If You Get to Heaven Say Hello to God for Me - Original Song by RHopen

[RIchardEPfeifer]

Good one!

[ImOfTheWoods]

This is brilliant, Ron! You have a great body of work here on youtube. This one is very unique and I enjoyed it very much. 8o)

[ForFREEDOM13]

This is cool is this on iTunes I want to download this

[rhopen]

@ForFREEDOM13 Thanks very much. I don't have anything on iTunes yet but I'm working on it. Thanks again.

-Ron

[spudheds]

nice voice man, what you need to do is get some contacts, get some more trendy clothing and i think you will do well!

[inlandviews]

Nicely put together, good storytelling.

[DKMaher13]

Excellent original storytelling song Ron.Added this one to the "storytellers" list on The Songwriters Collection Channel...5*s...Kathy

[groberson2007]

Thanks knappydanny for rating my comment. You were not asleep when wisdom came calling.

G R

[onewomanandsomesongs]

You're a great musician in every sense of the word. :) Five stars. I love your storytelling lyrics here....just brilliant songwriting.

[mytosis33]

Wow, subject matter deeper than the lyrics imply. I often wonder about those days, and days even earlier. I can't help but wonder what life was like then, and how it might have been better. Just as long as you could have kept a distance from people like Jesse James I guess :)

Thank you sir.

[groberson2007]

Good song 5*****s.

I think Jesse was a product of his environment.

When we can walk in the other man's shoes without being in them, we have risen above knowledge and accepted WISDOM.

G R

[BluegrassForte]

Ron, the lyrics on this are fabulous! My mom listened too and she loved it! The music that you put with these words make the song come alive. We could picture the whole scene in our minds . . .

100*s

Lindsey

[dholeton]

Ron Great story song. I love story songs and your extra instruments mixed well to tell the story.

Thanks

Dave

[rpatt100]

Ron you have a  talent for comming up with great lyrics .

5* s

Roger

[coolanddark]

What a great song!!! I just heard Danny sing your song and was blown away! I got to get my ass over here way more often!

[Stingray77]

Wow, that one is really good. Nice.

[anonplace]

That was absolutely awesome. Man can you sing and play! I loved the harmonies at the end. really wicked production.

Thanks to Danny Knapp for sending me this way.

[CurtisMateer]

You're the best original artist I've stumbled on here on YT in a while. It's always nice to do that.

[tomvband]

Perfect.

[chaindrive76]

saw you on google earth ..wow I like it man ,it is a good song freind .

[KarenEng]

I just love your new song Ron! Fantastic song and lyrics! :)

[RevelingInReverie]

Great story-telling, Ron!

[cmsingerbill]

WOW !!! Ron I just love your song !

[SUNNYD3322]

This sound very nice. Well done.

[rhopen]

Hi Marie-Alix.

You are very kind :o) Thank you very much and have a great weekend in France :o)

Merci,

-Ron

[cogermax91]

I love this song wonderful !!!! you are e GREAT ARTIST RON !!!!

[psychospeakempire]

great song Ron. you are a consistantly good writer.

5 ***** for you.

[PaulBradford13]

love this kind of stuff Ron.

5 *****

[Ottawarocket]

Was not aware of the guerilla units after the American civil war ..so thanks for the History lesson and also for this song ..Love it Ron *****

Rocket

[robby63]

Completely original and masterful.,Ron.

A great back story too that supports the lyrics and concept of this song. Your voice is as outstanding as ever.

faved

playlisted

Robby;)

[rhopen]

It is always great to hear from you Anne, and thanks for listening to this one. I used that darn Mexican Mandolina again :o) -Ron

[chrisgilroy19]

hey ron, , ,this sounds great, , ,just catching up today on youtube. ive missed so much! ! your music is always great. great original! !

keep up the great work.

chris

[InnocentMalin]

A very thoughtful and beautiful song, my friend, I enjoyed it.!

Thanks for providing the background to the song, it's interesting to read and I appreciate the idea.

Well done Ron!

Keep it up!!!!

Best regards,

~Anindya

[rhopen]

Hi Anindya, thank you very much. Have a great week. -Ron

[iaco4ever]

Hi Ron!! I sincerely believe him/it, listening to your songs I always feel that there is inside the art of a good composer epoi unquestionably succeed to bubblicarle with excellent interpretations!! 5/5 * Ron this song and lyrically stupendous!! Compliments from yours returned I befriend Pino: -) An I embrace!!

