JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum Red White and So Blue... Studio Demo..Westfall/Hopkins/Kolstad

We all sincerely hope that you will give our new demo a listen.
Thank you for that....

http://www.soundclick.com/janicehopkins


Red White and So Blue © Janice Hopkins/Larry Westfall/Magne Kolstad

When I think of the ones
That have all gone before
The brave and the young
Guarding freedom's door

If we only believe
In the heartfelt truth
Then it's time we agree
It's Red White and So Blue

Red for bravery's blood, shed on foreign shores
By men and women, for the land they adore
White for hope so pure, never looking back
On young ones' dreams and unlived plans
And one for wives and mothers, the flag's presented to
In the nation's colors of, Red, White and So Blue

Good men have always fought
To lend a helping hand
Their country came first
As they drew lines in the sand

So the next time you see
Fireworks in the sky
Think of those who've kept us free
While this good nation cries

Red for bravery's blood, shed on foreign shores
By men and women, for the land they adore
White for hope so pure, never looking back
On young ones' dreams and unlived plans
And one for wives and mothers, the flag's presented to
In the nation's colors of, Red, White and So Blue

Remember how our children fall
As the somber notes are played
While you bow your heads....recall
The truths in the colors that we wave

Red for bravery's blood, shed on foreign shores
By men and women, for the land they adore
White for hope so pure, never looking back
On young ones' dreams and unlived plans
And one for wives and mothers, the flag's presented to
In the nation's colors of, Red, White and So Blue

Hi Jan,

I enjoyed every second of this song.

IMO...War is the worst contribution that man has made to this earth.

Thanks so much for the listen Steve. We all appreciate that very much.

Jan

Janice, I have already told you how much I love this, but it is SO good!!! LOVE what they did with it. This could be on the Radio tomorrow!!! Great piece of writing like the rest of your stuff!

Curt

Thanks so much for the encouragement on this, Curt. You know I appreciate it. This one was truly a labor of love. It isn't that difficult to write when you feel it.

Talk to you soon...

Jan

From an Army brat who now works with "the brave and the young" everyday...great job on a beautiful song. I think they did an incredible job with the demo, but obviously a great production is nothing without a great song. Congrats to all!

Thanks....Steve, Curt and John...

This one was very personal for me...gotta a few family members in the miltary...Jan and Mags did such a fabulous job on this one and the production came out better than I could have hoped....really appreciate the encouraging comments on this...

Larry

John,

Thanks so much for listening to this new project. We're glad that you felt it. That's what we were hoping for.

We appreciate that so much.

Jan

Janice,

You and your co-writers have done an amazing job hear. I have two nephews serving over seas. Both have made a career out of defending those colors you spoke of. I'm sure most who listen will appreciate the sentiment. Best of luck!

Tom W.

Tom,

Thank you so much for the good words on this new effort.
Your nephews are just the ones that it was written for.

We appreciate that you listened. It is currently being pitched.

Jan

Hi Folks

This is a Good song and a very good Demo !

Best wishes
jm

Hi Janice

Great to see you posting a tune. On reviews I have 2 never break exceptions I never comment on personal songs ie "this is about my grandpa or my pet " And the second is political or war related songs. I have even only worked on 2 war related songs in my whole life.

But since it's you I had to stop in and listen...

I think it sounded great the vocal was perfect and everyone did a fantastic job, it has a great sentiment and gave off a positive and heart warming feeling.

All the best!

From the first measure of the intro it was evident that you know what you are doing. That little pick in the first measure sets the song up as not just an ordinary one. The promise of the first measure is fulfilled.

The piano is inspired - not overbearing or dull. Very good.

The lyrics are fine - nothing forced or off meter. Nicely conversational and the rhymes are there but don't stick out.

The vocals are very good - just right -nice and relaxed but with good feeling and dynamics. Great phrasing and tone.

The whole instrumentation is nice - good textures and depth.

Nice backing vocals.

This is really well produced.

I cannot give you a singe piece of helpful criticism. Sorry.

Tom

Jan. Larry and Magne,

Very nice demo good luck with this one. I'm thinking some folks were saying to themselves oh another song about that. Well I was watching CMT this morning and saw a new video from John Rich called The Good Lord and the Man...Your song is so much better written in my opinion...he actually says "if it weren't for them we'd all be speaking German" got to be the lamest line ever written but there he is on TV....Best wishes

Kevin

Joice, Mike, Tom & Kevin...

Thanks for givin it a listen and the encouraging comments.

Mike...I especially appreciate your comments on the production.

Larry

Thanks everyone for listening in!

The demostudio really made the music huge on this, and it really dresses up Janice's and Larry's amazing lyric, in a beautiful uniform.

This is one of those real songs, about real people and real lives, that makes me love country so much. And by the way, the colors in our norwegian flag is also red, white and blue :-)

Thanks for letting me be a part of this, Janice and Larry. Im very proud. You are the most wonderful people to work with!

This is a really good demo, performed with real feeling across the board. Good writing, too!

