Set Me Free (with lyrics)
This song features an individual who left home at a young age and has been wandering ever since. But he's disappointed in life so far and not believing in himself anymore. He knows something is missing in his life, and he beieves it's his original home, where his friends and heritage still remain. The song begins: "Wasting away, I'm just really depressed. Having emotions I dare not confess." As his thought start to turn to his former home: "I'm thinking of my home now. Sure want to be right there now. I'm going back real soon now. Can't wait to be back home again." The song's climax at the end goes like this: "Take me back to what I once knew. Grass so green and a sky so blue. Take me back where I want to be, set me free." Played on oboe (Key: G Major) and strings (Key: C Major and D Major) . I couldn't decide between the two string versions. With lyrics.
Subtle Memories (with lyrics)
How do you remember things from long ago? Completely, not at all, or selectively? I remember many moments in my life, including ones I did not particularly regard as important at the time. This song is about cherishing such moments. Played on violin (Key: B Major) and strings (Key: G Major). With lyrics (in the middle of the song there are some measures with no lyrics).
Such Glorious Moments
A short (2 1/2 minutes) enchanting, leisurely expression of romance. An instrumental (no lyrics). Played on flute and strings. Key: F Major.
The Future’s In The Stars (with lyrics)
When working toward my PhD in physics at MIT, I wanted to be an astronomer. Things didn't go that way for me, but I still avidly follow new developments in astrophysics today. Currently there is a problem in cosmology (called the "Hubble Tension") which illustrates the old adage that every time we think we know how the universe works, we find out something new that changes our thinking entirely. The sonv begins: "Stars are sparkling in the night. What a fascinating sight. Long we've wondered what they are, and if anyone's out there. Our pure curiosity asks how we came to be. Answers can be found out there, though we still don't know quite where." Later, of course: "Always and ever we wait for the sight, another surprise to appear in the night." Finally: "And when we've got the answers that we sought, it's as we always thought: the future's in the stars." This is of course a play on words, since astrology claims to foretell the future by reading the stars. As you can see, this is a really fun piece! Played on flute and strings. Key: C Major. With lyrics.
When Today Was Tomorrow (with lyrics)
Paul McCartney's song "Yesterday" is the most played and performed popular song of all time. He thought of it the same way I think of songs myself, imagining a tune in his head and then fitting a chord pattern and lyrics to it. It's a classic because there isn't a person alive who doesn't regret something they did in the past ("yesterday"). My song is a humble attempt to describe a similar situation. The title comes from the fact that "today" was actually "tomorrow" on the previous day. My song begins: "When today was tomorrow, I was free, no script to follow. I was young, and fate had granted some time to grow the seed I'd planted. When today was tomorrow, I had it all, just like a pharaoh. I would break most every rule. Like a fool, I lost it all." A bit later: "Well today was once tomorrow. It's left me with my old friend sorrow. You moved away and left me hollow. I still regret I did not follow." So there she is, the departed love interest. The conclusion: "When today was tomorrow, I had my love and years to follow. Don't settle for what's yours today. You've got to live for tomorrow." This song has a lot of character, and the melancholy music sets the proper atmosphere for the lyrics. It is played here by the strings. Key: C Major). With lyrics.
Wonderful World (with lyrics)
A signature piece, is a feel good song and an anthem to women. The melody is distinctive and inspirational, but this song is ultimately all about the lyrics. It begins "You are woman, mighty woman. You are bold, good as gold. You are woman, mighty woman, spirit strong for so long." The song concludes: "Mighty woman, that's you. You weren't born a fool, you know your rights. You're not just a pretty face, you're someone who wants her rightful place. You're central to time and space. You're half of the human race." Played on violin, strings (Key: F Major), flute (Key: Eb Major) and oboe (Key: F# Major).
Wrinkles In Time (with lyrics)
In the novel "A Wrinkle In Time", a "wrinkle" is a tesseract, a visualization of the 4th dimension which allows someone to travel in space and time similar to using a wormhole. Also, a cosmology book by George Smoot in 1992 describes the earliest structures in the universe after the Big Bang as "Wrinkles In Time". This song, a melodious easy going waltz, refers to wrinkes in time as instants when something from the past suddenly appears vividly in one's mind. Played on the flute, with lyrics. Key: G Major.
You And I
An enchanting, somewhat bewitching slow melody in 3/4 time that is meant to put the listener in almost a trance. It is an instrumental with no lyrics. It is played here on flute (Key: G Major), oboe (Key: G Major) and strings (Key: F Major). On the flute it sounds a bit more hypnotic, while on strings it just seems like a grand theme to waltz to. The cadence of the opening phrases of this piece fits the title "You and I", if it were sung, hence the name. No lyrics.
You’re Perfect Just As You Are (with lyrics)
Alphabetically the last piece in the "Moving On 2022" collection, but one of my favorites. Here are the opening lines of this song: "I love you just as you are. We've done so much and we've come so far. You're perfect just as you are. You quench my thirst when my soul runs dry. Just you. Only you. I love you just as you are. A voice of reason in a world gone mad. You're perfect just as you are. A fiery comet lighting up the night. Only you. Only you." The melody is distinctive and so are the lyrics. Played on oboe (Key: G Major) and strings (Key: C Major). With lyrics.