Liner notes as they appear inside the cover of Robin Hopper's "Scrapbook".
*All words and music by Robin Hopper, unless noted
If you¹d like to have the lyrics, email me at robin@robinhopper.com
STARFISH
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Dirk Westphal (standup bass)
This is actually a story within a story - I¹ve always loved the tale about
the little man picking up starfish on the beach, but it didn¹t really merit an entire song. I wove it into another piece, using characters from my childhood. Mrs. Minotti is very real - she is one of the main reasons I¹m a music teacher. Her example of inspiration and compassion in education is one I try to live up to every day. Teachers really can make a difference.
THE CHAIR
Words by Robin and Bruce Hopper
Music by Robin Hopper
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Robert Tornfelt (cello), Bernard
Glansbeek (mandolin)
I received an email from a friend one day with a wonderful story in it.
Over the next several months, it simmered in my mind and finally percolated into a musical version of the tale. My husband Bruce (a right-brained engineer, with the heart of an artist) helped me to sort it all out and actually came up with my favorite line in the whole piece.
TAKE A CHANCE
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Tim Heavner (piano)
I’m a firm believer in love at first sight. I met my husband by chance,
when two friends kidnapped me and took me to a dance on my birthday. I’ll never forget the certainty in my heart when I first looked into his eyes - I just “knew”. I wrote this piece shortly after that, and the rest is history!
I’VE WISHED YOU BACK
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Robert Tornfelt (cello), Bernard
Glansbeek (mandolin)
With special thanks to Kristina Olsen, Cliff Eberhardt, Vance Gilbert and Stephen Fearing
Have you ever missed someone so much that you felt as though if you just closed your eyes tightly and wished hard enough, you could bring them back? I had a hard time finishing this song, because I was just too close to it. I mulled it over for two years before it was finally done. Many thanks to Kristina, Cliff, Vance and Stephen, four of the instructors at the Alaska Midnight Sun Songwriter’s Camp, who helped me see my way around the corners of this piece. (If you’re a songwriter, do yourself a favor and check out this songcamp! (www.songcamp.com ) Winner of the Folk Category in the 2001 Alaska Public Radio’s Song Of The Year Contest.
MAKE YOUR OWN PEACE
Words by Robin and Bruce Hopper
Music by Robin Hopper
Performers - Robin ( vocals, guitar, bass)
After the events of September 11, 2001, this piece took on a new level of meaning for me. In these times of uncertainty, we each can do something to help. Start small, and look to your own back yard to effect positive changes that can blossom and spread.
THE YEARS FALL AWAY
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Stu Schulman (electric bass), Shonti
Elder (fiddle)
I think that one of the true measures of love is the ability to look at
someone with your heart, instead of your eyes. Hearts have wonderful vision - they see past the marks that time has left on the outside, and can see through, to a place of of beauty inside you. Bruce once told me that he looks at me that way, and it’s something I’ll never forget.
EARTHQUAKE
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Dirk Westphal (standup bass), Tom Bryan (lead acoustic guitar)
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to meet with Jonathan Kingham, whose piece had recently placed first over 33,000 entries in a major songwriting competition. When I asked him what had set his piece apart from everyone else’s, he modestly shrugged and said; “Sometimes I tune my guitar differently.” He then suggested that I pull my high string down a step to see what happened. When I got home, I tried it, and this song spilled out.
A LONG GOODBYE
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar, sampled bass)
I was listening to the radio one day while driving home, and heard Nancy
Reagan accepting an endowment for the Alzheimer¹s Foundation. In her speech she said that it was “very difficult to say a long goodbye to someone you love”. That line ate a hole in me over the next few months, until I could give it a voice in this piece. It was a finalist for the first Alaska Public Radio’s Song Of The Year Contest in 1996.
RING AROUND THE MOON
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Tim Heavner (piano)
Folklore has it that when you see a ring around the moon, it will tell you
how long the good weather will hold. You’re supposed to count all the stars that you can see in between the ring and the moon, and that’s the number of days it will be before the next storm comes you way. It seemed like a good idea for a love song......
TAKE IT EASY
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar, bass), Joe Page (mandolin), Shonti Elder (fiddle)
Most little girls have someone their own age who they regard as their best friend - the first person they go to with their secrets and troubles. I had one, too, but mine was 49 years older than me - she was my dear, dear Gramma. I could run to her with things that I couldn’t tell anyone else, not even myself. She was the keeper of my heart.
