Mark Pentleton

69/365 Songs: When you tell me that you love me – Diana Ross

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:15:51 +0000

Cheesy pop ballad today: the 1991 Diana Ross song When you tell me that you love me. I decided to experiment with a different piano sound on my RD-700GX today – this is the “Ultimate Piano” as opposed to the “Expressive Grand” I normally use. The settings on the piano allow me to “raise” or “lower” the virtual lid and I tend to do that depending on the type of song I’m playing, but I’m curious as to your thoughts!

68/365 Songs: Gabriellas Sång – Så som i himmelen

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:16:08 +0000

Today’s song is perhaps not very well known – but it deserves to be. It’s taken from the 2004 Swedish blockbuster Så som i himmelen (On earth as it is in heaven) and was sung by Helen Sjöholm in the film. The film tells the story of Daniel, a renowned conductor who, following health problems, returns to his village in the north of Sweden and eventually is convinced to help out with the local church choir. As a child he had endured a life of bullying and one of the choir members (Gabriella) is still suffering at the hands of one of these bullies. Gabriella’s song is about living the life she wants to live. The performance of this song in the film is extremely powerful – here’s the YouTube link, but it’s worth trying to get hold of the film to see the song in its original context. In some ways the ending of the film is tragic, making it unlikely to cross over into a Hollywood treatment! However, in other ways the ending is truly happy because the song’s final line, “Jag vill känna att jag levt mitt liv” (”I want to feel that I’ve lived my life”) is exactly what Daniel has done.

The film was nominated as Best Foreign Language Film in the 77th Academy Awards, and the song spent 68 weeks in the Swedish charts between 2004 and 2006. It’s one of those songs which is very well known in Scandinavia, often performed at Confirmation celebrations, but it’s still relatively unknown in the English-speaking world. As yet I don’t know of any English language version, but a translation of the lyrics is below. I hope you enjoy it!

Swedish

Det är nu som livet är mitt
Jag har fått en stund här på jorden
Och min längtan har fört mig hit
Det jag saknat och det jag fått

Det är ändå vägen jag valt
Min förtröstan långt bortom orden
Som har visat en liten bit
Av den himmel jag aldrig nått

Jag vill känna att jag lever
All den tid jag har
Ska jag leva som jag vill
Jag vill känna att jag lever
Veta att jag räcker till

Jag har aldrig glömt vem jag var
Jag har bara låtit det sova
Kanske hade jag inget val
Bara viljan att finnas kvar

Jag vill leva lycklig för att jag är jag
Kunna vara stark och fri
Se hur natten går mot dag
Jag är här och mitt liv är bara mitt
Och den himmel jag trodde fanns
Ska jag hitta där nånstans

Jag vill känna att jag levt mitt liv

English translation

It is now that my life is mine
I’ve got this short time on earth
And my longing has brought me here
All I lacked and all I gained

And yet it’s the way that I chose
My trust was far beyond words
That has shown me a little bit
Of the heaven I’ve never found

I want to feel I’m alive
All my living days
I will live as I desire
I want to feel I’m alive
Knowing I was good enough

I have never lost who I was
I have only left it sleeping
Maybe I never had a choice
Just the will to stay alive

All I want is to be happy
Being who I am
To be strong and to be free
To see day arise from night

I am here and my life is only mine
And the heaven I thought was there
I’ll discover it there somewhere
I want to feel that I’ve lived my life!

Animating with my boys

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:43:19 +0000

I’ve spent today working with my 8 year-old’s class as part of my Radio Lingua Schools work. I was leading an animation workshop and was very proud of the work of my son’s group. Their animation is part of a project in which the school is developing an ‘animated encyclopaedia’, with the children showing other children what they’ve learned through the animations they develop. I’m due to do some more on the topic of animal habitats on Wednesday and in a few weeks’ time on organs of the body. All the animations are being showcased over on the Radio Lingua Schools site but I though it only right to include my son’s animation here on my blog.

And of course as soon as we got home and my 5 year-old watched the animation produced by his big brother he wanted to do his own, so with a little help from daddy, here’s his own Octopus animation!

67/365 Songs: Empty chairs at empty tables – Les Misérables

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:11:48 +0000

The previous songs from Les Misérables which I’ve included in my 365songs selection (I dreamed a dream, On my own and Bring him home) seem to have gone down very well, and there are plenty more to come! Today’s song, Empty chairs at empty tables, is sung by Marius about his friends who have not returned from the barricades. This song was suggested by Cara and I hope she enjoys it!

66/365 Songs: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered – Rodgers and Hart

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:54:57 +0000

Here’s a nice easy song for a Sunday morning (not that one… I’ll need to remember to include Easy on a Sunday morning at some point!). Bewtiched, bothered and bewildered is from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. It was always a favourite when I used to play on Sunday afternoons down in the Marine Highland in Troon (now the Barceló Troon Marine Hotel). I think it’s another favourite of my mum’s, but I’m not sure. Maybe she’ll finally post a comment to let me know…

65/365 Songs: Slipping through my fingers – Abba

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:50:10 +0000

Today’s song is one of my favourite Abba songs. Written in 1981 for The Visitors album it was inspired by Agnetha and Björn’s daughter Linda who was seven at the time. It was also used in the Mamma Mia musical and film when Donna is helping her daughter prepare for her wedding day. The song was originally recorded in G major, but I always feel G flat major sounds that bit more ‘poignant’ so I’ve played it in G flat. You can let me know if you agree!

This song was requested by listener Mark Kerridge after my previous Abba song, My love my life. All the Abba songs I’ve recorded so far can be found here.

64/365 Songs: When you believe – Prince of Egypt

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:42:29 +0000

This is my version of the original song taken from the film The Prince of Egypt. The song was later reworked by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston without the “Hebrew chorus”, but it was the full version which we used to do back in the Mearns Castle Senior Choir (= “Glee Club” before Glee Clubs became cool!)

63/365 Songs: I say a little prayer – Dionne Warwick

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:38:47 +0000

Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 1967 originally for Dionne Warwick, this is one of those songs which has the musical equivalent of a few imperfect subjunctives! There is a bar of 10/4 in the verse, and the chorus is in 11/4 (2 bars of 4/4 and a bar of 3/4). It was first recorded by Dionne Warwick and since then has been performed by many artists including Aretha Franklin, and most recently the cast of Glee! Hope you enjoy today’s song.

62/365 Songs: Santa Lucia

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:03:20 +0000

If it’s Wednesday it must be Italy! (No, this has nothing to do with a certain coach trip…) I thought I’d play something Italian today – it’s been a long time coming! I hope you enjoy my version of Santa Lucia.

61/365 Songs: Bésame mucho

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:10:51 +0000

Wales yesterday and Mexico today… Bésame mucho was written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. For those of you who like singing along to my performances, here are the lyrics with a translation below. It somehow sounds so much better in Spanish, especially with that imperfect subjunctive in the second line!

Bésame, bésame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.
Bésame, bésame mucho,
Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después.

Quiero tenerte muy cerca,
Mirarme en tus ojos, verte junto a mí.
Piensa que tal vez mañana
Yo ya estaré lejos, muy lejos de tí.

Bésame, bésame mucho,
Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.
Bésame, bésame mucho,
Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después.

Translation

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was the last time.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
I fear to lose you, to lose you afterward.

I want to have you very close,
See myself in your eyes, see you next to me.
Think that maybe tomorrow
I’ll be far, far away from you.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was the last time.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
I fear to lose you, to lose you afterward.