PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Not for the faint of heart...

I made two versions of my new song called 'We Are'. I made it this weeks.
And I put the links of both to SoundCloud in this post.

https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130/we-are-metal
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130/we-are-funk

But I must warn you, it's not for the faint of heart. I haven't heard Metalsongs on this forum before, so therefore I use this title.
And I als have to make a confession: I never thought I would make a Metal-song. I don't realy like it. But BB has these styles included so I had to try them.
Both versions use the style Mighty, but with complete different instruments. The tempo is 95.

I was inspired by an article about the release of a single from a group called Rammstein; Deutchland
Although I don't like that music, it did something to me.
And so I made these two version of a song concerning the Dutch, but with a big wink.
It is in no way my intention to make some sort of Nationalistic song! That's why included topics in the lyrics to prefent Nationalists to use this song.

The metalversion nearly costed me my voice, but to my surprise people who listened to it, liked it!
I also included some Dutch sentences in the song. I like trying new things and this was one of them.
Let me hear what you think.
If I hear a great silence from you all, I have an answer.

The lyrics:
(They diver a littlebit in the two versions)
We Are
(c) HWBerkhout, april 2019

From out of nowhere we came and stayed
We had the best boats that were ever made
We created windmills that grind so swell
And wooden shoes that fit all well

Chorus 1
Come meet the Dutch
You'll love us
God made the world
We did our own

Chorus 2
Our place is small
But we need no wall
We are the kind
You never find

Chorus 3
We are the Dutch
But don't [*****] with us
We make our world
Were we belong

Dutch:
Nederland ligt onder water
We kunnen allemaal goed zwemmen
Dat is iets voor later...
(The Netherlands lay below sealevel,
but we can all swim well.
That's something for later...)

We invented the microscope,
Discovered much land.
South Africa, Indonesia and even New York were in our hand
We have the dykes to keep dry feet
We sell our paitings to those who need

Now we have HipHop and partydrugs
We dance on beat while smoke our weed
We blow our mind, to stay at ease
And don't forget, we have our cheese

Bridge
We don't wanna spend much money on armour
We give away our flowers to the pope each Easter
And we travel so much!

Ch 1
Dutch:
We hebben mooie steden, die zijn echt 'in'
Ook een koning en Argentijnse koningin
Ooit was de koning Napoleon's broer
Nu is het een 'echte' Hollandse boer
(We have nice cities, that are so populair.
ALso a king, and an Argentinian queen
Once our king was Napoleons' brother,
Now we have a 'real' Dutch farmer)

Solo

Ch 1
Ch 3
+
We are the Dutch
But we talk so much
Yes, we talk too much

Big fun. Soundcloud went down here before I could hear the funk version. I'll try later.

You have a good metal voice. The songwriting is solid and the backing believable. Here's hoping your feet stay dry for a long time to come.

Hans,

Your lyric is wonderfully funny!
"We blow our mind, to stay at ease
And don't forget, we have our cheese"

HA! Good lines through the whole thing...

I liked the metal version best. Nice use of BIAB.

fj

Well that was certainly different! Some definite attitude and very cool lines...

Metal and Funk...the power of BiaB in talented hands.

We listened to both...has your voice recovered?

Fun experimentation!

J&B

I really liked both versions of the song. Not sure I could pick a favourite. Thanks for posting them on the forum to share with us.

Hi Tangmo, Floyd, Janice and Bud,

Thanks for your comments. And you certainly don't belong to the faint of heart!
Floyd, you mentioned a few lines my son was complaining about. He said that you don't say it like that in English. I disagreed and you proved I was right. Thanks for that as well.
And Tangmo, you have convinced me to continue making Metal songs (...)
Janice and Bud, read what Tangmo said. No, it was an attack on my voice, but it's alright now. Only the funkversion I will record again. The voices in the chorus were not so clear.

Did you like the Dutch lines in the songs? I hesitated a bit about it, as wel as sending that Metal song to the BB-forum (cost me a lot of followers, I'm afraid).

While writing this I am enjoying the song 'Missed the message' from Janice and Bud ( 3rd time it's playing now). Although an 'oldie' I liked the song, the build up, the choir, but most of all that bluesy voice.
I can't make those songs. It's that voice...

Bye,
Hans

Hi thanks Ember!

I was writing a reply and saw your post after sending my reply.
But now you also belong to the brave ones.

Cheers!
Hans

Nice composition...
Both seem to sound pleasing to my ears, but...
You made me do some homework...
I had to find & listen to your reference...
Deutchland by Rammstein...
Then I had to find a translation of the lyrics...
Whew...
Their video looked & sounded menacing but...
The lyric translation seemed quite innocuous...
Anyway I enjoyed listening to your songs & my excursion ...
Thanks!

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the compliments and your investigation efforts.

But I didn't try to copy that Rammstein song. It only inspired me to sing about the Dutch and do this in a Metal way. Later on I also did the Funk version, 'cause I prefer that style above Metal. But Rammstein is a Metalbased group.
I was afraid your investigation would have led to the claim that I was incorrect about the Dutch merits, or that my translation of the Dutch lines in the lyric was wrong ;-)
But this was not the case, I noticed.

Rammstein was afraid their song could be 'hyjacked' by rightwing populists, so they did something with the images of their video and the lyrics to counter that. And I made my lyrics more humourous for the same reasons.

But what did your investigations learned you as well?

Thanks,
Hans

Hans,
You got the cheese!

Metal is not my thing, but this was very cool! I like your humor. Production is top notch. Vocals sit very well in both of versions! You figured it out! Funk version is very original and experimental sounds unique. Very creative lyrics. I sincerely believe you done excellent job on both.

The only critical point I will make on these, is Funky version is a bit bassy...instruments, not voice. I have very neutral, open back headphones and bass leaks a little.

Thank you for sharing!

Misha

Loved the metal version. Super backtrack. BIAB laid down a very cool backtrack. Guitars were very well done..

Lots of fun man!

Head bangin'

To be honest, I had never heard of them nor have I listened to or seen their videos...
So it was a learning experience for me just to see who they are...

What a big fat sound you have going on here. Really liked how the bass stood out on the intro.
Very clever write, very entertaining. Rob

LOTS of attitude here!! And lots of volume...the light on my audio interface stayed red almost the whole time! Very cool composition. Nice to hear some metal here. Great job!! Take care. Greg

Hi Rob and Greg,

Thanks very much for your reviews! It was nice to read how you put it here. But Greg, I carefully watched my audio interface while making / mixing and mastering this song. It was only somewhat red. You have exaggerated a bit, I think.
But I'm afraid I won't make much Metal the coming time. It's my throat...

Nice weekend,
Hans