Gar Mac Leman - Festival Songlist
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www.garsong.com
Hi! Thanks for visiting. This page contains a Festival songlist with some additional information about the songs.
It'll give you an idea of what I will be playing at festivals in general. Some of the songs, as mp3 files, are on a
list to the right...
Latest Festival Songlists:
Set 1 (Circa 30 minutes) ;
'Aint No Need - (1987)(Off beat blues) There are love songs and there are love songs. This is one of the second category
Whale Dreaming - (2016)(Both e-strings are tuned to D with an additional G harp utilised)(Folk style) A song about a dream shared with sea eagles and whales.
River of Sand - (2019)(Both e-strings are tuned to D and a D harp used)(Medium tempo strummed and picked folk style) This is a song about environmental changes which are
occurring right now. From warming temperatures, shrinking forests and vanishing animals, many of these changes are detrimental, well known and understood but denied and ignored by
many of the powers which control things.
Lonely Winter Song - (Written between 2013 & 2018)(The tuning for this song is DADF#AD)(A slowish folk style, fingerpicked, song) Here is a song which tells of loss, loneliness,
parting and generally feeling a bit miffed about all of the fore-mentioned.
Leonie's Song - (2018)(The tuning for this song is DADF#AD)(A faster song using a reggae style beat with additional harmonics) Written about a friend who has had a lot of success
with her songwriting and performing and about the issues she confronted to do so.
Reflections - (2016)(Fast offbeat reggae style song with harp solos) A song recollecting memorable moments from when I lived in Ireland, literally reflections of memories.
Centrelink Blues - (2016)(A fast Blues Style Song) A song written in annoyance at Centrelink contacting me to tell me they would cut my pension as I lived in Ireland and should be
entitled to an Irish Pension, which was a ridiculous assumption. I told them so and they eventually relented.
Set 2 (Circa 30minutes) ;
Only a Fool - (2019)(Slowish Strummed Folk Style with harmonica) A song about relationship and the thought that ending them can so often be a bad mistake.
Briefest Glimpse - (1995)(Both e-strings are tuned to D and a D harp used)(This song uses an uptempo rock style) A song written in and about the South West coast of Ireland and the
magic and people so evident in the area.
No Bitter Tears - ()(Both e-strings are tuned to D)(Folk style fingerpicked song) This song is about war, winter and famine and one's acceptance of it. It was written on the South West
coast of Ireland but rather is set on the Turkish coast in the late 1500s. This song flows into the following slow air (Magician's Cloak)
Magician's Cloak - (Circa 2000)(This slow air flows on from the previous song) An original air reminiscing about the time we met Richard Harris, shortly before his death. He appeared
down a narrow, rocky stairway, dressed as Merlin, (doing a BBC special actually, at Tintagel Castle, in Cornwall). We were pretty spaced out, having walked through Stonehenge at
midnight of the previous night beneath a bright full moon and having almost no sleep since. We had a chat with him in the pub later; a very friendly guy indeed.
Christmas Time - (First written in 1972 then reworked and finished in 2016)(Slow country-folk) I initially wrote this song when I was in a long distance relationship and used to
hitch-hike from Adelaide to Sydney and back on weekends. It was a song I never really played at all. After moving to Hervey Bay and getting a Christmas gig in a local shopping mall, I
was suddenly informed that I would need to play at least one Christmas song. I do original stuff, and had no Christmas songs, until I recalled writing a song called 'Christmas Time', 44
years earlier. I played about with it somewhat and emerged with the present version.
I Will Bring You Flowers - (1979)(Slow fingerpicked blues) A song written about/for a lover I had whilst driving tours at Arkaroola, in the Flinders Ranges.
Spanish Girl - (2017)(Fast Country-Rock with a Spanish flavour in the harmonica melody) This is a song about a songwriter writing a song. Specifically about what inspired Jack
Tempchin to write 'Peaceful Easy Feeling', a song the Eagles did a cover of.
Fire - (First written in 1979. The guitar work was changed totally in 2017)(Lyrics remained exactly the same and the tune very similar to the original)(Both e-strings are tuned to
D)(Slow, fingerpicked folk) Written about a girl who I liked a lot and who inspired me in an ever so subtle way. The later and present version is way more complicated to play and is a
stretch at the best of times.