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Joined: Dec 2000
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Song about a man and his love for his land... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD-8j56lnKw&ab_channel=JohnVoorpostel©2021 John Voorpostel These Many Years On Some air to breathe, some land to stand on, some food and water, something to believe in Some time to grow up and some time to find love, if that’s all I get Lord, that’s more than enough Farmed my best in younger years Put down roots, I like it here I cleared the trees, I picked up stones Used them all to build our home The fields I've sown, the gathered crops Have shown this land I cared a lot Sunsets came and disappeared Counting out these many happy years Now I swear I hear the night talking It says the moon's about to fade So before it goes, I want to say Thank you for being here These many years on I've shaped these acres to my mind Carved out straight as arrow lines I've always been a simple man So simply give my body to my land Now I swear I hear the night talking It says the moon's about to fade So before it goes, I want to say Thank you for being here These many years on They say that life is mostly in the mind But mine was in my land in straight as arrow lines Now I swear I hear the night talking It says the moon's about to fade So before it goes, I want to say Thank you for being here
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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Without the little "back-story" intro this probably wouldn't have kept my attention lol. Very heartfelt John, and fearless! Respect
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John
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND-~from an old folk somg!
If you love the land, it gives one something to be proud of, YOUR WHOLE LIFE!
That shows through from the beginning of your song!
Mackie
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LOL thanks for listening all the way through Tony.
The farm was apparently first in ancestors hands about 1395 when it was mentioned in city annals. About 1620 it was split between two brothers, then about 1900 the owner died young leaving it in the hands of his widow who remarried.
Went there first in 1983 upon graduating university. Cycled my way through the Netherlands and a few nearby countries...as far south as Sancerre in France ..in via Lille..out via train from Paris to Luxembourg...cycled out from there back into Holland...on the way I visited that farm and its then current owners...the son is still there.
Took my kids there too back around 2000 or so
Gave me an emotional tug which this is based on
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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Joined: May 2017
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Nice song. I'm a sucker for songs written for places, so it struck a chord with me.
I looked it up, as you suggested. All I found was the Eetcafé De Postelhoek in a place called Oud Ootmarsum. Is that what you mean?
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Thanks for listening Mackie. Glad "the love" showed through. Good work with you and Tony "One Eye" . Want to throw him one myself
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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Cool you looked it up Gavin Eetcafe Postelhoek is technically "in the neigbourhood" but they just co opted the name. Funny story. When they first started, I got an email from them asking me why I was using postelhoek@gmail.com when I was in Toronto. Oud Ootmarsum is indeed where "de Postelhoek' is located. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oud_OotmarsumIf you look at this article, you will see that the Postelhoek comprises Voorpostel and Achterpostel. This is an allusion to the farm split back in 1620 when the two brothers split the land "Voor" in Dutch is "in front of" while "achter" meand "behind". When last names came into official use in Napoleonic times, so did the names Voorpostel and Achterpostel For all those centuries it was an "erfdom" (literally inheritable domain) guaranteed by the Catholic church...called "Grote Postel" and "Hooge Postel" and its owners were "Postelman" or Jan van Postel or some such...really tying the person to that land. There are a large number of these "erfdoms" around there and even though family ownership may change, the land is still called "Erve "insert name". I actually have direct family on Erve Howerboer in Ootmarssum. It is now a B&B as well. Ootmarsum itself is an "artsy city" in a very nice part of The Netherlands so a destination for many. If you look at Google maps\earth, you can actually see the farms as they are today...on Postelhoek Weg. (weg = road in Dutch) The Eetcafe is actually on another road nearby
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I know the Netherlands quite well, John, and speak Dutch not too badly. Don't know that part very well though. Most of the time I spent there was in the far south in Limburg. I still have friends there with whom I keep in touch.
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Ah Limburg ...love Maastricht, Valkenburg and the surrounding area. Lots of history there as Rome was active in that area.
They also have a unique Dutch dialect that is much "softer" sounding than mainstream because of its proximity to the French part of Belgium.
Also has the highest point in The Netherlands...my dad took me there as a six or seven year old... you may have visited there too
Add some unique cuisine ...
Aachen is also a cool place to visit...especially if you like history....expect you've been there too....Spa in Belgium is another place worth a look
Where\how\why did you learn Dutch?
