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    THE STORIES IN MY MIND, recorded live at a New York revue of Dennis Livingston’s songs, reaches back to the American Songbook to offer multi-genre, contemporary-based tales of life, relationships and the unexpected chanciness of existence in our time. Comes in a CD jewel case.

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Stories In My Mind: The Songs of Dennis Livingston [Live at the Metropolitan Room] via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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about

Written in response to 9/11, the song is a reminder of the commonplace miracles of everyday life that we habitually take for granted in the expectation that each day will be “ordinary” – until it isn’t.

Sheet music available by request from dennis@dennislivingston.com

Watch a performance of this song from the original Stories revue at youtu.be/5Bf4yFtRMMM

lyrics

AN ORDINARY DAY

Words & Music by Dennis Livingston

The early morning’s mist
enfolds a blade of grass.
Three joggers huff around the pond
as students rush to class.

The hum of passing cars.
The flutter of a wing.
A child’s laughter tumbles down
from high up on a swing.
The fabric of an ordinary day.

The café up the street
puts tables out for lunch.
Some tickets for the lottery
await a player’s hunch.

Two boys out after school,
ride skateboards down a ramp.
A girl in a department store
demands a goose neck lamp.
The making of an ordinary day.

The only life we’re given is the one we now enjoy.
But we get so distracted by the things that can destroy
any sense of the miracles that are so rife,
the commonplace miracles
of everyday life.

People watch the sunset putting on
a first rate picture show,
while a bossa nova beat blares out
from a woman’s radio.

Dusk … commuters pack the trains.
Light … shines out from windowpanes.

A bed and food in a place called home.
A friend talking on the phone.
Clothes in disarray.

One star reflects in the evening sky
the flash of a firefly.
Twilight fades away.

May all the world
be able to receive
the extraordinary gift of an
absolutely ordinary day.


©2001 Hallmark Music Co.

credits

from The Stories In My Mind: The Songs of Dennis Livingston [Live at the Metropolitan Room], released November 13, 2016
Producer: Dennis Livingston
First performed at the Metropolitan Room, New York, NY
Ensemble vocal arrangements: Scott Coulter & Kenneth Gartman
Recording: Jean-Pierre Perraux
Mixing & mastering: Doug Hammer, Dreamworld Productions, Lynn, MA

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Dennis Livingston - Cabaret & Jazz Songwriter image

Dennis Livingston - Cabaret & Jazz Songwriter Boston, Massachusetts

Stories offers an intriguing group of original songs by Dennis Livingston from a variety of genres, rooted in the sophisticated lyrics and story-telling tradition of American Songbook standards. Performances feature the harmonies and passionate singing of (l to r in the photo) Kenneth Gartman, Julie Reyburn, Alex Goley, Christina Connors & Scott Coulter, plus Matt Scharfglass (bass) & Dennis. ... more

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