I’m pleased to share my Twang Dynasty project. Poems from China’s Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) inspire this set of original songs written in the style of American country music.

Classical Chinese poetry and American roots music are worlds apart in style and status. Yet they share themes of love, loss, and yearning for home. And drinking. I offer this project as a toast to our common humanity.

The poems inspire my lyrics, but I tell my own stories. So my songs are not literal translations set to music. They are new songs with a debt to the old scholars. I adapt mood, theme, and images from the Tang poems to express my own feelings in a modern setting.

My musical style evokes a bygone era of country and folk. It echoes Texas dance halls and cowboy campfires. Hints of bluegrass and folk festivals flavor the mix.

So I am exploring across genres, crossing borders. The lyrics balance on a wire between poetry and song. The music sways between folk and country. The concept carries a passport between East and West.

I hope that there is something here that you will enjoy.

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You can play the full album here, below. But do open the individual songs from LYRICS & POEMS on the main menu to see lyrics, pictures, and the poems that inspired each song.