Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hold You In My "Ohrms"

Ray LaMontagne's song Hold You In My Arms, by nearly any measure, is a great song. I've got Ray's first two full-length releases, but it wasn't until friends asked me to consider learning this song to play at their wedding that it struck me how wonderful and soulful it really is.

Performing a LaMontagne song is not an easy task. There are few professional vocalists who sound anything like him and if you've ever heard me croak out a tune, you'd readily agree -- I'm no professional vocalist! The best I can try to do is sing the melody so that it is recognizable and, hopefully, in tune.

Every once in a while I am able to pull it off, and Hold You In My Arms seems to fit within my limited vocal range. With some practice, I should be able to pull off a reasonable facsimile of this song, but my biggest question is:

Do I sing the title line as Ray sings it ("ohrms"), or as I pronounce it with my thick-as-a-slice-of-Nuekse's-bacon Wisconsin accent ("arrrms")?

2 comments:

  1. If you were an electrician, you could pronounce it "ohms".

    Joking aside, I am ecstatic that you're even willing to consider this, and, whether you feel you can play it or not, I will be eternally grateful to you for whatever it is you perform for us. Thanks for being such a good friend!

    -MP

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    Replies
    1. Thanks MP, now I just need to find a hat like Ray's! ;)

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