Added string synths again. 90 BPM. Go nuts!

See title; just added a couple of extra string synths to pad out the harmony Robo_J added to Wunderboy's beat.

90 BPM

Enjoy!

I stumbled across the old Desk Drum Beat collaboration started in 2009 by RegularJOE and thought it would be a great place to get resources for the Work collaboration! This is a drum beat remixed from Albert's "All the Desks" into something more suited as a drum beat for a song. I hope someone will put this to good use! 4 beats per bar at BPM:120 The structure is as follows: 10 bar intro 8 bar chorus 8 bar verse 8 bar chorus 8 bar verse 8 bar chorus 8 bar break 8 bar verse/bridge 16 bar chorus And some possible lyric ideas, remixed from CaptClare's lyrics "Punching in": Chorus: Sick of punching in Sick of punching out Getting in that ring Taking on that bout Can’t fight the man Gotta earn my keep But the daily grind Is making my soul weak Working nine to five 7 days a week Always there on time Never first to speak ‘Cos I know they’ll cut my pay If I don’t comply Can’t afford to leave I’m here ‘till I die (Chorus) Never want to wake All I feel is pain Take the same old bus Take the same old train Not a friend in sight Not a happy face Cos we’re stuck right here No end to the race (Chorus) Gotta see the light Gotta keep it real Say it’s not that bad Say it’s no big deal It’s the only way That I’ll make it through Got to let it pass What else can I do? So I’m punching in And I’m punching out Getting in that ring Taking on that bout Can’t fight the man Gotta earn my keep ‘Till I make it big ‘Till my dreams’ complete (Repeat)

Recorded the Violin 1 and 2 parts for M.Noir. ppeppina, I adore the song and I hope the stems are of use!

My name’s Laurie. I’m not from around here, as we had to move ‘cos my mum got a new job. I don’t really like it ‘round here, but mum keeps telling me to “give it a chance”, ‘cos we only moved in at the beginning of the summer. I met the other kids down my road in the first week. They’re ok, I guess, and as I’m the oldest they decided I should be leader of their group, even though they barely knew me (oh, I’m 11, I forgot to say. Well. 10 and ¾. Closer to 11 though.). They call me “Laurie the Leader”. Which is cool most of the time, ‘cos I get to choose what games we play and where we explore and stuff. Sometimes it gets annoying if there’s a fight and I have to sort it out, but that doesn’t happen a lot.

There’s just one problem though.

They think I’m a boy.

Truth is, I’m a girl.

I’ve always preferred wearing boy’s clothes. When I was little I used to run around pretending I was an explorer in the jungle, battling baddies and poachers with my toy soldiers. I cried whenever my hair got too long so my parents had to cut it really short to keep me from whining all the time. It was never really a problem when I was younger. Everyone thought it was kind of cute, that I made faces and girly dolls and made friends with the boys. They’d “aw” and “ah” and ruffle my hair, telling me that I’d grow into girly stuff when I got older.

But I never did, and people started to get annoyed. They stopped calling me cute and called me a nuisance instead. I was always in trouble at school, all the time, ‘cos I’d fight the boys who wouldn’t let me play with them and refuse to play netball with the girls when they split us up for sport. My parents kept getting called in to see the Head ‘cos I was so bad. I didn’t like that, ‘cos sometimes my mum would cry and say she didn’t know what to do with me. I don’t like it when my mum cries. But they didn’t understand, no-one did, that I just wanted to be able to do the stuff boys did.

We had this real awkward conversation, my mum and me, about a year ago. She sat me down and clenched her hands all tight and asked me, in a really small voice, if I actually wanted to be a boy, talking about injections and surgery and stuff. And I know some boys are born in girl’s bodies, and the other way around too, and I sympathise with them, but I don’t want to actually be a boy. I just want to be able to do what they do. I don’t get why people are so angry about that.

I think the kids thought I was a boy ‘cos I didn’t smile (I never smile, my parents made me get braces ‘cos my teeth were wonky and I hate them, I’d rather just have wonky teeth), and the day we met I was wearing my favourite khaki shorts and my hair was extra scruffy. I didn’t bother to correct them. It kind of made it easier to fit in, really. In fact, apart from when I fell from a tree and broke my arm (it hurt loads, but I didn’t cry, not one tear) this summer has been the best I can remember.