THAT GIRL¹S IN LOVE
Performers - Robin (guitar, vocals, bass), Charlie Hewitt (guitar), Ken
Sease (lead guitar), Bernard Glansbeek (mandolin), Frank Solivan (fiddle)
When you’re falling in love, sometimes you’re the last one to know......
YOU’RE NEVER REALLY GONE
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar, bass), Markus Bishko (flute)
Dealing with loss is one of the greatest struggles of the heart. If we take the time to think of someone, or to speak about them every day, they’ll never be far away.
TIME ENOUGH TO CRY
I was in a workshop with Ellis Paul at one of the Alaska Midnight Sun
Songwriter¹s Camps (www.songcamp.com), and he was talking about Open D Major tuning. He gave me a lot to think about, but weeks later, when I sat down to work on what he had shown us, something didn¹t seem quite right.... A little voice kept urging me to change it to D MINOR, so I took one of the strings down a half a step, and instantly, I started to hear all sorts of wonderful passages within the tuning. (Unfortunately, my fingers didn’t have a clue as to where to find all of the notes that were in my head!) After several long months of slow, determined practice, I was finally able to tie it all together. At the time of this printing, this piece is a finalist in Alaska Public Radio’s 2001 Song Of The Year Contest. (Keep your fingers crossed!)
THE WATER IS WIDE
Traditional music and lyrics
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar), Bernard Glansbeek (bass), Frank Solivan (lead guitar)
They just don’t write them like they used to.....
WHAT A DAY!
Performers - Robin (vocals, mountain dulcimer)
What do you do when your husband builds you a beautiful mountain dulcimer that you don¹t know how to play? (You learn three chords, and write a song!) This three part round is for that carefree kid that lurks within each and every one of us. It was the winner of the Children’s Category in the 2001 Alaska Public Radio¹s Song Of The Year Contest.
MAMA’S KISSES
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar, bass), Kurt Riemann (sampled horn)
One of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is a sense of love, security and tradition during the growing years. I find that I draw upon the memories in my heart to know what to do, now that I’m a parent. Thanks, Mom and Dad - I love you. This piece was a finalist in the 1998 Alaska Public Radio¹s Song Of The Year Contest.
PASS IT ON
Words by Jeff Fair (with a few by Robin)
Music by Robin Hopper
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar, bass)
I have long admired Jeff Fair’s books and published writings - he looks at the world through eyes that see far beyond the surface of things. When he speaks to me, I see pictures - when he writes, I hear music. I¹m proud to call him my friend, and I hope that this is the first of many happy collaborations.
PROVERBS
Performers - Robin (vocals, guitar)
With special thanks to Ross Johnson, Mike Herbert, Roxann Kopischke, and their second grade students at Homestead Elementary School in Eagle River, Alaska. When I was asked to open for Christine Lavin (One of the funniest women in folk music!), I was a bit nervous.....I¹m better known for my “boo-hooers” than my humorous pieces. I decided to write a new piece for the opener, and I drew my inspiration from school. I¹m an Elementary Music Specialist, and our second grade teaching team gave me the idea for this piece. This is a live recording from the Christine Lavin show - it was the first time I had performed it, and I had a huge white “cheat-sheet” lying at my feet on the stage. You¹ll hear me confess to the audience that the stage manager had moved it just before I went on stage, and I had to reposition the paper, because I couldn¹t see it. One of life’s little embarrassing moments.....
Many thanks to my family and friends for their loving support and
encouragement. Most of all to my husband and partner in life, Bruce.
Without him, I would be lost.
Recorded at Surreal Studios, Anchorage, Alaska - Kurt Riemann,
engineer and co-producer, and The Mirror Studios, Anchorage Alaska - Charlie Hewitt, engineer and co-producer.
Graphic design and photos by Bruce Hopper
m2001 p Stillwater Productions. All rights reserved.
Please keep in touch! I’d love to hear from you.
Robin Hopper
PO Box 670549
Chugiak, AK 99567
ph/fax (907) 688-2032
robin@robinhopper.com
Other recordings by Robin Hopper:
NORTH COUNTRY LIVING
UP ON A MOUNTAIN TOP
PASS IT ON