Shortly after our Granddaughter, Chloe Nelson, asked for a link to a song about her, I recognized there are 5 of the 17 Grandkids I have not written a song specifically for yet. This is the third of those new songs. This one is about our Salt Lake Grandaughters, Gwendolyn Ivy Olson.
On August 9th, 2020, while Gwen was visiting us, she went to help me water and weed the garden. In those days, Edwin and Beverly Gurr, who own and live in Grandma’s house, had two goats: Bonnie & Clyde. Gwen was captivated by the goats. She made horns, like she was a goat, and she fed them greens from the garden and a branch I pulled of one of the trees for her. It was really fun to watch her interact with the goats, and so it only made sense to have this be the theme for her song.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Our Granddaughter, Chloe Nelson, asked for a link to a song about her. I recognized there are 5 of the 17 Grandkids I have not written a song specifically for yet. This is the second of those new songs. It is about one of our Texas Grandaughters, Halle Nalise Wright.
The words came from looking at photos of Halle (see https://www.walden3d.com/photos/Family/05_JaredMelanie/03_Halle_Nalise). Note, there is an extended image behind each of the images on this site. So if you click on Halle in the leaves, you will see where the name of this song came from. Also, you may wonder about the word veil. It rhymed better than “Endowment,” “Marriage,” or “Death.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Our Granddaughter, Chloe Nelson, asked for a link to a song about her. I had not written a song specifically about her, yet, and so I did over the last 2 days. It is based on recent memories from our 15th Annual Nelson Grandkids Summer Science Camp at Teasdale Jewel, Utah. My cousin, Eric Krueger and his wife Annette, have a lovely vacation home they rent out next to Capitol Reef. The theme this year was Math. And one of the things the kids liked the most was the trampoline. Especially Chloe and Karson. Karson Nelson lives across the street, and is the grandson of my first cousin Paul Nelson. My cousin’s son Kendall reported for his mission the same day Chloe’s Dad, my son Paul Nelson, did. Since the Kendall and Wendy live across the street from the Teasdale Jewell, they clean it, and their 3 kids, Karson, Ashlyn, and Madison, joined several of our Science Camp activities. It was a fun summer get together.
As a side note, two of the things we teach the kids is to always drink a lot of water, and never go off on your own. A couple of weeks after Science Camp, Doug Grimshaw, Kevin Kilcoyne, Andrea, and myself went to Peter’s Leap South to replace a monument which had rotted and fallen down. After most of the work was done, I took off, without water and alone, to cross the ravine and get coordinates for the Peter’s Leap North Monument, for SUP’s ongoing documentation. It was hot, I had a long-sleeve SUP levi shirt on and was wearing levi’s. I got dizzy on the way down, fell and got a coupe of nice bruises. On the way back I could not climb up part of the steep hill. Doug found me disoriented and with heat exhaustion. Andrea called 911. Doug and Kevin moved me to a little more shade, and took off my levis and SUP shirt. Doug took my hat to the creek, filled it with water, and poured it on me, several times. Three groups of fire fighters and others came, and put an IV in, and monitors on. They said it would take 2-hours to carry me out. So they called in a helicopter and moved me about a quarter of a mile. I’m fine, and my thanks go to Doug, Kevin, and Andrea, who saved my life so I could write Chloe’s song.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
096: water water water, wax whacks wax, way way weigh whey weigh, ways weighs, we wee whee, weather whether:
097: weave weave, we’d weed weed, week weak, well well well well, we’ll wheel wheel, were were whirr wear wear ware:
098: wet whet whet, which witch, Whig whig wig, while wile, whorl whirl, wine whine:
099: whirled world, wit whit, who’s who’s whose, woood would, why Y, son sun Xun Son:
100: right Wright right right write, yoke yolk, you U, you’ll yule, you’re your yore, Zion Zion Sion:
I have long had a fascination with homophones, not even knowing they were called homophones. Maybe it is because so many homophones are used as Dad Jokes, and the groans after a Dad Joke are often better than the joke.
“Homophones are words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling. These words may be spelled differently from each other (such as to, too, and two), or they may be spelled the same way (as in quail meaning ‘to cower’ and quail meaning a type of bird.” (Google search which used https://www.merrian-webster.com).
This effort was started in 2020, and I completed a first pass document by 26 November 2022 during a visit to Melanie’s family in Bulverde, Texas. There was a second pass document by 09 April 2023, and then I started adding definitions for the project to be more “whole.” The document was “completed” 26 June 2024. And, of course, it is not complete. For instance, in coming up with 100 six-line verses, where each line is a set of homophones, I forgot to add “pi” and “pie,” even though I had made the image of “pies” and “pi” for this song back before the 2nd pass document in 2023. Also, I do not have the homophones “quail” and “quail,” which came up in the definition used when “Homophones and Quilts” was posted as Grandkidlet #24.27. There are at least 2 lines where homophones were repeated on other lines, starting with another spelling. I discovered this when recording the verses. And there are at least 2 sets of homophones, which I entered at the end, and which are not alphabetical, and thus do not have definitions. Too much work to add them, and then move each line to keep all of the homophones alphabetical.
Do, there are 100 verses, or 600 sets of homophones in this work. A lot of Dad Jokes. There are 1,577 definitions, which should mean there are at least 1,588 words which are homophones. This means there is an average of 2.628 homophones per line in the song. It was hard to sing some of the verses, because the sentences are often so random. So, some verses were recorded a dozen times to get the version used. The merged version of 100 verses is 38.8 MB in size and lasts over an hour. I recognize I am probably the only one in the world willing to listen to this whole thing. Oh well! This is not unusual for some of my more off the wall projects, like filling our yard with rocks from Southern Utah or turning each chapter of The Book of Mormon into a 4 line stanza, and then putting all of the stanzas to “music” (see https://www.psalmscountdown.net/?p=5611).
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Our son Robert Llewellyn Nelson submitted key words to an AI song writing company, Suno, and generated this Song on 01 April 2024. The words, music, and recording came from AI (Artificial Intelligence). The image comes from the AI post. The chords for the pdf file are my attempt to reverse engineer the AI. Isn’t exactly right, and it works for me. With this new AI music generation technology, it only seems logical to add an AI generated song to this site.
The lyrics:
[Verse 1]
H. Roice Nelson, a man with a plan
Hidden deep in his heart, like a flickering flame
He wandered the valleys, scaled the highest peak
With fingers on his guitar, secrets, he would speak
[Verse 2]
Cedar Point Mountain, a place unknown
Whispered tales of magic, in winds that blow
With each fingerpicking note, a story would unfold
The secret of the mountain, H. Roice Nelson holds
[Verse 3]
In the still of the night, under a moonlit sky
H. Roice Nelson strums, his melody to comply
The cedar trees sway, as ancient secrets awaken
They dance to the rhythm, their silence, he’s taken
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
The words for this Song came froma FaceBook Post by Larry Hatch on 19 January 2024. Larry reposted it from LDS Scriptural Insights, Jeff Shoell. The words are basically the same as the post. The image comes from the post. The music for the chorus is my version of “Amazing Grace.” The Hard parts of church are chords with a 7th. The Benefit parts of church are chords without a 7th.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
I spent about 406 days working on the text for this Song. The words come from hours of meditation about assignments as aTemple Woker in the Cedar City Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
390 Nelson Cabin “Taylor, Colby, Grant, and Ethan here once again”
The morning after we got to Texas for Taylor’s Farewell, 17 September 2023, I did my normal exercise routine and then singing 2 songs or psalms. One was these was Psalm 141 – Incense, which is Song 236. It was a unique song not tied to one of my Songs. So I reversed the process, and used the tune from this Psalm as the music for Taylor’s Farewell. I also used verse 2 of Psalm 141 as the Chorus for Taylor’s Farewell. I like it, and when I sang it for the family in Texas, Taylor seemed to really like it.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
The Science Camp theme for 2023 was water. However, the big surprise was Christmas in July. The kids cut down an Aspin twig and decorated it with Christmas Tree Lights. We had a puzzle we had put together for each family. Each puzzle was wrapped as a Christmas present. Each family picked a puzzle, and then they had opportunities to trade what they selected by taking away someone else’s puzzle. This was repeated with some white elephant gifts. Then the last 9-years of Andrea’s work putting together photo albums were made available. The idea was to look through the books and use Post-It notes to note things that were wrong or needed to be changed. Andrea will make the changes, and then we will get each of the books scanned. It is a really big project, and Andrea has been very diligent working on it. We hope all of this effort is appreciated. This song’s chorus is about Christmas in July, and the verses discuss things that happened at Science Camp in 2023. This is also described in Grandkidlet 23.29
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Isabella is Audrey’s second daughter. When we went to Virginia Beach once, Grandma taught her to do crocheting. She became extrordinaire. The pictures show a few of her creations, including minions and octopi. She also sells these on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/Izzymays.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Sage Maura Beckmann is currently (and likely forever) our youngest grandaughter. Her Mom and Dad came early to Science Camp in 2022 and stayed at a place near the east entrance to Zion. We babysat. I wrote this song. When everyone came back from hiking in Zion, I sang what I wrote for them. Ryan Beckmann was the videographer. The place they were staying was wonderful. There was a deer that sat down just outside a large picture window, and it looked like a wall sized painting.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
During Preparation Meeting for our shift at the Cedar City Temple on Thursday 1 Morning, President Brough said, “There Art Thou, …, wouldn’t that be a good title for a song.” So I wrote the title down on my swallow sheet, and later that morning I told him I would send him the results. Andrea was babysitting in Salt Lake Saturday morning. One of my two morning song to sing was Psalm 113. I liked the tune, and used it with the title President Brough gave in Preparation Meeting and the first line he gave in the Marriage Waiting Room. I sent the results to him Saturday morning, 17 September 2022 at 10:53, and he responded at 2:11 PM with “Absolutely love it. Thank you for sharing.”
Like many of my “songs,” this “song” chords with the Travis Picking that Quentin Reed taught me so long ago in Denver, Colorado. I shared this song with Steve Engst and Andrea on our way home from church on Sunday the 18th of September when we stopped to catch up after our three-week cross-country trip. Steve said, “This should definitely be one of Roice’s Top Ten Songs.” Nice compliments.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
During the COVID-19 Lockdown, Andrea suggeted I might enjoy reading Ralph Moody’s book “Little Britches – Father and I were Ranchers.” I loved it. It reminded me of the happy times of working with my Dad in Nelson Meat Packing Plant and on the farm. it also reminded me of the words to , “If Kids Grew Up On Farms.”
Like many of my “songs,” this “song” is someone else’s words, put to a tune and supported by chords with the Travis Picking that Quentin Reed taught me so long ago in Denver, Colorado. I do think this message is especially relevant today, with all of the people who have grown up knowing nothing more than public welfare and not having Dad’s to teach them how to work. The good news is each of my kids, and each of my step-kids, know how to work, and are contributing to society. We always need to count our blessings.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
When sorting all of the 115 boxes that ended up at SUU’s Special Collections, I found a song I had written in about 1984. It consisted of words about Landmark Graphics put to the music of “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy.”
This song is included in an effort to be complete. It is interesting in an historical context. I like some of the words: “Let our story now be told, To the four corners of the earth” in the chorus; “seismic interpreters, LImited to colored pencils” in verse 2; and “Demos show our present status, which improves from day to day”. I have no idea where this was sung. Expect it was at our office on Highway 6 in West Houston, before we moved to Cypress Run.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
On 17 September 2020 I wrote I had a vivid dream. I do not remember the dream. I do know that on that day I wrote a 4-line stanza summarizing I Nephi Chapter 1, and gave a name to the stanza. The next day, the 18th of September 2020, I wrote 4-line stanzas summarizing I Nephi Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4. The date of each stanza is noted in the footnotes. The last entry was on 10 November 2021 summarizing Moroni Chapter 10 as a 4-line stanza.
Below are merged recordings for the Preface, then each chapter in each Book in The Book of Mormon, and The Way:
It has been fun to watch the project evolve over about 14 months. The idea of having a 1-word summary of each chapter was part of the project from the beginning. The first time chords were put to the stanzas was when the Purpose was summarized as a 4-line stanza on the 6th of January 2021 from the Title Page. This is my 2021 Christmas Present to our kids and grandkids and friends who are interested.
I’m sure the recordings will be redone, and the project will evolve a lot more over coming years. In an effort to make each chapter available to those interested, the song for individual chapters are linked in the directories below:
Now the individual chapters are assigned a NAME and had a 4-LINE STANZA, they can be reorganized into any order desired. If you look at The Book of Mormon as teaching the Plan of Happiness, the order can be reorganized as Creation, Prophets, Christ, Churches, Genealogy, Temple, and Nations (see 1.0_Creation – 7.0_Nations). Sup-topics describing each of these categories can be selected, and a process model (Knowledge Backbone sm) generated for the entire Book of Mormon. Here is a first cut Plan-of-Happiness Process Model:
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Purpose1 Nephi 1:1-222 Nephi 1:1-33Jacob 1-7, Enos 1, Jarom 1, Omni 1, Words of Mormon 1Mosiah 1-29Alma 1-63Helaman 1-163 Nephi 1-30, 4 Nephi 1Mormon 1-9Ether 1-15Moroni 1-10The Way 1
Recorded on i-Phone with Voice_Memos and merged on PC with https://audio-joiner.com
Science Camp 2021 was at the Warner Cabin. Aunt Luana had offered their cabin to us before it was burned down in the Brian Head Fire, and then once they had it rebuilt. Andrea and I went to the cabin to check it out when Claude, Ivan, and Eric were there. What a beautiful place. The original cabin was very rustic, and some of the wives did not enjoy going there. Now it has washers and driers, showers, beautiful beds, and the cabin is a world class destination.
Some of what we did is captured in this song. We used the cabin as our home base for visits to Big Rock Candy Mountain for zip line and river rafting, Bryce Canyon for hiking and a nice meal, and Panguitch Lake, for fishing and paddle boarding. Our theme this year was gravity. We did water rocket launches, had a hydrostatic water pressure tube test, and used clear tubing to show how to map out a constant elevation contour. Paul brought a projector and large screen and we showed “Home Alone” one night. Every time the grandkids saw the effect of gravity, they yelled “GRAVITY” and there were candy prizes for first and most original. There was sill time to play games, hike, sing songs, cook and eat good meals, and to write this song.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Glen Reed Longhurst and his wife were in charge of the Cedar City, Utah Family History Center for several months before the pandemic. As Hillcrest Ward Family History Leader, I interacted with Brother Longhurst regularly. He arranged for us to have several monthly Family History Consultant meetings at the Family History Center. The words for this song were on the program for Brother Longhurst’s funeral.
Brother Longhurst was very tall, probably 6 feet 5 inches. At his funeral I met several members of his family, all over 6 foot 5 inches in height. His Bishop summarized the size of the Longhurst Family by saying he feels really small around them. Based on the comments at the funeral, he was a big man spiritually and intellectually as well as physically. Brother Longhurst died from pneumonia issues after contracting COVID-19. Sister Longhurst was so calm and peaceful at the viewing. Yes, he left early. However, he will prepare a place for her and for their family. Death is a natural part of life. Choice, which is what Brother Longhurst’s poem is about, is all about how we choose to respond to the issues and challenges we face. His family definitely handeled his unexpted early passing with grace and with love. Oh that all would choose to do so well.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Roice has spent several months working at SUU Special Collections on Wednesdays to sort through the 114 boxes of materal donated. Lots of interesting things found. Some fulfilling. Some very sad. There were:
44 boxes of Landmark Geotech material, white numbered tags, west stationary shelves
7 boxes of Landmark Business material, green numbered tags, west wall shelves
14 boxes of Walden 3D/Walden Visualization/Advanced Structures/entrepreneurial material, green numbered tags, east moving shelves
28 boxes of Hypermedia Corporation material, yellow numbered tags, west wall shelves
2 boxes of Dynamic Oil & Gas and Dynamic Resources Corporation, pink? numbered tags, west wall shelves
16 boxes of family and personal material, blue numbered tags, east moving shelves
2 boxes of church material, pink numbered tags, east moving shelves
1 box of school material, yellow numbered tags, east moving shelves
Plus some 90 maps and Posters
Somewhere in all of this was a single sheet of paper with some writing Marti did about Farm Kids. As I was just about ready to catch up posting new songs, it seemed like this would be a good last post for a while. Do not remember seeing this before. It shows there was more going on behind the desire for divorce, than I realized. Sort of even helps me reconcile and put aside feelings of failure. Oh well!
