JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum Belle Cady

Here is a new worktape from the three of us. Thanks for any suggestions you may have for this one as we move forward toward a full production. Thanks all.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9173219


Belle Cady © 2009 Greg C. Brown/Janice Hopkins/Mark D. Preston

Down on the Bayou near a swamp filled with cypress
There’s a winding path stays worn bare
Traveled every night by eager young men
Drawn into a tempress’ lair

Verse 2:

A moss covered shack on stilts in low water
A flickering light points the way
Innocent hearts burnin' hot
Like a pig at a cochon du lait

Chorus:



Belle Cady in the pitch black night
Haloed by the glow of candle light
Reaches down deep and finds a man
Where a scared young boy began
Not just a woman, but a special kind of lady
Everybody knows the name…Belle Cady

Verse 3:

Her family tree branched from up north in Quebec
Now a hundred years or more
She never had more than a whole lot of pride
At least they know her name for sure

Verse 4:

The dangers from the snakes and the alligators
Is nothing like a touch from Belle
The moon hangs quiet, a silent witness
As she takes them all under her spell



Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:

Mothers cry, “Stay outta dem woods,
Dat woman, she be no good”
Still they all seek out her truth
Striking bargains with their youth



Repeat Chorus:

Tag:
Belle Cady in the pitch black night
Belle Cady they know her name alright….
Belle Cady….

This would have been a great song for CCR. Love the lyrics. Great guitar work and vocals too. I thought the ending was a little abrupt. Would have liked a nice guitar lick there.

Great job by all.

Rick

I'm diggin' this Jan - guitar really works well with this lyric, which is very nicely visual. Cool story too!

Really only one nit - I might have gone with something more like this:

Mothers cry, “Stay outta dem woods,
Dat woman, she be no good”
Still their sons seek out her truth
Striking bargains with their youth

As is, there is a momentary confusion because the "they" seems to refer back to mothers - though it is cleared up in the following line.

Is a minor thing - perhaps not worth changing.....

Very cool!

Scott

Rick...thanks so much for being the first to give a listen to this first worktape. Now those are the kind of suggestions that we need. We really appreciate that so much. Hope you will stop by when this gets further along.

Thanks again...

Jan

hi JAn,

Nice job on this one. It's got a great visual throughout the song and a truly unique sound as well. As previously mentioned the guitar and vocals fit the song great. The comment about changing the line to "their sons" does clear it up a bit--but as Scott mentioned that's a pretty small thing. When I listened to the song it didn't stand out and I wasn't confused so it's probably a thing on paper you might catch more than when you listen to the song. not sure if I would worry about that. You guys definitely got a unique catchy song here. I can see why you're going to a full production. Good job,
Roger

Wish my worktapes sounded this good. Love the guitar picken. I think the guitar riff really adds meaning. Great song and great vocals.

Hi Folks

Nice and completely interesting -- I thought the flow might be better with verse 4 before 3 and I like Scott's change. Good work by all ! ; ) jm

Hi Scott,

We're glad that this one is mostly working for you. I do see what you are saying about that one little pronoun issue. We will certainly be addressing that. I'm glad that you pointed that out...that really helps us alot.

So glad that the guitar is working up against the lyric for you as well.

Thanks so much for listening for us, Scott. It is very much appreciated.

Jan and all

Roger...thanks for giving this a listen....and of course we are happy that the visuals "placed you there"....that of course, is always our intent. Works at times....and others..not so well..but, hopefully you will come back and listen to the fuller production soon. We are having alot of fun with this one, because it is a bit of a departure for us...and that is a good thing to do at times.

Thanks so much for your comments....they really help.

Jan and all

Where's Tony Jo White when you need him (ha, ha). Worktape sounds pretty good. He's a pretty good player and singer!!

I give it an OK -- maybe this is one where you need more instruments to completely sell me the feeling that is required (or maybe I am being unimaginative today).

Kevin

This made me think of that novelty tune about Marie Laveau for some reason. Not that Belle Cady is practicing voodoo, but just the idea of a forbidden, mysterious woman I suppose. I think the music and vocal sound really good and match the lyric well. Lyrically, I think this would pull the listener in more if it were in a first-person perspective, told by one of the young men who "traded his youth" so to speak. Right now, it's a third person account and though it's very descriptive and well written, it seems to be missing something to me. Just my two cents of course, which is just one opinion and might not hold water.

Hi Jan,

This is very cool. It has a great feel, lyrics and melody fit together really well. Interesting story well told. Nicely sung and played.

You might want to fix the lyrics because they don't exactly match what is being sung. I hear some people are fussy about that.

Another minor thing, I would not call V2 and V4 verses. They sound more like a lift or pre-chorus to me because the melody is different there. Just semantics.