[misspopanoche]

I just love where you draw your material from.. very, very cool song, Ron

~Sonya

[ak47doubletap]

Enjoying your music, yes this one reminds me of The Night They Drove Ole' Dixie Down'

Also, I'm a Rake and Rambling Boy, not sure who wrote that song.

[briannaanderson95]

oh wow..cool song!!! I love this sooo much!!! You are sooooooo amazing!!! Here are a million stars!!!

[rpmblues]

Awesome job - very accomplished original. 5 *****!

[UncleUsurp]

I love your melodies so much Ron!

Interesting story too!

Dunno what you think o this but when i hear you it reminds me of paul mccartney round the let it be album time :)

[rhopen]

Thanks Greg. Yes, I have heard the McCartney comparison before. It is a high compliment to be sure, but I don't hear it too much myself. I think I sound more like Ringo,,, haha -Ron

[TanteA]

Hi Ron, I only wanted to listen to your song again... I love everything of it :-)

Have a great day!

Anette

[rhopen]

Hello Anette, It is always nice when you stop by. thank you very much. -Ron

[dusstead]

A great song Ron,  I enjoyed this one very much 5***** And Faved

Brian

[MarchRunner]

Wonderful perfomance!

5 stars!

[stufish4040]

I'm back for another listen, Ron. What a 'gem' this is. A really catchy little 'original' - beautifully constructed and performed :]

[rhopen]

Hi Stu, sorry for the late response. I am always glad to hear from you. Thanks and have a great weekend 'cross the pond ;o) -Ron

[truvft]

Good Job. I really like these minor key narratives. This reminds me a bit of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" that Robbie Robertson wrote when he was with The Band.

[rhopen]

Thank you truvft. I like the Band a lot, but to be honest I like Joan Baez's version of TNTDODD the best :o) Thanks, -Ron

[mysticcynic]

Awesome song, Ron! Reminds me a little bit of the Decemberists. Creative theme for a song...and sweet chorus!! Great music too!

[rhopen]

Hey Joe. Yes, it is a bit Decemberistsish... is that a word,,, haha. Did you know there are banjo strings made for D Tunning? A much heavier guage for the low D tuning... John Hartford used them. I will try them out and let you know. Later, -Ron

[reliablebow]

WoW Ron...such a great song...and performance! Nothing like a great story and you captured it here...Thanks for sharing:)

[marcoacca]

Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.

[Bluefroger]

Hey Ron, i really enjoyed that little tale!

loved the melody and especially the harmonies at the end, really great stuff!

Sarah x

[rhopen]

Hi Becky, we are harmony people aren't we :o) Thank you very much, and thank you for that wonderful Police cover you did today. -Ron

[rhopen]

Hey Frank. Very nice comments from you and I appreciate them. -Ron

[rhopen]

Hi dolphinxxx1, and thank very much. -Ron

[rhopen]

Thank you Oz. I hope you are having a great weekend, and hopefully we will have some new uploads from the Wizard of Oz soon :o) -Ron

[rhopen]

Hello Carlos, and thank you very much for the kind comment. -Ron

[rhopen]

Hey there Ed. It is great to hear from you. thanks a lot. -Ron

[rhopen]

Yea, Jesse James and the Youngers get all the ink, but there were many of these folks around in those days. I'll need to check out that book you mention. Thanks, -Ron

[rudyvandam]

Hey Ron, are you trying to write history??!!

In the sense that you wanna outdo yourself?!

A song which mingles the Band's lyrics and Harry Nilsson's music??!!

Great song and performance, 5 for sure

Cheers,

Rudy

[rhopen]

Ah, Harry Nilsson... glad you mentioned ole Harry. He was a big influence. Thanks for stopping in Rudy. Like your new one a lot. -Ron

[monicasmix]

Excellent song Ron!!! Really great!!!

Monica

[rhopen]

Hi Monica, thank you. -Ron

[CerebralJam]

Oh I love when your harmonies come in too, truly excellent work.

[CerebralJam]

I like this very much, and I love that you give the history behind your writing. Great interpretation on a time unknown.

Excellent!

[honkytrousers]

epic!! sounds great

[rhopen]

Hey honkytrousers,,, I love that name I must admit :o) thanks a lot too. -Ron

[MartinRaetzJr]

Thanks TanteA for posting!

Hi Ron, this is indeed an outstanding song. It comes of course to my favorites. Also the arrangement, vocal and instruments, sound - all in best quality and on a high level. The idea for the text is really interesting and actually in our times too. I love it very much.

