44 Comments
User's avatar
Kristin DeMarr's avatar

This was fantastic! Beautiful song and lyrics! I love the stories of how you bring these together!

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Kristin. I appreciate you listening and your kind words about the song and framing of the post. 😁

Dennis Mills's avatar

Tamara- you have a beautiful voice, and share the first name of my daughter.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Dennis. Good to know there are still folks choosing the name. Mine is a family handmedown from a great aunt, from Ukraine.

Daniel Jenkins's avatar

So lovely!! Really great lyric, melody, feel…and story! Excellent!

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Daniel. Appreciate you listening and the feedback.

Kat Rigel's avatar

It’s a beautiful song, Taz.

One that is going to hang in my head.

I love the lyric and the tempo.

Good early Thursday morning to you!

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Kat, I hope you know how much I value your feedback.

RomHeadTech's avatar

What a lovely song. Heartfelt and genuine. Great work, all!

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thank you for taking the time to listen and provide feedback. So glad you enjoyed it.

Mark Nash's avatar

Wow Taz, this was absolutely gorgeous! I loved it. I appreciate hearing how the song came together in the beginning as well as the background behind the verses. The music and melodies were beautiful. Not sure if there was an intent but parts of the song had a slightly Celtic feel or almost like a medieval bard singing a tale late at night. Beautiful!

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thank you Mark, I love that comment. Celtic wasn’t an objective but I can relate to what you are saying. I was just fiddling with it more today. Added some strings to the choruses and bridge. Probably will sound even more Celtic with those tweaks. I appreciate you listening so much and providing feedback.

Deborah Brasket's avatar

Beautiful song and lyrics, Tamara! I may even like it a bit more than Croce's Time in a Bottle. It's something I would listen to and enjoy again. Hope you move forward with it. I also like how you relate it to this site on Substack, a place to share your stories and musical journey. I feel that way about mine as well.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thank you Deborah. I really appreciate you listening and sharing your impressions. I will definitely be releasing it. Just got a new mix back last night.

Alex Jenkin's avatar

Beautiful track Taz, I’m a real sucker for a minor waltz so this really hits the spot. Violin or piano accordion would be a great addition..

Im going to have to check out Croce because i only know one song.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Added some strings today. You were right.

Alex Jenkin's avatar

Exciting! I hope you repost when you’re finished and happy.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Alex. Yeah, I was thinking about some strings as well. Croce is amazing.

Alex Jenkin's avatar

Yeah he keeps popping up so I have to do a dive.

Ellen from Endwell's avatar

Taz, that is a gorgeous song.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thank you Ellen. I appreciate you listening.

Michael K. Fell's avatar

Lovely juxtaposition of Croce's timeless song, your life, and your own song. Thank you for sharing.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Michael

Owls That Talk's avatar

Nice interlude to my Sunday the song is a lovely journey and lots in there for people to connect to.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks for listening and the kind words.

Andres's avatar

This was absolutely beautiful, Taz. The song -- those lyrics, that melody. The poetry of referring to life as a series of opening acts. But can I just say your tuning is pure gold. It's not a surprise to me -- it's not the first time I've heard you sing, we've talked at length about singing, I know what a good musician you are, I know you can read music, etc. But still. I mean, you say this is a rough demo, an unfinished song, right? "The mix is not perfect" blah blah blah (not mocking you, just gently teasing you from an obsessive to another 😂) and yet you manage to sound THAT good? THAT's your unfinished, unpolished self? Wow. Impressive 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 You make it sound so easy. We both know it's nothing but. Huge congrats.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thank you Andy. You know how much I appreciate your feedback as someone who knows singing and studies as well. This is just the value of doing multiple takes coming through. And to be fair, this song is kinda squarely in my wheelhouse, not a huge amount of range required in this one. More important than any of that though is that you enjoyed it. Thank you for listening and sharing. I love that you make fun of me.

Andres's avatar

Thank you for your kind words. Regardless of range, which of course has an impact, you’re like ON the pitch. I mean, that level of intonation is not common outside of the big names, and with a lot more studio production and magic than this. It’s your ear that’s THAT good, and I can feel it and hear it based on the way you approach the notes. The melody lives in your head long before you open your mouth. And that, my friend, is pure talent. Well done.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Andy.

Steve Goldberg's avatar

Just getting to this. Wanted to be able to sit and really listen to it. What a beautiful song. It sounds familiar, and not because of your story of how it was inspired by “Time in a Bottle,” but in how it feels like canon. It is so relatable, yet so personal to you.

So many lines made me want to stop and write them down.

Thanks for sharing your music and your self.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Steve you made my day. Thank you. That kind of attentive listening is what every songwriter dreams of. I cannot express enough how much it means to me.

Jono Blanshard's avatar

Very cool Tamara and co. Well done.👊🎶

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Jono, I appreciate you listening and your kind words.

Dan Pal's avatar

So glad you found love at 54! Sounds like a very special relationship. Your song really captures that.

By the way, my brother and his now wife used "Time in a Bottle" as one of their wedding songs back in the 90s. It is timeless!

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks Dan, me too. Although, truthfully, I had reconciled myself to being ok with being alone. I appreciate you listening and your feedback. Time In A Bottle will always work at a wedding, no doubt.

David Levine's avatar

Loved hearing bits of that waltz inspiration from the Croce song (one of my favorites as well). A poignant reflection with a macabre, melancholy vibe. And a Valentine’s Day story in the mix too how touching 🥰

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks for listening David.

NickS (WA)'s avatar

At the risk of revealing my general ignorance of musical structures, the combination of the tempo and the timbre of your voice made me think, "Christmas music" -- by which I mean that it has a nice weight and formality to it.

Tamara Casey's avatar

Thanks for listening Nick. Thats interesting. I need to think about that. Definitely was not the objective.

NickS (WA)'s avatar

I wouldn't trust that I'm accurate in identifying the association that I'm hearing.

But I see that I am not the only person connects Christmas music with 3/4 time: https://www.reddit.com/r/musictheory/comments/rl18k4/why_are_so_many_most_maybe_christmas_songs_in_34/

Caroline in the Garden's avatar

sounds so cool Tamara! I also love that Jim Croce song

Tamara Casey's avatar

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for listening. 🙏