Here's an old one--a collaboration, actually. I read a series of books by author Allison Croggon and one feature was poetry and snippets of ballads at the beginnings of chapters. I was taken by one and looked for a musical version. I found versions of several of the ones in the book but not this one. So I located Allison on Twitter and asked for permission to set it to music. She said yes! And this is the result. She liked it, by the way. At least that's what she said....
Here's the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PQWz_JN29M
More details about the book series is in the description of the video.
Comments are always welcome but not necessary, as this has already been released and I don't expect to make any changes. Unless I decide to do it over for a new release some day...
And here are the lyrics:
THE BALLAD OF THE MAID OF INNAIL
Down came the hail, a frosty flail;
Down fell the icy rain.
The torches flared with desperate light
And savage lightning stabbed the night
Which screamed like a soul in pain.
His black brow bound with clouds around,
The Landrost raised his hand.
"Be they so fair and strong and tall;
I'll crush these walls and golden halls
And I will rule this land."
Their hearts aflame, defenders came
With staff and sword and bow
And bravely on the walls arrayed
Where Innail's maid stood unafraid
Before her stormy foe.
"Not all your might gives you the right
In our fair streets to tread,
And you'll not take this fearless town
For I'll cast down your iron crown
Or die," the lady said.
Their hearts aflame, defenders came
With staff and sword and bow
And bravely on the walls arrayed
Where Innail's maid stood unafraid
Before her stormy foe.
"Not all your might gives you the right
In our fair streets to tread,
And you'll not take this fearless town
For I'll cast down your iron crown
Or die," the lady said.
Lyrics © 2008 Alison Croggon
Music © 2015 Vicki Morrison
So impressive:) your voice so beautifully intonated, weaving smoothly over the narrative of the song.
@Vicki —
The Ballad of the Maid of Innail is a strong and very appealing track! It has a very nice Celtic/Gaelic air to it, yet it's also unique and modern. At just under three minutes long, it left me wanting to hear more. Yet, the old adage is "always leave your audience wanting more," so you accomplished that! :D
The lyrics are great and fit your song very nicely. Your co-writer, Alison Croggon, did a great job with the words. You then did a great job crafting the music and delivering the vocals. The music is appealing throughout, and your vocals are excellent as usual. But as good as your vocals are in the song, I still like your Karen Carpenter-esque voice the most! That's definitely a compliment—and a testament to your talent that you can sing so well in more than one style. :D
I also noticed that
@Boydie contributed guitars to the track. An excellent production from all involved!
Regarding the mix, it sounds very professional and clean. This is a song you should be proud of! Nice work! I enjoyed listening. 🎵 :D
Kind regards,
Joseph
Hi Vicki,
Not a lot left to say, I think I would like to mirror what Icystorm said. I really enjoyed it well done.
Thank you @arnabs @icystorm and @jazz101 for your very complimentary comments!
Excellent, love the epic-ness of this. The music matches up very effectively to the lyrical theme and style.
Thank you, @Becky ! Boydie did the production on this one. In fact, this is the first song he ever produced for me. I couldn't stop smiling when I heard it. I kept saying (or maybe thinking), "Wow! That makes me sound really good!"