Monday Music: Moonlight in Vermont

From Wikipedia:

"Moonlight in Vermont" is a popular song about the U.S. state of Vermont, written by John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf and published in 1944.

The lyrics are unusual in that they do not rhyme. John Blackburn, the lyricist, has been quoted as saying, "After completing the first 12 bars of the lyric, I realized there was no rhyme and then said to Karl, 'Let’s follow the pattern of no rhyme throughout the song. It seemed right.'" The lyrics are also unconventional in that each verse (not counting the bridge) is a haiku. 

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Frank Sinatra and many others have recorded the song, but one of the most memorable and endearing versions is by Willie Nelson on his 1978 landmark album, Stardust. In the liner notes of the 1999 reissue CD, Nelson is quoted as saying, "'Moonlight in Vermont' is my favorite song of all time." 

Saturday Haiku: Turning

      Sometimes silently

           the season turns, revealing

           joy in the new day.

                              ~ CK

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Photo: Hay field on a farm near Montevallo, Alabama

Credit: Charles Kinnaird

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Morten Lauridsen on How to Write a Song

Last month I shared a beautiful choral piece by Morten Lauridsen, "Sure on this Shining Night." Over a year ago I shared another magnificently beautiful choral work of his, "O Magnum Mysterium." The man obviously has a gift for composing inspiring choral music. If you wonder how he does it, here he is explaining the process behind composing a memorable song. The work he talks about,"Dirait-on" ("so they say"), is a choral setting for one of Rainer Maria Rilke's poems. Rilke usually wrote in German, but this is one (of nearly 400) that  he wrote in French. Enjoy this brief lesson from a master composer!

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