What you see above is the cover to a very special surprise I planed for my fiancée, Lisa Brewer, for this past Valentine's Day.
There are many songs I listen to that make me think of her. I knew that the best way to show her how I felt about her would be to let her hear these songs for herself. So I went to a friend with a CD burner and he helped me create this special compilation for her: "Songs that make me think of you."
I created this page as a tribute to her and our future together.
Of all the artists I listen to, it is the works of Chris de Burgh that come closest to expressing my deepest feelings. So this entire compilation of 20 songs are all by him.
The only exception is the song "Always On My Mind" which is, of course, an Elvis Presley song. However, the version on this disc is performed by Chris de Burgh from his album Beautiful Dreams (Lisa is a big Elvis fan, so naturally any Elvis song tends to remind me of her. "Always On My Mind" happens to be the only Elvis song Chris de Burgh has ever covered, so I thought it appropriate to include it).
Under the title of each song on the track list, I quoted the lyrics in the song that most reminded me of her. And, to make sure the CD reminded her of me whenever she saw it, I wrote on the label and signed it myself.
If you'd like to see the track list or the CD, click on one of these smaller pictures of them:
I also made sure the CD would remind her of me whenever she listened to it, too. I sang the last two tracks, "Discovery" and "Goodnight," myself.
Thanks to the friend with the CD burner who has some sophisticated sound editing software, we were able to take these two songs and remove Chris de Burgh's voice. Then, I sang the song and we mixed my voice in. Lisa has always liked my singing, and I've always loved singing for her, so I felt this was a very appropriate way to end the disc.
Before giving Lisa the CD, I took my renditions of "Discovery" and "Goodnight" and converted them into MP3s. If you'd like to take the risk and listen to my singing, you can download those MP3s here:
If you don't have any software to play MP3s, you can either download MacAmp (for Macintosh users) or WinAmp (for Windows users). If you use a platform other than Macintosh or Windows, check out MP3.com to find playback software for your platform.
For a long time, I have been frustrated by the fact that words have never been enough to describe to Lisa how I feel about her. But these songs transcend the words, allowing me to speak directly from my heart.
At last, I can say "I love you, Lisa" the way I've always wanted to.
An extra special thank you to Evan Perry, who not only let me use his computer, CD burner and printer, but also put up with my singing. This project would not have been possible without his help. Thanks, Ev.