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Grandpa and Grandma drove from Bulverde, Texas to Austin see Sage Beckman, our new granddaughter, and Sara and Bobby’s daughter. Then we drove to Houston and had dinner with Matt’s fiancee Tess’ father and family. Then we drove to Vidor and stopped to see Jared’s family. Then, after a couple of family history stops we were in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Roice was privledged to baptize Lauren Rachel Waldron. Good spirit. Special experience. Made the 6,901 mile drive worthwhile. It is so rewarding to see another descendant follow the path we have attempted to blaze through this modern world.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Grandpa and Grandma drove to Bulverde, Texas for Colby Wright’s missionary farewell talk before leaving for Chile. What a wonderful job he did. What a fine young man he has turned out to be. It is so rewarding to see a descendant follow the path I have attempted to blaze through this modern world.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
“Troubling Times” words are thoughts tied to the political issues surrounding the 2020 Presidential Election and follow-up events. It is amazing how much change there has been in such a short time. Is the welcoming of immigrants the way the Lamanite descidents will be positioned to build the New Jerusalem in Jackson County, Missouri? Is it simply a political power grab, like the plan to pack the Supreme Court? Certainly evil is being called good and good is being called evil, just as the scriptures prophesied would happen. It is so surprising how fast these changes are coming. Troubling Times.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
On the 20th of November 2020 President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gave a talk on the healing power of Gratitude. The 23rd and 24th of November, Roice Nelson took the words of this talk and put them to music to create this song called Gratitude. What a wonderful message from a living prophet, who is both a man of science, and a man of faith.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
What is truth? Pilate asked Christ this question. Steve Engst, who moved to Cedar City from New Jersey with his family asked Andrea the same question. This song is 27 verses quoting scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, answering this question. The expanded photo shows Professor Engst with 8 students he took to a national business competition, and won. The search for truth is a universal quest.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Two Types is an attempt to capture the binary nature of life. Geophysicists classify everything. For example, Type 1 or Type 2 AVO (Amplitude vs. Offset). So the thought was how about all of the parts of our life. What is the binary choice behind most things in our life? How does this relate to a stereoscope? How does it relate to 2 views necessary for binary vision? So the photo is of a stereoscope purchased on Portobello Road in London when I was on my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which I have donated to SUU (Southern Utah University) Special Collections. The result of this thinking are 41 verses, describing about 80 binary choices, each exploring this idea of a binary universe.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
The wind blows in Cedar City. This is a fun song written to capture this fact and to share examples of when the wind has blow in Cedar City, at our condo across from the lake, on the farm, at Ray Gardner’s house, at SUU, and back out of the farm next to Gateway Acadamy.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and studying the Pioneer magazine from The Sons of The Utah Pioneers (SUP). 2019 Volume 66 Number 4 provides The History of Pioneer Magazine. On page 4, is a replication of the first page of Volume 1, Number 1, and it is the poem shown in the image and the expanded image: Sons of The Pioneers. As I have done with other poems, I put this poem to music. I like how it turned out. Enough that I shared the music with the National President of SUP, Wayne Hinton. Wayne is in the Cedar City Chapter of SUP, which I am president of this year. He was also my history teacher at Cedar High.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Financially, the last few years have been hard. Lightning technologies have developed nicely technically. However, there have not been very many sales, and finances have been very tight. This song was my Christmas present for Andrea last year. Not much, and hopefully it shows I love her.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song, like my life, is not finished. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has encouraged us, as members, to study the gospel together daily as families. Andrea and I are each quite independent. We do study the gospel individually. It has been harder to study the gospel together. This song is about that journey. We are doing pretty good at reading The Book of Mormon together each day. We still do not do a very good job of studying “Come Follow Me” together. Like life, it is a process, and I expect we will get better with time. The photo is of us at “The Nautalus” and “The Wave,” sandstone structures west of Kanab, which were shown to us by Brother and Sister Kowallis on a Saturday escape from the quarantine and social distancing requirements tied to staying home because of COVID-19.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This is another song about Nephi, in The Book of Mormon. In thinking about “The Tree of Life,” my mind went to my Great-Great Grandmother, and the statue Frank Nichols made commerating her first winter at Iron Springs. The picture is of a float we made for the 2019 24th of July Parade showing an image of this statue. Frank is in the background. It reminds me of other songs I have written, and of therelationship of these other songs to my long-time friend Randy Shirts. Randy is Andrea’s brother, who is my age. We have been friends since his family moved to Cedar City from Iran when we were in 4th grade. When Randy visited me at the University of Utah, I wrote a song I called “Randy’s Song.” After our 30th High School Class Reunion, he had me come down to his Mom’s house to say hello to my “‘nother mother” (see Maxine Memories). His wife Katheryn went across the street and brought Andrea over, and that is when we remet. When Andrea and I visited Randy and Kathryn at their place in Provo in 2003 I wrote Nephi’s Vision, a song about part of The Book of Mormon I was reading at the time. In the subtitle, I refer to this song as Randy’s birthday song. There is a lot of history under this bridge.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is the last of the songs defining geologic processes I originally defined after watching the honeybee dance. In this case, it is describing intrusions. There are a lot of intrusions in Iron County. The largest iron deposit in the United States is an intrusion. The photo shows an iron fin, which was iron ore that intruded up an ancient fault. This intrusion is on Frank Nichol’s property out by Iron Springs west of Cedar City.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is another one of the songs defining geologic processes. In this case, it is describing what are typically carbonate reefs. The term reef also refers to a lateral change in geology, which is why Silver Reef, which is a sandstone change, is called a reef. The image shows clam shell deposits in Fiddler’s Canyon north east of Cedar City. It is often hard for people to accept there were shallow seas in ancient Southern Utah. There were. These clam shells are Cretaceous Age, from about 150 million years ago.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
As mentioned in the previous song introduction, Andrea and I went to Bulverde, Texas (just north of San Antonio) for the Tenth Annual Nelson Grandkid’s Summer Science Camp the summer of 2019. While there I wrote songs for Kendall and her sister Avalyn. This is Kendall”s song. It describes how she painted the tips of her hair purple. It can not describe her deep voice parady. It can not describe how she can put her feet around her head while on her tummy. It can not describe her smile and her enthusiasm and interest in Science Camp. It can not describe how much I love her and her brother and sisters.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
We went to Bulverde, Texas (just north of San Antonio) for the Tenth Annual Nelson Grandkid’s Summer Science Camp. While there I wrote songs for Kendall and her sister Avalyn. This is Avalyn’s song based around how she painted the tips of her hair red, and describing Science Camp, our experience at i-Fly, going to “The Cave Without a Name,” swimming in The Guadalupe River, and going to San Antonio, where I wrote “Jets overhead remid us we are not part of Mexico, Thanks tho those who died at The Alamo.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is another in the list of songs about geology I came up with when we went to Patti Merideth’s SUU Dance Concert about honey bees. I think they make a pretty intereting set of songs. However, I recognize I am a geologist. It will be interesting to see if they are ever picked up on, and if there are dances done to demonstrate geologic processes.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was written in March 2019. I’m not sure what was going on to lead to the words. Whatever was happening is documented on my swallow sheets. Maybe someday everything will be indexed and it will be easier to answer the question: “What was going on in my life at this time?”
The questions are very personal:
Maybe I’ll learn to follow Jesus And be satisfied being loved Maybe I’ll learn to follow Jesus And be satisfied with gospel truths Maybe I’ll learn to follow Jesus And find love by loving Maybe I’ll learn to follow Jesus And find joy, happiness, and rest.
Maybe these are just questions we each need to ask ourselves.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was written after a verbal commitment from a potential investor in Las Vegas to fund the Humoldt County, Nevada gold exploration project I have been working on for several years. He not only committed to fund this project, he committed to get off of the Board of 3 other companies and to focus on working with me on this gold exploration project as well as other ideas I have. This was just before Valentine’s Day in 2019, over a year ago. Has not happened yet. No wonder Andrea gets frustrated with my handling of finances. Oh well!
About the same time, the Southern Utah Rock Club went on a rock hounding trip to Babylon, across the I-15 Freeway from Silver Reef. It was a neat trip, and Andrea found some full sized petrified trees in the Chinlee Formation. The photo shows us sitting in front of 2 logs, and the extended photo shows a full tree she found. It was a fun rock hounding trip.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
It is Memorial Day, 25 May 2020, and I have not posted a song since 01 January 2019. This song, written by Chris Rice, was used as the music for Psalm 149. When we lived in Houston one of my friends lost weight by walking 10 miles a day. So I started walking through George Bush Park. This was when I first heard this song. I loved it. And would sing it as I walked through the park. I was struggling with work and not making enough money, and this song provided a lot of comfort.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
It seems logical to start of 2019 posting a new song, as there might not be another song posted until January 1st 2020. The creative process is hard to predict. I have been so busy the last few years getting all of the past songs documented, that the creative process seemed to always be in front of me. There are many of the recorded Songs and psalms which need to be re-recorded including Psalms 21, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 47, 50, and Songs 361, 362, 373, and 385. There are probably others, and as I strive to review one post each day for the next 411 plus days (I can not review the 43 chapters of Job, recorded twice, in a day) I expect to find many errors to correct. So maybe it is just fantasy to talk about completeness. We will see when I complete re-recording these 12 Psalms and Songs. On the 16th of December I wrote in Grandkidlet 2016.50: “Yesterday I ‘completed’ a Christmas present for you and for your parents I have worked on at least 6 days a week for almost 3 years, and, if you go back to the origins of the first song recorded, back 51 years ago to June 1st, 1967, when The Beetles recorded “When I’m 64,” which I called “When I’m 68” in my posting at https://www.psalmscountdown.net/?p=5090. Thank you in advance for pointing out errors you see, which I will fix, while I am still alive. I hope, within the next 51 years, you will find hope, faith, love, and forgiveness (if not a form of completeness) in this effort.” I sat down and wrote the song because Audrey “liked” Grandkidlet #50, and because Andrea was at Relief Society President meetings at the church. Again the creative process is hard to predict, and it will be interesting to see how many more Songs and Psalms will be documented here before and/or after I stop paying for the website address or I die, whichever happens first.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
I slowly worked my way through St. Augustine’s “The City of God” this last year. On page 220, the translators wrote: “No matter how short a life may last, we cannot in truth call it eternal, if at length it must have an end. Since life merely implies living, whereas eternal means having no end.” The words caught my imagination, especially since they were written only a few hundred years after Christ died, and before the Koran was written. So I searched the scriptures and captured 68 references to eternal life. These references provide the words of the song. Finally, note this eternal song is 19:36 minutes long, I close with a quote on page 437 of “The City of God” where it says: “The City of God holds that eternal life is the supreme good, and eternal death is the supreme evil, and that we should live rightly, in order to obtain the one, and avoid the other.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
When you get as old as me, you will probably lose your parts of your memory and have kidney stones too. I remember my Grandma Nelson had kidney and gall bladder stones. It is not fun! She was 76 when she died. Grandpa Nelson was only 56 when he died in a farm accident. Grandpa Hafen was 61 when he died from being a downwinders to the nuclear tests. Grandma Hafen was 94. Mom was 74 when she died, and Dad was 80. I thought The Beatles song was ”When I’m Sixty-Eight”, and since as a member of the Cedar High School Class of ‘68 I will no longer be 68 next time I write a Grandkidlet, it seemed logical to let you read and listen to these words I listened to as a youth, even if I didn’t remember it was 64 and not 68.
Love,
Grandpa Nelson
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is based on the Ballad of Jed Clampett (The Ballad Of Jed Clampett – Lester Flatt ,Earl Scruggs (1962) – YouTube). Shortly after we started Dynamic Measurement we participated in a Texas A&M University Venture Capital Forum. One of the students we worked with included a version of the Ballad of Jed Clampett in his presentation. Byron Arnason told me about a “Shark Tank” SEG was having at the 2018 Anaheim Annual Convention, I contacted the organizers, and they invited Dynamic Measurement to participate. So I made my own version of the Ballad of Jed Clampett, and called it the Ballad of Dynamic Measurement. This song is a recording of the results. The pre-animated PowerPoint file as presented at JaWS (Juice a Winning Startup) is shown on the video below.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
I remember being fascinated with Voltaire’s Candide when I was talking a philosophy class at the University of Utah. Think about adding the message of Candide to the words I was often told when growing up, “This red dirt gets in your blood, and you have to come back home.” Is there any question why this is Andrea and my third year to have a garden in back of Uncle Willis’ and Aunt Shirley’s (Grandma Nelson’s) house on the farm? The summary on the last page of the book says it all:
“I also know,” said Candide, “that we must cultivate our garden.”
“You’re right,” said Pangloss, “because when man was put in the Garden of Eden, he was put there ‘to dress it and to keep it,’ that is, to work; which proves that man was not born to be idle.”
“Let’s work without theorizing,” said Martin; “it’s the only way to make life bearable.”
The whole group entered into this commendable plan, and each began to exercise his own talents. The little farm yielded abundant crops. Cunegonde was very ugly, it is true, but she soon became an excellent pastry cook. Paquette embroidered, and the old woman took care of the linen. Everyone made himself useful, even Brother Giroflée: he was a good carpenter, and he even became an honest man.
Pangloss sometimes said to Candide, “All events are interconnected in this best of all possible worlds, for if you hadn’t been driven from a beautiful castle with hard kicks in the behind because of your love for Lady Cunegonde, if you hadn’t been seized by the Inquisition, if you hadn’t wandered over America on foot, if you hadn’t thrust your sword through the baron, and if you hadn’t lost all your sheep from the land of Eldorado, you wouldn’t be here eating candied citrons and pistachio nuts.”
“Well said,” replied Candide, “but we must cultivate our garden.”
Candide by Voltaire, Bantam Books, 1988, page 120.
