JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback Lyric Feedback Forum 3 Romance of Jade (collab with Terry Graham)

Hi -- This song is based upon a presentation given in 1955 by my grandfather, the late Dr. Chao Ming Chen. Amongst other things, he was a Chinese art scholar who taught Chinese Classics at Johns Hopkins University. One of his works about jade was recently published in a booklet, along with this song of ours which wound up being requested for inclusion into the publication. All feedback appreciated here! Thanks! Lisa

The Romance of Jade
© 2006 Lisa L. Gundling
and Terry C. Graham [ascap]

When she's genuine, she's cold to hold
Too hard to scar, with a knife
To capture the heart of her
Many a suitor gave his life

The Romance of Jade
Allure that chance could never fade
The Romance of Jade
Virtue reflecting, Wisdom brave
The Romance of Jade

By rulers and princes revered
Others humbled by her regal role
Only a broken piece of her
Worth more than others whole

The Romance of Jade
Allure that chance could never fade
The Romance of Jade
Virtue reflecting, Wisdom brave
The Romance of Jade

Commonly green but envy-free
She's been known to be cool blue
Sometimes white as the driven snow
Though often not, the purest hue

Queen Jade, in diamonds framed
Her throne, settings of gold
Resplendent in, the finest palaces
Consort of kings untold

The Romance of Jade
Allure that chance could never fade
The Romance of Jade
Virtue's reflection , brave & wise
Timeless infinity
Deep as midnight skies
The Romance of Jade . . .
The Romance of Jade . . .
The Romance of Jade.


[This message has been edited by lgundling (edited 12-07-2006).]

Very Lovely!!!!You Two....Lisa and TT
What a beautiful addition this had to have made to the Booklet in honor of your Grandfather...

The pictures of this run through my mind....
Beautiful ......

and Congratulations...on having this published in a Very Special Booklet!!!...

hugs...and best to you both......
Kaley...

Yes, Congratulations you two. It is a lovely lyric.



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Royal Daughter

www.soundclick.com/royaldaughter

Hi Kaley,

Sweet feedback!!

It was a fun surprise project that popped up in my email as a first draft . . .and a compelling challenge. But with a co-writer-to-die-for, I feel so encouraged and unconstrained that the inspiration to give what I can comes without excessive effort.

Thanks!!
TallT

[This message has been edited by Tall_Terry (edited 12-05-2006).]

Hi Vanessa,

I'm surprised it took me so long to learn what your "royaldghtr" meant!! I've always just kind of got tongue-tied when I read it.

And now I find I'm in the presence of royalty!! Well, I kind of knew that already.

Thanks for the kind assessment!
Wanna hear it?

Cheers,
Terry

Lisa , Terry ,
I'd like to hear it. There was a lime that jumped out at me as thought-provoking:

only a broken piece of her worth the others whole

A sparkeling jewel...
Pete

Hi Pete,

I loved that line! It was in Lisa's first draft and clinched my desire to get out my my jade polishing kit and get into the lyric.

Thanks much!!
Terry



[This message has been edited by Tall_Terry (edited 12-05-2006).]

Hello L & T,

Yes this is very nice.
Lots of cool lines.
It has a elegant feel about it.
Good work.

Calvin


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

Jeepers, guys...sounds awfully close to "Romancing The Stone", don't it?

JUST KIDDING, for crying out loud. Can't a guy have a li'l fun?!

What to say? I know not. I therefore defer to the Lord High Executioner, who said, "Give me liberty, or giv...no, wait, wrong fellow!

Seriously, this is some solid poetical stuff, and that's awesome to have it included in the booklet! Nothing I could change....

I (along with Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing, and Peep-Bo) salute you!
Ben

Why of course Terry, I'd LOVE To hear it!

I've always loved Jade. Our youngest son's middle name is Jaden. Not that the name means the same. Just sounds the same.

Looking forward to hearing....

Vanessa

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Royal Daughter

www.soundclick.com/royaldaughter

WOW, talk about Romancin' The Stone!~

Congrats You Two---Excellent Lyric about a Very Beautiful Substance, which reveals (& Teaches well) Your Very Deep Appreciation of it. Very Fitting it's now a part of your Father's Book--certainly adds an Extra Dimension!

