"The Guardian" now available on CD Baby

Hi everybody,

My original song "The Guardian" is now available for sale on CD Baby. You can buy it at this link:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/andyhoskinson

I wrote this song to celebrate the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces in defense of our country. This song is based on my personal experiences as a U.S. Army veteran, and it paints a poignant picture of what it is like for a soldier to leave his family behind to fight a war in a distant land.

Here's the official music video for this song. Enjoy!



Lyrics:

Verse 1

It was a hot sunny day in Fort Hood
I got a call like I knew I would
There's trouble brewing in a foreign land
They need us to come lend a helping hand

I gathered my gear and said goodbye to my spouse
With a tear in my eye I walked out of my house
Off to the airfield and got on a plane
Wondering if I'd ever see my son again.

Chorus (repeat 2x)

I am the Guardian I answer my country's call
To keep my country safe I stand on a wall
On a wall so you can sleep at night
But at the end of the day I know my country will treat me right

Verse 2

For six long months we stayed and stayed
We knew it would be tough, many dues to be paid
War is mostly boredom with some terror thrown in
But you never know what will happen until the fighting begins

We missed our families and we missed our wives
We couldn't wait to get on with our lives
We gave blood, sweat, and tears to the gods of war
But we never forgot what we were fighting for

Chorus (repeat 2x)

We are the Guardians we answer our country's call
To keep our country safe we stand on a wall
On a wall so you can sleep at night
But at the end of the day we know our country will treat us right

Copyright (c) 2009-2010, Andy Hoskinson - All rights reserved

Living in Interesting Times (Original song)

Here's a song I wrote. It's an alternative folk song about living in this day and age. I hope you enjoy it.



Lyrics:

On the road there's a hiding place
That brings me back to outer space
And says to me win another race
And I pray to God give me a happy face

On the sea there's a leaky ship
That snaps the waves just like a whip
I hold my loved ones to my hip
And I pray to God we don't take a dip

The man on the TV says to me
We are living in interesting times
I don't know what the hell that means
That phrase to me isn't worth a dime

There's a bird up in the air
Who flies along without a care
She sings a song that sounds quite rare
A sound quite beautiful to be fair

There's a fox down on the ground
Who hunts the bird without a sound
He'll get the bird if she can be found
But he better watch out for the righteous hound

The man on the TV says to me
We are living in interesting times
It doesn't mean that much to me
That phrase to me isn't worth a dime

There's a storm up in the sky
A sight so ugly you want to cry
Makes you hope that you don't die
But you'll make it through if you try

There's a rainbow far away
We'll try to get there any way
Without a doubt there are dues we will pay
But we'll wait till tomorrow, it's a new day

The man on the TV says to me
We are living in interesting times
I don't know what the hell that means
That phrase to me isn't worth a dime

Copyright (c) Andy Hoskinson, All Rights Reserved

How to play "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" by Jimmy Buffett

This is my version of Jimmy Buffett's classic island escapism song on acoustic guitar. This song is played in the key of D, using just three chords: D, G, and A. Check out the video below, grab your guitar and play along. Enjoy!

How to play "He Went to Paris" by Jimmy Buffett

This song is played in the key of A, using the following chords: A, D, and E (simple I-IV-V chord progression). You can also play it by capoing the guitar at the 2nd fret and playing G, C, and D. Enjoy!

How to play "Growing Older But Not Up" by Jimmy Buffett

I always loved the hook in this song: "I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."

I'm playing it in the key of D, using the following chords: D, G, and A (simple I-IV-V chord progression). Jimmy usually plays it in E, which can be accomplished by simply capoing the guitar at the 2nd fret.

Enjoy!

How to play "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band

"The Joker" is the title track of the 1973 Steve Miller Band album of the same name. This is my acoustic cover, played on my Martin XC1T. This song uses a simple I-IV-V-IV-I chord progression. Steve Miller normally plays it in the key of G:

I - G
IV - C
V - D
IV - C
I - G

I'm playing it in the key of D to match my vocal range:


I - D
IV - G
V - A
IV - G
I - D

Here's what it sounds like when I play it:



Enjoy!

