Well, as this is my 7th post, it seems I’ve achieved my goal of writing “Seven in Seven”. This was a self-imposed challenge (ahead of applying for a college course) to find out if I actually had the free time and the discipline to do it, and I’ve not been found wanting. Did I enjoy it however? – Not so much.
For me at this stage in my blogging career, it’s the feedback and discussion part that I enjoy as much as the actual writing. Over the last week I didn’t want regular visitors to feel under pressure to leave comments, but now that I’ve done about two months worth of blogging in nine days (it actually turned out to be “Eight in Nine”), it’s back to business as usual – Feel free to leave comments, and as you all know by now, I always reply! By checking out my stats for the last week I’m guessing posts about weddings, and gardening, are not top of the pops, so that’s good to know going forward.
Now that I’ve kind of caught up with the “posts pending” in my blogging notebook (it’s a thing), I’m going to throw down the gauntlet and hand over to you guys, the people who visit this place. I’m always up for a challenge so if you have any ideas of your own for a blog post that could include a featured song, feel free to let me know via the comments boxes, or indeed the Contact Me page. You perhaps don’t always enjoy doing the research, but I do, so as long as it involves a song or artist that I’m likely to have heard of, I’m up for it. (And to the person who contacted me recently about writing a fan fiction story involving David Cassidy and a Princess, not usually my thing, but I promise to give it some serious thought.)
But what to include song-wise, in this, the seventh and final post in the series? Well I didn’t really want to admit it, but for me it seems that blogging has become an alternative form of social media. I have kind of put the more mainstream platforms behind me of late (that would be Facebook then), as anything remotely insightful was always met with a tumbleweed moment, whereas a cute cat video could go viral. Whilst in the car yesterday, Matt Monro’s version of the song Born Free came on the radio, so as an homage to all forms of mainstream social media (and to try and entice back my followers), I too am going to share a cute cat video.
Born Free by Matt Monro:
Born Free was of course written for the 1966 film of the same name and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It starred the real life couple Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, and the making of the film was a life-changing experience for both of them, as they became animal rights activists and were instrumental in creating the Born Free Foundation. If you’ve never watched the film, I urge you to seek it out, but it’s a real tear-jerker in places and I did shed a tear just watching this short trailer yesterday (although a lot to do with the fact that Virginia McKenna reminds me of my late mother-in-law…., scarily so).
As for the song, it’s a firm favourite in our house along with another Matt Monro classic from the movies, On Days Like These. If ever he’s feeling a bit blue, Mr WIAA takes himself off to watch our copy of The Italian Job where the song is played during the opening titles. Lyricist Don Black managed British singer Matt Monro at the time, and made him the film industry’s go-to guy when it came to recording soundtrack themes. The producer of these themes was always, not surprisingly, George Martin.
So, “What’s It All About?” – My Seven in Seven challenge is now done and dusted so back to business as usual (which is probably around one published post per week). I’ve learnt a lot though, about my ability to put in the hours and about the kind of blogging I enjoy most. Note to self however – Music bloggers are not too keen on wedding, or gardening posts. If the gauntlet is indeed picked up, not expecting any songs covering those themes to pop up (although I do have a good Billy Idol/White Wedding anecdote).
Until next time….
Born Free Lyrics
(Song by Don Black/John Barry)
Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart
Live free and beauty surrounds you
The world still astounds you
Each time you look at a star
Stay free where no walls divide you
You’re free as the roaring tide
So there’s no need to hide
Born free and life is worth living
But only worth living
‘Cause you’re born free
Stay free where no walls divide you
You’re free as the roaring tide
So there’s no need to hide
The chap who played George was excellent, and dare I say it, as good a singer as George himself. We sometimes forget that for every excellent singer out there, only a tiny proportion ever make it big and become recording stars. Here was someone who was a gifted singer but had gone down a different path. Also it is easy to look like solo artist George, as post-Faith (the album), his uniform was usually black trousers, black T-shirt and a smart jacket. Add to that a pair of dark glasses, the distinctive haircut, a neatly trimmed beard and you’re pretty much there.
So, what should the featured song for this post be? Since many mentioned above have appeared in previous posts, and are already listed on my 
I mentioned earlier this week that I’d not written a single tribute this year for anyone from the world of music. I usually rely on Mark over at 
What's It All About? 