A Different Time

A song for the women who grew up during a time of war, or as the Secret History of the Mongols describes it, "a different time", when "stars twisted in the sky".
It was composed when I heard my mother's sister had died. I heard the news at 5 am, went to the basement and wrote this song. By 7 am I was done. It poured out.
This is dedicated to my mom and her sisters.

https://soundcloud.com/rogier-van-den-brink/01-a-different-time

Dmaj7
It happened in a different time
Gm7
Stars twisted above
Bm
It happened in a different time
E
When she was still in love
Dmaj7
It happened in a different time
Gm7
When men were doomed to die
Bm
It happened in a different time
E
When all the girls would cry
D
All the loving was in vain
E7
And all the tears washed in the rain
G              Gm                    D
And the earth took back the shadows in her brain

chorus
G                              Bb
All her worries, so many worries
D                   Gm7                   D
Fly across the universe and die!
G                            Bb
All her children, so many children
D                  Gm7                   D
Spread around the world and multiply               
Dmaj7

It happened, and she can’t forget
Gm7
Work would set you free
Bm
It happened, and she never met
E
Young boys, lovers to be
Dmaj7
Life is lived, and all is sad
Gm7
The love she wished she had
Bm
But it is here in front of her
E
Our love will set her free
D                                                   
All the sweat of the sun
E7
and the tears of the moon
G      Gm                                       D
Could not save the men from walking to their doom

Chorus

Bridge
Gmaj7                                                     Fm
And when she heard him calling her name
Bm       Bm7                  E      E7
There was a sound, a whisper in the rain

Chorus

Outtro

Fly across the universe, spread around the world
Fly across the universe, spread around the world

Lead and background vocals, lyrics and composition: Rogier van den Brink
Background vocals: Bayartsetseg
Morin huur (horse fiddle): Monhsahan
Arrangement, programming and mixing: Baidrag
Recorded at DX Productions, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia (September, 2010) 
Final mix: Raghu, at ProSounds Studio, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.

wow, Rogier.....

what a great song!!!!!!! coming out of such a sad situation

thanks for sharing this

Wow... man you must be working with professional engineers and musicians... Beautiful!! Sorry, can't come up with a single suggestion to improve.
Love your voice, the instrumental (nice wah wah rhythm guitar!), beautiful lyrics.. I'm really impressed!!
Thanks for sharing and KARMA for you!!
MM

Beautiful song; love the sad strings

Wow, what a production! Very nice song. I also love the wah wah guitar, and especially the horse fiddle. Had to google that instrument, didn't know it. :-) Great vocals, too.
The only thing I could criticise is that i got a little tired of the snare sound. But that's just nitpicking... 

Cheers,
Mark

Mongolian musicians rule!
Unfortunately, to make a living, they need to produce for the Chinese pop market. Which is extremely boring.
So when I showed up with my "pop-on-m7-chords", we really had fun together.
We even took some traditional songs and funked them up (The Night And Me). Or put traditional throat singing through auto-tune (Better Than Lovers).

The final mix was done by Reghu. He is from Singapore, but worked for a while in Mongolia, and was one of their Idols judges. He is now in New York. He makes the best mixes I know. Very transparent and clear, and with the right feeling, almost note by note. And he indeed loves loud snares....
Anyway, with the Internet today, we still work together, cuz it doesn't matter where we are.

Personally, when I listen to this song, I can still sense the emotion. And I think that is what a song needs first: a strong emotion.

Here is the slideshow I put together for the song:

As others have said - wow

This is very good - great lyrics, singing, playing, everything really

Great job!

cheers

Jurgen

I really like the opening of your song.   Great lyrics and I love the inspiration for it.  Cool stuff.

what a great track, and what a fantasic vocal you have!
just excellent

my only little thing would, and i think somebody noticed it earlier in this thread, when the drums kick in (with the snare)
before you start singing, so in the beginning, that second time around before you start singing

that to me sound like just a bit too loud (look who is talking  )
for the rest it is great and the drums are loud but excellent
and so are your vocals!!!! and the entire mix

man, you have got some talent, Rogier

Fantastic song/production, Rogier What a lovely tribute to your mom and her sister  So much emotion in this, and I love the video slide show!
Makes it that much more personal 
Your vocals are amazing and I love the female harmonies    Definitely a professional job 

Songwriting 
Lyrics 
Harmonies 
Sound 

professional / excellent / touching