Best regards, Martin

[rhopen]

Hello Martin. It is very nice to hear from you. Thank you for your comments which are always interesing to read. -Ron

[TERUKO5]

This is very different, very nice! I half expected to see you galloping away on a horse at the end! 5*****

[rhopen]

Hi Teruko. I am very happy to hear from you, and I hear those horses too I must admit :o) -Ron

[chuxtrux]

boy ron, this was an ambitious project, writing wise as well as production and performance. it's obvious that you are serious about your songwriting. this must have taken a lot of thought and planning. so well executed. interesting all the way. five stars, chuck.

[rhopen]

Hey Chuck.

It took a while to write the lyrics the way I wanted them, but the music came together pretty quickly on t his one.

I do try to be organized, but it seldom works out that way. More often than not it just ends up being a trial an error process. I keep what works and discard what doesn't. Thanks Chuck. -Ron

[2ruby202]

Ron ... everything about this song is FABULOUS!! I love the little rapid strum and pause before 'if you get to heaven', it's a great melody, the vocals are great and the instruments sound fantastic. Loved it!

[rhopen]

Thank you Ruby, and I had a hard time getting that little pause strum together... It was tricky to come out of it and still be in time with the beat. It took me a couple days to get it right :o) I hope Simon and Garfunkle were good :o) -Ron

[thewintersessions]

that concertina kicksass. very sea chantyish, great song =)

[rhopen]

Hey Winter, and I love that concertina. it is not so easy to handle though. You gotta push and pull the bellows correctly or it will sound awful. Talk to you later. -Ron

[wmstrop]

Enjoyed the song a lot, Ron. A very interesting historical touch thrown in as well. Great job, Ronnie. Worth 5 stars for sure.

Bill

[rhopen]

Hey Bill,

I really apprecite you stopping by and your nice comments my friend. -Ron

[jwwetzel]

This is not only thoughtful, it's really friggin catchy. FAVVVVVVVVED

[rhopen]

Hey there James.... oh, James... Jesse James... any connection there? :o) -Ron

[xxxSunbeamxxx]

Hiya Ron :) Lovely idea telling this kind of story in a song. Great job and performed gloriously also!! 5 stars and best wishes, Sunbeam :)

[rhopen]

Thank you Sunbeam, and did you get a call from Janeska?... Something about her birthday :o) just teasing... have a great evening, Sunbeam. -Ron

[jelasings]

so nice to listen to a new song from you...and what a good one! the instruments you chose make it so special and its a really beautiful tune-like a lot the part around 2 minutes! all the stars for you :)))

[rhopen]

Hello Daniela, and I am always very happy to hear from you :o) Thank you very much for your kind comment, and I am really looking forward to a new one from jelasings :o) -Ron

[2xVitamR]

Hey Ron, you old mandolinplayer. A fine song you wrote with fine singing with harmoniesingingand mandolinplaying, altogether 1st class.

All the best

Michael

[rhopen]

Hi Michael, and thank you very much. -Ron

[suuzzee5]

Beautifully written, Ron! Love the tempo and style.... sorta ballad, sorta not. I can hear Dylan recording this...it's pure classic American folk rock. Suze

[rhopen]

Hey Suze. I hear Dylan in this too now that you mention it. Maybe "Knocking on Heaven's Door" for example. Thanks for all your kind words and I do apprecaite them, Suze. -Ron

[jayrbee60]

very well produced, and cool story!

[rhopen]

Thanks Jay. -Ron

[busywave]

This is a remarkable song Ron. Many Many stars! Great story telling.

[rhopen]

Thank you very much, Mark. -Ron

[Oswlek]

Very timeless, Ron. Despite hte loveliess of your production, you can hear that it would sound terrific with just one voice and a banjo.

That "oh" part is incredible.

I need to learn to write story telling lyrics like this. They really are excellent, particularly the limerick style rhyme.

Great singalong at the end and I love the way the Mandolina sends it away.

[rhopen]

Hey Justin, and thanks very much for your comments, which are always very interesting to read.

Yes the lyrics are very much limerick style here, as I wanted it to be something folks might sing on the frontier.

I think of the Bealtes song "She's Leaving Home" as a great example of how effective a "story" can be told in song. It is a great way get something accross. Thanks, -Ron

[LukeCaveman]

What a fantastic song this is! Love the story, i mean the whole approach. And some really really fine melodies you have in there. And the orchestration, if thats the word, i mean it sounds awesome! More of this, please!

