Jim Whitman sings 'TEN LONELY YEARS'

One of my great Country Music heroes is Slim Whitman, and now I have another singer with the same surname to enjoy. Jim Whitman is a singing yodeller, and a talented songwriter. Expect to find more of his songs on this Blog in the future! Ten Lonely Years is taken from his album 'The Very Best of Jim Whitman'.

James Marvell sings 'Prophecy'

The song is recorded by James Marvell (formerly of Mercy, million seller "Love Can Make You happy") who in the '60s topped Billboard with Elvis, Sinatra and the Beatles. Marvell wrote the song "Prophecy" which can be found in 3 languages on Youtube. Below is his English version:

INCREDIBLE Duet - Jotta A Michely Manuely Sing Hallelujah

Jim Whitman sings 'A Stolen Kiss'

     Here's a great song, beautifully sung by one of my friends, singer/songwriter Jim Whitman. Jim grew up listening to the sounds of the 50's and 60's and was inspired to take up the guitar when he heard the great songs of Elton Britt, Kenny Roberts, and the crying steel guitar of the great Slim Whitman, one of my Country Music heroes.

     Jim's voice has a wide range and an expressiveness which many singers find it hard to achieve. He also discovered early on, to his delight, that he too could yodel. You don't learn to yodel, it just comes naturally. It then has to be groomed,practiced and tailored to perfection.

Letterpress Printing - an intro

Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo.

This nicely made video provides a great overview of letterpress printing in less than two minutes.

If anachronistic and custom small press printing designs appeal to you, check out this site for inspiration and free downloads.

'Angels Fly Away' : new song by Levi Coby

True Worship ...

Persecution of Messianic Jews in Israel

Alan Watson sings 'When I'm With You', a great song by Songwriting duo Colin Gordon-Farleigh & Greg Scheer

The other day I posted a video of an interview with me about the song 'When I'm With You' filmed when Alan Watson was videoed performing the song. Now here is a first rush of the video shot by a member of the Altrincham Video Club. Hope you enjoy it. The song is featured on Alan Watson's current CD, 'Taking it Easy.'

Grace Bawden - Un Bel Di Vedremo (Madam Butterfly)

Once again I am wowed by the amazing voice of the very talented young Australian songbird, Grace Bawden.  At the close of this outstanding performance Grace was given a well-deserved standing ovation by the assembled audience.

Interviews with Colin Gordon-Farleigh about the background to the song 'When I'm With You'

Last week I went to Altrincham with the Runcorn-based singer Alan Watson where he was being filmed performing my song When I'm With You, which is one of the tracks on his latest album release.  The song is a result of the ongoing collaboration between Greg Scheer who composed the music and myself, who wrote the lyrics. 


After his filming was over they filmed me being interviewed about the origin of the song, together with Alan Watson and Jack Ebden.

Another great song from Rick Alan Carpenter

Here's another great song from Rick Alan Carpenter called Your Turn to Hurt, recorded live in Nashville at Rudi's. 

Rick Alan Carpenter sings 'Same Old Heartache'

Regular readers know that I love real Country Music, and that why I love the sound of my friend Rick Alan Carpenter. He sings my kind of Country Music! 

Andrea Warnock sings 'Love is Blind'

 Country singer, Andrea Warnock, sings her new song Love is Blind which I think is a great Country number. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Daisy Chapman sings 'Prisoner' by Tony Harris

Prisoner is a great song, written by Bristol-based Tony Harris and sung by Daisy Chapman. This is a song with a strong message that speaks directly to your heart and soul.  All people have the right to expect that their dignity is upheld, yet there are always individuals and regimes who feel that they can dispose of people's dignity as they feel. This is a beautiful song which deserves the widest audience possible. I hope that you will recommend it to your friends, dear reader.

Tim Hawkins - 'Girls vs Boys'

I love the series of videos by Tim Hawkins because they are so funny and manage to make a point at the same time.

Levi Coby sings 'Teddy Dreams'

Scots-born Levi Coby is a Country singer/songwriter who puts a lot of passion into his songs, and when you hear him sing them it's difficult to believe that he's not part of the Nashville Country Music scene. I predict that it won't be too long before he is!
     Here he is singing one of his own songs, Teddy Dreams. Listen and enjoy, and above all, remember the name --- Levi Coby.

Steven Curtis Chapman - Do Everything

Simon's Cat in 'Cat Man Do'

     It gives me great pleasure once again to introduce you to the latest 'Simon's Cat' video, created by the talented Simon Tofield. I love Simon's work because, as a cat-lover myself, I recognise all of the antics that the cat gets up to in the cartoons.
     Cat Man Do was the very first of the increasingly popular cartoons about Simon's Cat to appear on-line, and since then he has appeared in Books, videos, a game and his very own comic strip. In this cartoon, Simon's cat resorts to ever-increasing attempts to wake up its sleeping owner to the fact that it wants to be fed in order to satisfy its ravenous hunger.

Deirdre Shannon sings 'Crucán na bPaiste'

This song, sung in Gaelic, is taken from Deirdre Shannon's latest album. For those who don't know, Deirdre has been part of Celtic Woman during the times Méav was on maternity leave.

Crucán na bPáiste means "Burial place of the children". The song was written by Brendan Graham, who is both a songwriter and an author, and it was written for the principal character in his trilogy of books:

1)The Whitest Flower
2) The Element of Fire
3) The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night

The song is the story of Ellen Rua, from East County Mayo, a county where the people suffered greatly in the Famine, with one third of the population dying as a result. Many more, weakened by the famine, died of fever and dysentery. Babies conceived and born in this era were malnourished, and often did not live long. There were so many victims that they were buried in mass graves. However, local people could not bear the thought of their little ones being placed in mass graves with everyone else, so they made a special place ... Crucán na bPaiste.

In this lament, Ellen Rua is mourning her "little redheaded girl" lying in the cold ground of Crucán na bPaiste. She is devastated that she could not save her child, and asks the Lord to take her too. She cannot stay in Ireland without her child … so she leaves on one of the Famine ships to Australia. Eventually she travels to Boston, to a new life … but her strength is again tried by tragedy.

A very sad song ... and it is sung with great feeling by the talented Deirdre.

Translation:

Broken my heart
Lonely my life
With my darling child lying here and me tormented
It is the end of my world
My little red-haired girl
Laid out in Crucán na bPáiste 

She will not see again
The dew on the grass
Nor the snow in the glens of Maamtrasna
No sun on her face
No sweet song of the birds
Only the cold earth of Crucán na bPáiste

Chorus:
In the name of the Father
And in the name of the Son
And Mother Mary full of grace
In the name of the Holy Spirit
Don't leave me alive
With my little angel in Crucán na bPáiste 

There is sadness on the mountains
Anger on the Mask ( Lough Mask - a lake nearby)
But much worse am I that didn't save her
And for the time I am alive
Never more will I stand
In Ireland or in Crucán na bPáiste
With my little angel in Crucán na bPáiste