Pajamas

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That’s The Way It Goes

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Earliest Documented Song Rewrite (😉)

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50 Years Ago Something Happened.

https://www.facebook.com/ajames.henman/posts/10165227956210220

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DOWNLOADS

I have released 4 solo projects since 2012 including Same Old Feeling, House Plants, Shame Shame Boogie and Before You Go plus a family cd White House On The Hill. Here are some of my favourite tunes from those cds with a bit of info on each project.

SAME OLD FEELING written while living on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. My band with a dab of Garrett Masons guitar changing everything on a few tunes. Produced by Mike Trask at Echo Chamber in 2012.

HOUSE PLANTS is a collection of songs started at house concerts with my audiences. I finished the tunes at home using the Masterwriter App and went into Memramcook Recording Studio in 2015 with Mike Trask producing and my band doing tracks.

SHAME SHAME BOOGIE is a single release with my band and the addition of Myles Goodwyn on guitar, harmonies and final production.

WHITE HOUSE ON THE HILL is a mix of songs sung and composed by myself and my 9 brothers and sisters with house band. Recorded at FMP with Scott Ferguson on board and produced by Ian Sherwood. Done in 2017 to support MADD Canada after my youngest sister and her daughter were involved in a near deadly crash with a drunk driver.

BEFORE YOU GO is my second cd to be comprised of tunes started at house concerts from across the Maritimes up thru Ontario at shows. I finished the tunes in Cuba over the winter of 2018 using a ukelele which really took me to a different place musically. The Ellis Brothers and I recorded this cd live with Scott Ferguson of FMP on the board.

Some Of These Children


ALL SONGS COMPOSED BY AJ HENMAN EXCEPT

WALK RIGHT IN by GUS CANNON

ALL SONGS REGISTERED AT SOCAN

COPYRIGHT OWNER A JAMES HENMAN

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1759 Poem Gets New Life As A Song

It was over 4 years ago as my wife and I shared our honeymoon in Costa Rica, when I got commissioned to write a song based on the story told in a poem from 1759 in which the Americans were attempting to attack Chester, Nova Scotia. A new song adventure for this songwriter! I tried to write the song in a style that might have been popular in the taverns of the day where many story songs where performed.

The three pages below tell the original story/poem from 1759 depict the events of an American ship arriving into Chester Bay with the purpose of pillaging and whatever went along with that activity. The story of how the woman of Chester saved the town is quite amazing.

I completed the song in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and emailed a demo to Dawn Harwood Jones who had contracted me to compose it. Here is the melody and chord chart as arranged by Peter Robson.

THE story continues…..
This year my wife and I summered outside Chester close to where this mid 1700’s story had taken place. This was our way of dealing with Covid-19 isolation. We had a beautiful cottage overlooking the water and as we were walking through the house the first day my wife, being a visual artist, noticed a painting (below) in one of the bathrooms and remarked that she thought this painting was depicting the story of the poem and the song I had composed. As I checked the painting I realized it was as she had stated. What an experience this was! On the back was a note with information on the artist Jose Valderde.
Here are the painting depicting the invasion of Chester by an American ship in mid 1700s and the note found on back of painting.

Dawn Harwood-Jones had made arrangements for me to perform the song with a childrens choir a few years ago. This video below shows that performance at a Chester church with the Chester children’s choir and myself after a rather short rehearsal. After almost 300 years the story gets told, in song, in that same Town of Chester, probably very close to where the original story took place.

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Organic Songwriting Sessions Online With Jim Henman.

Final lyrics for a few Organic Songwriting tunes.

FREE 30 minute intro session . See below.

Hi to you, visitor. I’m a songwriter and performing musician and one of the musicans who co-founded April Wine and received a Juno for my part in that venture. I now play with Myles Goodwyn in his acoustic trio and in FRIENDS, an electric trio.

I’ve written more than 150 songs (so far!) and about a 25% of those have been recorded on my own albums and by other recording artists.

Have you dreamed of writing a song? For yourself ? For friends? For family? For someone special? Take a poem you’ve written and wrap it in a melody? Or turn an idea that’s been bumping around in your head into lyrics and music? Or perhaps you would just like a new musical experience like collaboration or just a “tailor” made song by you and I.

I know the magic in collaboration, too, having co-written songs with masters of the craft like Myles Goodwyn, Joel Plaskett, Terry Kelly, Laura Smith. I’ve also written songs with folk artists like Bill Jardine (and am working on a tune with Dave Gunning) plus Roots stuff with Harry Mike Trask. I’ve written songs with first time writers like Cathy McConnell, Phil Flemming and Corky Dow. I have also cowritten tunes with people like Tom Bedell who knows his songs from working at Q104 here in Halifax.

