GGC’s alma mater: My losing song

While a faculty member at Georgia Gwinnett College, I entered a contest to compose its alma mater. That was more than a year ago, and, after a long and mysterious silence, the college has announced its two finalists. You can find them here. My entry isn’t one of them. Here it is:

We’ll Paint Tomorrow Green:  download or click below to play:

My approach was that an alma mater written today should have a more contemporary sound than one written a century ago and that it should have a melody that people will be able to sing (unlike the national anthem), enjoy singing (unlike most alma maters), and sound good singing en masse. Basically, “Hey Jude” was my model.

Purton Hupp

Purton Hupp doesn’t like to talk much, and even less about himself. Now, singing is another thing altogether. I’ve spent enough time with the man to know that his music is like waves noisily crashing against the shore. It’s easy to forget there’s a whole ocean behind it.

Still, I’ve learned a bit from the man. I hope he doesn’t mind my sharing some of it here:

• Crickets don’t tweak their songs. The leaves don’t tweak their rustling.
• If it weren’t for bosses, no one would sing about trains.
• Love is like a hurricane in the desert.
• If you’re proud of feeling zen, then you might be ashamed of feeling pain.
• Jokers are wild by nature. Most people prefer to play without them and don’t miss them when they aren’t in the deck.

Now you can listen to Purton break – sometimes against a cliff, sometimes on the rocks, and too seldom across the sand: http://phupp.wordpress.com.