I actually wrote this song a few years back but never produced it. I blew off the dust and tweaked the song a little--probably the only song I've ever written in this genre. "If rivers could speak......." Here's my Ohio River song, hope you enjoy it and as always comments surely welcome!

steady-eddie

OHIO RIVER BLUES - music/lyrics by e.swartz

vocals & acoustic guitars: eswartz
bass: johnny geib
electric & lead guitars: teddy snyder
virtual drums: e.swartz
production: e.swartz

Ohio River Blues


Ohio River Blues—music/lyrics: eswartz

I’m gonna sing a little song about a river I know
The name of the river is the Ohio
Well she starts somewhere up in the Allegheny’s
A thousand streams, a fisherman’s dreams

(Chorus) Roll’n on down to the sea, just flowing so naturally, O-hi-o

Monongahela River, and Allegheny too, they give it up at Pittsburgh
And then their day is through
Ohio River, it’s your time to roam, a river is born
Let’s head on down to Wheeling, “I love that Wheeling feel’n”
And on to Marietta, and come on board Muskingum, highway to the Shawnee Nation

(Repeat Chorus)

Hello Cincinnati, goodbye Louisville, coming up on the right
Yes I think its Evansville, Indiana--they call it God’s country
I think I feel the Wabash a flow’n into me
It won’t be long until we meet the mighty, Tennessee River – Wow! You’re bout’ as big as me

(Guitar solo – verse & chorus music)

What’s that I see up ahead, now tell me what is that I see?
It looks like the mighty, Mississippi, is gonna ta-a-a-ke……over me
Ohio, it’s been a good ride-----but I can’t even see, the other side
Oh Mississippi, what have you done?
You swallowed me whole……yeah, you swallowed me whole
Oh black water, Louisiana, I’m coming home (Time sig—4/4 bpm-117- tempo change to 103 bpm) - Std key)

Eddie--

I really like the OHIO BLUES--Didn't know you were into BLUES!

CINCINNATI on the right--We could stop for a Coney and Beer, on the way to New Orleans!

Write on

Mackie

Hi Eddie:

Enjoyed my journey down the Ohio... and all it's tributaries. You handled the merge with the Mississippi very well, my friend. There's something about floating down a River that soothes the soul. Keep up the good work.

Regards, ----Dave

Good one Eddie. If anything, you could pump up the bass about 1.5db.

Vic

Thanks Mackie,

Let's do it! Bring your rod & reel!

steady-eddie

Hey Dave!

Thanks for the spin and kind comments!

steady-eddie

I don't always like blues, but I like this. Very well done, lots of energy.

Nice one Eddie - sounded cajan to me - expecting an alligator to pop up somewhere but I guess Ohio is a bit north for those creatures. Solid melody lines, guitar playing and vocals. I like the use of echo too. No nits from me - good job!

Paul

Thanks Vic,

My last song you told me to back off the bass 1.5 db......so I backed off a little more with this one.......but I still can't please you--kidding you!

Seriously I did try SC new mastering option. I used the brighter one of the four options which did back off a little bass and add some brightness which sounded better to me with this mix, so I kept it. I wonder if mixing a song to be so neutral is really the way to go when our songs won't be listened by the masses on car radios? Maybe mixing them for SC or S-click for streaming is the best way anyway--not sure.

steady-eddie

Songbird,

Thanks so much for the listen and positive comments! I've always liked Blues, but it hasn't been my territory much for writing. When playing this rhythm part, I just felt it I suppose, so delved into it. I do enjoy changing directions once in a while for sure.

steady-eddie

Hi Paul,


Thanks for chiming in and the listen. I think the song by the Hollies "Long cool woman in a black dress" (strong vocal delay) did influence how I mixed these vocals as I referenced that song. I did have more serious delay early on in the production, but backed off as I didn't want to stray too far from Blues. I like your comment about Cajun, I here a little of that but you're right can't sing a Cajun song about a Midwest river--once we get on that Mississippi River though, we can get a little more Cajun--maybe I'll have a sequel!

steady-eddie

Nicely done Eddie. Lots of "color."
I enjoyed the mix and the tone and presence of your vocal in the mix.

My desk speakers dont always present things as well as a better system would, but given what I hear, my only suggestion might be to bring the drums down slightly.

Nonetheless very well done.

Question:
What do you do to arrive at the thickness and clarity and color in your voice?

Hi Martin,

Thanks for stopping and commenting on my song. I probably could back the volume a db or two on the drums--I did want them as a strong presence with this song however. As far as my vocals, I use an "Aston Spirit" condenser mic--a great mic for the price. A decent converter interface is a must for conversion which goes without saying. As far as effects/settings I have a normal preset eq for my vocal tracks and add slight compression and a little room reverb. Finding your "eq sweet-spot" is important to maximize your vocals for sure--sweep your midrange. With this song I also used some "beat delay" to give it more of a live "club sound effect." As far as tone-vocal coloration, we all just pretty much are "what we are born with," I'm a 2nd tenor by music classification, but enjoy higher baritone songs too, but lack the lungs for a real baritone, and lack the range of a true 1st tenor. I'm getting up there in age, not sure how much longer my voice will hold out--never smoked seriously, that helps IMO. The most important three things before tracking vocals are hydrate very well a few hours before singing, get a good nights rest the night before, and warm up slowly...............Hope my comments helped answer your question.

Thanks again!

steady-eddie

Hi Eddie,
A good, fun, informative blues song. Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed the listen. Long Cool Woman is a great song too. I have been blessed with good lungs I tried to destroy with smoke, 3+ packs a day for 30 years, and a range that hasn't lost much yet at 70. I love doing big songs like "You Raise me Up", or "Wayfaring Stranger".

Thanks John!

Glad you quit that nasty habit!

steady-eddie

Great river blues..............you nailed the sound, man! Love the groove. Listening while commenting.............love the rippen' guitar......
Kudos,
-Tom

Tom,

Thanks man, glad you like the vibe. It was a fun song, kind of started it by just goofing around!

steady-eddie

Hi Eddie,

Sounds great! I didn't know you could do that twangy thang!

LIsa

I absolutely love everything about this. Great song, great production, great vocals. And a geography lesson too!

I noticed a shift in perspective from singing to the river to being the river itself, but it didn't bother me at all. It seemed to make sense somehow

Lisa!

I was so glad to see you on the thread! Thanks so much, hope all is well with you.

steady-eddie

Gavin,

Thank-ya man! Yeah, I was aware of that perspective shift, but just felt I could get away with it with Blues. It's kind of like the relationship between Tom Hanks & "Wilson."

steady-eddie

Eddie,

Haven’t found time to post on the board much of late, but I heard this one a couple of weeks back, and listened again today . . . terrific stuff. Love the write, and really love your vocal on this. Gets the foot tapping, no doubt. And then there’s that ripping electric guitar solo—killer. Great work on this, Eddie!

Hope all is good with you!

Deej

Deej,

Thanks so much! I'm sorry for responding so late, but I hadn't noticed your post until today. Teddy is a great guitarist for sure! I know a lot of chords, but lead guitar has never been in my DNA!

steady-eddie