EDIT: Send a copy to all the VFW posts around the country.

Kevin

Joice,

I thank you so very much for the good words and for the listen. It is well appreciated.

Jan

Hi Mike,

Well, believe me...I feel honored that you'd break your rule for me on this one. I really put alot of merit on what you think...with the high quality of work that YOU do. Thanks so very much for letting me know how this hit you. We DID work very hard on it...it meant alot to us.

Thanks Mike,

Jan

Tom...thanks so much for all that you've said...we take it as encouragement on a song that means alot to the three of us.

Thanks so much for the good wishes on it. We so appreciate that.

Jan

Hi, Janice, Larry and Magne. Red White and So Blue is a beautiful song with wonderful lyrics, music and now arrangment. My warmest congratulations to everyone who made this song so great. I enjoyed listening, thank you for sharing and good luck with promoting it.
Nadia
http://iacmusic.com/artist.aspx?id=137230
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=936270
http://www.songramp.com/homepage.php?userid=27495
http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/nlcripps

Kevin..thanks so much for the good comments...they mean alot. We're so glad that this one hit you right.

John Rich got his song out there....cause he's John Rich. He stands way on the other side of the door that we are trying so hard to beat down.

Thanks for making me think that we may have a small shot at it...if the stars all line up right and everything goes perfect....HA.

Jan

Janice,

This might be the very best you have written/co-written. As I think you know, I am a disabled Vietnam Vet, and retired from the Army. Contrary to what most people would think, I am not the biggest fan of patriotic songs. Most of them gush to excess and do not give a real picture of our servicemen and servicwomen. Thus, i typically avoid them.

But, ONLY because YOU posted this did I decide to listen. You are one of the very best lyricists and nicest people at JPF...and probably anywhere else. Out of repect for you the person and you the songwriter, I felt I should take a listen. I'm so glad I did.

You have captured the heart and soul of not only those who serve, but also their families. And what I like is the accurate portrayal of those folks. You didn't make them out ot be more than they are, yet fully depicted all they really are without taking it to the point of absurdity.

The demo is, in my opinion, radio-ready as is. Some would say it's only a demo...you need a full production. Well, this one needs nothing else. It has everything it needs and everything is done to perfection. You may recall that last summer, the group "Heartland" had a huge #1 hit with "I Loved Her First". Walt Aldridge co-wrote that and produced the demo. What we heard on the radio was that $800.00 demo. Walt took us through the whole process from beginning to end at the 2006 Pineyfest. So, if their $800.00 demo can go to #1 nationwide, there's no reason to believe this one couldn't do it, also.

Best of luck with this. It is a wonderful song in every respect. Very, very well done. Congratulations!

Alan

Kevin E....thanks for your nice comments....so glad that you liked it.

You have given a great suggestions on sending it to the VFW posts. My dad would have really liked that. He loved his country and those who served more than anyone I ever knew....so thanks for that. He served in the Phillippines during WWII as an MP. I would really like to get this to the troops...any other suggestions on how to do that from anyone...would be greatly appreciated.

thanks again, Kevin

Jan

Nadia,

Thanks so very much for listening. We are all happy that the components of this project are all working well for you.

We so appreciate that you listened to it.

Jan

I hope you get this placed. You've stayed away from anything topical (IE specifically SAYING Iraq or Afghanistan). It's a great message and super well said. All the best with this.

Peace,

Ian

Great demo and excellent quality - enjoyed it! Great singer, too - no glitches, beautifull voice!

As for the lyrics: I'm from Austria and it seems we don't have this genre "patriotic songs" here, or in any German speaking country. And I doubt they exist in other European countries - well, I believe England to have it. I found it quite interesting once I joined certain songwriter forums that you have this genre here and how often I stumble across it. To me it seems ... very strange. Of course we have songs related to wars - but they are never "patriotic". It's not that we don't love our countries over here - but it's just not part of our culture - at least not in music.

Back to the song: 2 things I'd change. The intro and the outro. The intro is too "sweet" for my taste. It doesn't fit that well to the song. The outro with the fading string sound doesn't fit either. I find it always challenging to write good outros - but if you can't find a better one I'd rather fade out this song than finishing it with this sound. Besides this 2 minor suggestions: GREAT SONG!

Hey Janice,

A very powerful song. Wonderful production. It has fine structure, and a solid message.

To me, it would have been better delivery, as a single bloke, thashing it out on guitar, and showing emotion.

The "production" sound somehow softens it's meaning. There are "beautiful" songs, but this is not a beautiful song. It's a song of hardship and loss ( and maybe protest ) I'd go for the singer/songwriter feel on this one. Simplify, and cut.

cheers, niteshift

Alan,

As I have already conveyed to you. I and my co-writers appreciate your words on this project, so very much.

We all thank you so much for giving this your incredible ear and heart.

Jan

Janice,

It was a pleasutre to do so. I had some pretty darned good material to work with, ya know!

Alan

Janice,

It was a pleasutre to do so. I had some pretty darned good material to work with, ya know!

