FriendBurst Blog

It seemed like it was going to be just the kind of go-out-and-meet-new-people at sober places event that I’ve been looking for in my neighborhood. I found the listing on the calendar of the Seattle Ukulele Players Association. It showed a “ukulele cricle” on the last Wednesday of every month not too far from my new place. In fact, it’s pretty much on my way home from school! Today was going to be great. I’d finish my last class of the day, and be able to stop in at this “ukulele circle” without any detour or anything. Well… because of the impending blizzard here in Seattle (blizzard defined as anything more than an inch and a half of snow), the instructor ended class an hour early… so I had some time to kill.

I keep putting “ukulele circle” in quotation marks because I have no idea what a ukulele circle is. I can sort of picture it in my head, but I really have no idea what goes on at one. I was hoping to find out tonight… Yeah… hoping to.

This very short video blog shows what happened.

Yeah.. So that kinda sucked.

Anyways, I got home and decided to do my own ukulele circle of one! Recorded a new cover of a song I have admired for many years: The Ballad of The Runaway Horse.

Here’s where the circle part comes in. I’d like YOUR help in making the video for the song! I used to do this game on MySpace from time to time, and people had fun with it. It’s really quite simple, and you’ll get to feel like part of the process. Most of you have seen my “green screen” videos before. To make those, I need pictures. And considering this is a five minute song, I need lots of them. Please read the lyrics below.

Say a prayer for the cowgirl her horse ran away
She’ll walk till she finds him her darlin’ her stray
But the river’s in flood and the roads are awash
And the bridges break up in the panic of loss
And there’s nothin’ to follow nowhere to go
He’s gone like the summer gone like the snow
And the crickets are breaking her heart with their song
As the day caves in and the night is all wrong
Did she dream it was he who went galloping past
And bent down the fern broke open the grass
And printed the mud with the well hammered shoe
That she nailed to his speed in the dreams of her youth
And although he goes grazin’ a minute away
She tracks him all night she tracks him all day
And she’s behind to his presence except to compare
Her injury here with his punishment there
Then at home on a branch on a high stream a songbird sings out so suddenly
And the sun is warm and the soft winds ride on a willow tree by the riverside
Ah the world is sweet and the world is wide
He’s there where the light and the darkness divide
And the steam’s comin’ off him he’s huge and he’s shy
And he steps on the moon when he paws at the sky
And he comes to her hand but he’s not really tame
He longs to be lost she longs for the same
And he’ll bolt and he’ll plunge through the first open pass
To roll and to feed in the sweet mountain grass
Or he’ll make a break for the high plateau
Where there’s nothing above and nothing below
It’s time for their burden the whip and the spur
Well she ride with him or will he ride with her
So she binds herself to her galloping steed
And he binds himself to the woman in need
And there is no space just left and right
And there is no time but there is day and night
Then she leans on his neck and whispers low whither thou goest I will go
And they turn as one and the head for the plain
No need for the whip oh no need for the rein
Now the clasp of this union who fastens it tight
Who snaps it asunder the very next night
Some say it’s him some say it’s her some say love’s like smoke beyond all repair
So my darlin’ my darlin’ just let it go by that old silhouette on the great western sky
And I’ll pick out a tune and they’ll move right along
And they’re gone like smoke and they’re gone like this song

Now, all you really have to do is copy and paste your favorite lines from the song into Google images, Photobucket or Flickr. Then, post as many pictures as you want into the comments of this blog. I’ll use them in the video! Very simple.

Alternately, you can expand your search and find images that you think fit the song as a whole.

Here are some examples…

This one I got by looking for “horse girl grass”

Of course, I am hopeful for tasteful pictures, but they don’t have to be!

So please, join the circle, have fun and help me make a video. By the way the snow is coming down right now, I don’t think I’ll be going to class tomorrow.