But it’s not going to stay like this forever. School starts in a few weeks, and then everything’s going to get complicated, ‘cos there’s stuff like changing rooms and toilets that will make it clear to everyone that I’m not actually a boy. Plus I’m going to be the new kid, which always makes you a target for bullies whether you’re cool or not. Add the fact that I am the way I am, and I might as well have a bulls-eye on the back of my head. My parents are worried; they keep asking me if I’m nervous, and suggesting that I let my hair grow out a bit before term starts. Sometimes I think my mum took the job so we could start again somewhere new, encourage me to stop acting like this. But I won’t. Why should I? I’m happy like this; it’s everyone else that’s the problem.

They’ll just have to deal with it, so there.

So it appears I have come down with a case of what we know scientifically as "Freshers' Flu." Which means, therefore, that my voice has died until further notice.

I wrote a song for "The Road" collaboration, and managed to (badly) record the first verse before I became ill. I'd absolutely love for someone to take this and run with it. In my heart I see it as a song on which everyone can sing, with lots of string, piano and acoustic guitar accompaniment, a little like "Words We're Wailing". Please, if you can, take a look at the lyrics below and have a go recording the song, either in the style I have demonstrated in this take, or in your own. I'd love for them to be used.

(Chords apply to all verses and choruses)

They don’t teach you how to travel in the classroom

Aflat                                          Dflat                Aflat

No that’s something you’ve just got to learn yourself

Aflat                                          Dflat               Eflat

And sometimes in the dead of night

Dflat                                 Eflat

You’ll start to question if you got it right

Aflat               Eflat            Fmin

But please don’t second guess yourself

Cmin                                   Dflat   Eflat

And when the path ahead is rough

Dflat                           Eflat

Stay strong

Aflat

Keep your head on straight, and let your hips sway

Dflat                                         Eflat

To the song that’s in your heart

Aflat

Turning back is easy and it’s hard to say goodbye

Dflat             Eflat               Aflat    Eflat        Fmin

But the road is waiting

Dflat                  Eflat

Oh the road is waiting

Aflat                          Dflat

Oh the road is waiting for you

Dflat                    Eflat

And so am I.

Oh there’ll be days when you can’t get off your back

And some when you’re just clocking up the miles

Oh there’ll be times that it will seem

The dreams you have will just be dreams

But they will pass, just wait and see

And when the path ahead is rough

Stay strong

Keep your head on straight, and let your hips sway

To the song that’s in your heart

Turning back is easy and it’s hard to say goodbye

But the road is waiting

Oh the road is waiting

Oh the road is waiting for you

And so am I.

Know one day the cobbles will turn to stone

And soon enough you’ll be speeding down a highway of your own

Then one day our paths will meet

And I’ll have one task to complete:

To take your hand and lead you home

And when the path ahead is rough

Stay strong

Keep your head on straight, and let your hips sway

To the song that’s in your heart

Turning back is easy and it’s hard to say goodbye

But the road is waiting

Oh the road is waiting

Oh the road is waiting for you

And so am I.

And when the path ahead is rough

Stay strong

Keep your head on straight, and let your hips sway

To the song that’s in your heart

Turning back is easy and it’s hard to say goodbye

But the road is waiting

Oh the road is waiting

Oh the road is waiting for you

And so am I.

Owlets, but with a flourish.

Seriously, that's it.

(Oh, and I cut about a 10th of a second off the final frame.)

I have a lot of love for this little film, so I composed a score for it; something simple but with a hint of the good old shop-floor music we all know and hate. I know the title and end cards need a little work, but trying to get me to work a video editor is like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube - it doesn't work. So if anyone wants to have a go at that, that would be great!

Sound is a little quiet, so turn it up and use headphones to get the best effect.

Shopping sounds are from the PD site: http://www.freesound.org/people/Tomlija/sounds/99566/

Because we all need to talk about what goes on inside our heads.

Apologies for the blip in the middle of the video - Windows Movie Maker and I don't compute.