Alan

Well, this is just a great, wonderful song and I love Mags voice, I love his voice anyway, but he really did great on this..nothing else to say, except what a great heartfelt song..all the way around, from beginning to end, i'm going back to hear Mags sing this again...just love it..glyn

Jan:

Only 3 minutes left in my computer session, and need to tell you this is fabulous. Will really fit in one month from today. Any chances of it hitting the airwaves by then?

Janice,Larry and Magne,
Wow!I am pretty much speechless!This is just one of the most beautiful haertfelt patriotic songs that I have EVER heard.I like the fact that its not a protest song but paints a very vivid picture of what the men and women ,and the families of those who defend our country have to go through.Makes me ver y proud and very sad at the same time.This so is just so beautiful and I wouldnt change a single thing.Good luck with this.I expect to hear this one on the radio any day now,Wow!
Michelle

Glynda, Beech & Michelle..

I agree with Jan that it is much easier to write a heartfelt lyric when it is very personal..and I am quite aware when you write a song of this nature that you can't get "preachy" or bury it in gratuitous emotion...I can tell you that we appreciate that it conveyed that sense to you.....after all that's why we do this.

Thanks again for all the kind comments....

Larry

Ian,

Thank you so much for the good words on this project. We DID try to stay away from the specifics, so that it would ring true for all veterans and their families...no matter when they served.
I'm glad that we went that way.

We appreciate that you gave it your ear.

Jan

McLight,

Thanks for all of your interesting comments. You are the first to have said that. Of course if it is cut, the production can be whatever they want to make it, this is just a presentation of perhaps how it could be done.

It is interesting that you don't have this type of song in your country. I guess I figured that they were everywhere.

This is the first of this type that I've ever written, as near as I can remember. We're anxious to see if we can have any luck with getting it placed.

Thanks so much for taking the time to listen and comment. We are happy to receive any and all comments.

Jan

Niteshift,

We appreciate you weighing in on this....thing is....to pitch here you have to have a full production, radio-ready demo. They won't listen to less. Thanks for your comments, they are all appreciated.

jan

Hi Glyn,

I'm sure that Mags would love that you thought this was him, but it is not. It is a hired singer from the studio we used.

But we are so glad that you seemed to like the song though and thank you so much for listening. It is surely appreciated, Glyn.

Jan

Brian,

Thanks so much for listening. Glad you like it. That one month thing....think longer term Brian. It just doesn't happen like that....there are lots of steps and lots of hoops to jump through before that happened, but.....that is our goal.

Thanks again...

Jan

Janice, Larry and Magne,

Have been away for a few days....and am now trying to catch up on some comments.

I wanted to tell the three of you what a beautiful job you have done with this. The lyric was so well crafted to begin with....just stellar writing.....so smart to keep it as general as possible, to give it a broader appeal....and let me tell you...the production is totally top notch! Your demo studio really made this shine. They did an AWESOME job. The vocalist is fabulous.

This is definitely a "radio ready" demo. I wish you the very best of luck pitching this one. It is a fine tribute. You should all be so proud of this.


Best wishes to you all,
Gail

Gail....

Thank you greatly for the very kind comments...

Larry

Michelle,

Thanks so very much for your comments on our song. We tried very hard to just tell it like it is without getting overly emotional. It surely is no protest song. We had no feelings of protest when pens hit the paper....only love for a country and the people and families that serve.

We are so glad that you seemed to totally get that. That is so very appreciated.

Jan

Gail,

Well, we are all so glad that this seems to be hitting people just the way that we were hoping. Thanks so very much for the good words r.e. the writing and production. It was great working with Larry and Magne on this....two guys that are so decent and wonderful to work with. It has been a joy from start to finish. It's nice to work with people who are so dedicated to seeing a project through to the end...who keep their promises of giving it their very best. In that, I have been blessed.

Our demo studio came through for us once again....and brought our words and music to life. We couldn't be more happy and proud.

Thanks so much, Gail....your words are so very appreciated.

Jan

This is very, very touching! What a beautiful song, so much potential. The country needs more songs like this to remind us of where our freedoms come from. I wish you the best of luck in pitching it!

Thanks so much for giving this a listen. We are glad that it hits you right. We are actively pitching this one and we thank you for the good wishes on it.(hope that someone is listening)

I don't think that we've met before..unless you have changed your screen name. Anyhow, very nice to meet you.

Jan

Hi Jan,

Sorry it's taken me so long - I'm been out of commission!! I truly believe that this is the one that's going to take you places. You've written some great stuff, but this is wonderful.

Heather

Heather,

Welcome back. We've missed you.

Thanks for the encouraging words on this one. We really appreciate that alot.

Jan

You all did a wonderful job on this! And Magne thanks for the listen on HOORAH, and your kind words as well. I'm not even close to what you folks did! Really great song!

Take care,

Todd

Todd,

Thanks so much for listening to Red White and So Blue. We are glad that you liked this production. We appreciate that so much.

Jan