Seasons of the Ukulele

A weekly song challenge for ukulele players - all welcome. Find out more here

SOTU 725 Saints and Sinners

AlanDP

This is a song by one of Texas' great singer-songwriters, Joe Ely, who, I'm sad to tell you, left us just last month. No post-production on this one; the audio is straight from the camera.

potmo

MsBean I'm sorry, Sabine, I might be a little dense here, but I think the question was if we can have a song whose TOPIC is saintly or sinny but does not contain any words specifically saying saint or sin or sinner or whatever. Luckily my song is not only quite thematic but it also contains the words so I am off the hook, but my next song...

Sympathy for the Devil – The Rolling stones (has ..."and all the sinners saints" was this necessary or was the song already sufficient?)

potmo

MsBean Well, I dropped my paper towel anyway. A very welcome addition.

CanadaJim

SING YOU SINNERS - W. Franke Harling & Sam Coslow - 1930

Here you go Sabine.
I have heard it done by both Duke Ellington and by Fletcher Henderson, but I learned it from my friend Ted Staunton , who probably got it from his dad who had a dance band in Southern Ontario.

UkeCan1

I think there might be a bit of sin in this one.

"The Irish Ballad" by Tom Lehrer

dr_mitch

Time for one from me, a blues song on the Beast! This one from 1927 originally by Blind Willie Johnson, but widely covered and adapted, with variations on the lyrics, including by Ry Cooder, Led Zeppelin, and Dead Man's Uke. And now here's my version, with something of a mix of lyrics from different versions, but which work for me.

joo

Thanks for hosting, Sabine.

I saw a Christmas beetle on the driveway the other day while watering and started taking photos of it. I think I had frightened it, because it tried to fly away, then fell down and landed on its back.

I'm not sure if everyone knows what Christmas beetles are…I have never seen one until I came to live in Tasmania. So here is a paragraph from Wikipedia:

"Christmas beetle is a name commonly applied to the Australian beetle genus Anoplognathus, which belongs to the subfamily Rutelinae. They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in both urban and rural areas close to Christmas. Christmas beetles are large (20–30 mm long) members of the scarab family that are noisy and clumsy fliers, similar to the cockchafers of Europe. They typically have elytra that are dark or light brown, or green, while some species have a green-yellow iridescence."

Anyway, I wrote a short song about it, my encounter with it.

I also had another one clung to my jumper while out biking.

potmo

UkeCan1 Well, it is always nice, when the line which has "sin" in it is the funniest line in the song.

DelGriff

Thanks for hosting, Sabine. 🙂

I’ve discovered a few lovely songs recently that have been used as music for TV commercials, and the chorus of this one was featured in a British Airways advert. The artist’s name is Saint Saviour.

Baritone uke with some synth additions (bass and strings) and vocal harmonies.

I Remember - cover of a song by Saint Saviour (SOTU 725)

potmo

Gloria – Patti Smith version of the Van Morrison classic.

Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine.

How rude of me. I dont think I thanked you Sabine. Belated!

Barbablanca

Here's my contribution to this Season. It's another of my home made rockers!

Nearsighted-Lemon-McKay

And now, for the Saint portion of our program…

joo

a cover this time. one from The Mountain Goats. Second track from their 2008 album Heretic Pride. I am going to see them with Jon this April in Melbourne and I can't wait. When trying to learn the song, I came across the 2015 shooting at San Bernardino. Of course, this song was not about that, since it was released in 2008. But the lyrics in the song give me chills somehow, i felt it was as if John Darnielle was writing about a place that was meant to be full of promise but there is a certain bleakness suggested by some of the words. It was like he was able to see the darkness through all the wholesome, happy things on the surface. This was how I felt when I first heard his original and read the lyrics.

When I pressed Record and started playing, I realised I forgot to clear my throat. haha. But this first take I like the most. I did 2 more times after that, and this is way looser and free-er. Thanks for hosting, Sabine.

I did a quick version on the bari yesterday but this soprano version I am submitting for the Season 'cause here I tried to play a little something between the verses.

CanadaJim

SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES

**Time for a "Saints" song Sabine. One my dad used to sing,

Notice that I haven't put away my Santa hat. Our tree is still up too.**

LimousinLil

UkeFoote When was Gérard Dépardieu ever handsome???

LimousinLil

A very belated "hello", Sabine … and thanks for hosting! Apologies for being so late to the week … the remains of my family only cleared off on Tuesday and I sort of collapsed for a couple of days. Since it is far more fun to sin than be saintly - although I have, of course, led a completely blameless life - this song, which I'd never heard before yesterday, really appealed to me.

bobjking

Hi, Sabine!

Here's an original for the Season. I wrote it to be sung as a duet but, sadly, there's only me here. Luckily, it seems to work okay as it is.

The backing vocals were an absolute chore (hence all the cutting and video jiggery pokery) but I just about got the bits sounding okayish before I lost the will to live!

8 string baritone, tenor, a dash of harmonica for flavour…

There really is a Methodist church on the corner of Wood Street where it meets St. John Street in my home town. We've been known to busk outside it when the festival is on. The idea for the title has been mooching about inside my head for a while! X

Xamar25

St James Infirmary/ Tribute to Rene

Here I am getting in under the wire with a song inspired by St James Infirmary Blues. I grew up listening to Josh White’s recording of the song.

i was working on the original version when I learned that Renee Nicole Good had been shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis Minnesota. The more I practiced the song, the more it felt like it was somehow about her.

Than this morning some lyrics came to me —and so here I am!

The lyrics include references to anti-ICE resistance including volunteer patrols and protests which might not be familiar to everyone especially if you don’t live in the US. I give explanations in the YouTube description

PS just saw that Canada Jim did this too!

AlanDP

I thought I'd have some fun with this old traditional song today. With u-bass, Roland AE-01 "bari sax" and "trumpet," and backing vocals.

potmo

Just LIke Tom Thumb's Blues – Bob Dylan

TWOFER ALERT:

...If you see Saint Annie, Please tell her ...

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