One Silver Cup

WELCOME!

2009-12-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Thank you for visiting One Silver Cup, the musical project to celebrate Shel Silverstein through song.

After a particularly lucid reading of a Kabuki comic, inspiration struck. The idea to turn Shel Silverstein poems into songs felt natural. Little j called Dan Adamson (of Dust Bunny Monster fame) and they produced the material before you.

Download One Silver Cup MP3s for free at this site and spread the word to Shel Silverstein lovers everywhere!

InJoy!

j

PS... if you would like to submit a quality recording to be included in One Silver Cup, please send your MP3(s) and all relevant information here: multimeideaarts@gmail.com

True Story

2009-12-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

One Silver Cup - True Story.mp3

True Story

by Shel Silverstein

from Where The Sidewalk Ends

This morning I jumped on my horse
and went out for a ride.

Some wild outlaws chased me
and they shot me in the side.

So I crawled into a wildcat's cave
to find a place to hide,

But some pirates found me a'sleepin' there
and soon they had me tied
To a pole and built a fire
Under me I almost cried

'Till a mermaid cut me loose
and begged to be my bride.

So I said I'd come back Wednesday,
but I must admit I lied,

Then I ran into a jungle swamp
but I forgot my guide.

Then I stepped into some quicksand,
and no matter how I tried,

I couldn't get out 'till I met
a water snake named Clyde

Who pulled me to some cannibals
who planned to have me fried

'Till an eagle come and swooped me up
and through the air we flied,

But he dropped me in a boiling lake
a thousand miles wide.

And you'll never guess what I did then,

I died!

Upstairs

2009-12-07T21:50:00.001-08:00

One Silver Cup - Upstairs.mp3

Upstairs

by Shel Silverstein
from Where The Sidewalk Ends

There's a family of wrens who live upstairs

Upstairs, Upstairs, Upstairs

Inside my hat all cozy in

My Hair, My Hair, My Hair

I've moved a dozen times and still

They're there, They're there, They're there

I'd like to get away from them

But where, But where, But where

This hat just isn't big enough

To share, To share, To share

But now I see you're bored and you

Don't care, Don't care, Don't care

About the wrens who live inside

My Hair, My Hair, My Hair

Enter This Deserted House

2009-12-07T21:11:00.001-08:00

One Silver Cup - Enter This Deserted House.mp3

Enter This Deserted House

by Shel Silverstein

from Where The Sidewalk Ends

But please walk softly as you do.

Frogs dwell here and crickets too.

Ain't no ceiling, only blue.

Jays dwell here and sunbeams too.

Floors are flowers - take a few

Ferns grow here and daisies too.

Swoosh, whoosh - too-whit, too-woo

Bats dwell here and hoot owls too.

Ha-ha-ha, hee-hee, hoo-hoooo,

Gnomes dwell here and goblins too.

And my child, I thought you knew

I dwell here... and so do you

Where The Sidewalk Ends

2009-12-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

Where The Sidewalk Ends (1974) is a collection of children's poetry written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. The book's poems address many common childhood concerns and also presents purely fanciful stories. The first edition was originally copyrighted in 1974 and published by Harper and Row Publishers.

The author dedicated this book "For Ursula" and gives thanks to Ursula Nordstrom, Barbara Borack, Dorothy Hagen, Beri Greenwald, Gloria Bressler, and Bill Cole.

In 2004, a special 30th Anniversary Edition was published, which included 12 new poems.

The audio edition of the book was originally released on cassette in 1983, as an LP phonograph record in 1984, and won the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Recording For Children. The copyright is owned by Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The collection is recited, sung, and shouted by Shel Silverstein himself. Also he has performed it at the Grammy Awards in 1984.

In 2000, the album was re-released on cassette and CD for the 25th anniversary of the book. This collection is copyrighted 1984 & 2000 by Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The collection is again recited, sung, and shouted by Shel Silverstein.

As a special treat, the 25th Anniversary Edition also contains 11 previously unreleased tracks culled from the original master tapes.

Uncle Shelby

2009-12-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

Sheldon Alan "Shel" Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children's books. He sometimes styled himself as Uncle Shelby, especially for his early children's books.

The phrase "Renaissance man" tends to get overused these days, but apply it to Shel Silverstein and it practically begins to seem inadequate. Not only has he produced with seeming ease country music hits and popular songs, but he's been equally successful at turning his hand to poetry, short stories, plays, and children's books. Moreover, his whimsically hip fables, beloved by readers of all ages, have made him a stalwart of bestseller lists. A Light in the Attic, most remarkably, showed the kind of staying power on the New York Times chart — two years, to be precise — that most of the biggest names (John Grisham, Stephen King, and Michael Crichton) have never equaled for their own blockbusters.

And there's still more: his unmistakable illustrative style is another crucial element to his appeal. Just as no writer sounds like Shel, no other artist's vision is as delightfully, sophisticatingly cockeyed.

One can only marvel that he makes the time to respond so kindly to his friends' requests. In the following work, let's be glad he did. Drawing on his characteristic passion for list making, he shows how the deed is not just in the wish but in the sublimation.

~Otto Penzler

Silverstein confirmed that he never studied the poetry of others and therefore developed his own quirky style: laid-back and conversational, occasionally employing profanity and slang.

“I think that if you’re truly creative, you can work in certain related fields of creativity, but then there are others that are beyond you. For instance, a man who works well with words might work as a writer and as a poet and as a lyricist. But if he tried to work in sculpture, he might get absolutely nowhere. And a guy who is very visual might easily work in painting and drawing, could also work in costume design, if he leaned that way, could work in stage setting, and in those related fields. I do believe that a person who is truly observant in one of the arts will be truly observant and sensitive in the others as well, but it’s his ability to express these things that would limit him. I believe that a man who is a sensitive painter is sensitive to life, and therefore would be sensitive as a writer or as a storyteller, but having the ability to write is something more than merely seeing. Having the ability to paint is something more than merely seeing the colors, seeking the form. It’s in execution, in skill.”

~ Shel Silverstein (1963) in an interview with Aardvark magazine.

Silverstein believed that written works needed to be read on paper—the correct paper for the particular work. He usually would not allow his poems and stories to be published unless he could choose the type, size, shape, color, and quality of the paper himself. Being a book collector, he took seriously the feel of the paper, the look of the book from the inside and out, the typeface for each poem, and the binding of his books. He did not allow his books to be published in paperback because he did not want his work to diminish in any way.