Okay, lovely Di-hards, here it is – the antidote.
In all honesty, I love winter. (Mostly.) So if I’m feeling blue, as if this particular winter may never end, I’m sure a lot of you are feeling the same way. Especially if you, like me, are not going anywhere tropical or even remotely warm this March break.
Today, the temperature is up to almost freezing – relatively balmy – AND it’s my Hubbibi’s birthday! (I love you, Sean. xoxoxo) Birds are singing – the hardy ones – and hope is in the air.
SO, I decided to send you all a silly little song to help lift some winter blahs, like a sun-kissed virtual hug. It features:
- my beautiful ukulele
- my neophyte ukulele-playing skills
- a little word-nerdery
- a repetitive refrain so you can sing too! And best of all,
- gorgeous photos of Hawaiian scenery. So you can pretend you’re there.
That should do the trick. Right? Oh, and maybe take some Vitamin D as well, to complete the illusion.
And just so you know… This performance of “Ukulelove” is dedicated to all the ukulele-learners out there, especially my inspiring musical friends Wild Wes, StarGirl, Ozfire, and their sunny mama. xoxo
And now for the credits:
- Music and lyrics are copyright D.C.S. Stephens (aka Dilovely), 2014.
- Vocals, ukulele, and body percussion also by Dilovely. Oh, and whistling. Recorded using GarageBand for Mac.
- All those breathtaking tropical photos are courtesy of my wonderful cousin Q and her also wonderful new husband, who honeymooned in Hawaii last fall.
- All those beautiful scenes with penguins in them are movie stills from Dreamworks’s Surf’s Up.
- Other movie stills/posters are from (in order): Blue Hawaii (starring Elvis Presley), 50 First Dates, Hotel Transylvania, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Me and Orson Welles, Lilo and Stitch, Her, Some Like It Hot, and The Princess and the Frog.
- Right near the end, there’s a photo (by Merna Ryan) of my uke hero, James Hill, and cellist/accompanist/artist/wife Anne Janelle. Because obviously.
- Photos of koa tree and artisanal toffee from Wikimedia commons.
- That’s me playing with my head cut off because I don’t love videos of myself, but wanted to show you that I can indeed change chords, for real. Lucky for you, I put on pretty nail wraps (from Jamberry) and a lap blanket (crocheted by my mom) to
hidespruce up my yoga pants.
AND, here are the lyrics, in case you are wondering.
This is my Lady, hear her strings a-singin’
She sounds like ocean breezes and skirts of grass a-swingin’.
(Refrain) I love to play my uku-uku-le-le-le,
Ukulele let’s go play.
Her lovely shape is round like a pineapple,
She’s got a sunny sound that’s indefinable.
(Refrain)
She’s made of special wood from a tree called the Koa,
Her shiny toffee colour is beautiful, for shoa. (told you I was nerdy)
(Refrain)
Her case has a pocket, a flap, a strap, a door-hinge
a zipper, and the colour’s a happy dapper orange. (oh yes she did)
(Refrain)
I L-O-V-E my U-K-U-L-E-L-E
with an A7, D major, C sharp augmented, E7
(Refrain)
The best part, from my ukudelic point of view
Is when I get to strum and sing and play with YOU!
I love to play my uku-uku-le-le-le,
Ukulele let’s go (ukulele let’s go) ukulele let’s go play!
***
As I read this, the two youngest are watching Surf’s Up.
You are so talented. This video and song did indeed brighten my day.
Thank you for the shut-out; your nails look great!
Thank you, Leslie! Aw, I actually love Surf’s Up. And I love the nail wraps, too – they were easier than I expected, and that was just my first try! Really looking forward to using a matching set soon.
*shout-out
hahaha
LOL – I hope never to shut you out!! <3
I looooooove this! It transports me to a beautiful, calm, sunny paradise. Your playing and your wonderful lyrics are truly LOVELY! And it’s so fun to see our Hawaii photos set against this beautiful song. Thank you for sharing this!
PS Love those nails!
Thanks again, Q! Your photos really make the whole production, as far as I’m concerned. Plus I think they’re imbued with your happiness so we all catch some. 🙂 xoxoxo
Whoah! How cool to see you fretting away so expertly there! I have memories of More Than Words (right?) on guitar 🙂 Congrats on mastering a new skill! Holy cow. And the song is totally catchy. I may just put it on repeat here while I work. I may also go outside in my shorts……I may also buy a ukulele. I may also end this post.
Aw, shucks… I’m SO not mastering this yet, but I’m working on it (gradually, like maybe a couple times on a good week). But thank you for saying that. 🙂
To this day, all I can play on guitar is the beginning of More Than Words and Sweet Home Alabama – and to be honest, I haven’t tried those since beginning the uke so the muscle memory might now be confused. I still feel like guitar is out of my league: 50% more strings!!
If you buy a ukulele, can we please jam???
Dilovely, that was crazy!! You’re full of surprises! Beautiful song, and your voice is lovely, and fun nerdiness is what’s up, anyway. I LOVE IT!!!
Thank you, B-bop! I never know what to think of my own voice, but it means a lot to me that you say that. And plus also, GO NERDS!
That was awesome!! Maybe you’ll become a YouTube sensation and you can move to Hawaii with all the money you rake in from endorsement deals.
It could happen…
Helen recently posted..No, Not a Thimble!
That would be perfect!! Take it away, internet! 🙂
Wow! Really great! Now more than ever I need to know how to use Garage Band myself – not that I could compose as cool a song as that one. And the photo montage in rhythm with the music? Well, out of my league..
Both are the programs on my laptop… I think you and I will have to explore the iPad version of GarageBand together and see what we can do. As for the montage – again, it’s iMovie. The ads are true: they just make it super-easy to do things that look good. 🙂
Holy WOW! That was amazing (song, music, lyrics, performance, video, nails, playing – everything)!! Is it wrong that my favourite part is that you rhymed “orange”?? And can I request rhymes for “purple” and “silver” (I think those are the other two un-rhymable words in English??) in your next song? Because there will be more, right? Please? 😀
Aw, thank you, Krista! I have to admit, I was pretty stoked when I realized I could find a word and a context to reasonably rhyme orange. Word nerd to the core! Considering how long this song has been knocking around in my head, it might be a long time before there’s another one… but I’ll see what I can do. <3
You’re so darn cute! I love this! I so admire that you make the time for creative outlets despite a busy schedule as mom, wife, teacher, daughter, friend… as well as all the other hats I’m sure you wear! It’s a lesson in which I could afford to take heed! Thanks for sharing your talents! This was fun!
Michelle, thank you for saying this… it means a lot from someone I consider an amazing organizational and motivational inspiration! And don’t you have double the number of kids??
Wow, i just read/heard this – having somehow skipped over it the first time around. What fun! You’re brilliant!
Thank you, Auntie! xoxo