A Tribute to Instrumental Ukulele: "JAKE"

Post #192 
                                                             

PARODY-LYRICS                       

ORIGINAL SONG: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" written by George Harrison, and recorded by the Beatles for their 1968 album "The Beatles". 
JAKES'S RENDITION: Jake Shimabukuro had started playing instrumental ukulele as a band member, but in 2002 broke into a solo career. In 2006, a video of Jake's virtuoso rendition of the Beatles song became one of the first to 'go viral' on that site, and has accumulated 16 million hits. The author of this blog has been privileged to attend three Jake concerts in the last 5 years; recently these have included guitar collaborators and a few vocals, but the emphasis remains on instrumental ukulele. 

PARODY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, January 2019.
 

JAKE (tribute to instrumental ukulele)

(to the tune of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps")

To Jake Shimabukuro I listen enraptured

While his wordless ukulele sings.

I look at his band, the song's spirit they've captured,

Arranged so his ukulele sings.

Hawaiian family that enclosed you

Teach and perform on uke.

Though you don't sing, some force chose you to 

Play virtuoso uke.

You played with teen bands, then began upward spiral,
Developing a novel style.

And "While My Guitar.." went iconically viral

You did instrumental uke all the while.

Your reputation's undisputed --

The world's saluted you.

On concert tours you speak unmuted,

Ukulele-san, that's you.

I listen enraptured to Jake Shimabukuro

While his wordless ukulele sings.

I look at his band, the song's spirit they've captured,

Arranged so his ukulele sings.

UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT (and guitar, too!)

(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)

Ukulele(C-tuned) specifics:

AM7 = 0030 (or 0000);  Am6 = 2020;  FM7 = 5500;  D = 2220;  E = 4442;

E7 = 1202;  C#m7 = 4444;  Fm = 2120;  C#m = 6444;   Bbm = 4222.

ORIGINAL SONG-LYRICS

Seasonal Reprise: JANUARY is for SCOTS (A tribute to Robert Burns)

Robert Burns 

SEASONAL RE-POSTING:
PARODY-LYRICS for two original songs, with connections to Robert Burns

PARODY-SONG#1: "Auld Lang's Sine", 2015, with lyrics by Giorgio Coniglio, substituted to Burns' classic song "Auld Lang Syne", (updated December 2017).

PARODY-SONG#2: "Dean Martin Sings Robbie Burns Day" 2015, a parody pastiche with lyrics by Giorgio Coniglio, substituted to "That's Amore", the Dean Martin 1953 classic.

THIS MEDLEY COMPOSED: Giorgio Coniglio, December, 2018, updated from earlier blogposts, and with improved verse-charts (goodbye Courier New font, hello Verdana)!


Explanatory Notes: Robert Burns, born 1759, became Scotland’s ‘national poet’, and a cultural icon at home and among Scottish diaspora around the world. In his short life - he died at age 37 -  he wrote hundreds of well-loved poems and songs; the most famous is Auld Lang Syne, traditionally sung on Hogmanay (New Year's Eve). Robbie Burns Day is celebrated on his birthday, January 25, often with a Burns Night supper. 

Burns' best-loved poems include "To a Mouse", "To a Louse", "Tam o' Shanter", "Parcel o' Rogues", and "Address to a Haggis".

WORDPLAY LINK: A somewhat different version on the Simon Lang story, with a more modern take, has been twisted into limerick verse, and can be seen here, on our sister-blog "Edifying Nonsense". 

AULD LANG’S SINE       

(to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne")

C-tuned ukulele specifics:
Bdim7 =  1212.  

ROBBIE BURNS DAY

(to the tune of "That's Amore")

C-tuned ukulele specifics:
Fm = 1013;  Bbm = 3111;  Bbm7 = 1111;  Bdim7 = 1212;  A7 = 0100  

ORIGINAL SONGS
(click on any slide to enlarge and arrive in thumbnail mode for singalongs on your computer or phone!)  

REPEAT VERSES 1 and 2