In my Junior Year of College, I briefly dated a beautiful Eurasian Gal, a fellow Artist (& a Far Better Colorist than I), who graduated a year ahead of moi. On her last week there, gave me a nice little absolutely Perfect piece of Green Jade..in the form of a Buddha..which 40 years later I still have..& treasure.

She went off to NY...& I, to the 'Nam a year later. Your song makes me want to see how her life turned out.

Thanks for The Inspiration...& Congrats & Good Luck on a Mighty Fine Song!

Big Hugs,
Stan

Hi Kaley,
Wow -- thank you! My grandfather died two years before I was born, but I feel lucky that he was a very prolific writer with a great love for the history of Chinese art and Chinese classics. I have come to know him, in a very special way, through these writings. When I wrote the first draft of this, I sent it to Terry, along with a full copy of my grandfather's presentation. Terry was able to immediately see what I was trying to accomplish, with the flavor of my grandfather's writing as its base...and so this song was born! I'm tickled that you enjoyed it!
Lisa

Hi Vanessa,
I'm so glad you liked this! I didn't know your son's middle name was Jadan. My sister's name is Jade. When we were growing up, she hated it because it wasn't very in vogue then. She's happy with it now, though! Thanks for dropping by. Oh, and you have your Soundclick site up now -- COOL -- I have to go check it out!!
Lisa

Hi Pete,
Thanks for the "sparkling jewel" comment! Also, that line is one of my favorites too. Its origin was a story that my grandfather relayed in his presentation. Thanks for your kind visit here!
Lisa

Hi Calvin,

Oh -- elegant is lovely! Thank you! Also, thanks for that flower line in "Rocks!" Flowers get me, uh....stemmed!
Lisa

Hi Ben,
Okay...started writing a whole dissertation about why it's not like "Romancing the Stone" and then got to the "kidding" part! Seriously...thanks so much for your high praise here! I, along with Hok Hua, Hok Boa, thank you! (That's my mother and my aunt. Hok and Hopie they're called )
Lisa

Hi Stan,

Thank you! I feel like your comments about this lyric teaching about, and revealing appreciation for, jade would have pleased my grandfather. He was a scholar with a great appreciation for Chinese art and history. Before coming to the US in the early 1920s, he headed the classics department at a university in China. He was also trained (by the emperor's head tutor) to become a court scholar. However, he decided to leave China and come to the US through the sponsorship of some US missionaries. Seven years later, he was able to bring my grandmother and their children to Baltimore. Two years later, my mom was born.

Your little piece of jade sounds nice! It's probably that beautiful, rich green that I love the best.

Thanks for your nice visit here!

Lisa

Hi Lisa,
There's a story about jade I really enjoy. I think it was on a kung fu tv show.
There was a wise man (a teacher type) and a young man (student) came to him and asked to learn about jade. The old sage would put a piece of jade in the young man's hand every day , tell him what kind it was and proceeded to talk about almost everything , but jade.
One day the young man was a bit perplexed and complained that he had come to learn about jade and wasn't learning very much. The old sage put a rock in the young man's hand , the young man put it down and said "that's not jade."
See , the sage said , you knew instinctly , without even looking , that the rock wasn't jade by it's feel , it's warmth , it's texture. And we have been talking about jade , you've learned your lessons well.

Talk about ancient wisdom...
Pete

Hi Pete,

Great story and message! Interesting that the old sage said "by its warmth." As stated in the first line of this lyric, genuine jade is, apparently, always cold.

Thanks for sharing this, Pete!

Lisa

To echo Calvin, elogant!

Hi Backatacha Again, Lisa!

Yeah, it's that lovely shade of Soft Not-too-Yellowish Green..& his belly's been rubbed for Decades for Better Luck!
(So it's certainly well-hand-poished, heh!) Bought a life-sized Jade Egg, same color..in Singapore on an R&R..& Jade seems to be a Mineral that Begs-to-be-Touched, as well as Admired.

