@davisjames

It is cool to hear things in the context of another song-- music builds on other music!  I don't know that one from Steve Earle.  There's a SE cd here in the house and I haven't dug it out for awhile and don't know whether "Copperhead Road" is on it.  

We're happy you like the tune.  We've had Robins nesting in a Rhododendron next to our house for several days so the tune title is particularly appropriate here now.  

Hi Robin,I like this tune a lot!Everytime I hear it I think of "Copperhead Road" by Steve Earle..It's in the mixolydian mode,sure,but  there seemed to be something else.I just checked.Steve's song is also in "D".I don't have perfect pitch(thank god),it would've driven me crazy on the many pub band gigs I used to play...but this is different,hearing things in the context of another song.Fascinating to me at least.Great melody.

@macaodha Thank you, Val.  We are fortunate that though we live in a tiny old coal mining village there is still a lot of wild land, uninhabited by humans.  Lots of bird life here and I'm most grateful for them!  

@dan Thanks!  Funny, I don't know Sugar in the Gourd yet what came to my mind with that title is Jean Ritchie's singing of Sugar on the Floor.  (I've been listening to a lot of Jean lately.)  

Like the masters of old inspired by all the beauty that surrounds you.

Bravo! I got Bluebirds in the nesting box, sorta like sugar in the gourd aint' it?

@strumelia Beautiful lyric.  Thank you for posting it.    

It's true...

First performed in 1697, William Congreve's play The Mourning Bride includes as its first line, “Musick has Charms to soothe the savage Breast/to soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak..”

@strumelia I think my shoulder understands playing lots of notes all the time isn't meaningful.  (Shoulder woes from an old rotator cuff/soft tissue injury.)    

On a serious note, thanks for listening and for the kind comment!  For the past several years, we make music here at home to bring comfort and joy to ourselves and it helps with navigating life's responsibilities.    

I believe that knowing what moments to let float in the air is more effective and meaningful than playing notes all the time. You and Mark do this instinctively I think.
That explains why i enjoy Irish airs more than the Irish tunes with constant eighth notes, which make me want to 'escape' after a while.
Same is true when talking, though i myself have a harder time doing that.

Many thanks, @dusty -- we're happy you found it calming!  Our specialty is pausing.

Calming.  Meditative.  Introspective.  Not nap-inducing.  That pause on the minor chord around 1:04 is striking.