JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum SHE'S A GYPSY I'M A ROVER.( M.ZANESKI VOCAL)

https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13675130

Music composed by myself and Phil Simpson.Lyric by me.
My pal Vic Arnold did a couple of great versions of this too.
I asked Mike Zaneski a fellow Wateboys fan to do a folk version and he came up with this which he also arranged and produced .
Both Mike and myself gave a nod to Mike Scott of the  Waterboys along the way.
Travis

SHE'S A GYPSY I'M A ROVER.

c
She's a Gypsy I'm a Rover
I'd like to settle but the road takes over
Paths of stone or fields of clover
She's a gypsy I'm a rover

VERSE
she loves me but she doesn't need me
a free spirit that won't be bound
Wild as a raging sea
Her name whispered in the tree
Pays a quarter, stands her ground

CHORUS
She's a Gypsy I'm a Rover
like to settle but the road takes over
Paths of stone or fields of clover
She's a gypsy I'm a rover

VERSE
love her but i don't crave love
there's only so much you can share
Stay together if we could
but staying put's not in this blood
I never had the time to spare

BRIDGE
Just Ships in the night
we touch and kiss
Sailing out of sight
vanished -with the mist
vanished....with the mist

INSTRUMENTAL

CHORUS

OUTRO INSTRUMENTAL

HI guys,

SUCH QUALITY !
It sure is catchy too.

Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

I've never been really big on Irish-sounding music, but this is quite listenable to me, bringing some hints of Rod Stewart. I don't know if the song originally had an Irish feel prior to this rendition, but it certainly works well with cues in the lyrics (clover, sea, etc.) and an Irish Traveller point of view. Neat to add the traditional instrumental at the end for contrast. I liked the song even better on subsequent listens.

The lyrics have a nice palette to them. They paint the story yet still leave some intriguing ambiguity. Nice edge on the vocal delivery of the line "love her but i don't crave love".

I'd like to hear it without the stylized closed "r" at the end of each line of the chorus, concentrating on the vowel instead. While it won't phase many listeners, it's nails on a chalkboard to me and is a pet peeve of choral musicians. Also, I would prefer the "me" of "she doesn't need me" to happen on an offbeat or a weak beat.

I hope this song gets picked up by some groups for performance. Perhaps you're performing it as well!

This sounds great! I like the melody, it's catchy. In the lyric, I especially like, "paths of stone or fields of clover" and "her name whispered in the tree". The writer in me had to look up the meanings of "gypsy" and "rover" as they are similar I thought and my mind initially went to the idea that they were opposites reading the title. But I see how their worlds DON'T collide....lol And there you have your story. Sounds ready to go! Great job! Good luck with it!

Kristi

Dear Mr. Vaughan: (and co-composer Simpson)

Thank you for having the wisdom and courage to "risk" your creation with another artist. Vic sets such a high bar on everything he does. It is so rewarding (speaking strictly from my own point of view) to have different versions of your song... especially when both are absolute gems. I cannot say enough good things about how Mike Zaneski has handled your melody and lyrics. His imagination and artistry are so evident in "She's a Gypsy!" This is a treasure of a song and I applaud each of you. Thanks for sharing. ----Dave

Can a person have too many versions of a great song? Travis, what another awesome interpretation you got with Mike's vocal and production! Well done!

Ricki

Very nicely composed. I don't know how to say it properly but the musical parts are very different than the vocal parts but resolutely blended into a song.

If that doesnt make sense, ignore it...suffice with...it's a very enjoyable tune.

Calvin, Maroon, Kristi, Dave, Ricki, and Martin..

Thanks for kind words. It was fun getting into a kind of mystical Irish spirit for this.

I love John's writing and maybe cuz I'm half-Irish on my mom's side I feel a special attraction to his Irish-bent songs.

Thanks again..

Mike

Thanks Calvin, I appreciate another comment and thumbs up
Travis

Thanks MC. for your comments and suggestions.
The song won't get performed by me but my co. writer Phil Simpson did a version fairly similar to Mike's. And versions from my many times Co.writer Vic Arnold.
The phrasing I will leave Mike to comment on but I feel if any alterations do happen they will be on a couple of musical changes which Mike highlighted
Thanks for the listen!
Travis

Thanks Kristi your comments and listen are always welcome and much appreciated.
Happy New Year
Travis

I remember this one and doing two versions, one at this speed and one faster.
This has more of an Irish country feel. Sounds like a passable accent too but I agree slightly with Maroon's "rolling of the arse" comment. :-)
Good luck with it.

Vic

With you all the way Dave.And loved your new song!
God I'm sounding like a theatrical lovey lol
Thanks once more for comments and listen
John

Thanks Ricki for those kind words
Travis

Oh my!

Cheers Martin pleased you enjoyed it
Travis

Thanks, Vic..

The following may qualify as the most tedious post I've ever posted, lol..but it's music talk so lets go for it.

Maroon, Vic..about over/Rover/clover..

I'm not sure you guys thought this through but are just reacting viscerally as anyone would and that's cool--you just don't like the way holding the "err" sounds, but I wasn't grinding down on the consonant like a pirate, just holding on to the syllable in an Irish way as opposed to a Bostonian or Doo-wop way, or just singing them like abrupt stacatto syllables..

My choices were 1) Sing it like Maroon suggested, which is like a Bostonian or doo-wop accent "CLOH vuh..err" with the "vuh" getting held with the legato singing and the "err" closing the note quickly at the end. 2) don't hold the "vuh" and sing the "err" like a normal "err," with a quick release--sing it staccato in other words. 3) sing those "vuhr"s giving the last sound "err" the legato portion like I did..

