36 Years Ago

36 Years Ago, Vienna 1971—A Student Journal

Day 027: My first song; Rick Steve’s Europe on PBS

36yearsago.com

Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing & friends.


Day 27 — My first song; Rick Steve’s Europe on PBS
29-August-1971 (Sun.)


TRANSCRIPT

“One Summer Day” — finished it. Wrote it for Anjali. I think it’s not too bad.


REFLECTIONS

One Summer Day—My first song. Finished what? My first song that I ever wrote in my life—“One Summer Day.” Really, I had never written a song before*. I wrote this song for Anjali. Uh oh, something’s going on here. (This is the second time I’ve said this.) Yes, you know that I like Anjali a lot. I did. I felt like I had to write this song for her, from the heart. Really. How romantic. Listen, at the time, I know that these feelings were strong and real. It’s too bad that I’m not 30 years younger, I could be picking up a lot of girls with this approach.

[*The only time I had ever written any original music prior to this was three or so short compositions in composition class at Montclair State. [More about this at the end of the year.]

How did the song sound? I sort of remember how it goes, just a bit. I know that I wrote it on guitar and sang it. Unfortunately, I don’t sing very well. Enough to get the idea across but that’s it. I never had a desire to be a singer/performer—that’s been my problem my whole life, I write songs and nobody sings them. Nobody has heard them. Nobody knows they exist. I’m still waiting to be discovered. Maybe, I’ll let you hear some of these before the year is up.

Musical style? Well, by today’s standards, the song is probably a bit corny. Think of it as young-love folk-pop. Remember, I had “those strong feelings.”

I think I made a tape of “One Summer Day.” Maybe I’ll rummage through all the plastic bags in the attic and see if any such tape exists. That would be fun and embarrassing.

Did I sing it for Anjali yet? I’m not sure. I don’t think so, otherwise I might have written about it. Will she like it? We’ll see.

When I discovered that I didn’t have much of an entry for today, I was not going to write much. I changed my mind. Why?

Rick Steve’s Europe. Just by accident, I happened to come across Rick Steve’s “European Travels” that are often broadcast on many PBS public television and cable stations. Guess what? This particular show was on Vienna. I loved it. It was great seeing and remembering many of the sightseeing highlights of Vienna in great-quality video. I like watching Rick Steve’s as he travels through Europe and provides his very interesting and lightly-humored narratives. If you want travel DVDs, travel guides, and other great travel tips, go to his website at ricksteves.com. He also has actual tours that travel all around Europe. (He would be a great sponsor.)

That was then followed by another travel show. I love em all.

John

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