It was very easy to come up with a personalized version of this summary.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 390 – Nelson Cabin and is about our first Science Camp not in Cedar City. It was actually our 10th Science Camp and was held in Buena Vista, Colorado, where my friend Scott Bowman and his wife Maria have a beautiful cabin. This cabin sits on detritus eroded from the mountains to the west (see Song 386 – Erosion). Scott thinks a lot of the detrital material came from glaciation. There are obviously large faults (see Song 397 – Faults) between the large 14,000+ foot mountains to the west of Scott and Maria’s cabin. Chorus 1 refers to these mountains: “Antero, Princeton, Yale, and Harvard, Looking down on me, As I do my morning Tai Chi, Looking across the beautiful valley.” Verse 1 states “Scott and Maria Bowman, Are living the dream, A medieval Mansion, On 40 acres to be seen.” Chorus 2 repeats the first 2 lines of Chorus 1, and adds “As we cook pancakes, Which strong bodies make.” Verse 2 states “Eighteen came to Science Camp, The first four days of July 2018, An annual family togetherness lamp, It’s wonderful Grandkids still are keen.” The last 2 lines of Chorus 3 are “As we pack our garbage in the car, Because we don’t want to carry it that far.” Verse 3 sates “The Fourth of July Parade, In Buena Vista, Colorado, Then Dallin did more than wade, In the dunking pond-o.” Then the last 2 lines of Chorus 4 are “As I watch last year’s youngest, Avalyn, bond with a new friend.” Verse 4 states “Izzy and Avalyn could not be separated, As they wanted to be in the same car, While everyone also waited, To go to the continental divide far.” The last 2 lines of Chorus 5 are “The oldest three slept in the tree house, While everyone else was in tents.” Verse 5 states “Quinton rolled all over his space, He was even sitting up asleep, Looking at each bug, it was not a race, Eating 3 pancakes was a big leap.” The last 2 lines of Chorus 6 are “Melanie wanted to be with the crew, Watching how all the kids grew.” Verse 6 states “Kendall was a trooper, Acting older than her age, There was not a blooper, Pulling her own tooth out of its cage.” And Chorus 7 says “Antero, Princeton, Yale, and Harvard, Looking down on me, As I watch my Grandkids grow, In the beautiful valley.” The image to the left shows all of us in front of the teepee we put up the second time around, with Mount Antero in the background. The extended image is a panorama view showing a couple of the mountains.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by and is based on the music of Song 124 – Oh Well! and is referenced by Song 021 – Dunes. I had a duplicate file referencing Numbers 21:17, and did not realize Song 124 had already been written. So, on the 13th of April of 2018 I pulled out the Glossary of Geology by Bates and Jackson and looked up the definition of a thrust fault. I then used the tune which was written back in November of 2006, added a third line to the chorus: “As cuttings repeat when pulled from the well.” With overthrust faults, the same layers can be repeated several times. This line is intended to catch the fact the layer broke and was pushed on top of itself at least 1 time, to create an overthrust or a repeating layer in the subsurface. In order for this to be recognized, Verse 1 points out “the well bore must have passed through an unexpected fault with a dip less than forty-five degrees, where the hanging wall moved upward relative to the footwall.” Verse 2 teaches “This means there has been horizontal compression, Where we expected simple vertical displacement, Making this prospect much more complicated, Than we thought when we made the initial maps.” From a regional perspective, Verse 3 teaches “During the formation of the mountains, The faults are somewhat arcuate, Generally linear and orthogonal to, The direction of plat tectonic compression.” These over-thrusted layers only occur within what Verse 4 defines as an orogenic (mountain building) belt, “With displacement towards the interior, Contrary to the general direction Of tectonic transport.” I realize this is a funny thing to write a “song” about. Going back to the origin of these thoughts, I can still see in my mind dancers with different colored outfits, where each color represents a layer of earth. One layer, say the blue outfits, can be shown by dancers lying next to each other on the stage. The next layer, say the red outfits, can be shown by dancers standing in back of the blue dancers. Then as there is compression from the edges of the stage, there is a buildup in the center of the stage, until it breaks, and the blue and the red are made to look like they are moving across and on top of the blue and the red that is being overthrust. The original idea was to use dance to teach basic geological principles, just as dance was used to describe the activity in a honey bee nest when I got the idea. Following the dance, the audience could be taken up Cedar Canyon, to see the layers right under the Red Hill Navajo Formation so see a beautiful and world class example of a back thrust, which is a variation of a thrust.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referred to by Song 400 – Good and Bad Teachers. Today we daily see the “fake news” rewriting history. Why? To pursue an agenda and to get more power for the spokesperson’s agenda. The sad fact is the “fake news” is not just liberal. “History is often rewritten, Welcome to yesterday.” There is no question that “Life is full of surprises, Welcome to today.” Sometimes we forget, “We can create our future, Welcome to tomorrow.” This song is typical of my attempts at rhyming: Roice and choice, believe and weave, challenges and hinges, up and sup; history and story, instance and enhance, fruits and boots, killed and Cambodia; unhinged and singed, had and bad, roots and fruits, courts and forts; test and best, know and grow, sow and go, and lastly garden and pardon. These words were selected to share a message. We do have a choice. I choose to believe. I choose to weave my life’s fabric. I like history. History teaches us the fruits of communism: dictator’s boots, and millions killed in Russia, China, and Cambodia. I made several trips to, and spent time with Muslim’s in Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Today, there are millions of those people who are being re-educated. Scary tactics. I’m glad we did not find out the tactics Hillary Clinton would have used in The White House. I do not write these words as justification for Donald Trumps’ tactics. However, in my mind economic fruits and the Supreme Court Justice confirmed and the Supreme Court Justice nominated justify my vote, even in spite of Trump’s failings, and the disruptions from liberal and the media agendas. I selected a scan of the “Iron County Today” magazine for the image, because it has an article on the impact of The Boy Scout’s choosing to leave the principals behind why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the first and eventually the religious organization with the largest implementation of the Boy Scout program. Taken in total, these songs are basically an expansion on songs I wrote about Boy Scout Camps. Now, there will be a new worldwide youth program in the church, one which honor’s gender and the ten commandments. It is sad to see changes, and yet the new programs will be better. I recognize I did not spend enough time with my girls, doing thing like Philmont, which I did three times with my sons, and the many other Scout High Adventures I went on. Hopefully the new program will help eliminate this type of disparity. The expanded image is a scan a few pages further on in the Today magazine, describing my support of my Sister, as Sara attempts to bring joy to people with her Last Friday musician presentations. “Life is a test, it brings out our best, We can not know, everything to grow, From the seeds we sow, where time’s arrow will go, So, we tend our garden, believing the Lord will pardon” our mistakes of yesteryear. And we do our best to welcome today.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Mark Vincent is a quiet member of our ward. He is the CFO for a GAF, a company in town that manufactures a plastic sheeting which goes underneath shingles on roofs to waterproof roofs. His wife, Laurie Vincent, was our first Ward Choir Director, a previous Hillcrest Ward Relief Society President, and a very proud descendent of my Mom’s Great Grandfather, John George Hafen. I do not remember how it came up, possibly at a Ward Dinner Group, but I found out Mark likes to write poetry. Andrea told him I like to put poetry to music. He provided me copies of several of his favorite poems. I selected one about the Pioneer Cemetery where John George Hafen and many of his descendants are buried. It has been less than a year ago when I put this song to music. I have sung the song to myself several times since then, and I made a recording of it and sent it to Mark. My reaction to the words and the music has been the same as Mark’s: “I cried when I listened to it.” It is special to reflect: “To walk among these windswept stones;” where “a pioneer, interred beside his bride;” and “a woman works with tender, loving care;” at “this hallowed knoll out on the edge of town;” were “here, row by row, ancestors rest in peace;” in this pioneer cemetery. The image to the left shows me playing my guitar, reading the music which was taped to a monument, and singing the song while Andrea recorded it (the video), shortly after I wrote the song. This was on our way home from a Southern Utah Rock Club rock hounding trip to the Hurricane Mesa where we collected a lot of petrified wood, which is now outside my office window. The photo, the movie, and the extended image of the entrance to the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery were taken at Virgin, where one of Andrea’s ancestors is buried. Like the cemetery in Santa Clara, it is a Pioneer Cemetery.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
At one of our lunches, over a year before the eclipse, Ray Gardner asked me if I was going to go north to see the full eclipse. It was in July 1991 when Ray, Susie, Bill Bavinger, Roice, and myself went to Oaxaca in southern Mexico with Carolyn and Gary Sumners of the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see an eclipse at Monte Alban. It was a really neat experience, even though Roice got Montezuma’s revenge and spent a lot of time in the motel. I took an electronic surveying system with me. We surveyed the key corners of the ruins. Bill Bavinger had one of his students build a CAD model of the ruins at Monte Alban. Monte Alban was the center of the Zapotec culture from the first century B.C. to the 8th Century A.D. This overlaps the Book of Mormon time frames, and fascinated me. These ruins have the oldest Mayan calendar. They have Building J, which is shaped like an arrow, and points to where the monkeys on the calendar come from, which could be “the land of the first inheritance.” Gary took a 360o panorama photo from the center of the ruins. Carolyn and Gary created a show in the Burke Baker Planetarium based around this photo. The photo of the ruins came up all around the base of the planetarium. Then the photo faded into a line drawing of the ruins with all of the stars coming out like you see in a planetarium. Then the earth was taken back in time, and alignments between certain windows and certain viewing positions we identified were shown at the time the ruins were built. It was really fun. Ray and Suzie have gone on many eclipse trips, all over the world, since that trip in 1991. Paul independently asked if we were interested in seeing the eclipse. He has a friend with a cabin at the Palisades Reservoir in Southern Idaho, which was in the main path of the eclipse. Roice and Sarah, Sara and Tim, Rob, and Paul’s family all decided to join us on our eclipse trip. The images of “Tiny World” used for bulbs on the Christmas Tree in Song 008 – The Fallen Angel, were from Roice’s Tiny World movie of this eclipse. This was the first full solar eclipse in North America in 99 years. The regular video is on-line at this link, and the tiny planet video on-line at this link. Even though the song does not mention the eclipse, because I got up early the morning of the eclipse, went outside (locked myself outside, slept in the back of the car for a while, and wrote the song) before anyone else was up, I loved our 2017 eclipse trip.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
In many ways I have become my Dad. He never recovered from the financial disaster associated with the government shutting down Nelson Meat Packing Plant (see Song 360 – A Man with Values, Song 112 – Reckless, Song 078 – Rain, and Song 011 – Howard Nelson). I have yet to recovered from the financial disaster associated with shutting down HyperMedia Corporation (see Song 369 – Live in the Present and Song 076 – Job). Dad was very emotional. I am very emotional. Dad liked to be alone on the farm. I like to be alone, thinking, or taking care of our little garden in back of Grandma Nelson’s house. Dad woke up early. I wake up early. The big difference is I left home in 1969 to go to the University of Utah, and only came back to visit. Dad left home to go to Utah State University, came home, and never left. Maybe, at least in my mind, I never left? After all, I was often told when growing up the red dirt in the irrigation water gets in your blood, and you have to come home to buried in it. This song talks about “Quiet times in the mountains, Reflecting on the things we’ve done.” At Science Camp in 2017 we were at the Nelson Cabin and I woke up a couple of hours earlier than anyone else. “Quiet times in the mountains, Lit by rays from the morning sun.” Verse 1 talks about how “We congregate once a year.” Year rhymes with deer, fear, and mirror. Verse 2 talks about “Muscles aching from a strenuous climb.” Climb rhymes with dime, rhyme, and times. Verse 3 talks about “Sheep baa-a-a-ing in the distances.” Distances rhymes with incense, repentance, and instance. Verse 4 talks about “Kids sleeping in today.” Today rhymes with play, say, and rays. And verse 5 talks about “Rain threatening muddy roads.” Roads rhymes with loads, toads, and abode. One thing I have provided, which Dad did not have the tools to provide, is quiet times in the mountains for my grandkids.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
These Songs often discuss religion. However, there is not much discussion of the other untouchable topic, namely politics. This song, and Song 404 – Welcome to Today, present some of my views on political hot topics. Some might choose to be offended by these words. It is not my intention to be offensive. Remember, it is a choice to be offended. One strategy is to simply skip these songs, especially if you are into agenda driven science, like Al Gore’s climate change theories, or socialism, and especially communism. In Song 404, I wrote “Go back in history, recall each story, Communism, for instance, workers lives would enhance, Look at the fruits, dictator’s boots, Millions killed, in Russia, China, and Cambodia.” To stress my thoughts about teachers, the image is of tree roots in Cambodia. What are the roots your teacher is drawing from? If the roots are a desire for power ad control, there are likely serious issues with the lessons. The expanded image is edited with skulls from the Cambodia killing fields added in the room underneath the roots. The song talks about agenda driven science, and focuses on absurd climate change theories. When Al Gore made his famous movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” in 2007, he said sea levels would rise over 6 meters in 10 years, i.e. by 2017. The inconvenient truth is sea levels have continued to rise about 3 mm per year. At this rate, the 6 meters sea level rise will happen in 200 years. Even the most pessimistic predictions show 2 meters sea level rise by 2100. So I wrote about how the Egyptians created the Sahara Desert and created climate change. Deaths in Cambodia were miniscule compared to deaths of viable human beings through abortion. I am impressed how Hillary Clinton stuck by her husband. I am terrified by the power and control reasons behind her decision to do so. So what is my suggested solution. Comes back to religion: “There is a safe answer, We have known from our youth, Turn to Jesus, for he truly knows, When we’ve been mislead or, Bought into the advisory’s lies. Call on Jesus, and he will forgive us, When we repent and come to him. Trust in Jesus, and find happiness.” Avoid the bad, and seek the good teachers.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 021 – Dunes. In talking about eruptions, it seems appropriate to write about ongoing lava flows from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. The photo to the left and the extended photo come from Business Insider. Even though eruptive activity is “probably” over, this stretch of Hawaiian coastline has been dramatically altered by lava flowing into the ocean after the initial eruption on January 3rd, 1983, and more recently by the eruption between May 17th, 2018 and August of 2018. This area is likely to remain unstable for many months, if not for years. The images of this ongoing eruption help us to understand the tremendous power of a volcanic eruption. Those of us who remember the eruption of Mount Saint Helens on July 22nd, 1980 have a little more feel for the power of a volcanic eruption. The Krakatoya Eruption which occurred on Sunday afternoon on the 26th of August 1883 was one of the largest eruptions in recorded history. By Monday, the 27th of August, 70% of the island and its surrounding archipelago were destroyed, as it collapsed into a caldera. An 1888 lithograph shows a view of the eruption. The year following this eruption Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures fell by as much as 2.2°Farenheit. The Mount Tamora eruption of April 5th, 1815 on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia resulted in an extremely cold summer in 1816 in Vermont. This was when Joseph Smith’s family moved to New York, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was restored. Based on the amount of ejected material from eruptions from the Yellowstone caldera (see description and map in Song 071 – Yellowstone), all of the above eruptions were very small. Then think of the impact of the eruptions and pyroclastic flows from the volcanic activity just before Christ came to ancient America, as recorded in The Book of Mormon (see the description of Song 395 – Sing Together). The song takes this concept of a volcanic eruption, as defined in the Glossary of Geology by Bates and Jackson (pages 222-223), and summarizes what is known about eruptions.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
In one of our phone calls, I was complaining to Rob (see Song 017 – The Tank) about how I can not remember when everyone’s birthday is. He said, “Just write a song with everyone’s birthday in it, and then you will be able to remember. So, this song is the result of Rob’s suggestion. Only problems are, the song does not have a memorable tune, the words are convoluted, there are too many names and too many dates, and so I still can not remember everyone’s birthday. At least there is one place I can go to look them up now. Verse 1 is about Andrea and my parent’s birthdays. Verse 2 is our kid’s parent’s birthdays, including Rick and Marti. Verse 3 is our kids’ and their spouses’ birthdays. Verse 4 is our Grandkid’s birthdays. It only makes sense for the photo to be of the family matriarch blowing out her candles on her 95th birthday. Andrea misses her Dad. I miss my Mom and Dad. Seems like we miss many birthdays. We send cards (usually late) and call (too often late), and we don’t get to attend birthday parties very often. Oh well! Hopefully everyone can put up with our weaknesses, and still know we love them. August 2018 was special because Sara Ellyn called back after I had left a message for her birthday. I have a harp sound on my phone for Sara’s phone number, and when she calls it is always so nice to hear the sound of a harp. Brings back good memories of family birthdays.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 021 – Dunes. This is the most technical of the geology songs I have written so far. The chorus is pretty simple: “A fracture or a zone of fractures, Where there has been displacement, Of layers on either side of the fault.” Verse 1 talks about geometrical classifications, and defines the first of these: “the rake of the net slip.” Verses 2 and 3 defines the second geometrical classification, “the relative attitude of the fault and beds.” Verse 4 defines the third geometrical classification as fault patterns. Verse 5 defines the fourth geometrical classification as being based on the angle of the dip of the fault. Verse 6 defines the fifth geometrical classification as the apparent movement of the beds on either side of the fault. Verse 7 describes an alternative genetic classification, which is based on the nature of the forces involved in faulting, starting with thrust faults. Verse 8 describes strike-slip faults. Verses 9 and 10 describe how faults can be classified based on absolute movement, including five kinds of gravity faults. Verse 11 describes five kinds of thrust faults. You cannot learn all of these classifications listening to this song once. You need to study the concepts and even draw them out, in order to understand all of the different classifications of faults.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Rob (see Song 017 – The Tank) has been faithful in calling, asking about how things are going, recognizing problems I was having with my computer, and getting all of his siblings together to chip in and purchase me a new computer for a Christmas present. He had asked me a series of questions, and I wrote him a long e-mail (sort of like these descriptions of these songs). Then I lost or accidently deleted the e-mail I sent him. I remembered thinking it had a lot of good information in it. So the next time I talked to him I asked him to send it back to me, if he still had a copy. He did have a copy, he did send it back to me, and I took the words and used them for the words of this song the day after my birthday in 2016. I was asking him for feedback on our new website for Dynamic Measurement. “Messages, floating through the air, Reminding me, Life’s not fair, And yet I now know you care.” The Walden website is obsolete. I do add a new box every once in a while, like links to public presentations on lightning, Linked-In Posts, Stand Back Up, these Songs and Psalms, The Book of Mormon Spread-Sheet, and thoughts on the agenda driven science behind climate change arguments. Rob offered his server. I told him I was satisfied with the support I get from InfoWest. I told Rob Dynamic Measurement plans to use more Social Media. The note mentioned two Facebook accounts, and my goal to separate business and personnel. It would be nice to “hire or find someone to monitor, manage and notify me of people to respond to.” I pointed out how “I am still trying to recover from the rejection of divorce, and my feelings of inadequacy as a father.” I pointed out how I liked the move to Utah, except for not seeing the Austin kids as often as I want to. I like The Master’s Singers, The Southern Utah Rock Club, and my weekly lunches with Ray Gardner. I enjoy being a Cedar City Temple Worker, a Temple and Family History Consultant, collecting rocks and replacing rocks around our Townhome, and converting The Book of Mormon to spread-sheets. In August 2018 Andrea posted on Facebook how much she loves our garden. I do enjoy going out to the farm a couple of mornings each week to water, weed, and pick vegetables. This was written before Matt moved back to Utah. Now he is back in Houston. On November 4th, 2016 I wrote “I’m concerned there will be serious problems in Houston in the coming months or years.” This was 9 months before Harvey devastated Houston and the surrounding area. I closed telling Rob Kathy Haggar received the Best Paper Award for the GCAGS (Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies) two years in a row, and how I agreed to talk at The DHI Consortium (Direct Hydrocarbon Indicator Consortium) and hoped to spend a couple of days with him and his siblings. And all of these words were under the guise of “website stuff.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song and Song 399 – Eruption. It was only 10 days after writing a song from III Nephi 4:29-33 I wrote a song from III Nephi 20:34-46. This chapter records when Jesus provided the bread and wine miraculously to the people who were at the temple after the great destruction described in III Nephi 8:5-25 (see the wonderful description of a pyroclastic volcanic flow, as written by BYU Geologist Bart J. Kowallis for FARMS, titled In the Thirty and Fourth Year – A Geologist’s View of the Great Destruction in 3 Nephi). After providing the sacrament, Jesus told them “the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance” (verse 14). The Lord promises the people he will “establish this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which (he) made with (their) father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem” (verse 22). He promises the people “they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land” (verse 28), and “the time cometh, when the fullness of my gospel shall be preached unto them,” (verse 30). “And they shall believe in me, that I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and shall pray unto the Father in my name” (verse 31). Then they sing the words of this song, which I put to music again here, and which is recorded in verses 34-46. The words of this song are wonderful, teaching us to “sing together” (verse 34), “the Lord has comforted his people” (verse 34), “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father” (verse 35), “O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments” (verse 36), “Shake thyself from the dust” (verse 37), “Ye shall be redeemed without money” (verse 38), “My people shall know my name” (verse 39), “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them” (verse 40), “Touch not that which is unclean” (verse 41), “Ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight” (verse 42), and (see Song 362 – The Move) “The Lord will go before you” (verse 42), “my servant shall deal prudently” (verse 43), “His visage was so marred” (verse 44), “The kings shall shut their mouths at him” (verse 45), and “All these things shall surely come” (verse 46). And all these things did come to the Nephites, including a visit of the Savior, and surely the scourges talked about are coming, in our personal lives, and in the lives of our people, and in our nation if we do not repent. Hopefully we learn to sing together.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The words are from III Nephi 4:29-33. This was written on October 21st, 2016 at Paul (see Song 014 – Paul’s Song) and Kate’s house in Providence, Utah. This Chorus is from verse 32: “Hosanna to the Most High God, Blessed be the name, Of the Lord God Almighty, The Most High God.” Then there is a song verse for verse 29, verse 30, verse 31, and verse 33. This song was sung after many thousands did “yield themselves up prisoners unto the Nephites, and the remainder of them were slain. And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice.” And the words they said, are applicable to us today: “May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart.” And “May the God of Abraham, And the God of Isaac, And the God of Jacob, Protect this people in righteousness.” And “They did break forth, All as one, in singing, And praising their God.” And “Their hearts were swollen with joy, Unto the gushing out of many tears, Because of the great goodness of God.” And “They knew it was because, Of their repentance and their humility, They had been delivered, From an everlasting destruction.” Oh that we could learn to cry Hosanna to the Most High God in our day and time!