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I lived in Brussels for a while. Although I lived in a French speaking area, by design since I arrived speaking no Flemish, I drove ten minutes to work in a Flemish area and worked with a lot of Flemish people. Our factory was in Roermond in Limburg and I went there about once a week for meetings. I was usually the only non-Dutch speaking person there and it was embarrassing making everyone speak English just because of me, so after a while I told them they didn't have to. If you speak English and German, Dutch is easier to get your brain around. I could understand them fine, even though I would mostly answer in English since, even those who were not totally comfortable speaking English had no problem understanding it. As you know, that part of Limburg is a narrow corridor between Belgium and Germany and the dialect there is actually more like low German in some ways, and quite a lot different from standard Dutch if they really let loose. And yes, I agree, it is a bit softer. As for the cuisine, I often had to take customers there in May and every restaurant had its asparagus menu, which was not much fun for me as I didn't particularly like asparagus. In fact, it would be fine with me if I never saw asparagus again LOL. Aachen is indeed an interesting town with its Charlemagne connections and yes, Spa and the other Ardennes towns are very nice. A lot of history there too with the Battle of the Bulge leaving its mark
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Ah Brussels...home of Manneken Pis. Wrote a song about him years ago called Viva Yo...expression came from The Drifters by Mitchener when he described a Spanish attitude ...a little boy pissing in the middle of the street saying 'Viva Yo"
The Netherlands very naturally speaks English because for decades kids could not graduate high school without learning English AND at least another European language.
They also say Dutch is actually the bridge language between German and English. In construction like German...ie the verb is usually at the end of the sentance...but lots of words close to English.
Great history all over
Two neat stories
In Trier there is still an intact Roman gate. It was an Imperial city so lots of Roman ruins. I walked through the city square and saw a plaque. "Karl Marx was born here"...History 1400-1500 years apart...
The other comes from Koblenz where the Moselle and Rein ..ok Rhine in English ...meet. Close to the confluence, in a small park, there stands a monument to Napoleon glorifying his conquest of the city. It has a postscript on it, also in French, that says that the Russians gracefully allowed the monument to stand after they had chased him back to France.
So much history ...
Luxembourg is also one of my favourite cities. In its river valley that cuts through the city, you can see structures built into the sides of the slope, then old parts where they began building on top of the hills between the river as it curves, then the larger area built up after they built their bridges...just standing at the bottom of that river park you can see ages unfolding in front of you
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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Joined: Jun 2019
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Thank you Tony for that kind offer
I actually have a Tascam Portastudio I have used in the past but as I have a bunch of things on the go professionally, I cannot find the time to really do any recording justice
I have found the easiest way is to simply set up my smartphone and go. Generally need a number of takes but when I get something "reasonable" I upload it to Youtube and share
Others like you are far better musicians and have the tech and time and smarts and experience to produce stuff that I consider radio ready.
And yes, I know Audacity and have downloaded it before, but never really got beyond importing a track to see what things looked like. My computer is a "mission critical" tool for me which I do not really like to use for anything extraneous, so that has kept me away from using it record music.
But I'd love to somehow collaborate with you.
Maybe virtually via Zoom or Skype? I could also send you one of the worship songs I wrote for our church services. I could send you the lyric and let you interpret it musically...then we compare???
...???alternatives???...
I see you removed the post...honestly I was not insulted, upset etc...saw it as a bonefide offer to help me improve and learn
Last edited by John Voorpostel; 07/27/21 01:25 PM.
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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Actually John, the fact that your phone recordings are "good enough" was the whole point. You just need better sound... I would much rather help you record YOU. Syncing video is easy
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Yes the offer to help came through loud and clear and I hope I did not sound ungrateful or deflective
Maybe we start a home recording thread? Computer recording thread?
Would still love to collaborate on a tune as well
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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You and Gavin were having a great convo... I kept getting alerts lol, I just felt perhaps I was butting in... Yeah, it's a shame the home recording forum is so far down on the totem pole here lol... I just figured, since you've hit upon something interesting, you might want a nice recording of yourself. That would open you up to a more interesting video
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Been looking for an alternative since the Tascam is decade plus old tech and I have a blown input so only one line in...not a big deal BUT...
Run across one or two alternatives from Zoom and Tascam and an iZotope Spire which looked kinda cool
Once I get that, I might take you up on that..or have you teach me how
In the meantime...
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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I use a ZOOM H4n Pro for acoustic recording, absolutely love it! But in retrospect, I probably would have been just as happy with the smaller version. The twin mics and the stereo inputs are basically all I use it for
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Good to know..great endorsement...thanks
If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop
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Great story John...enjoyed! (Also enjoyed the info in this thread) Bill
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Very nice song John.............especially knowing the back story. Love the creative process of writing about a time and place, and then bringing that picture you paint to life. Love it! -T
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Enjoyed your great story song, John.
I cleared the trees, I picked up stones Used them all to build our home <<<< great visual
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Just getting back to this after a few days out at a friend's cottage in our Haliburton area.
Thank you for listening and reading the back story
One line I am considering changing is I like it here to my life is here
Makes more sense to me
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Really good lyric , John... like the quiet feel to the song...opening line of chorus has a touch of Neil Young to your voice..all around good job
Steve
VNORTH2
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Thanks Steve. It is one of my own favourites
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"If one man can do it, any man can do it. It is true. But the real question is, if one man did it, are you willing to do what it takes to do it as well?" –Brian Austin Whitney
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