How to play "Turn the Page" from Bob Seger

This is my acoustic cover of Bob Seger's classic 1973 song about the trials and tribulations of a musician's life on the road. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed playing it. It's an easy song to play, four easy chords: Em, D, A, and C. This song has also been covered by many other artists, including Waylon Jennings, Metallica, and Kid Rock.

How to play "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd on acoustic guitar

Today's lesson will show you how to play Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic tune Freebird on acoustic guitar. This is a great rock song, usually played with Skynyrd's three electric guitar attack, but sounds great using a solo acoustic arrangement, IMHO. Here are the chords you need: G, D, Em, F, C, and back to D. Just loop through that chord progression and you are good to go. The video below shows how it sounds when I play it. Just one note, for those of you who want to play along: I have my guitar tuned down a full step to match my vocal range (DGCFAD vs. EADGBE). Enjoy!

How to play "Daughters" by John Mayer

For my next lesson, I wanted to do a contemporary song, so I selected "Daughters" by John Mayer. This is a great song, somewhat hard to play, but as a father with a daughter, I can definitely relate to the song's lyrics and it just feels right playing it. I didn't have the sheet music, so I played it by ear. I played this chord progression for the verses and chorus: Bm7, Em7, A7, and D. For the bridge, I played F, D#, D, Bm7, Em7, A7, then back to F, A, then repeat the Bm7-Em7-A7-D chord progression - piece of cake! You should also know that I used a non-standard tuning (DGCFAD) on my guitar to help me hit those high notes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

How to play three classic Toddler songs

In this article, I'll teach you how to play three classic toddler songs: "Farmer in the Dell," "The More We Get Together," and "Happy and You Know It." As you can see from the embedded video, it's always a hit playing these songs to a roomful of kids.

All three of these songs use a simple I-IV-V chord progression. The way I play it is in the key of E, capoing the guitar at the second fret and fingering the following chords to match my vocal range:

I - D

IV - G

V - A

Of course, you can play these songs in a different key if you wish, e.g. the key of G would be the following chords without a capo:

I - G

IV - C

V - D

On the first two songs ("Farmer in the Dell" and "The More We Get Together") you only need two chords: I and V (D and A in my arrangement). Check out the video below and you'll see what I mean.

Enjoy!

How to play "Last Mango in Paris" by Jimmy Buffett on acoustic guitar

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Last Mango in Paris.

This is a great song, written in 1985 as a tribute to Jimmy's good friend Anthony "Captain Tony" Tarracino, who passed away last November. This song can be a difficult song to sing and play on acoustic guitar, but I'm able to pull it off by capoing the guitar on the 5th fret and playing the following chords: G, C, Em, Am, and D. This is what the song sounds like when played by me on acoustic guitar:



Enjoy!

How to play "A Pirate Looks at 40" by Jimmy Buffett on acoustic guitar

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune A Pirate Looks at Forty.

This is one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. This song is relatively easy to play. It is played in the key of G, using the G, C, and D chords - your classic "3 chord song." This is what the song sounds like when played by me on acoustic guitar:



As an added benefit, I added a harmonica track for the intro, solo, and finale. The harmonica track was recorded separately and overdubbed into the video. I think this song sounds great with a harmonica, so I couldn't resist. The guitar I used in the video is a Taylor 114ce, and the harmonica is a Hohner Blues Harp in the key of G. Enjoy!

"HMO Blues" on CNN

HMO Blues, my latest political satire song, is getting some airplay on CNN this week. Check it out at the URL below:

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-239703

How to play "Tin Cup Chalice" by Jimmy Buffett on acoustic guitar

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Tin Cup Chalice.

This is one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. It's one of his early tunes from his Key West days. This song is not as well known as some of his more popular songs, but it's a great mellow tune for listening to when you're chilling out on the beach.