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
About the same time Jane Crane gave me Bob’s poem (see Song 392 – No One To Call Me Son), we went to a Temple and Family History Consultant’s Fireside, where Craig Barrick shared a poem written by his 5th great-grandfather’s, David Walton’s, daughter-in-law, about her child who died. Brother Barrick had a granddaughter named Katlin who unexpectedly died when she was 4 years old. I got Brother Barrick to give me a copy of the poem, The day after I heard this poem, on August 29th, 2016, I wrote this song on my i-Pad. “This lonely heart now bids me speak, Of my poor Emma Jane, She died in tender infancy, Though from exceeding pain.” Grandma Nelson’s first name was Emma. I was very close to Grandma Nelson when I was growing up (see Song 374 – To Me, My Farm Is). The poem was obviously already tearing at my heart strings. We had heard Michael and Amy Barrick talk about their ongoing pain from losing their daughter Katlin. Because of this I knew Craig Barrick’s pain. “A reflection across the ages, Of a grandfather’s pain, Innocence rages, Like thunderstorms and rain” (see Song 078 – Rain). As I read the words, I can feel the pain of baby Emma Jane who lay in severest agony for five weeks. “A grandmother’s pain.” Only 15 months and “She just began to lisp the words, Her tender parents taught,” “A parent’s pain.” Even her “young and thoughtless” brother found “a brother’s pain.” “To her father she reached her little hands, With countenance so mild,” “a father’s pain.” Imagine “Them tender arms around my neck, O’ how can I forget,” “a mother’s pain.” Seeing death draw nigh describes “a sister’s pain.” “In the cold grave her body was laid, Her spirit gone to heaven, Trust we all will meet her there, When the clouds of life are risen, A reflection across the ages, Of a grandfather’s pain.” There is so much we can learn from words of the heart written about someone only 15 months old, like Emma Jane.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Andrea was born in Provo, spent a few years in Iran, while her Dad was helping set up a Women’s College for the Shah of Iran, and spent much of her life on 580 West in Cedar City, Utah, across from Cedar High School. The lady who lived in the corner house was Jane, who had children Andrea’s age, whose husband died, and who remarried Bob Crane. Bob wrote the poem this song is based on. Since we have been here, Bob and Jane have lived in the unit at the east end of the street in front of our townhome. So, of course, I have got to know Bob and Jane at the mailbox and at church. For some reason, in the middle of 2016, Jane mentioned to me that Bob had written a wonderful poem called “No One To Call Me Son.” This sounded interesting, and so I asked for a copy. She provided me a copy and I put the poem to music. When Andrea was out of town visiting kids in Salt Lake, I moved the step ladder into the living room and recorded the song for Bob and Jane. I gave them three versions of the video recording. I think this was the first time I recorded a song on my cell phone in our new house in Cedar City. To give context, let me mention Andrea is not very fond of the time I spend playing the guitar and working on my songs and psalms. Her first husband, Rick or Eric Nielson, took the family to California so he could go to a guitar school. After a few years back in American Fork, he wanted to go back for additional guitar schooling. Andrea basically told him, he needed to figure out a way to pay for 3 children and her, while he went to school, or not go to school. There is a lot of emotion tied up with the guitar. One interesting thing is because Andrea was a Nielson, she had to give up an “i” to marry me. Another is I record songs when she is not at home, and upload them and build the web pages when she is doing other things. I do enjoy this project, and I do not want to do this work in a way which is offensive to her. She sort-of puts up with my openness, and my willingness to write about personal things, like this diversion from writing about Bob Crane’s poem. I really like the poem. It highlights the importance of family and family relationships. It highlights the special bond there is between parents and those whom they call their “son.” Over the years, since Matt was 11-years-old, and moved to Texas and to 1307 Emerald Green, it has become a joy and an honor to call him “son.” There are those who do not seem to want to be a member of my family, either now or in eternity, and still, I am honored to call them my “son.” I feel like I let them down, and yet I do not understand how I let them down. Oh well! Maybe I did not say “shape up Son” enough. Hopefully as they grow up they will see I’ve “learned quite a bit.” It is true “I worked hard,” and yet not a fraction as hard as my Dad. One of the nice things about moving back to Cedar is random discussions with old family friends who point out how “proud” Mom and Dad were to have me as their son. “But when my mother passed away, I felt lost and sad, But she really needed, To go and be with Dad.” “They’re both gone now, Their jobs all done, There’s no one left on earth, Just to call me “Son”.” “It fills my heart with so much pride, And makes me feel so glad, When my grandkid’s call me “Grandpa,” And my daughters call me “Dad.” I love to watch them grow, Learn and play and have a lot of fun, But there’s no one left around, Just to call me “son”.” I find the last verse particularly touching: “One day he’ll call my name, And catch me on the run, I pray to see once more the ones, Who called me “Son”.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Andrea’s Dad, Morris Alpine Shirts, wrote a poem titled, “A Soldier,” when he was away from home for World War II. Andrea has spent the last few years putting together all of the information, letters, and photos her Dad had collected during his life into large binders. When she showed me this poem, it made sense to turn this poem into a song. So, I did on the 23rd of July 2016. The last verse says “Because ‘Jim is Home’ He’s been gone for a while, And because of his efforts, We can live, love, and learn, In peace and happiness, For now and evermore.” The implication is the poem is about a friend named Jim. However, the other 4 verses and choruses are all about him: “A soldier though far away in some distant land, Harbors in his mind memories of home, The squeak of the front gate, The touch of mother’s gentle hand, The trickle of the brook, The hills he used to roam; Remember the time he came from school, A black eye he couldn’t explain? Yes, he’d heard of the golden rule, But when his toes were stepped on, It’s meaning he didn’t retain; He never did anything great nor harm a soul, Just a plain ordinary lad, With a heart made of gold, With shoulders and stride just like those of his Dad.” The poem reminds me of some of the things I have written, which are implied to be about others, and which are really about me. As I have learned more about Morris Shirts, I have become more and more impressed with him. A large part of this being impressed is the way his 4 boys and Andrea reverence and respect him. I certainly did not generate this kind of response from my children. Yet. The good news is I have lived long enough to see a lot of intelligent people, with and without spiritual roots, recognize addiction and other sins, enter recovery programs and find how much they are loved, especially by Jesus Christ, repent and receive the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, and remain faithful to their testimony the remainder of their lives. This is a much healthier approach than continuing an addiction or other sin, or believing you are so bad you are going to purgatory, and there is no hope of escaping this fate. As I wrote on the 26th of August 2018 Grandkidlets #32 – Wounded:
“In Scripture, those who oppose God’s rule, not by nature but by sin,
are called His enemies. They can do no damage to Him, but only to
themselves; their enmity is not a power to harm, but merely a
velleity to oppose Him. In any case, God is immutable and
completely invulnerable. Hence, the malice by which His so-called
enemies oppose God is not a menace to Him, but merely bad for
themselves - an evil because what is good in their nature is
wounded. It is not their nature, but the wound in their nature,
that is opposed to God - as evil is opposed to good.”
City of God, St. Augustine, An Image Book, 1958, page 247, completed in 426 A.D.
I have been slowly reading St. Augustine’s book for several months,
and came across this passage this week. It is hard for me to
comprehend the depth of thinking and the genius of this man.
I certainly do not think through such metaphysical concepts and
state them so succinctly as he did about 1600 years ago. I did
not even know what “velleity” means (the weakest act of willfully
choosing, a mere wish). I hope each of you will read the classics
and teach yourselves to prayerfully think things through.
Love, Grandpa Nelson
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This is another Science Camp Ballad (see photo with Song 104 – Three Little Men, Song 160 – Science Camp, Song 375 – Dallin, Space Cadet, Song 376 – Saint Sophie, and Song 406 – Looking Down on Me. It describes how Joshua drove from Salt Lake to Scipio to pick up Sophie and take her to London. Paul made it to the tri-annual Nelson Reunion, and we collected rocks at Bloody Ridge and worked on the rocks in the rock shop. It was Jared’s first Science Camp and first time to The Nelson Cabin. Thirteen hundred miles with five kids. I remember those days. Ben and Ethan flew to Science Camp from Mexico, where they went to a friend’s wedding. Andrea made a lot of cookies. Dr. Robert Eves arrangeed for one of his professors to teach the kids about html programming. “Grandpa Nelson is in heavenly bliss, Seeing past and future years of Science Camps.” This annual gathering has definitely turned into one of the worthwhile activities associated with life and truly living.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image to the left is Moses receiving the tablets of the Law as painted by João Zeferio da Costa, 1868, which shows a face to face communication with God. An early (1508-1521) artistic representation of face to face communication with God was Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, which is used as the extended image for this song. Back in May of 2009 I started to write a song quoting scriptures which talked about talking to God, or to the Lord, or to angels face-to-face. In June of 2009 I had a brief theological discussion with Steve and Manuel Engst. When I saw the song I had started, I decided I needed to do a search of the scriptures for the term “face to face.” I did, and found a whole series of references to “face to face” in the scriptures, including: Abraham 3:11; Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:11; Numbers 14:14; Deuteronomy 5:2-4; Moses 1:1-2; Moses 7:4; Deuteronomy 34:10; Judges 6:22; Ezekiel 20:35-36; Alma 36:26; Alma 38:7; Matthew 3:16-17; I Corinthians 13:12; Moroni in Ether 12:39-40; D&C 17:1; D&C 50:10-12; Joseph Smith History 1:16-17; and D&C 76:19-24. I find it absolutely wonderful and compelling how consistent the message of the restoration of the gospel is across the Standard Works, or canonized scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have spent 10 months capturing the names and attributes (created, grant, granted, justify, knowing, knoweth, knows, knew, remembereth, remembrance, will, wisdom = mind; ask, confess unto, cry unto, heard, hear, pour out, pray, prayer, prayers, praise, said unto, thanks unto = ears; beheld, behold, eyes, piercing eye, glance, looked, see, sight, wept = eyes; nostrils = nose; answered, answer, called, call, commandments, judgments, mouth, promise, said, saith, saying, spoken, speak, spake, taste, voice, word of God = mouth; face = face; arm, make bare = arm; hand, hands, right hand, left hand, stretched forth = hands; stand = legs; he, his, him, himself = gender; etc.) of God, Christ, The Holy Ghost, Angels, and Satan in The Book of Mormon, and I am almost through Mosiah. I strive to extract this information from at least 5 verses every day. Sometimes it takes an hour to do 5 verses. The concepts tied to the nature of God are so simple an artist (see image to left and extended image) and Primary children can understand them. The concept of face-to-face discussions with God, Christ, and angels fits this same simplicity. Why do the sophisticated have to make everything so complex? Remember what Jesus said in his Intercessory Prayer (see Song 379 – The Great Intercessory Prayer) as recorded in John 17:3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
After a year of being in Cedar City full time (for our first year we had an apartment in Houston and spent half the time in Cedar and half the time in the Apartment at the Barker Reservoir [see Song 114 – Barker Reservoir, Song 350 – Downsizing, Song 351 – Enjoy the View, Song 353 – New Wood Floors, Song 355 – Shadows, Song 356 – Snow Falling, and Song 362 – The Move]), it was time for the annual Fathers & Son’s Campout (see Song 028 – Fathers & Sons) for the Hillcrest Ward. This tradition is tied to the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey by the resurrected John the Baptist. We did not have a conflict, and so I put my sleeping back and guitar in the car and drove to Yankee Meadows campground. The campground is a few miles downstream from Yankee Meadows Reservoir, which is what the photo and the extended photo are showing. This song was in the same spirit as all of the scout campouts I went on when in Nottingham Country Ward. It is a ballad, recounting each of the major things I remembered from the campout. Klaus Mans, my Home Teaching Companion, went up early and saved the place. Dustyn Johnson and his son Cole took me in their car to go fishing. James Froyd, who was in my High School Class, cooked hamburgers for dinner. Michael Barrick, who is our dentist, told funny stories about fireworks falling over and shooting at their neighbor. Little boys found a femur and a jawbone and were running around chasing each other like The Flintstones. Kelin Bleazard flew his drone. I sang my song about Fathers & Sons to James Froyd. Bishop Orton bore testimony of the restoration. I slept in the car, and when I got up to go to the toilet, set off my car alarm, and woke up the entire camp. Oh well! Good memories. And we never know when they will come back to us. Grant Siebert was recently awarded his Eagle in the Katy Stake the first part of August 2018. He was asked who influenced him and who he wanted to give the Eagle Mentor Pin to. He said “Roice Nelson, because he played his guitar and sang” when Grant went through his Webelo’s Bridging or Crossover Ceremony from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Who knows the impact we have had? Now all of the trees at Yankee Meadows have been burned down because of the Brian Head Forest Fire. We never know what will come back to us.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 021 – Dunes. This is another of the geology songs, talking about the astrophysical process of worlds colliding. I remember when I first heard of a book called “Worlds in Collision,” by Immanuel Velikovsky. As I recall, the account I read talked about how the moon was formed when another planet crashed into the earth, and pulled the moon out. This was a new concept to me, and it rang true. I still have not read the book. Now this concept seems to be well accepted by the scientific community, and is known as the “Giant impact hypothesis.” To quote from www.space.com, where the image to the left comes from, “The prevailing theory supported by the scientific community, the giant impact hypothesis, suggests that the moon formed when an object smashed into early Earth. Like the other planets, Earth formed from the leftover cloud of dust and gas orbiting the young sun. The early solar system was a violent place, and a number of bodies were created that never made it to full planetary status. One of these could have crashed into Earth not long after the young planet was created. Known as Theia, the Mars-sized body collided with Earth, throwing vaporized chunks of the young planet’s crust into space. Gravity bound the ejected particles together, creating a moon that is the largest in the solar system in relation to its host planet. This sort of formation would explain why the moon is made up predominantly of lighter elements, making it less dense than Earth — the material that formed it came from the crust, while leaving the planet’s rocky core untouched. As the material drew together around what was left of Theia’s core, it would have centered near Earth’s ecliptic plane, the path the sun travels through the sky, which is where the moon orbits today.” Maybe these concepts excite me because LDS Doctrine teaches us we are each destined to create our own worlds. Maybe this is why I like geology so much. And thinking about these things, it is easy to conclude “The universe is old, The universe is cold, And from what I’m told, The universe will fold On itself over time.” “Then comes the collision of two worlds, as time and space merge together.” After all, “They are things to be acted upon.” “Why do I sigh? Because Earth may die, By itself over time. Colliding with the Earth, It gave birth, Creating lunar girth, Something of great worth.” More recently, “The dinosaurs were lost, At an asteroid’s cost, Who am I? Just planetary dust tossed, Quickened with spirit over time.” To me, these are exciting concepts, tied to and derived from a collision of worlds.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 021 – Dunes. It is based on a definition of erosion, and is intended to teach about geology. Erosion is a beautiful example of the fractal nature of geology. You can look at erosion of sand in the backyard, and see the same pattern you see when you go to a stream and look at how erosion occurs. These, of course, are the same patterns you see when you look at how sediments erode at the base of a mountain. “First there is a crack, Then a piece breaks off, Erosion is an active process, Mechanical destruction of the land.” “Wind and rain and ice beat on the ground, Breaking up the rocks gravity then pulls down, Changing landscapes across the world, New vistas slowly are unfurled.” “Loosened or dissolved or simply worn away, Materials in the crust moved to another place, Natural processes all around us, Slowly weathering down mountain tops.” This is certainly true in Southern Utah. “Weathering, solution, corrosion, and frost, Wearing away the land around us, Transported by streams, wind, waves, or glaciers, A gradual retreat of all the valley walls.” Then at larger temporal cycles, “Milankovitch Cycles change the sea level, 250-450 meters across geologic time, Global eustatic changes cut deep incised valleys, when glaciation drops sea levels.” “The geologic record shows unconformity surfaces, Separating older rocks subjected to erosion, And the younger covering sediments, Leaving remnants standing above land surfaces.” I really can see a dance troupe taking this description of geology and converting it into a performance. Time will tell.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image is from a bible study web page. II Nephi 15:1-30 is where Nephi was teaching his brother Jacob the Books of Isaiah, and quotes Isaiah 5:1-30. The first part of verse 1, “Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard,” is not quoted in the song, just the rest of the chapter, the song itself, is quoted. It was a song. I’ve made it a song again. I really like this song. I like the message about building a business, planting the choicest thoughts, building a tower to watch over the business, only to find the business brings forth “wild grapes.” So, the Lord of the business counsels with his co-workers, to find what he could have done more. He prophesies the evils of sprawl and of joining house to house until there can be no place to be alone, and how there shall be great and fair cities without inhabitant. He talks about music (the harp, the viol, the tabret, and the pipe) and wine and how these keep people from finding the Lord. He warns of vanity, and those that call evil good and good evil, who drink wine and strong drink, and justify taking away the righteousness of the righteous. Their root shall be rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up as dust for leaving the law of the Lord of Hosts. Hills will tremble, and he will lift up an ensign to the nations (the restored church). Soldiers shall fly to the Middle East and none shall slumber nor sleep, nor the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes broken. Their arrows shall be sharp, their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs like flint, their wheels like a whirlwind, and their roaring like a lion. They shall carry away safe, and none shall deliver. Behold darkness and sorrow. How could anyone, other than a prophet who has seen our day, write these words hundreds and thousands of years ago?
