A few months ago, lyrics to a song about Los Angeles came to me out of the blue. That same blue magnet extracted the melody to, “Our Lady of the Angels.” I have a long history with L. A., so the sentiments are genuine. Nevertheless, the provenance of the song is a bit mysterious.
I felt a need to have the song recorded right away. With my usual sources occupied, I determined to record it myself. The Braille Institute which I attend, has a small recording studio. Julius Ancho, who oversees Braille’s IT and electronica library, was delighted to oblige. Julius. a brilliant keyboardist, was also needed to lay down the musical track. For some reason, he is more fascinated by the bells and whistles of the recording unit.
Since Julius could eke out only an hour at a time from his assigned duties, it required many sessions to complete.
After we got underway, Denise Bravell, an ear-perfect musician and composer with whom I have collaborated before at Braille, was invited to join us. She took over track production; thereby freeing up Julius to his fantasy of turning knobs and pushing buttons.
My song-writing partner Tommy Dodson gave the song the finishing touches at our Musical SoCal studios.
Here is the result of all our efforts, as presented on Tommy’s Tableaus.
Although I sing only a portion of the Spanish version I translated, following are the complete lyrics in English and Spanish:
OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS
Our Lady of the Angels,
My always live L.A.,
You make a way for strangers –
Each welcome-mat freeway.
Your beaches-desert option
Define your great expanse.
'The Valley down to Compton,
Your street cred does enhance.
Yes, Hollywood is an actor;
Delighting the eyes of the world;
A great launching pad by Max Factor;
From which myriad stars are hurled.
Our Lady of the Angels;
In Spanish it’s the same;
It rings like ancient church bells,
Los Angeles: Your name!
LA REINA DE LOS ANGELES
(Our Lady of the Angels)
Los Angles, Señora,
Ciudad siempre audaz,
Tú invitas a cada hora,
A un trámsito sin paz.
La playa y el desierto
Tan grande te hacen así.
El Valle San Fernando
Y Compton te hacen a ti.
Sí, Hollywood, el gran actor,
Disfruta de fama mundial.
Y es, sin duda, el factor –
La gran vía celestial.
Señora, te adoramos.
Amada tú serás.
Contentos, te cantamos.
Los Angeles: ¡Hurra!
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