This week’s piece is probably the shortest, and one of the silliest, songs that I’ve written. Called A Strange Story, it was originally part of a set of four songs for young people, Moonshine and Mystery, but it has taken on something of a life of its own.
The text is an old anonymous riddle, and it begins:
I saw a pigeon making bread
I saw a baker made of thread
I saw a towel one mile square
I saw a meadow in the air
But of course, it makes somewhat more sense by breaking the lines differently:
I saw a pigeon
Making bread I saw a baker
Made of thread I saw a towel
One mile square I saw a meadow
In the air…
And so on. So I set these words to a very simple and naïve melody, splitting each line into two and sharing it between two voices, and in between each verse putting a short instrumental interlude which can optionally played on descant recorder. Probably not much more need be said – but I hope you enjoy it – it lasts just about a minute.
The performance here is by the children of Fordham Primary School, near Colchester, directed by Elizabeth Pilkington, and you can obtain the music here.