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced in the description of Song 357 – Steve Lovell, as one of two songs written about my Sister, Sara Penny (see Song 380 – Driven for the second one). When we were growing up and Sara was learning to play the violin I hated it. I love the concerts she is involved in now, both with The Orchestra of Southern Utah and with small groups. I have gone to several of her Suzuki Concerts since moving back home, and it is neat to watch the little kids play the violin. Music can have such a lasting simpact on someone’s life, even if it is only “sort of music,” like too many of my songs. In February of 2016 we went to one of these Suzuki Concerts, and as I listened to the kids play one of the songs I heard over and over as a youth, I came home and decided I needed to create my own version of this song. In effect, this meditation is an exercise in rhyming with night (right, fight, light, flight, quiet, and sight), hike (bike, like, and mic [for microphone]), mind (find, signed, and kind), futile (doodle, detail, and retail), sound (bound, hound, found, around, mound, and wound), and sight (kite, might, height, plight, white, and light). Pulling one line from each verse, the song says “Practice day and night, come into the light, record it with a mic, make sure it is signed, God is in the detail, digitize the sound, find what can be found, look beyond your sight, found in pure light.” I’ve never been that good at remembering names or using words, and so this type of effort is an effort to exercise that part of my brain which is not used in my daily life (practice day and night).
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
When I was in China with Gary Jones, we would have dinner alone in the Zhou Xian BGP Guest House. Our conversations wandered. Gary is a very good piano and organ player. We had interpreted 3 alluvial fans in the Ji Ji Basin, where we were working on seismic data with the Landmark system. I drew a treble clef across a sketch of these three alluvial fans, and Gary named it “Three fans in D-Major.” Ever since those discussions I have been fascinated with the possibility of turning 3-D seismic surveys and geological cross sections into musical scores. So this song was a simple attempt at doing this by looking at the relative topography as you trace from the lowest part of I-15 south of St. George in the Arizona “gulch” (represented by an E and A chord), up to Leeds and Silver Reef (represented by D and G chords), up to Iron County, Kanarraville, Cedar City, Enoch, Summit, and Parowan (represented by G and C and F chords). I-15 goes from Mexico to Canada, or from San Diego to Alberta, starting down low and climbing the heights. The song goes on to Beaver, references Milford, down to Manderfield Road and Cove Fort, Meadow, Filmore, Holden, Scipio, Nephi, Mona, Santaquin, Payson, Spanish Fork, Springville, Provo, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, Sandy, Murray, Salt Lake, Bountiful, Farmington, Ogden, and Brigham City. I would like to explore this concept with 3-D lightning analysis maps, detailed topography, etc. Someday?
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
It is hard to believe I have been posting one song a day for 14 months. This song was originally posted as Psalm 156. And the good news to me is I will finish up this phase of this project in just 1 more month. It is nice to have a 15-month project, instead of a 15-year project, like Dynamic Measurement is turning into. Of course, writing the songs began before 1970, and so in reality, this project, like most of my other projects, is at least 50 years in the making. To post this song, like the other Psalms which were previously posted, I simply need to have a reference, without an image and a description. However, it has become a habit to write a bit of a description. This Psalm, from Judges 5, is brutal. Even if he was a tyrant, it celebrates murder. So, I did select an image based on justice. The image is of a statue of the lady of justice with the scales of justice and a sword from an offering on ebay in the UK.
This song was a meditation about the coming of another year: “Welcome to the New Year.” It talks about 1. parents, 2. us, 3. kids, 4. grandkids, 5. work, 6. koyaanisqatsi (a Hopi word meaning “life out of balance, disintegrating, life in turmoil, going crazy,” it is “a call for another way of living, for time to think, ponder and be lazy”), and 7. the church. Some of these songs are almost impossible to reconstruct when I sing them, after not singing them for over a year. It is like I am not sure what the chord progression was, or some of the chords are different, and not what I regularly use, and it takes time to reteach my fingers to do something they have forgotten. Guess this is one of the reasons I have been working on getting all of these songs recorded. There are several of them which are probably quite different in these recordings than they were when I first wrote them. Oh well! At least there will now be a record of these meditations, and who knowns, maybe somebody will pick up some of them and keep them alive. Then the New Year will not “bring a new tear,” nor “challenges to match our fear.” Even as we watch Maxine get older, it is inspiring to see her be “like the good soldier, they keep going simply living bolder.” I picked photos of a snow storm for this song, because of the line in the first verse “The snow outside shows it’s colder.” We get older, and get sick, and mostly keep on living meekly. “The kids are living their own lives, we watch as best they let us,” and hope they will be wise. “The grandkids live in a different world,” a world I see as becoming unfurled, and that they do not see the consequences. “Thankfully for me work will always be here, challenging my mind keeping me in gear” and filling up my year. “All the while the world changes faster,” sin’s blaster, turning from the master and his plan. “Thankfully the church provides us an anchor, better than any provided by a banker,” as I justify not having enough savings by saying finances, in the end, simply canker. I think it would be good for each of us to meditate on the new year and how we will improve.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
It is really sad when people die who are younger than me, especially a first cousin who was 10 years younger than me. Jeffery Paul is Uncle Glenn’s oldest son. A truckdriver and construction guy who had seven-years reprieve after getting leukemia. Our Grandpa, Paul Hafen, also died of leukemia. Grandpa’s disease was a very aggressive form of leukemia the Doctors had never seen before. I remember Grandma Hafen on National Public Television explaining how Grandpa ran cattle northwest of Mesquite, Nevada. How he came home one day and told her “They set off another one of those damn bombs today.” He was close enough to the Nevada Test Site he could see the flash of light, hear the atomic boom as it echoed across the mountain ranges, and feel the hot dust as it passed over him and his herd of cattle. Grandma told how she told him to go have a bath, and he replied, “No damn dust is going to hurt me.” It did. It is a reasonable assumption it also hurt his Grandson, Jeffrey Paul Hafen, who had worked in the same dust building houses in St. George. It also hurt my Dad. Dad died of a rare kind of upper bowel cancer, which was also attributed to the nuclear tests. Knowing both Dad and Grandpa were “Downwinders,” and knowing when I was not in school I was typically with one or the other of them, I have always expected to die from some rare kind of cancer. This type of opinion can truly impact one’s life and lifestyle. I’ve often wondered if it is why I have been an overachiever, attempting to get the most possible out of life, as long as I can remember. I think this song nicely captures how a similar attitude was shared by my cousin Jeffery Paul Hafen.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is based on the music of Song 155 – Help Me Set Us Free, and is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. After putting The Book of Job (twice) and The Psalms to music, now when I discover a reference to singing, or a song in the scriptures, it has become second nature to put the verses to music. This song is very short, and it has a good message, especially for those of us who believe in the first 4 of The 10 Commandments:
And they sing
The song of Moses
The servant of God, and
The song of the Lamb,
Saying, great and marvelous
Are thy works, Lord God Almighty;
Just and true are thy ways,
Thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee,
O Lord, and
Glorify thy name?
For thou only art holy;
For all nations shall come
And worship before thee;
For thy judgments
Are made manifest.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Forget when I went to my first Hafen Reunion at Pinto. It was a after Mom’s stroke, and I think it was after she was moved into the St. George Facility, which means it was probably after Dad died in 1996. Once, when I visited, Mom mentioned the Hafen Reunion each year at Pinto. She explained it was a pot-luck lunch, and how Hafen’s love chocolate German cake. So, every time I’ve attended, I’ve bought a chocolate German cake for my part of the Pot Luck. I took Mom the first year she told me about it, and several years after that. Several times I went alone. My cousin Diane Hafen Cluff helped with the 2000 Reunion. I remember taking Sara and Melanie one year. I took Neil Nelson with me to help with the pole walks for the 2008 reunion. I took my guitar once. Maybe that same year. I enjoy Hafen Reunion’s, even though I don’t know the folks very well. I enjoy talking to Arlo and Ramona and their kids, to John, to LeRoy, to the Mosses, to the Kessler’s, and others. I’ve overcome enough of my introverted tendencies to get to know several of the folks over the years. Turns out they rotated who was responsible for sending out the announcement, the games and activities, setting up for the feast, and running the testimony meeting. I know I fulfilled this role at least twice: 2000 and 2008 (click here to see the announcement put together for the 2008 reunion). Adolph and Nellie Hafen have 13 children, a couple of the sisters shared, a couple of the brothers died early from alcoholism, and the two reunions I have records of organizing were 8 years apart. I think Andrea and I have only been twice since we moved back to Cedar City. We did come up from Houston several times to attend. Since moving home, I’ve been in charge of the Blood Drive for Hillcrest Ward (even though they will not accept my blood because I was in England too much during the Mad Cow Disease outbreaks), and so I need to hand out sign-up sheets during church meetings. Andrea also had a conflict last year, and we only have one car. Whatever the case, every year my heart is with my cousins over Labor Day Weekend, as I know they are celebrating the legacy of Adolph and Nellie Hafen at the Hafen Reunion in Pinto.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Since I had written a song for Dallin, it seemed appropriate to write a song for Sophie, who was also at her first Science Camp in 2015. Neat chord progression for the chorus, with a neat beat. Typical last word rhyming: quaint, faint, ain’t, and saint. As I came up with the chord progression, I looked over and saw the poster Andrea framed for me of the ByzantineDeesis mosaic (1261) of Jesus in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, which image is my theme for this work (see image for Psalm 002). The halo around Jesus made me think of Catholic saints, and so this was probably the first word as I looked for words that rhymed with it for the chorus. Then the name of the song became Saint Sophie. It ties to a beautiful little statue Rachel and Garrett gave us after their trip to Spain. They visited the Virgin of Montserrat sanctuary, which is identified by some as the location of the Holy Grail in Arthurian myth. Verse 1 talks about Sophie and Dallin starting Science Camp off right with their respective baptisms. The second verse talks about the baptism party in the park, and her Dad, Joshua Waldron, teaching the kids to shoot a gun at his company, Silencer Co. On Sunday morning we went to see Music and The Spoken Word at the Conference Center, and then went to the Utah Science Museum up above The University of Utah. Sophie was bugged by the boys when she tried to go to sleep. When we got to Boulder, Utah there was a rope between two trees at the American Indian Museum. Sophie was very good at walking between the trees on the rope (cable). She drove me crazy singing 99 bottles of milk on the wall. We went to Parowan Gap and saw a sun dial and a big rattlesnake. This song talks about shooting off bottle rockets, double rainbows and Aunt Sara’s and Uncle Des’ place, and our regular trip to the swimming pool. Is Sophie a saint? Yes! She is a Latter-Day Saint.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Dallin’s song was written just after Science Camp 2015. The song started out being about how often Dallin needed to stop to use the bathroom as we drove from Bryce Canyon to Boulder, Utah through the beautiful Navajo sandstone scenery. This road also goes along the crest of a mountain, where there is a thousand foot drop off on both sides of the road. It turns out Andrea’s Grandpa, Morris Shirts, was working for the Utah Department of Transportation when this road was built and was in charge of the construction. Deep roots in Southern Utah. Andrea’s Dad, Morris Alpine Shirts, was a historian, and documented Southern Utah in two books: “A Trial Furnace;” and “Silver, Sinners, and Saints.” Andrea’s Great-Great Grandfather, King Darius Shirts, helped build the road called Johnson’s Twists, which is now a four-wheeler road between Hurricane and Virgin, down by Zion. Dallin was watering the road between Escalante and Boulder. “Thin and wiry, fast and fiery, Dallin is adept, Son of a rocket scientist, A real space cadet.” When I sang this song at the 2018 Science Camp in Buena Vista, Colorado, the Grandkids all had a good time remembering what happed from the words: “Time and time and time again, Bladder control did not last, He can whip it out so fast, The car behind did not pass, Pointed at Grandpa down the hill, They were having a blast, Timing how long to open the door, and then shut it fast.” The next verses are the ones important to me: “The youngest cousin at science camp, lighting his own lamp, Self-professed to not think through, Before getting a clue, But I watched as the time flew, And saw a young genius’ view, Always watching for the new, Seldom acting blue, As time passes through life’s queue, Expect to see how Dallin flew.” It is so exciting for me to see kids discover the world. It is even more exciting when these kids are my Grandkids. Then to top it off, Dallin is a boy, and he will carry on Dad’s family name.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 115 – Enough. The image for Psalm 12 and for Psalm 13 are of the garden in back of Grandma Nelson’s house (see image for Psalm 96). This garden was an important part of Grandma Nelson’s life. I remember how Grandma was typically working in her kitchen, in the garden, or working in the sheds at the back of the garden, where she had a lot of little chicks which she fed every day and grew into chickens to eat. Did you know chickens do not have teeth, they have a gizzard? Grandma took me out to some of the large ant beds around the corrals, and we would collect the little sorted rocks in a bucket. We would carry these to the shed where the chickens were, and then put the rocks in the shed for the chickens to eat. The rocks would stay in the chicken’s gizzard, where the rocks would grind up the grain and other food Grandma gave them. This garden is where Andrea and I have had a garden for the last 3 years. Aunt Shirley (Dad’s youngest sister) and Uncle Willis Gurr (see image for Psalm 151 – David’s Song for Saul) live in this house now. They use a small part of the garden space for their own garden, and we use a larger portion in the “worst” (most rocky) part of the garden. We share the garden with Steve and Xochi Engst, which means this year I typically water the garden Monday and Friday, Andrea waters on Wednesday, and Xochi or her son Manuel water Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The nail shed (right side of image for Psalm 126) is all that is left of the sheds which used to be behind the garden. The words to this song are words of a poem Grandma Nelson wrote about her farm. “My farm to me is not just land, Where bare, unpainted buildings stand, To me my farm is nothing less, Than all created loveliness.” When I think about her kitchen, her garden, and her chickens, I can hear her voice saying “My farm is not where I must soil, My hands in endless, dreary toil, But where through seed and swelling pod, I’ve learned to walk and talk with God.” I remember when “Big Roice” (my cousin Roice Nelson Krueger) and I stole some lime jello from Grandma. She asked us if we had seen any lime jello. We said, “No!” Then she had us look at each other and stick out our tongues. I was so dumb, “Big Roice” had to take me aside and tell me we had been caught. We are always caught when we steal or lie. If an authority figure does not recognize what happened and correct us, it is written in our body and shows up in other choices we make. Do not lie or cheat! Nothing justifies doing this. You learn this on a farm. As Grandma says in verse 3 of her poem “My farm to me is not a place, outmoded by a modern race, I like to think I just see less, of evil, greed, and selfishness.” What about social life on a farm. The poem addresses this too: “My farm’s not lonely, for all day, I hear my children shout and play (see image to Psalm 101), And here, when age comes, free from fears, I’ll live again, long joyous years.” Grandma lived until 1965, when she was 76, and which was 18 years after Grandma Nelson died. “My farm’s a heaven – here dwells rest, Security and happiness, Whate’er befalls the world outside, Here faith and hope and love abide.” How many of us can say we have found happiness? Grandma wrote she had found happiness. In summary, “And so my farm is not just land, Where bare, unpainted buildings stand, To me my farm is nothing less, Than all God’s hoarded loveliness.” Isn’t it fitting to put these wonderful words to Leonard Cohen’s wonderful tune for “Hallelujah” (see Song 374 – Hallelujah)?
