Listen
Credits
For Arno, Bas and Edwin.
Completed early 1993.
Composed, arranged, produced and performed by Gerard Slooven.
C major section is an arrangement of "Het Artillerielied", a Dutch traditional military song.
Recorded for the CD "12 Significant Others".
Song
I wrote this song while I was in the army. It is my own composition, but the middle part is an arrangement of "Het Artillerielied", a very old Dutch traditional military song that we had to learn to sing in order to have a drink in the officer's bar. I hated that... I played this piece at a little concert I gave after I got out of the army, as a way to say goodbye to some not so happy times... Give it a try, it really works!
By the way, a "hangfire" is a very dangerous situation that can occur in a MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) when the rockets are ignited but don't leave the launch vehicle.
Arno Brekvoort, Bas Hermans and Edwin de Rooij were three pals that made my stay in the army somewhat "bearable"...
Recording
Track length: [02:57].
Instruments: Da Montagne spanish guitar (lead).
The song is about feeling lonely, so it was recorded as a solo. It's also about feeling small, so the choice was made for a spanish guitar, because these guitars have a very intimite and subtle sound. Reverb and delay were used to suggest a small, lonely guitar lost in a gigantic open environment.
Image
I spend the first months of my military time at the SROA in 't Harde, Holland, and they had a mascotte called Barbara Beer (St. Barabara is the patron of the artillery). This really was an actual teddybear, and every class had to make that bear do something brave. Because I liked bears (still do, actually...) I took it on me to make sure Barabara Beer did something very special: Barbara and I walked the Kennedy March in Someren, Holland. Walking 80 kilometers with a heavy teddybear strapped to your back is enough to turn anyone stark raving mad, but I did it and both me and Barbara collected our reward: a medal with president Kennedy pictured on it. Anyway, the image shows the official logo of the SROA: Barbara Bear dancing in front of the SROA colours: red and black.
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