Mark Adams

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – February 17, 2020

1. If, by Paul Laurence Dunbar
2. A Drowsy Day, by Paul Laurence Dunbar

February 17, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – February 10, 2020

1. Ships That Pass in the Night, by Paul Laurence Dunbar
2. The Sparrow, by Paul Laurence Dunbar

February 10, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

James Lick High School – February 7, 2020

1. The Sparrow, by Paul Laurence Dunbar
2. The Dove, by Paul Laurence Dunbar

With Principal Marco Menendez on percussion. This was one of the last regular events at school before the COVID lockdown.

February 7, 2020 by Mark Adams Performance Setlist 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – February 3, 2020

New arrangements:

1. The Sparrow, by Paul Laurence Dunbar
2. The Dove, by Paul Laurence Dunbar

February 3, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – January 27, 2020

1. Scarborough Fair (arrangement)
2. Heart of Gold (Greensleeves)
3. Corona, by Ernest Hemmingway

January 27, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – January 20, 2020

For MLK Day:

Pride (In the Name of Love), by U2
MLK, by U2

Both songs are featured on U2’s fourth studio album, The Unforgettable Fire, which was released in 1984.

January 20, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – January 13, 2020

From Three Stories and Ten Poems, some arrangements:

1. Corona (Mitraigliatrice), by Ernest Hemingway
2. Captives, by Ernest Hemingway
3. Old Soldiers Never Do Die Well (Champs D’Honneur), by Ernest Hemingway
4. Chapter Heading, by Ernest Hemingway

NB: Original titles in parenthesis.

January 13, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – January 6, 2020

1. “War Is Kind,” by Stephen Crane (arrangement)
2. Caesar’s Lament (original)

January 6, 2020 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0

“The Old Year Now Away Has Fled”

Set to the tune of Greensleeves, “The Old Year Now Away Is Fled” dates to as early as 1642. It was a common practice, then, to set new lyrics to familiar melodies, and Greensleeves, which dates to the 1500s, was a popular melody. The version I present retains the chord structure of the tune, but the melody is new.

It was recorded using GarageBand and its built-in instruments.

Here’s another version:

Most people think of Greensleeves as a Christmas carol, but originally it was a romance: “Alas, my love, you do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously.” (See my version at the bottom of the post.) In 1865, William Chatterton Dix wrote a poem called “The Manger Throne,” and shortly after its publication, someone set three stanzas of the poem to the tune of Greensleeves. “What Child Is This?” remains a popular carol to this day.

“The Old Year Now Away Is Fled” is both religious and festive. Some lines relate the story of Christ, others champion the right of friends to imbibe “good liquor.”

January 1, 2020 by Mark Adams Arrangements Religious 0

Poor House Bistro (open mic) – December 30, 2019

1. Lay Lady Lay (Dylan)
2. You Do Not Look Back

I debuted the second song this night.

December 30, 2019 by Mark Adams Open Mic Setlist 0