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
The image to the left is of an original Kenneth R. Turner painting named Eternal Reunion, and is used with permission. The original oil painting is 36 x 54 inches and was commissioned by Dr. Glen and Melinda Ginter. What better image to signify the Hallelujah of Leonard Cohen’s song. Note how the Savior hold the child in this painting. This pose is modeled after the painting of the Savior holding a child, which Ken did for me, and which is used as an image for Psalm 146. I was very much into music and what was playing on the radio when I was a teenager. However, since my mission I have not listened to music much. Busy. Lost a quarter in my undergraduate studies because of staying to help transition the new Mission President, as he worked through some of the issues which resulted in the old Mission President being disfellowshipped. Plus, since I thought I would never be in Europe again, and probably at the suggestion of my Mom, I spent a week with an Elder from Delta, Utah traveling from Dover to Paris to Antwerp to Holland to Heidelberg to the Swiss Temple in Zollikofen and a night with my companion Bruno Steinle, back to Paris, and then back to London to fly home. After the first year of college after my mission, I was married. Then came the job at Mobil Oil, kids, the job at the University of Houston, Landmark Graphics, and the rest. One of thing things I love about being home in Cedar City is to sing in The Master Singers. I remember a recent study which said the one thing common in men finding happiness is singing in a Men’s Choir. When The Master Singer’s sang this song, I was deeply touched. I cried. I wrote out the chords and played the song to myself quite often for many weeks. It is one of only a few songs by others which is included in this work. You can read about the origin of this song and about Leonard Cohen here.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
It is hard to understand why others do not see the opportunities I see. Maybe I look at opportunities in geological time-frames, and everyone else is evaluating me and my opportunities in financial time-frames. We had been in Cedar City about a year. We were not yet on Social Security. Finances were stretched as thin as they could be. And I received term-sheet from one of the “investors” I was talking to. This was enough to get me excited, even though looking back nothing came of the term-sheet. It was all hot air. It seems there are those who just want to lead you along, then when you have been led as far as you can possibly go, or even farther, they still do not come up with the cash. Maybe they never had the cash. Maybe they are optimistically hoping they will soon have the cash. Maybe they are just liars and cheats. Whatever the case, I saw this call as relief from overwhelming financial pressures. At least it was relief, if only in my mind, for a short time, until reality eventually hit. “It has been a long time, It has been a hard climb,” words which accurately reflect the last few years. The photo of the cliffs at Zion to the left is intended to show a long hard climb, which takes a lot of time. The expanded view is showing looking down from a long hard climb. “It has taken many miles, There have not always been smiles,” is an understatement regarding recovery from oil & gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico being shut down by the Obama Administration after the Deep Water Horizon disaster. Always have liked Ronald Reagan’s story of a boy who received a pile of manure for a present, and proceeded to dig through it “because there has to be a pony in here someplace.” Thus the line “Looking through lots and lots of piles.” “It has taken a lot of work, Something we must not shirk,” is my ongoing attempt to pass on truth to my kids. “It has taken much patience, Faith, hope, and reliance, On the Lord and on science, Believing in future finances,” are words saying the long-view makes the short-term efforts worth it. After all “Relief is not always a must, We just need in God to trust, Remembering He made us from the dust.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The same image was used for Psalm 110, showing Moroni burying the golden plates. The name of the painting is “And I saw their day.” It is an original Kenneth R. Turner oil painting, which we own, have in our house, and it seems like a good image for this song about Moroni’s father – Mormon’s words: “Oh that ye had repented.” The words for this song come from Mormon 6:17-22. I recall reading how over and over cultures in what we now call Mongolia would wipe each other out to the last two kings. I’m not sure where this was written, and think it was possibly in some of Hugh Nibley’s writings. As I recall this historical fact was used to point out the destruction of the Jaredite Civilization followed this same trajectory, and this knowledge is not something Joseph Smith could possibly have been acquainted with. As you read the words used for this song, it seems as if the Nephites were following this same path. Certainly, the record points out the Nephites were completely destroyed. Mormon knew the path could have been different. However, free will and choice are basic eternal principles, and with basic principles come consequences. In this case, the destruction of a people. It seems mankind will never learn from the past. The good news is most modern people are not so dedicated to their leader they are willing to follow their leader to their death. The bad news is most modern people are not dedicated to anyone or anything other than themselves. Certainly most are not committed to follow Heavenly Father and His word.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image to the left was downloaded from https://www.lds.org, and is copyrighted. I want ahead and used it here because a version of this same image was above the sacrament table at the Cedar City 3rd Ward when I was growing up. I think this image had an impact on me, and specifically my willingness to pray when challenged twice with the question “Are you a Mormon?” in Corvallis, Oregon in 1998. The lds.org page lets you download, high-res print, and share this page with others on social media, so I am posting the image until I am told to take it down by the copyright holder. This song is based on the words of John 17:1-26, and is Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. These words capture the moment exquisitely. “The hour is come.” “This is life eternal to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” “Glorify thou me … with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me.” “I pray for them.” “Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” “And now I come unto thee.” “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them.” “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” “That they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” “For thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world, O righteous Father.” Concepts not understood by many Christians: pre-existence; separate bodies of God and Christ, as shown by Christ praying to Heavenly Father, yet with one purpose and goal; and how to know and become one with God and with Christ.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song consists of a series of quotes from President Ezra Taft Benson, one of the prophets of the Latter-Days. I recall telling Corwin Slack about my new city plans (see the descriptions to: Song_145__Change_The_World [where I quote the words used in this song from President Benson], Song 125 – Ode to Henry Thoreau, Song 114 – Barker Reservoir, Song 108 – Friendship, Song 100 – Zion, Song 90 – Deseret, and Song 50 – Tribes), and his quoting these words from President Benson. The words seemed to undercut decades of thinking and planning and scheming about ways to improve the way we build our cities. I did not know how to react. My first day as a missionary in England included being taken out by the Assistants to the President to tract a Council Housing Project called White City. It was a multistory cement jungle. As we knocked on doors and saw people in their hovels, I quickly came to the conclusion Dad’s cattle had better living conditions than these people had. So I wrote letters home to Ray Gardner, describing what I saw and how sad it was. Ray responded with images from Paolo Soleri’s “Archology, The City in the Image of Man” (see the image and the extended image at Song 145 – Change the World). I was/am totally enamored with the concept of three-dimensional cities. Especially when these building concepts are tied to the social concepts Joseph Smith and Brigham Young taught regarding The Law of Consecration (see Song 90 – Deseret), which is what I was in England to teach people about. In 1990, I hired Ray Gardner and his partners at Gardner Partnership Architects to do a planning document, which they called “The Intelligent Habitat Project.” The image to the left and the expanded image are from this report. I have put so much time and effort into thinking through these ideas since that initial correspondence with Ray Gardner in 1970. Then to be told by Corwin these concepts are of “the world” and my plans were “working from the outside in,” I was flabbergasted. Over time I have come to appreciate the wisdom of President Benson’s words, and to see his message in a different way. After all “Christ changes men,” and he changed me (see Song 167 – Heart of Gold, Song 119 – Anticipation, Song 087 – The First Prayer, and Song 007 – Froggie Learns the Gospel), and changed men can change the world. I am not attempting to “mold men, by changing their environment.” Rather, as a changed man, I want to “change the world’s environment.” Because of the failure of HyperMedia Corporation (see Song 177 – Enduring ‘Till We Die, Song 168 – Build the Gospel Onion, Song 078 – Rain, Song 032 – Find The Seed, and Song 001 – Open My Eyes Please), and Continuum Resources International Corporation (see Song 360 – A Man with Values, Song 342 – Projects, Song 155 – Help Me Set Us Free, Song 143 – Dedication to John Doran, Song 108 – Friendship, Song 086a-b – Be Still Geologists / Geoscientists, Song 085 – Merging Mind & Matter A-K, Song 004 – Business, and Song 001 – Open My Eyes Please), it is easy for me to “live in the past,” and feel sorry for myself. I’m sure this wallowing and “lamenting about my losses” has limited my future. President Benson’s advice rings so true: “Let us not spend our time Worrying about decisions that have been, Let us live In the Present, And let us live, In the future.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper (1452-1519) was pulled from www.artbible.info in about 2010, and is part of my collection of images of significant art. The original is 460 x 880 cm and was painted between 1495 and 1498 at Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan, Italy. The painting is linked to Mark 14:24, while the song is from Luke 11:2-4 (enhanced from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible), earlier in His ministry. The original source of the painting describes how in the painting Jesus has just told his followers that he is about to be betrayed by one of them, and we see the reactions of each. Bartholomew, James Minor, and Andrew are flabbergasted by the announcement. Jude is hanging over the table, small money pouch in his right hand. Peter is angry, demanding that John find out whom Jesus is referring to. John looks about to faint. Jesus looks imperturbable, acquiescent – as if he just wants to get on with sharing the bread and wine. Thomas is angry. James Major looks stunned and seems to be holding back Thomas and Philip. Philip seems to be looking for an explanation. Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon are emerged in lively conversation, most likely about the betrayal. All of the disciples’ feet are visible, be it vaguely. Jesus, however, has to do without. When the monastery was renovated at some point in time, someone decided to have a door put in, sacrificing Jesus’ feet in the process. This is a picture of the painting before the 1999 restoration. I think the painting encapsulates the words of The Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done;” “Give us this day Our daily bread” (the sacrament); “forgive us our sins, For we also forgive;” “And let us not Be led unto temptation, But deliver us from evil.” The words to The Lord’s Prayer have been put to music by many different composers, and it takes ego to follow the footsteps of these giants. What more can I write?