This song is relatively easy to play. It is played in the key of G, using the G, C, D, and Em chords, with an A7 chord thrown in for transitioning at a few spots. When I play it, I use the same basic chord progression, but I tune the guitar down a full step to match my vocal range, thereby playing the song in the key of F. This is what the song sounds like when played by me on acoustic guitar:



Enjoy!

How to play "Son of a Son of a Sailor" by Jimmy Buffett on acoustic guitar

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Son of a Son of a Sailor.

This song uses a I-II-IV-V chord progression. Jimmy Buffett plays it in the key of C, using these chords:

I - C
II - D
IV - F
V - G

Of course, you can easily play it in a different key by transposing chords, e.g. the key of G would look like this:

I - G
II - A
IV - C
V - D

When I play it, I'm actually playing it in the key of A, fingering the key of G chords mentioned above with a capo on the second fret to raise the pitch by two half steps. This is what the song sounds like when played by me on acoustic guitar:



Enjoy!

AIG execs win "Robber Baron of the Year" award

I'm going to go off-topic today because I read something in the Washington Post that just infuriated me. The article is entitled Rage at AIG Swells As Bonuses Go Out, and you can access it at the Post's website (Registration required).

In a nutshell, AIG is using taxpayer bailout money to pay $165 million in bonuses to executives of the AIG Financial Products Division, the same division that came up with the "credit default swaps" racket that basically wrecked our economy. How's that for irony? Apparently, we, the taxpayers, are now in the business of incenting Wall Street executives to lose money, not make money.

Since this is, after all, a music site, I'm going to close with a song called Robber Barons. I wrote this song a few weeks ago after getting my 401k statement in the mail and seeing how much of my hard-earned savings have evaporated. It's tongue-in-cheek, but rings true especially on days like today. Enjoy!

How to play "Who'll Stop The Rain" by CCR on acoustic guitar

This article shows you how to play Who'll Stop the Rain, the classic 1970 protest song. This song was written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival for their 1970 album Cosmo's Factory.

This song is relatively easy to play. It is played in the key of G, using the G, C, D, and Em chords. When I play it, I use the same chord progression, but I capo the guitar at the 5th fret to match my vocal range, thereby playing the song in the key of C. This is what the song sounds like when played by me on acoustic guitar:



Enjoy!

How to play "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett on acoustic guitar

Today's lesson will show you how to play Jimmy Buffett's classic tune Margaritaville.

I really enjoy Jimmy Buffett's music. Jimmy's known for writing fun, catchy, crowd-pleasing songs, and most of them are relatively simple to play. In the case of Margaritaville, it's very simple to play; your classic "three chord hit."

Margaritaville is usually played in the key of D, using the D, G, and A chords. Alternatively, it can be played using the A, D, and E chords with the capo on the 5th fret. In fact, if you are ever playing this song in a band or ensemble with another guitarist, try having one guitarist play D, G, and A with no capo and the other play A, D, and E with the capo on the 5th fret. This will give the song a much fuller, richer sound.

Here's a short video of me playing Margaritaville. In this video, I'm actually playing it in the key of Eb, with the guitar capo on the 1st fret, which is a better fit for my vocal range:



Enjoy!

How to play "The River" by Bruce Springsteen on acoustic guitar

For today's lession, we're going to learn how to play The River by Bruce Springsteen. This song was the title track of his fifth album, The River, and was released in 1981. This is a great song, one of the Boss's classics. It's also a nice song to play on acoustic guitar, and not as hard to play as you might think, as we'll see in a few minutes. If you are a harmonica player, it has a great harmonica introduction and solo as well, although for this lesson we'll just stick to the acoustic guitar piece.

The River is usually played in the key of G, and uses five main chords: the familiar chord progression of G, C, and D, with Em and Am thrown in for good measure. In the key of G, Em and Am are relative minor chords to G and C, respectively.

In my opinion, singing this song is much more challenging than playing it. The melody has a range of several octaves, and, since I don't have the same pipes as the Boss, I have to capo the guitar at the 6th fret to pull it off, thereby playing and singing it in the key of C#. Here is what it sounds like when I play it:



Enjoy!