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I Was Happy Here
by jiguma

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Submitted on: Jul 05, 2005 - 10:12:54 AM
Last Updated:
Description Revision of last week's post - thanks to Snowdragon, Alimar, TheTiler, Blamm and Cydniko for suggestions.

This version is a bit grittier, has deeper bass, more up-front vocals (and more of them) and a key change. Have also changed the drums to give it more grunt.

My family and I lived for a year in the north of England and returned 18 years later in 2004 to fall in love with it again. Hello any Macjammers in Mellor!
Lyrics I Was Happy Here
© 2005 - jiguma

I was happy here,
I was happy when the sun came out
Happiest still at the evening shout
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here
I was happy in a northern town
Waterfall turning those years around
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

Chorus:
I jumped out of bed in the morning
I couldn’t get to sleep at night
Every day was a big surprise
Didn’t matter what we did was right
We were living from day to day
We were living from hand to mouth
And there wasn’t a thing that I would change
We were living from north to south

I was happy here
I was happy in the springtime rain
Watching the trees turn green again
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here
Walkin' the walls on ancient ground
Lonely hills, lonely sounds
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here
I was happy with the ice and snow
Coming home to afterglow
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

I was happy here,
I was happy when the sun came out
Happiest still at the evening shout
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you
Happiest here with you

Chorus:
I jumped out of bed in the morning
I couldn’t get to sleep at night
Every day was a big surprise
Didn’t matter what we did was right
We were living from day to day
We were living from hand to mouth
And there wasn’t a thing that I would change
We were living from north to south
Hardware Seagull S6 guitar
Fender Precision Bass
Shure DM1000D mic
Behringer UB802 Eurorack preamp/mixer
iMac G4
Software: Drum/percussion loops
Guitar solo - "Delta Blues Guitar Solo" loop (seriously tampered with!)
GB2
Fan List

jgurner

jie

rovert10
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Jim Bouchard said 1247 days ago
Great improvement!
I really like this a lot. The guitar solo is pretty cool, and I wouldn't have guessed it's a loop, and I don't think that it really matters loop or not. Great!

jiguma said 1246 days ago
Great improvement!
Thanks Jim, I appreciate your comment.
Neil

---
What's the difference between a duck?

Mr. S said 1246 days ago
percusion is a lil....
....weak for me, but it works out in the end. I like how u
stay on one topic thru the song. Lil' too much repetition
perhaps, but overall, I like it. Good job!

Mr. S

jiguma said 1246 days ago
percusion is a lil....
Thanks Mr S,
I know what you mean about the percussion. Percussion for me has always
been something the drummer did, so I guess in GB I've been looking at the
easiest way out with the drums and concentrated on the guitars, where I feel
more comfortable. My next purchase (once I consult my "financial adviser"!)
will be iDrum or something similar, so I can take hitting things with a stick
more seriously.
The repetition in the lyrics was a result of lots of my lyrics being a bit too
intense- the idea was mainly to reflect on the joy of returning to somewhere
that meant a lot to me.
Appreciate your comments Mr S.
Neil

Macaudion said 1246 days ago
Lyk it mo betta
More balanced and overall nicer production. You
overcame your Add w/ gb it sounds. This is much more
pleasant; 100 percent improvement. Diggen the bass
drums and 'tar work. Very nice - feels very professianl -
man it's just much sweeter!

Cydniko

Macaudion said 1246 days ago
Lyk it mo betta
What did you do to make it mo betta?

Cyd

jiguma said 1246 days ago
Lyk it mo betta
Thanks for the comment Cyd,
I took the advice about the middle 8 from Alimar, tried a number of different
versions and discarded them all when they didn't really hang on to the feel of
the song. Instead, I did the key change after the solo, which lifts it a bit. I
re-did all the vocals, and added a middle voice which fills it all out. The bass
is now double tracked, keeping the "plucky fender" sound, but adding a
deeper, grittier sound as well. Dropped the guitars a bit also. Changed the
drums to a more aggressive set of loops and double tracked them as well.
Also added crash cymbal highlights - must get myself a copy of iDrum to do
some more adventurous studff in that department.
Neil

---
What's the difference between a duck?

perceptualvortex said 1246 days ago
Nice
meditative flowing sound you've achieved here. The vocals and lead guitar are especially cool.

