In thinking about interesting ideas for workshops the idea came to me of doing one called Visual Songs. One of the things that I've always been attracted to in folk music is the visual imagery that many songs evoke. The songs are soundtracks for a movie in my head. Some of my favorite folk songs that do this, as examples, are The Jam On Gerry's Rock and The 1913 Massacre. They have a powerful, "you are there" impact on me when I sing them. There are phrases that are very visual to me: "Where are the men who can find their contentment in a living room waltz or a walk by the sea." Songs are really an amazing creation. A novelist can take four hundred pages to paint a picture and tell a story. Even a short story allows plenty of room. A song often has only five or six verses. Sometimes only two or three.

So, think about it for a minute and if there's a song that comes to mind that you see as well as hear, I'd like to hear about it. I'm not looking for lists here, although just mentioning a title is o.k. But, if there are any particular images in the song that are created in your mind, tell me about them.

Jerry