I'll mention my Donor on the Buddha..since she also Matched That Description..ages ago. Google was of no help..I'll try my College's Alumni Folks, too...yet doubt she's listed. (When you gals marry, last names change..& Voila...you're VERY hard to ever catch up with.) Was one of the Best at Painting in Oils I've ever seen..
Christina Van Deusen was her name, went by "Vandee". Back then, her father, a qite-successful Doctor, was rather cruel & manipulative..she became a chain smoker & was a bit self-destructive..& I've often wondered if she made it over all these years.

Even the Finest of Jade shatters when abused-enough.

Thank You Again for The Memories!
Big Hugs,
Stan

Hey Ritt,

Love the echo! Thanks!

Lisa

Hi Stan,

I certainly hope you find that Vandee didn't shatter....

That's funny that you've been rubbing that buddha's belly all these years. We had a buddha around when I was growing up, and I could never resist the temptation to rub its belly! My second favorite item was a little dragon (signifying that I was born in the year of the dragon) in a small, wooden case.

Thanks for sharing your memories here!

Lisa

Hi Lisa and Tall One,

This is truly exquisite. Like a lot of folks, I used to collect jade...very small pieces since I couldn't afford anything very large. For some reason, they always seemed to make people happy when I gave them as gifts so over the years I gave most of my pieces away to people I loved. When my husband and I were in Alaska back in the mid-80's I discovered that a lot of the souvenir type pieces there were made from jade...delightful little turtles, fishes, eagles, etc. I loved them!!

What a thrill to have your piece included in the booklet! That is a real honor. Congratulations to you both!! What a tribute to your heritage and to your grandfather!!

If you ever get to Minneapolis/StPaul... please try to go to Leann Chin's restaurant in Union Station (St Paul). It has an exquisite collection of carved jade and ivory pieces that is nothing short of amazing. (Plus the food is out of this world). (Excuse me while I go have dinner at the local Chinese place...I am making myself hungry).

Lovely, lovely, lovely!

Hugs,
Bobbie

Hello Lisa and Terry,
I like this one. Very nice words and poetic as others have noted.
Like the way you've 'personified' the substance and brought it to life through history and legend. Got echoes of the 'Silk Road' to China.
Wonder how it would sound to music and what type?
All the best,
Philip.

Hi Bobbie,

Thank you for the very kind words and thoughts about this! It does feel special to me. Interesting that your little jade collection was slowly given away, because jade is so highly regarded by the Chinese, and giving it away to people you love is something that the Chinese do -- at least, that's what my family does. Maybe jade is the "giving stone!" I have quite a collection of assorted pieces of jade that have been given to me over the years. However, I lost my best piece. My mom had given me a beautiful jade necklace years ago. It was gorgeous -- the deepest green with about 8 pieces of jade in flower-like shapes around the whole thing. Very delicate. I lost it about 15 years ago, and still kick myself over it. I miss it to this day!

I'll have to check out Leann's if I'm ever there! Thanks for the tip!

Hope you're enjoying your dinner now!

Lisa

[This message has been edited by lgundling (edited 12-07-2006).]

Hi Phil,

What a nice description of the song! Thank you! Terry's style is closest to what I'd call folk rock, and the music to this one is perfect for the song. It has an elegant flair to it!
Thanks for your kind visit here!

Lisa

[This message has been edited by lgundling (edited 12-07-2006).]

Hi Bobbie,

Thanks for the kind and hearty endorsement and the dining tips.

I hitchhiked to Alaska in 1967.

Have a look at Raisin' Max and see if you like the Bridge any better.

Cheers,
Tall

Hey you guys .... I've been meaning to stop in to tell you how lovely this is!! What a wonderful job... Lisa .. you gotta know you made your grandfather proud!
all the best
Joanne

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Joanne Lurgio–The Best Is Yet to Be

• www.joannelurgio.com
• www.cdbaby.com/cd/lurgio
• www.myspace.com/joannelurgio
• www.cdbaby.com/group/justplainfolks
• www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=100751

Amber always said you like Jade better

Hi Joanne,

Glad you enjoyed it. Her mom and Hopie are so pleased with it, that indeed her grandfather must be smiling.

Thanks!
Terry

Hi Jon,

Don't let Ruby hear you say that!

Thanks for the visit,
Terry