jiguma said 1246 days ago
Nice
Thanks PV, appreciate you dropping by.
Neil

jgurner said 1245 days ago
very cool
Once the guitar and bass kicks it, it creates a major groove.
Very cool bass line going on. Strong lyrics. Love the sound
on the vocals. Very enjoyable. Thaks for sharing.

jiguma said 1245 days ago
very cool
Thanks for the comment Joseph. I've been meaning to contact you about the
similarity of our MJ ids - sorry for picking one so close to yours (I wasn't
aware of you being here when I first registered). I'm thinking of changing
mine to avoid confusion - will see if it can be done without losing posts,
comments and points.
Thanks again for your comment - much appreciated!
Neil

snowdragon said 1242 days ago
Better
Yup, better. Wouldn't have thought the bass could be
improved upon but I believe it was. Has a kind of
Donavony groove to it now that I really liked.

jiguma said 1240 days ago
Better
Thanks Snow, your comments are always appresiated!

TobinMueller said 1240 days ago
Nice rhythm bed and vocal doubling
The soundscape you have sculpted is very nice. I really like
the rhythm ac guitar, the moving bass, the tasteful rhythm,
especially the hand perc like the shaker. The drum set is a
little soft, as is the lead electric guitar, in my ears. Isn't it
great to remember those days of living inexpensively yet
happily, wondering what is behind each corner? I enjoyed the
lyrics. Reminds me a a Phish jam in places. Nice track.

jiguma said 1239 days ago
Nice rhythm bed and vocal doubling
Thanks for the comment Tobin,
After some earlier comments I think I'm going to work on this some more.
The guitar break is definitely too soft now (not sure how that happened!).
Main thing I'm unhappy with though is the drums - am planning to try some
midi drum work to see if it can be lifted and varied.
Cheers

AquilA said 1238 days ago
Catchy Groove
Wasn't what I expected, considering the name of the
guitar loop you used, but I also agree it doesn't
sound like a loop. Liked the key change after the
solo, added a nice change up. Good vocals and
overall performance. Maybe I'm hearing something
that's not there but it seems to have a sort of tribal
influence. Perhaps it would benefit from some native
percussion instruments.

jiguma said 1237 days ago
Catchy Groove
Thanks for the comment AquilA, much appreciated. Interesting comment
about the native instruments (I assume you mean native american) - my early
musical background was with a band led by a man obsessed with native
american culture, and we used those rhythms often on stage. Perhaps some
of that has rubbed off!
Cheers,
Neil

ledebutant said 1236 days ago
Groovy's the right word...
...and you did a really great job with the loop tampering.This is a great example of mixing live and looped instruments. You play very well.

I love rock walls (in more ways than one) so your cover art is cool. I agree with Mr. S that initially the song seems a little repetitive, but after the first two verses and the chorus, the groove started to work for me and the song reallly held my interest.

jiguma said 1236 days ago
Groovy's the right word...
Thanks Lisa,
I find that my lead guitar work is somewhat lacking, so resort to using loops
then tampering with them - it's amazing what you can do in an hour or two!

This particular rock wall is from Rowarth in Derbyshire where we spent some
time last year - love that part of the UK.

Thanks for dropping by and taking time to comment,
Neil

Nolan said 1236 days ago
Ripper
G'day. This is my first listen to your stuff. Really enjoyed
it. The bass is fantastic. The overall mix is spot on.
Really good quality everything. Well done. Not many
fellow Aussies amongst us. Nice.

jiguma said 1236 days ago
Ripper
Thanks Nolan,
I've seen a few fellow Australians - Rovert10 is worth a listen if your taste is
broad. He does some very wierd things with vox.
Glad you liked the track.
Cheers,
Neil

jie said 984 days ago
wuz happy here too
cool sound ,nice structure, some cool strumming , flowing bass, and neat solo.even a key change yipee. Keep it up. Cheery

Artist Profile
jiguma photo
jiguma

Artist Bio The Jiguma Is Up - Blog by Tobin Mueller - click here Find this artist in drop-down: -- MY FAVORITES -- "Jiguma" (pronounced with a short "u" - as in "up", NOT jigOOOOma!) is the local Aboriginal name for where I live on the "Deep South Coast" of ...[more]
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SAYING SO YOU'LL KNOW w kevmikwa
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