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song, and is based on the music from Song 362 – The Move. I like the photo of Rogier van der Weyden (1399-1464) painting of The Annunciation (captured from www.artbible.info and stored on my system at www.walden3d.com/photos/Art). The painting is oil on panel (86 x 92 cm), was painted about 1440, is in the Louvre in Paris, and is linked to Luke 1:34.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image is titled “Molitmoz” by Gonzalo Kenny and is posted in Book of Mormon Central. No copyright notices were seen, and since I’m using another source without written permission, I reference where the image comes from comes from. This painting is an interpretation of Ammon, which caught my eye during a google search. It was published June 30, 2016 as KnoWhy #133. The recording of singing these 35 verses is 25 minutes 49 seconds long, and the text is 4 pages with 2 columns per page. A lot of words, and words which amazingly summarize what was told earlier in the Book of Mosiah and in the Book of Alma, and which was told succinctly and clearly. After all of the writing I have done, in my 68 years of life, I would have a hard time writing this type of a summary, and it would have been impossible to write this and the two other chapters, with an additional 58 verses, like Joseph Smith translated in one day, on the 17th of April 1829. For example, in my Excel Spread-Sheet study of the Book of Mormon (of which various versions are available on line at walden3d.com/BoM), when I do get to Alma 26, I anticipate it will take me at least 18 days to go through these verses in Alma 26-28 and capture the names and attributes of God, Christ, The Holy Ghost, Angels, and Satan in the spread-sheet. And to top that off, think how poetically these words are written, so they could be copied, guitar chords put with them, and published as a song, where what I wrote took 2 days (15 January and 28 February 2015). “Thousands of them do rejoice, And have been brought, Into the fold of God. Behold, the field was write, And blessed are ye, For ye did thrust In the sickle, And did reap with your might, yea, All the day long did ye labor, And behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, That they are not wasted.” Then there is the little side note, “When Ammon had said these words, His brother Aaron rebuked him, saying, Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry, Thee away unto boasting.” I continue to struggle with pride, and I’ve worked on it hard for many years. Did Joseph Smith understand the principle of pride? Yet the words are so eloquent. I testify these words are inspired words of God.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image shows Alma Law, his daughter Eden and son Corbin and their friend Lydia Greer at The Lion’s Mouth picture glyph west of Cedar City. The song is about Alma, in The Book of Mormon, when the voice of the Lord told him how blessed he is, and how blessed are those who were baptized in the waters of Mormon. Alma was told he was blessed because of his exceeding faith in the words alone of the Lord’s servant Abinadi, and the people baptized were blessed because of their exceeding faith in the words alone which Alma had spoken. Alma was told they were blessed because they established a church among them, and because this people were willing to bear His name. What a wonderful knowledge to know we have covenanted with the Lord, and that we shall have eternal life when we serve Him, go forth in His name, and gather together His sheep. Reading the words of the voice of the Lord telling Alma that He will take upon himself the sins of the world, for He created us, and He grants those who believe a place at his right hand is deeply spiritually touching for me. The sorrow for those who never come to know our Savior when they realize he never knew them and they depart into everlasting fire is overwhelming. I hope those who listen to these words will come to hear His voice, be received into His church, and recognize as often as we repent, He will forgive us, just as we forgive one another our trespasses. For these words were declared by the voice of the Lord to Alma and we have the words to read and to accept or to reject, along with the accompanying consequences.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
The image shows Eldon Schmutz showing me how to water witch on Jeff and Paula Jurinak’s property east of Richfield, Utah. Since we moved back to Cedar City, water has been a them in many of my discussions and activities. Well before we moved to Cedar City I became involved in the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District: log of activities; 19 September 2005 Presentation; 04 May 2006 Presentation; 06 June 2006 Presentation; data to recommend MX-Missile water, rather than Lake Powell Water; Keynote Talk at SUU Annual Research Symposium 18 November 2013; Field Trip Notes 18 November 2013; SUU Talk for CICWCD 22 September 2014; Presentation to Iron County Commissioners on 11 July 2016; Presentation to Rotary, 06 September 2016; Presentation to Iron County Historical Society 08 March 2017; videos of Joseph Armstrong water witching 17 July 2017; etc. This song is about water, within the bounds of the last words of the 3rd and 4th lines of each of the 7 verses being “scum” and “sun” respectively. It ties in Joseph Smith’s question: “How long can rolling waters remain impure.” It talks about the danger of falling water, and about the beauty water reflects of nature. It talks about how too many forget their baptismal covenants and asks “How long can clean waters remain pure?” It points out how rain water washes away the trash, and how rising water warns us to move, especially when fast water floods the earth. Note this song was written on the 2nd of December 2014, shortly after we had moved from Houston. I had felt there was going to be major problems in Houston, which was part of my willingness to move to Utah (Song 362 – The Move). Note there were 500-year floods in Houston at Memorial Day in both 2015 and in 2016, and then the enormous devastation of Hurricane Harvey 25 August 2017. Note a 500-year flood is not something that happens once in 500 years. Rather it is an event that has a 1-in-500 chance of occurring in any given year. I was very glad we were not in Houston during and following Harvey. I had thought the problems would be riots and social unrest. I feel very sorry for my friends and colleagues in Houston who struggled with impure waters.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song. The image is a scan of M. Gustave Doré’s 59th steel engraving in “The Vision of Purgatory and Paradise” by Dante Alighieri, as translated by the Reverend Henry Francis Cary, M.A. and published by Cassell & Company, Limited in the late 1800’s, and which is in my library. This image was scanned because verses 4-5 include “And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, Call upon his name, Declare his doings among the people, Make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; For he had done excellent things.” The marvelous steel engravings in this wonderful old book tell the story of each of us. At least each of us who have an ideal, a Beatrice, who leads us through the anger and the despair and the hurt and the pain and the purgatory of our individual lives to the Kingdom of God (His restored church) and hopefully eventually to the Kingdom of Heaven (Eternal Life on the other side of the veil of death). Note the phrase “kingdom of God” occurs 74 times in 10 different New Testament books, while the phrase “kingdom of heaven” only occurs 33 times, and only in Matthew. So, the parenthetical interpretation of the two kingdoms, which in the broader connection across eternity are definitely the same kingdom, is very much a personal interpretation. The point is there was singing in the time Isaiah, in the time of Nephi, and in our time. Scriptural language can be sung.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song provided the music for Song 367 – Mary’s Psalm, the first Psalm posted. There are several of these songs which are related to our move back home, including: Song 025 – Homecoming; Song 074 – 1307 Emerald Green; Song 121 – Transitions; Song 177 – Enduring ‘Til We Die; Song 350 – Downsizing; Song 351 – Enjoy the View; Song 353 – New Wood Floors; Song 355 – Shadows; Song 356 – Snow Falling; and of course, this Song 362 – The Move. One of the nice parts of our move, was when Barbara and Steve Salt had an open house for us, and many of our friends came by to say good-bye, including (rows left to right in the photo to the left and in the expanded view): Susan and Michael Reed; Don and Kathleen Keller; Barbara and Collins Stewart; Steve Holleman and Brother Davis; Barbara and Steve Salt; Sue and Steve Feil; Becky and George Schultz; Dave Williams; Patrice and Alan Peterson; female members of the Craner family; Collin and Lisa Davies their family; Mr. and Mrs. Smith (who lived in Maudeen Marks Mothers house next to the apartments on Barker; Susan and Michael Reed; Julia Bancroft; Jared, Halle, Colby, Taylor, Kendall, Melanie, and Avalyn Wright; Carolee and Brent Weber; Andrea and Corbin Slack; Mr. and Mrs. Leo Montoya; and Jim and Debbie Siebert. There was also the Maudeen Mark’s ranch, across the street from our apartment in the park. There were many others who said good-bye, including when I held a going-away concert at Ken Turner’s Art Studio in the upstairs room of his house in New Ulm, Texas. I remember Ren Nielson, Tom Sherman, Charlie Beeman, and Melanie’s family all made that trek. The actual move required driving 2 different (largest available) U-Haul Trucks from Katy to Cedar City. This is 1,500 miles, “Driving across America.” “Miss our friends, Comfortable there, Lots of memories Accompanying us.” “Family here, My sister, your brother, And your Mom Could use our help.” “Old and new friends, An architect (Ray Gardner) and a geologist (Gary Player), With Bigger ideas, Than me or you.” “Now we’re here, In our new ward, Figuring out how, We will define, Our new America.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is puts Alma 34:17-27 to music and is based on the music of Song 352 – Grandpa’s Drum. This is where Alma teaches us about exercising “our faith unto repentance, That (we) begin to call upon his holy name, That he (will) have mercy upon (us).” Powerful words: “cry unto him for mercy; For he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves, and Continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when (we) are in (our) fields, Yea, over all (our) flocks. Cry unto him in (our) houses, yea, over all (our) household, Both morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power of (our) enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, Who is an enemy To all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of (our) fields, That (we) may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of (our) fields, That they may increase. But this is not all; (we) must pour out (our) souls in (our) closets, And (our) secret places, and in (our) wilderness. Yea, and when (we) do not cry unto the Lord, Let (our) hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for (our) welfare, And also for the welfare, Of those who are around (us).” Again, these words were not written by a 23-year-old farm boy from Upstate New York. These words were written by someone who had found himself in serious trouble, who needed the Lord’s help, who prayed with real intent, who knows that prayers are answered. I have been in serious trouble, I have needed the Lord’s help, I have prayed with real intent, and I know my prayers have been answered. I hope everyone who is led to read this has, or gains, this same testimony. So it seemed appropriate to use a summer and a winter photo off our bedroom patio, showing the Lake on the Hill, and reminding readers we all have different fields, flocks, houses, and households, we need to cry over “both morning, mid-day, and evening.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
It seems like a photo of a sunset over the iron mine west of Cedar City is a good image to summarize this meditation. It has been over 4 years since I wrote this song, and so I’m not sure what led to the thoughts which are captured herein. When I re-read the words of this song, I thought it was about Dad. “I thought he was so fine, Full of love and always kind.” “He was doing what feels good, Always doing the best he could, Thinking it was what he should do.” “Never letting himself get moody, Diligent even if sooty.” It did seem like Dad spent a lot of time inside the boiler at Nelson Meat Packing Plant, or the boiler at the By Products Plant, or the boiler at the house welding leaks where water would get in with the coal fires. So, Dad certainly got sooty. There was a night when Mom was so mad at Dad she took a butcher knife and started to attack him. I stopped her, and Dad took the knife away. The wording might have just been rhyming of the word strife and knife, and still based on that most emotional of events. Dad “Never faced an ethical dilemma, Not caught up in dogma, Did as taught by his Mamma.” However, Dad died in May of 1996, a couple of months after his 80th birthday. So maybe this meditation was about who I wished I was. “Helping others, taking time, Then I noticed (I’m) getting older, (I’m) no longer a young soldier, (I’m) much more careful and movin’ slower, Somewhat colder, and still bolder than most.” I was “always obedient, Sometimes to a fault, Others saw it an impediment, Not recognizing (I) was their salt.” “If (I) could do better (I) would do. (I) was always fulfilling (my) duty,” striving to be “Like a hero in a movie. Responsibilities drove (my) life,” I worked hard to “Always be supportive of (my) wife. I have studied attempted to follow the teachings of Christ, Buddha, and Allah.” “Morality was (my) line in the sand.” I left Landmark and Continuum Resources because of actions of Senior Management. I strive to “Never follow a reckless band, Nor beyond what’s natural to expand, Simple concepts to understand.” So maybe this meditation was all about merging the best of both of us into a song, with the hope some of our descendants will pick up on good characteristics, and stay away from the mistakes we have made.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
I went to an SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) Convention in Houston in 2009 and saw a friend, Noel Daley, whom I have seldom seen since working with him at the Seismic Acoustics Laboratory (SAL) at the University of Houston. Noel was a programmer whom Fred Hilterman hired to keep operations running. He was very good, and we had become friends at SAL. His company and his booth were SDI (Software Development Corporation). I was looking for funding for Dynamic Measurement, told him about what we were doing, and he said, “I’m in, this is a TOTALLY kick-ass technology.” This meditation was about Noel’s words. Time and Space have been key components of my technical evolution. I spent a lot of time developing indices, the TimeDexsm (TD) and the Infinite Gridsm (IG), being the two referenced in the footnotes of the first verse of this song. “Depth is not just down, it refers to how God is found, His thoughts are deeper than ours, Our prayers and faith can find Him.” The other two key indices are Data Types (verse 5) and the Knowledge Backbonesm (KB) (verse 6). These “Thoughts are the seeds, That can help us recognize the weeds, We must not dampen, Our ability to think.” The best summary of these indices, is what I placed in my description of The Urban Machine put together for Dr. Bowen Loften regarding preparing Galveston for the next big Hurricane. This work was published on 02 March 2007, and includes specific descriptions of the KB, the DT, the IG, and the TD. As I get older and older, and do not see these simple and powerful ideas caught hold of and implemented by anyone other than myself, I wonder how many wonderful, I believe inspired, developments have gone to the grave with people like me who do not have the ability to find the convincing words to lead to implementation. Words can not express what is in the hearts and minds of men and women who care. The image to the left shows a cross-section from a lightning analysis derived apparent resistivity volume with an interpretation from seismic and well logs overlain on it. To my eye, these results are absolutely phenomenal, “a TOTALLY kick-ass technology.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
After putting all of the Psalms to music, it seemed natural to put scriptures to music. Especially scriptures which were another psalm, like the Psalm of Nephi as found in II Nephi 4:15-35). “My soul delighteth in the scriptures, And my heart pondereth them, And writeth them for the learning, And the profit of my children.” “Behold, my soul delighteth In the things of the Lord; And my heart pondereth continually, Upon the things which I have seen and heard.” “My heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; My sol grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, Because of the temptations, And the sins which do so easily beset me.” “Nevertheless, I know In whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; He hath led me through mine afflictions.” “Behold, he hath heard My cry by day, And he hath given me knowledge By visions in the night-time.” “And why should I yield to sin, Because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, That the evil one have place in my heart.” “Yea, I know that God Will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, If I ask not amiss; Therefore, I will lift up My voice unto thee; Yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, The rock of my righteousness.” These words could not have been made up by a 23-year-old farm boy in Upstate New York. These words are the words of someone who has lived a full life, who knows success and failure, who knows the Lord, who has had a full life. They are words which resonate deeply within my soul. I am so thankful for the scriptures, and especially for The Book of Mormon, and for passages like The Psalm of Nephi.