Ricki

Kevin(Miller)

Thanks so much for giving this first worktape a listen. We are glad that it seems to be working for your ear so far. We hope that you will come back when we have gone further with the production.

We appreciate your comments very much, Kevin.

Jan

Hi Joice....thanks for the nice comments and suggs....never thought of switching those two verses....but it's a thought...thanks for that.
Hope you'll listen again when we get it closer..

Jan

Hi Janice,

Wish I could play like that! Y'all got a great sound goin' on here. Look forward to hearing where this one goes!

yerz, Ellen

Yes, Kevin....Tony Jo White would be an excellent reference for this song....swampy blues....listen to his As The Crow Flies.

We realize that this one won't completely resonate with you until it gets a fuller production....but I think that is the sound that we are sort of feeling with this one...it really does need the added production and signature instrumentation.

Thanks so much for weighing in on the first worktape.

Jan and all

Wendy,

Thanks for giving us one more way to look at things that hadn't been brought up as yet. We did want to keep it in a story telling mode to tell of a woman who was becoming a bit of a folk legend in her area. But consider everything that is said and will surely consider your suggestion.

We are pleased that you gave it a listen and left such helpful comments for us.

Jan

Janice-
I really liked the song. The guitar groove gets, keeps your attention. Lyrics tell a good story, has lots of visuals/imagery. Making the chorus rise even more, melodically, would make hook stand out even more. Enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing.

Emmanuel

http://www.broadjam.com/emmanuel_lawrence

Hi there Ricki....thanks for checking our first effort out on this. We will fix those lyrics after we get the fuller production done and certainly they must be letter perfect when we pitch.

Yeah, the v2 and the v4 may just end up being labeled as lifts when we are finished with this. I do see what you mean there.

So glad that the music and lyrics work together for you okay. It will go through quite a change as we add the signature sounds with the instruments to this particular one. Hope that you will come back by again then.

Always a pleasure to have you listen, Ricki. I really value your input alot.

Jan

Thanks so much Ellen....so glad that you gave a listen and that you like the sound so far...lots more to be done on it. We have alot planned for it....hope you'll come back and listen then.

Jan

Guess I better jump in here and field a couple of these. Looks like Jan's been doing all the heavy lifting.

Rick, thanks for being the first one to listen and comment. I'm glad you mentioned CCR. That's one of the influences I was hoping might come through. I had imagined something with kind of a "Run Through The Jungle" or "Down on the Bayou" vibe, so I'm glad we've come close to that.

We'll revisit the abrupt ending when we get around to fleshing out the production.

Thanks again!

Greg

Thanks, Scott. Glad you liked the story. Strong visuals were what we were aiming for.

Good thought about the confusion of the word THEY in the bridge. That should be an easy enough fix.

We all appreciate your support and feedback.

Greg

Come on, Kevin, stop being so unimaginative. LOL

I appreciate your candidness and the "OK" rating. We do have plans for a much more fuller production, so hopefully we'll be able to elevate that "OK" to a "Pretty Dang OK".

Thanks for giving it a listen. We appreciate the feedback.

Greg

Wendy,

You'll be pleased to know that Marie Laveau was on my mind as we were putting the lyric together. I was also thinking of "Witchy Woman," by the Eagles. We were thinking of someone mysterious and dangerous, yet alluring and seductive. And heck, she might've been practicing voodoo, who knows.

As for 3rd person vs. 1st person, we'll give that some thought, although I'm partial to the way we have it. For me, being an "observer" in this instance, rather than a participant, seems more appropriate because it's a way of repeating what could be an oft-told urban legend. But we'll see what others think.

Thank you for your thoughts on this one. We really appreciate it.

Greg

Emmanuel...thanks so much for checking this worktape for us. We appreciate your time and your well thought out comments. They will help us to move forward with this one. We hope you will come back and listen when it has further progressed in production.

Thanks again,

Jan

Hi guys ....and gal,


Janice and Greg...this really is a well crafted lyric...FABULOUS imagery.

Mark....your vocals and guitar work are great.

Will be looking forward to hearing the full production on this one.


Kind wishes,
Gail

well, I'd like to find something wrong with this song but I can't.
It's something I'd wanna hear more than once !!

GREAT LYRICS & PERFORMANCE

Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

Gail,

Thanks so much for your comments. We are happy that you are liking it so far....hope you'll come back when we get a fuller presentation of it....with a more signature sound for the setting.

Jan

Thanks everyone for takng the time to listen, and the helpful feedback

Calvin,

We love the fact that you would listen to this one more than once. This is the initial worktape...lots more to come on this one that will give it a signature sound....so please come back and listen soon....thanks so much for the thumbs up on this one.

Jan