Organic Songwriting

I use a process I call Organic Songwriting. Planting seeds and see which ones take root, then flower. Then hone storyline, imagery, lyric, melody, tempo, emotional tone and structure using the craft of songwritng. One of the tools I use is MASTERWRITER which has all my tools I use.

Organic Songwriting will lead us in creating your song.   We’ll finish up – if you like – by recording your song for you to keep.

Online Sessions

Since the pandemic I’ve moved my songwriting sessions online, using Zoom, Messenger and Facetime.  It’s been working well.

If the idea of writing a song intrigues you, SEND ME A MESSAGE at 12fretagency@gmail.com and we’ll schedule a free 30 minute Intro Session so you can get a taste of Organic Songwriting.  

Feel free to check out my detailed bio at http://jimhenman.com/jim-henman-bio

Here is an Organic Songwriting cowrite with an amateur song writer Fred Lawrence called Show Me Your Sweet Smile. Fred had a true story in mind so we set it right where it happened. We weren’t going for a hit just a song he is proud of. Recording by Flynn T.


HERE’S A SPACE FOR YOUR SONG 😊

Here is another song, created with first time songwriter Cathy McConnell, using the Organic Songwriting Method . Cathy brought me a poem as the basis for this song. She loves it she tells me.

[If you are interested in a Free 30 minute session please contact me at 12fretagency@gmail.com ]

Another Organic Songwriting tune composed by myself and Corky Dow. This tune started with some lyric ideas from Corky. Holding His Hand with Flynn L on recording and vocals.



The next Organic Songwriting song cowritten with Phil Flemming “Come Back Home”. Phil started writing tunes a few years ago in his 50s. Phil brought some lyric ideas and an idea for a melody.

Over And Over is a tune I wrote with 5 redidents in a recovery house. I was in Mexico at the time and we did it over Messenger in 6 sessions.

Some of these Children is a song Myles Goodwyn and I penned in response to the mass Indigenous graves found in Canada.

Gonna Hit Reset is a cowrite with Halifax songwriter Bill Jardine. Demo sung by Flynn Tanner.

Three examples of Organic Songwriting tunes which made it to cds.

Pyjamas my first Organic Songwriting song started with fans at house concert
Tough As It Was – an Organic Songwriting tune started with fans at house concert.
Everyday- another Organic Songwriting tune started with fans at house concert.

Try a FREE 30 minute intro Session into this songwriting adventure by contacting me at email

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Story of “Round In Circles” a co-write with Joel Plaskett

A little nostalgic thinking about a 1967 Mustang, 60s radio, being younger, staring at the ocean and daydreaming gave me this song. I recorded with acoustic guitar and let it sit for a few years. I was going thru tunes, it caught my ear. Shortly after I ran into Joel Plaskett in Dartmouth Taz Records in downtown Dartmouth. I impulsively asked if he was interesting in working on this tune and after an hour or so in his studio it was done. Recorded for Edge Of Heaven CD for a family project. Ian Sherwood produced at FMP studio with Scott Ferguson on the board . I hope it takes you back a little.
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My version of Walk Right In Written by Gus Cannon.

I recorded this in 2013 with my now deceased friend and bass player Charlie Phillips. He also played guitar on this. Every so often I take it out and dust it off just for old times sake. I first lheard this tune in late 50s or early 60s done by the Rooftop
Singers using 2 twelve string Gibsons.
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Imagine memorial for Beatle John Lennon, The Dakota and Strawberry Fields in New York.

  1. Today was the day I finally got to see the  large memorial to Lennon, Imagine, on the tip of Strawberry Fields in Central Park, New York.  The visit to the Dakota and the memorial was something I have wanted to do since Yoko had established this area in John’s memory. A very emotional experience.

The Strawberry Fields plaque placed in stone with all the countries names which endorsed this portion of Central Park as a Peace Park. There are over 100 names of those countries, with Canada being one of them.

Walking up to Imagine memorial plaques.

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Below is the Imagine memorial.

A small corner Strawberry Fields, Central Park, New York.

Security guard who showed us where John Lennon life was taken on that night almost 39 years ago.  He also shared that John and Yoko’s apartment is on the 7th floor and has white shutters. He told me Yoko still lives there.

This is the gate which John Lennon walked thru almost 39 years ago just before he was shot. Very emotional experience to see this. Such a beautiful place with such tragic memories.

This railing and white shutters designate the 7th floor where Yoko Ono still lives and where she and John Lennon shared their lives at the time he left us.  Below is that side of the Dakota.

 

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