This song is referenced by Song 148 – A Song in My Heart. We had only been in our new home a few months, when, I think it was my sister, Sara Penny (see Song 380 – Driven and Song 384 – Suzuki Practice), mentioned to me there was going to be a funeral at the New Enoch Stake Center, and Steve Lovell would be there, because, as I recall, it was his nephew who had died in a tragic accident. I had not heard Steve Lovell’s name in years (this was before I was assigned to Home Teach Les Jones, who was one of Steve’s friends at CSU [College of Southern Utah], worked closely with Mom at SUSC [Southern Utah State University], and much later was Matt’s favorite teacher in the Psychology Department at SUU [Southern Utah University]). I had a strong desire to see Steve, and so I put on a suit and blue shirt and tie (see photo to the left) and drove out to Enoch. I did not know anyone at the funeral, and as I walked inside to the back of the church, I asked for and then saw Steve. It was a wonderful reunion. Reminded me of when I saw Xu Da-Kun at a conference in Beijing I was supporting Geokinetics at, after many years of not seeing Mr. Xu. One of his friends, Zhou Jiping, who at the time was the President of PetroChina, was standing next to Mr. Xu. Mr. Zhou had been to our house at 1307 Emerald Green for a dinner, and I did not recognize him. Mr. Xu had helped me get a couple of dozen Landmark employees out of China following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and we had worked very closely together on projects Landmark did for the Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting (which projects are not listed in the BGP history). This reunion also reminded me of when Andrea and I walked into Laura Schmidt’s wedding reception in Brigham City and Chris and Michelle Schmidt saw us. There is an indescribable joy, when, after a long time, you re-meet someone you have truly shared living with. And to think Steve Lovell had served two senior missions, after his mission to the Navajo Tribe. He served among a branch of the Basque people in Croatia (who are believed to be of the lost 10 tribes), and he also served among the lost 10 tribes in Siberia. Looking back to when Steve worked at the “stink plant” and I was “the boss’ son,” who would have thought the two of us would end up doing the things we did, after going our separate ways. Maybe we knew this deep in our premortal memories, and this is why the reunion was so special. “Memories overwhelming me!”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
Five days after I wrote Song 355 – Shadows, on 04 November 2013, I was (still?) alone, and it snowed. This was our first snow storm after moving into our new home. This song, and all subsequent songs, were written after the Psalms were all put to music, and so none of the music for these songs were used as music for the traditional Psalms. As I watched the snow come down in the back yard, I thought of when I was growing up, memories of times hard, when here was snow falling and cattle to be fed. The chorus of this meditation says: “There are jobs which must be done, In the rain, snow, or sun, Life and love and happiness, Depend on our willingness to serve.” There are 2 artist verses which include the words: “Snow falling, covering the grass, Greens to whites, then browns at last. … Snow falling, small flecks of white, God painting his canvas right.” Then there were the memories from my youth which started flooding into my mind: “Snow fell back in the time, When I was learning how life rhymes, The worst storms always came on Thursdays. … Snowfalls on Thursday afternoons, When Dad was in St. George seemed cruel, The cattle would always break through the fence.” Feeding the cattle – night after night, and rounding them up when they broke through the fence – time after time, helped turn me into the person I am today. “Now snow falls in the back yard, A pretty picture for my mind to guard, Lessons learned and internalized, There are jobs which must be done, In the rain, snow or sun, Life and love and happiness, Depend on our willingness to serve.” I think through these words, and the experiences of my youth, and I am so glad I have had the opportunities for growth which came my way. I feel so sorry for those who never learned to work, and who spend their time wishing the government would take care of them.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was written the evening of 30 October 2013, on one of the first nights I stayed alone at our new place at 2155 W 700 S #31 in Cedar City, Utah. I’m not sure where Andrea was. Probably she was in Salt Lake City with either Audrey or Rachel and their families. The new wood floors were all laid down. I had my new guitar, slept in our new bed, cooked my dinner in our new kitchen, and looked at the books in and pulled books from our new bookcases. As the sun went down, there were shadows creeping around the room. My mind went back to The Keynotes (see Song 103 – I Wanna Hold Your Hand), “Love Portion Number 9,” and the “spooky” C7th chords in that song. I tend to not turn the TV on when I am home alone. I don’t remember if I almost fell, or if “fall” just rhymes with “hall.” In any new place, there can be “shadows creeping around the room, faucets weeping next to the broom, and creaking walls by a long dark hall.” Then my mind calls out to Heavenly Father, and I sing a song or recite a poem, and in not too long the good times roam. “But then the shadows come once again, I can’t help wondering, ‘are bad times to begin,’ There’s been so much pain and grief, Isn’t it time to find some relief.” “Life’s a balance of good and evil, To grow cotton there will be weevils, So keep in mind, as we travel along, Troubles and trials make us strong.” “But even knowing pain is for our good, Doesn’t make it easier to walk through the woods.” “We carry more weight as we learn to endure, Reminding ourselves we can stumble for sure, So we journey on watching each step with care, Looking in the shadows helps us dare.” Nice meditation, where I relearned a lot of truths.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 101 – This New Song, and by Song 144 – Oh That I Were an Angel v-1. Song 353 – New Wood Floors provided the music for this song and for Song 358 – Psalm of Nephi. Version-1 had 5 verses. I did not remember having written version-1 when this version was written. This version has 17 verses, one song-verse for each of the 17 scriptural-verses (Alma 29:1-17). As stated with version-1, I loved my mission, and I internalized what Alma wrote about: “Oh that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people.” As I write these words, the thought comes to mind, “Maybe this is why I am recording these Songs and Psalms. Yes, the effort is for my children. Yes, the effort is a to cry repentance to each of them, and to myself. Yes, I am willing to share this effort with others, who are interested or who are lead to the work by the spirit of the Holy Ghost. Yes, I am not advertising this effort, nor charging money for this effort, nor otherwise attempting to receive a gain for this work. I would consider doing so to be practicing priestcraft (see Alma 1:12). Sharing my life, experiences, and most important to me, my testimony of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is my way of going forth and speaking with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth. “This is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.” I am convinced it is the still small voice, low frequency information traveling across the universe from God, which shakes the earth and reaches the hearts and souls of His children. As I think about how the Lord has planted thoughts and words in my mind, “I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer.” Hopefully, my honesty and openness and integrity will reach someone who is looking for eternal truths. Hopefully, this same honesty and openness does not become the basis of offence. There are consequences for everything we do. And my experience is that even when we are doing something for good reasons, Satan will blind the minds of some of some of those we love and convince them the opposite of what is intended. Convincing them we are attempting to manipulate or humiliate or somehow hurt or disparage them. This is absolutely not my intention, and if anyone is offended by what I have written, please talk to me, and we will adjust the post to not offend. In the meantime, I must remember, “I am a man, and do sin in my wish, for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced by Song 117 – Andrea and Song 149 – Living Dreams and provided the music for both Song 354 – O That I Were an Angel v2 and Song 358 – Psalm of Nephi. I like this song, even though it mixes metaphors, like I did in Song 012 – A Lullaby, where I wrote “Your lips so tender and so small, Will see much before you grow to tall.” I like a wholistic approach to life, and think we sense things beside with or across the standard senses of sight (eyes), sound (ears), touch (skin), smell (nose), and taste (tongue). At the same time I have had others tell me it really grates them and just sounds wrong to say lips will see much. Oh well! Do new wood floors see? They don’t have eyes. And yet the wood fibers will be modified by “Grandkids running ‘round the house,” and the movements of “an older spouse.” We bought a guitar for Utah and I had my Martin guitar in the Barker Reservoir apartment (see Song 351 – Enjoy the View). Do guitars hear? They don’t have ears. And yet, again the wood fibers align with the vibrations, uniquely absorbing songs over the years, like the Mormon Tabernacle at Temple Square in Salt Lake. Do beds feel? They don’t have skin. And yet, every time we climb into bed, whether to sleep or for a nap, it impacts the fabric of the bed. Do kitchen’s smell? They don’t have noses. And yet the odors permeate the wood and paint and fibers of the kitchen. Do tables taste? They don’t have tongues. And yet every spill from every different kind of food leaves an impression on the new kitchen table. Do bookshelves talk? They don’t have mouths. And yet the wonderful concepts contained within the pages of the books on the new bookshelves provide the basis for creating new worlds, which is what I believe life is preparing us to do. We first started modifying and half-way moved into 2155 W 700 S #31 the summer of 2013, just before this song was written. I was 63. I figured we would be privileged if the condo was able to experience all of these sights, sounds, feels, smells, tastes, and sayings from our interactions for 25 years, which would make me 88 years old. As I write this it is hard to believe we are already 20% of the way to this goal. Life goes faster and faster the older we get.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was used to provide the music for Song 361 – Cry Unto Him. In July of 2013 Audrey and Joshua brought their girls and two exchange students from China, who were staying with them for a couple of weeks, down to Cedar City from Salt Lake. Sophie and Izzy, Amy and Lilian stayed at the Condo with us, and Joshua and Audrey had some time alone in a hotel. Sophie and Izzy had a lot to say. We taught them how to do sand paintings. They discovered they could use my tummy as a drum, and it became “a lot of fun.” We took everyone to Cedar Breaks, and Sophie and Izzy became Junior Rangers. Sophie, Amy, Lillian, and myself “became four visitors in a million, Taking the Lower Trail to the Alpine Lake.” Just as we got back in the car to leave, it started to rain. The “pat, pat, pat on the car window,” was like the “pat, pat, pat on a drum.” It was “the perfect time for the rain to come.” Then “in the evening after dinner” I wished I was thinner, “as Sophie and Izzy jumped on (my) tummy, After a week of too much food yummy.” In February 2018, when I helped Melissa Leavitt advertise The Annual Children’s Jubilee, which my sister, Sara Penny, started, I ended up singing this song at several Elementary Schools. It was well received, and Melissa requested a copy of the music so she could sing it to her grandchildren. It is interesting to me how some of these songs are so well received. I recall when I sang Song 025 – Homecoming at Enoch Elementary, a few miles from the farm, I was overcome with emotion, like I am sometimes in the first take in recording some of these songs. Hopefully my kids will eventually realize how important these songs are to me, and why I want them to have a written and audio copy for their meditations and hopefully enjoyment.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was not used as the music for a Psalm. It had been a long time since I had lived in an apartment. And since I have worked out of my house for several years, and since we had a 1-bedroom apartment, I basically lived in the living room when in Houston. The good news is we had a nice balcony, which overlooked the Army Corps of Engineers Barker Reservoir. Although we were a couple of miles from the water, it was a nice view. The composite image to the left shows three panorama views from our balcony. At the top is an ice storm. In the middle are the trees at Valentine’s Day, after one of the kids in my Sunday School Class climbed up a tree for me and hung a red reflecting globe as a Valentine Card for Andrea (it is a red dot about 1/4th the way from the left side, and in a dark area vertically in the middle of the image). The bottom image is of one of the many beautiful sunrises we saw. The expanded image is a composite of 5 photos. The upper left photo shows a U.S. flag to the left or north. By September 19th, 2014 I had bought a block of salt and a bag of deer corn and had placed them were we could see them nicely from our patio (upper center). Got nice photos of deer (lower left) and wild pigs (lower middle). There was one buck I especially enjoyed watching. I called him the velveteen buck. About the time we moved, he was hit and killed by a car on Kingsland Boulevard over by the road that went up past the pond referenced in Song 163 – Seminary Trek (right image on expanded composite image). It was sad to see a beautiful wild animal killed by urban sprawl. I did enjoy the view. It was part of a major transition in my life. Enjoying the view reminded me of the tidal flats, gumbo, dinosaurs, Nephites, longhorns, ranchers, and rice farmers who had walked this view. We had a new member of Nottingham Country Ward, Ren Nielson, who was a cowboy from Idaho turned high profile lawyer. He rode with his son Christopher, who was in my Sunday School Class, on horses through the park to our place, and came up and ate ribs from Wright’s Bar-B-Que with us. And of course, as I looked out over Barker Reservoir, during breaks from work, I could see the cement treehouses filling up Barker Reservoir in my mind (see Song 114 – Barker Reservoir). As I envisioned the new type of city, I saw a new kind of ark for mankind (see Song 100 – Zion and Song 090 – Deseret). Again, I did enjoy the view, even if the spatial view transversed time.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was not used as the music for a Psalm. Then, all of a sudden, it was time to leave my home of 30 years and to move back to my real home. After 5 ½ years in Dallas, 4 ½ years in Sugar Land and Missouri City, and 30 years in Katy (actually a Houston address), for a total of 40 years of wandering in the wilderness of Texas, it was time to move back home to Cedar City, Utah. I was told over and over, when I was growing up, the red mud in Cedar Valley gets in your blood, and you eventually have to come home. Mom (Maxine Shirts) turned 90, she needed us home. A temple was announced in Cedar, and within a week we had purchased a condo, which was 2 doors from Mom, and within a month had sold our house at 1307 Emerald Green Lane. The logistics of downsizing was much harder than a scout camp (see Song 028 – Fathers and Sons, Song 029 – Simonton Blues, Song 030 – El Rancho Cima, Song 031 – Camp Strake, Song 032 – Find The Seed, Song 033 – Camp Liendo, Song 034 – Digital Camera, Song 036 – Hagen’s Escape, Song 037 – Brosig, Song 038 – Turners, Song 039- Stephen F. Austin, Song 040 – Ice on Tents, Song 043 – Twelve Disciples, Song 049 – Welcome to Big Bend, Song 050 – Tribes, Song 105 – Kelly’s Pond, and Song 163 – Seminary Trek) or a Science Camp. At least I have had some experience in both of these logistical challenges. There was a sale at the local U-Haul storage place on Baker Road by our Post Office and the I-10 frontage road. They let you use one of their biggest storage units for a month, for the price of one of their smallest units. By the end of the month you had to move everything into a smaller unit. So we had a 40 foot x 15 foot x 15 foot storage unit to act as a staging area. We cleaned out a lot of the house, putting everything in the large storage unit. Then sold the house the first weekend it was shown, selecting the largest of 6 offers, each above our asking price. We rented an apartment at the Apartments on Barker Cypress road in the Barker Reservoir, and moved what we needed to have in the apartment to live there. The photo to the left, and the extended photo, show us emptying and loading the rest of what was in the house for the first truck load to Cedar City. I had helped a lot of people move, and it was very nice having kids, and friends show up to help load the truck. We spent about a year with an apartment in Houston and our condo in Cedar City. One of the members of the Hillcrest Ward in Cedar City learned we were living both places and said, “When you decide you are moving here, we will take time to get to know you.” That conversation motivated me to close down the Houston apartment. About a year after we moved into the third-floor apartment (see Song 351 – Enjoy the View), Andrea and I sold our Saturn and drove the second truck with the rest of our stuff in it to Cedar City (see Song 362 – The Move). And thus, we finished our downsizing.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song is referenced in Song 146 – The Dance and was not used as the music for a Psalm. I loved the Sunday afternoons after church when Melanie’s family would come over to the house and visit, or we would go over to their house and visit. On one of those Sunday’s Halle wanted to write a song. So we did. This song about a swan is the result. She would give me a thought, and I would build a rhyme and write the words out: swan, along, sky, high in the chorus. We started out in the sky: “Like a slow arrow, Floating through the air, When they land, There’s barely a splash.” Then we went to the water: “Floating on the water, Looking so beautiful, Graceful and stunning, They look so nice.” And then we brought it back to real life, and an experience Aunt Sara Ellyn had: “They are hard to find sometimes, and when you do, Be very careful, They might peck you.” Hallie is so cute (and shy) in the video she made telling Aunt Sara about the song. Colby played the piano, and we recorded the song after we wrote it. It is a bit noisy, and you can hardly hear the song. However, it is a wonderful memory. THANK YOU HALLE!
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was not used as the music for a Psalm. It is hard to watch friends go through cancer and die. Especially when they are relatively young and have kids the same age as my kids. Kids who are some of my kid’s closest friends. I wrote this song on the day Rachel Williams was buried. “Today was both sad and joyous, Rachel William’s celebration, Women in black, men in ties, Children not knowing their turn will come” (see Song 177 – Enduring ‘Till We Die and Song 150 – Taylor’s Birthday). Brother Webb, Rachel’s brother, and I had a nice conversation. He pointed out how “we meet new friends at least three times, when we hatch, match, and dispatch.” Thus, the chorus of this song. “Happy are the times when life rhymes, with a full batch, a good catch, or the right time to unlatch.” Then I wrote a brief history of Rachel. Her birth in 1949, the same year I was born. One of 10 (the number of kids Andrea and I have between us) who cold be both good and bad (true for every family). Dave Williams looked for Rachel after his mission, and they have 7 lovely children. “Cancer is one of life’s lemons, It takes real faith to make lemonade, Rachel showed her girls what real women do, Unwavering kindness and hope as life fades.” And then this meditation closed with “No one knows what the future holds, Some things make us sad and some things make us glad, And yet this can always be said as life unfolds, Kindness, love, hope, and service never make us mad.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was used for the music for Song 344 –Psalm 151 – David’s Song for Saul. I was going to ask someone to go up Cedar Mountain with me and take a photo of me sitting on one of the zig-zag aspen fences for this song. Then I saw this photo of Sophie and Halle walking on a cement wall around a petrified log in Escalante at Science Camp a few years ago, and decided it nicely illustrates sitting (walking) on a fence. “Sitting on a fence, teetering, Not sure which way the wind’s blowing.” Entrepreneurship requires investment. I am somewhat entrepreneurial. Therefore, my projects require investment. I don’t work well for others. Therefore, I prefer to provide the investment for my entrepreneurial activities myself. The oil industry downturns and previous commercial failures (see Song 078 – Rain, Song 155 – Help Me Set Us Free, Song 177 – Enduring ‘Till We Die, and Song 342 – Projects) have left me with nothing but time to invest in these activities. There are limits on available time, both from the hours in a day as well as church and family commitments, as well time needed to provide for the basics. So, we put a business plan together and placed it at GUST.com (looks like Dynamic Measurement LLC is no longer listed there). We talked to the Texas Angel’s Network. And the lack of responses makes it “hard to believe in yourself, When so many question you.” “It’s easy to be depressed, And feel the brunt of life’s tests.” Then there was an e-mail from Saudi Arabia expressing interest in investing. And stupidly, we started a conversation and got scammed out of several hundred dollars we could not afford. Then through GUST.com we were invited to participate in Texas A&M’s Venture Challenge by Richard Lester. The kids we worked with did a cute sketch based on Beverly Hillbillies. However, we did not win our section, and the effort did not go anyplace. Then we needed a “certificate of Good Standing” from the State of Texas for the Saudi’s. We got one and sent it off, along with registration money, before we realized it was a scam. I guess it is possible to be too trusting when sitting on a fence, not sure which way the wind’s blowing.
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
This song was used for the music for Song 348 –Psalm 154 – David’s Blessing. I have always had a lot of projects I’m working on. This song summarizes four projects going on in the summer and fall of 2012. One year working for Kjell Finstadt, the investor in Continuum Resources who “fired” me (see Song 086a-b – Be Still Geologists Geoscientists and Song 155 – Help Me Set Us Free). Obviously, we still had a good relationship after we mutually agreed it was time for me to leave Continuum. He hired me to do a large regional 2-D seismic interpretation of the first 2-D seismic survey collected by the same ship with the same acquisition parameters connecting deep water prospect in Mexico with deep water fields in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It was an 8,250 kilometer (5,126 mile) 2-D survey, that defined spreading-centers, basin floor fans, salt domes, and was the most geologically exciting interpretation project I’ve done. Two years building geological models for the Texas Shelf PSDM project Dr. Dick Coons and I worked on (see Song 048 – Light at the End of the Tunnel, Song 143 – Dedication to John Doran, and Song 165 – Feed Yourself First). Three years of work, which actually led into the second project described above. We had sold 2 leases to Petsec Energy in this same Texas shelf area, and had a nice override agreement in place (see Song 165 – Feed Yourself First). These are the leases that went away after the Federal Government’s reaction to the Macondo disaster. At the time, I had spent 4 years attempting to sell a 50 TCF (trillion cubic feet of natural gas, worth $360 billion [if it is there] at US$7.19/MCF [thousand cubic feet of natural gas]) natural gas exploration project in Europe. Exciting project, and so far it is simply too big to sell. At that time, I had spent 5 years working on Dynamic Measurement, and our lightning analysis work (see Song 053 – Fred the Fox, Song 113 – Jennifer Roberts, Song 155 – Help Me Set Us Free, Song 158 – Thunder and Lightning, and Song 165 – Feed Yourself First). It is almost 6 years later, and I am still pursuing the last two projects listed. Or as I say in the chorus: “Projects driving me up the wall, Always afraid I might fall, Talking on too much takes gall, Thankfully I’ve learned to stay on the ball.”
A goal is for this site to be interactive, for others to record their versions of the Psalms, or provide images or videos which explain a Psalm better. E-mail images, audio, or video to submit@psalmscountdown.net. By making a submission you agree to release copyright and to allow W3D to publish your submission, acknowledging posting of your submission is entirely up to W3D.
