
When Janis’s mother died six weeks after my mother, Janis called me and said she wanted to ask me a favor.
Her request was that I sing my song “You Were There” at her mother’s funeral service. I hung up the phone and felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t imagine a greater honor.
It was another coincidence that Janis’s mother was to be buried at the same cemetery. The funeral director took a double take when he saw me again so soon. The same Rabbi delivered her mother’s eulogy and did a beautiful job.
So only six weeks after burying my own mother, I was singing my song in the exact same funeral hall. I performed my song with great emotion. As I sang, I pictured my mother and the beautiful memories I had of her throughout my life.
Janis and I hugged and sat down together to eat lunch at a lovely restaurant. I wore my sunglasses because my eyes hurt and were sensitive to light. But truly I was hiding behind those shades because I felt like crying.
As we both glanced at the menu, Janis shared with me that her mother’s death had deeply affected her. Most of the day she watched TV and did the bare minimum to get by. Over and over, we both rattled off all the ways we were grieving and trying to carry on with our lives despite the heaviness.
It was awful for us both to acknowledge that we weren’t feeling well emotionally. But for me, the truth was that I was elated to be with someone who understood my feelings.
Before saying goodbye, I invited Janis to my car so I could play my newest song arrangement for her. She was eager to hear it.
My car filled with the sweet notes of the arrangement. My voice quivered and I could barely sing my song. For many parts, I simply mouthed the words silently as tears flowed down my cheeks.
When the music ended, I opened my eyes and could see that Janis also was crying.
She said softly, “The line that always gets me the most is about being loved your whole life. What a gift that was.”
I hugged her goodbye.
Suddenly, I felt so much less alone.
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© Judy Unger and http://www.myjourneysinsight.com 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Judy Unger with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
