FAWM: "The Secret Garden"

The Secret Garden

3 weeks ago by @berni1954

Liner Notes

This is another song inspired by the artwork of Sia Joo Hiang (of Tasmania). This one took off in directions I had not planned as I wrote the first two verses. It was only when I finished the song that I realised the end had been telegraphed in the first verse but my conscious mind had missed it.

After I finished it, I realised that it was very Yeatsian in its mythology and that is why I recommend Yeats' poems at the end.

#fuc #Artchallenge

Lyrics

INTRO: (Dm) (G) (C)

(C) Polly spent her (Em) days in her (Dm) Secret (C) Garden Surrounded by a (Am) tall imposing wall (Dm) (G) A (C) paradise to (Em) some - an in(Dm)ferno to (C) others (F) Time for Polly (G) never seemed to (C) crawl

But (Em) as she grew she questioned if (Am) there were more to (Em) life Was it her fate to (Am) ever be con(Dm)fined? (G) As (Em) grey skies turned again (F) to a brighter (C) blue She (Dm) longed for freedoms (G) that she had in (C) mind

(C) One day the wind blew (Em) down a leafy (Dm) tree in the (C) Garden Behind it was a (Am) thing she had not (Dm) known (G) A (C) little square (Em) window with a (Dm) view be(C)yond But the (F) sight outside (G) chilled her to the (C) bone

There were (Em) charred remains, as (Am) far as she could (Em) see A desolate (Am) landscape after (Dm) war (G) No (Em) colour in the ruins - no (F) little signs of (C) life She (Dm) fell in tears (G) down onto the (C) floor

Now (C) Polly walks her (Em) garden with (Dm) thanks in her (C) heart She no longer dreams of (Am) her plans to es(Dm)cape (G) She's (C) learned she is the (Em) gardener who (Dm) guides lost (C) souls Their (F) futures she is (G) helping to re-(C)shape All our (F) futures she is (G) helping to re-(C)shape

Comments

@sunnymae 1w

yes...many thanks to the muses of the final verse! I envisioned a girl who had been protected from the war from within the walls of a monastery,finally growing impatient, as adolescents do from the confines of their homes. You so cleverly describe her rude awakening when she views the devastation and comes upon her true purpose. as the steward of lost souls. as always, Berni, you remain the consummate storyteller. one of the best in the biz!!! lovely write and performance my friend.

@berni1954 1w

Wow. Thanks for your detailed response to that song. You describe exactly what I went through as I wrote it. I too saw her as a post-holocaust survivor. But that last verse that gave a more mystical twist to the tale just jumped out at me as I went to write a more conventional ending.

@deandra 1w

Wow! So deep! Very nice! Great voice and playing as well!

@berni1954 1w

This was definitely one that got wrested from my hands. The last verse almost wrote itself. I certainly hadn't started to write a mystical song. Thank you Ms Muse.

@mtanguay 2w

This is so beautifully sung and played. It paints such a vivid picture of refuge from the darkness. Lovely.

@berni1954 1w

Thanks for your insightful comment. This song was one of my more obscure poetic ones. That's not my "normal" realist "safe space".

@gordon 2w

Lovely stuff. Reminds me of a children's programme when I was growing up. I think it was called the Midnight Garden. Anyway, great delivery and strong vocal.

@bandybum 2w

Very self-assured delivery here. Great to see it captured on video :) Sweet choice of words and phrasing. Feels like a classic, much-loved folk song. Nice work!

@berni1954 2w

Thanks. I was inspired by Joo's paintings she posted this week on the "Seasons of the Ukulele".

@wylddandelyon 3w

I had to listen because The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books when I was much younger. This is a different story than that one, but also about healing and growing and making a better world. I'm glad I stopped by! This is a lovely postapocalyptic song and could well be counted as filk.

@berni1954 2w

I used to regularly read it to our daughter Jana when she was little and then we got the DVD and she must have seen it 50 times at least!

@mardeycranbleson 3w

Enjoyed the song and the video! I am not sure when you began doing those but it's fun to see the performance!

@berni1954 3w

Thanks for visiting my "Secret Garden". I regularly write songs for the "Seasons of the Ukulele" - which is a weekly challenge to find (or write) songs based on a theme posted by each week's host. This week the host was Joo, a talented Philippine artists living in Tasmania. She posted six pieces of her artwork and we had to come up with songs that fit the images (in some way or other). I chose three and they are the videos on my FAWM Profile page.

@coolparadisoMod 3w

Em slower pace! Like listening to a serial, it rolls out a bit at a time and you are kept waiting for the next bit. Good storytelling!

@beau_mickey 3w

I love your storytelling, it’s absolutely captivating.

@billwhite51 3w

you tell the tale in such a fascinating way, giving us only a bit of information at a time so our picture of this girl in the garden canges with each verse until we see anf feel the total horror of the wold outside the gardena nd polly discovers her destiny. the end is funny when you hold the book up to the camera. it takes the edge off of the horrific views you give us of the world outside the garden.

@berni1954 3w

Thanks for your comments on "The Secret Garden", Bill. There was no way that what the figure in the picture can see outside was going to be a pretty picture. But my natural positivity had to offer some hope in the last verse.

I usually end my videos with book or film recommendations. In this case I thought that the end result of the song had a feel like a couple of Yeats' more mystical poems, so that's how he got into the video! 😉