[rhopen]

Hey Luke. I appreciate you comments. I wouldn't call what I do Orchestration... it is more like throw it on and hope it works... haha. Thanks again. -Ron

[mordentimes54]

Great song my friend.

Truly enjoyed it.

Thank you for sharing it.

Art

[rhopen]

Thank you very much Art. -Ron

[Johnfern99]

Fantastic original, and performance! I love the mandolin and it is very creative song writing! Excellent, Ron!

[rhopen]

Thank you John. I have been playing around with a lot of "folk" instruments lately, and I'm just trying to find a place for them. I'll never be very good on any of them but I can use them for song parts. thanks, -Ron

[jugnutgut]

Outstanding Ron! Both musically and lyrically.

[rhopen]

Thank you very much, Rob. I really appreciate it. -Ron

[Mariekesone]

First of all i really like your line of thoughts about religion, cruelties and corruption..

i am always forever asking these questions too...

I love this ballad, you wrote very much...so beautifully set too music...and the different instruments sound so good...Brilliant...:-)

[rhopen]

Hello Rineke. Thank you for such a nice comment. It makes my day,,, or evening now I should say :o) Have a great weekend. -Ron

[stufish4040]

A really terrific song! Brilliant chords, melody, instruments and vocal. For me, it has somethng of the feel of the songs in the spoof Western, 'Cat Ballou', which I really like. Bravo, Ron. :] 5*****

[rhopen]

Thank you very much, Stu. I liked "Cat Ballou" very much too, and I have not thought of that movie in a long time :o) I might go rent it this evening :o) Thanks,

-Ron

[duckscli]

What a superb song, tension built up beautifully and was released in perfect spots. Your harmonic changes are also bang on. On top of all that the lyrics are beautifully written. Your finest to date and you're looking younger than you do in your almost 2 year old videos. Absolutely superb!

[rhopen]

Thank you, Duncanio. I've been hanging around you so long those "proper chords" of yours are begining to rub off on me... haha. You are on the home stretch on the exams now, must feel good :o) Talk again soon -Ron

[billkilpatrick]

i understand jessie james used to read the bible to his men in the evenings - "he was always quoting the bible at us." in contrast, the "wild bunch" were offered amnesty if they joined roosevelt's "rough riders" in cuba and when they - and others in the bad-lands - got together to discuss it; everyone got dunk and decided to hell with it and went back to thieving.

[rhopen]

Yes, and the Clanton gang. They were notoriusly bad folks. Thanks Bill, -Ron

[stewze]

Great song man, this one has a very interesting story to it. You've made it work really well; writing from their perspective.

The music also works very well with it, it really puts you in the scene.

Awesome song Ron, faved.

[rhopen]

Hello Stew, thank you. The concertina proved a bit difficult to record but it got on there in the end. Thanks again, -Ron

[WolfgangRaetz]

Hi Ron,

I like your new song very much and had put him to my favorits!

Greatings from Berlin

Wolfgang

[rhopen]

Thanks Wolfgang, very much. Have a great weekend in Berlin. I hope it is cool there... it is too hot in Columbia SC :o)

-Ron

[TanteA]

Hi Ron... what shall I say to a perfect song? I love everything of it, really. A wonderful meldody with phantastic chord changes, intelligent lyrics... I love the mandoline, the sound of the concertina and the choir part in the end. Your voice sounds great too. An exellent production!

I will put your song now into my playlist for my very favorite. And of course. ***** :-)

My respect and very nice greetings!

Anette

[rhopen]

Thank you so much, Anette. You and I are now folk instrument collectors I see :o) I love your dulcimer for example. I have one as well and will try to use it soon, but it won't be as good as your vid :o)

thanks, -Ron

[Cameragirl803]

Oh this was a neat one Ron;) I was glad I was on here for this! Lyrics were great! coo groove and adds with the harm's at the end! VERY NICE! Fived and Faved:) *****

[rhopen]

Hello Jane, since our collabs I always think "now, how would Jane handle these harmonies?" hehe... thanks and have a great weekend. -Ron

[derekeverett]

That was awesome.. what a great idea for a song. I really liked the vocal dubs at the end too!

You put such an enormous amount of work into your stuff man I'm always impressed!

[rhopen]

Hi Derrek, thanks. I usually have the parts pretty much worked out before I go near the microphone, so it doesn't take much time to put together. The hard part is writing the song in the first place :o) Talk to you later, -Rpm