The problem with 1) A Bostonian accent is worse as the word "over" sounds like "ova" with an "err" afterthought. the word word "clover" like "CLOH-vuh" with an "err" tagged on at the tail end, etc. --and this is a problem because it's an Irish song, not Doo-wop or a lyric from a Bostonian POV. Simply put, the Irish pronounce their r's and you guys are really paying me a backhanded compliment.

2) Staccato "vuhr"s.. this way makes all the lines in the chorus really clipped sounding, with too much space in between the stacatto notes. Sure, I could add more fills, but the more legato-ish phrasing gives the song far more gravitas then singing a bunch of stacatto notes with musical fills getting half of the listeners time and attention every two bars in the chorus. (for example, two bars of "she's a gypsy.. ..rover" then two bars of vocal rests/silence) BTW, there are musical fills in every chorus. The whole point of an Irish sound is the vocal melody gets echoed back in between vocal lines, and I did this religiously.

3) Let the "err" get the majority of the legato like I did, which is more Irish than method one, and more in line with the songs lyric than method two. Maybe a happy-go-lucky song in a quicker tempo would delight in stacatto "err"s.

But all that is moot in a sense cuz you guys have a right to simply not like that sound, but I at least wanted you to know that I do give this stuff a lot of thought before a singing "style" is forged for a song, and you know, I'm not perfect, but the irony is that most complaints I have had, as a singer is I don't pronounce my r's at times, but sing them too Bostonian, lol..

Mike

Thanks for the chance to work with you Mike tossing around ideas is good, especially liking the same music too
John

Thanks, John, I agree wholeheartedly about tossing ideas around, and it's also a pleasure working with you..

Mike

Vic's a lover of good old fashioned humour like myself lol
It has been sent to the BEEB for their Introducing show.so it's wait and see time
John

Haha!
Seems like a very fine point. It's no big deal, and I we all have different ways of saying things but I was just thinking how the sound seemed to strike me as "rovrr" and "clovrr" rather than "rover" and "clover".
Come to think of it, there are many different dialects in Ireland. This is probably one of them.
.
Vic

Haha, that's great. Glad to pay a compliment!


Surely you give a lot of thought and care to each musical decision.


Irony indeed!

MC

Tip of the hat to all concerned. this is a really great song, great production and fabulous delivery. Liked everything about his. Well done, indeed!

David

Good job.....
songwriting observation....as many songs like this become sing along I find as a curiosity the "er" melodies being different each time.
+ve...variety and a challenge to sing along
- ve....hard to remember as a sing along

Excellent collab guys.
The arrangement is brilliant. I just loved the placement of instruments through out and no crowding.

Nice job on the vocals.

For a moment I thought you were going to leave me hanging.
I was listening for that outro instrumental part or something like it earlier on.

Maybe I was just being greedy, cuz I want some after the first chorus and after the bridge but just as I thought I was out of luck...BAM.

the.........OUTRO INSTRUMENTAL.... nicely done

Hi David
Thanks for the listen and thumbs up
Travid

Happy New Year Neil thanks for your comments and support
Trsvis

Thanks Nelson yes Mike did a greal job all round thanks for your ears and comments
Trsvis

Really well done, gentlemen. I’ve got nothing to add—just wanted to stop in and say how much I enjoyed it. Makes me want to hear the alternative versions for contrast. Any link available for those, Travis? It would be fun to listen to them.

Regards,

Deej

Hey guys,

What an enjoyable listen. This production has a cinematic feel and the authentic vocal style IMO should be dramatized, as this is theatrical to some extent. Not one Irishman would sing it the same, so style is that of the singer. More importantly is the music and lyrics--which are what makes this song shine! Congrats guys!

steady-eddie

Hi Deej
Thanks for the listen and compliments. Mike's version is very close to the original.
The demos Vic did were excellent as well and I still like to listen to them from time to time
I'll send you links
Regards
Travis

https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13141430

https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13141210

The first two versions are by Vic.
This take below is a terrible recording done by my co.writer on a hand held basic recorder.
Cheers
John

https://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12805403

Hello Ed.
Thanks for your thumbs up once again. I agree it is theatrical or cinematic.
Now you've made me feel like a theatrical lovey lol
Not sure about a further take though
Cheers
John

This is exactly the kind of song I most love!

The outro, yes!

Suspect this will be playing in my head for awhile!

Scott

David, Neil, Nelson, Deej, Eddie, and Scott..

Thanks, guys..

John and Phil had a solid song here, and after re-listening to the first three Waterboys albums, I was rarin' to go.

Thanks again, everyone..

Mike

Thanks Scott glad you liked it
Tavis

HI Mike
I always had Mike Scott down as an Irishman but apparently he was born in Edinburgh. But of course that Irish Celtic influence still runs through all his work

Really neat to hear the different renditions and the demo. Reminds me of listening to some of the Beatles Anthology records! I liked the phrasing of the verse on the demo.

Vic has a London accent I've heard him on the radio written 30songs with but we still haven't met.
Phil has a northern accent same territory as The Hollies
Thanks for listening MC

Travis,

Thanks for sharing the other versions. Fun to listen to the differences--personally like this and the livelier of the two Vic takes. You know it's a good song when it holds up to different interpretations.

Regards,

Deej

Thanks Deej
Travis

Got an email from the BBC that this song which I entered for their programme Introducing, has been listened too and a decision to air it will be made in due course
Travis

Wow, John..fingers crossed..

Mike

Yep its certainly worth the effort Mike
Cheers
John

The song got a play on an Irish folk radio station outside Dublin
Travis

Wee-hee! Great news, John.

Little victories Mike!

Congrats, guys!

Thanks MC it's been played on two different stations now.
And thanks to Mike of course.
Travis

Yhe BBC are playing this tomorrow i understand.
Travis