“The Ancestor” – Taichung, Taiwan

I have a special affinity for the band Darlingside, in addition to the fact that they make great music. They were originally based in the town in which I went to college, so I was lucky enough to see them perform numerous times.

This video was filmed at the Rainbow Village in Taichung, a small military dependents village. One of the residents, a Mr. Huang, has painted all of the buildings in vivid, cheerful images. It’s now a very highly-frequented tourist site, and it was all I could do to snag a few minutes against my favorite wall to record this video.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the person who filmed this. It was the first time I’d ever asked a fellow tourist for help, and I couldn’t be happier with the results (although I do promise to put more effort into the audio quality in future videos. I need to speak, or, sing, up!)

“The Ancestor” – Darlingside

“How You Get The Girl” – Kenting, Taiwan

A Taylor Swift song. On a beach. With a ukulele. It was really only a matter of time.

“How You Get The Girl” – Taylor Swift

“You Can Call Me Al” – Viet Tri, Vietnam

As a traveler, I’ve always loved the last verse of this song, and no one can resist the tune. Incidentally, this is a place where there could, in fact, be cattle in the marketplace. And in the road. And walking by during the video.

“You Can Call Me Al” – Paul Simon

“Riptide” – Danshui, Taiwan

At Fisherman’s Wharf in Danshui.

“Riptide” – Vance Joy

“Dance Me to the End of Love” – Taipei, Taiwan

Finally, a video from a different corner of the world. Filmed in the picturesque gardens by the National Concert Hall in Taipei.

“Dance Me to the End of Love” – Leonard Cohen

“Listen to the Radio” – Blue Hill, Maine, USA

I wonder what the ukulele equivalent of a 00-18 Martin guitar is?

Just pretend the unavoidable mountaintop wind is radio static.

“Listen to the Radio” – Nanci Griffith

“The Sounds of Silence” – Wroclaw, Poland

In the backound you can see Cathedral Island with Wroclaw Cathedral and the Church of St. Giles, as well as Tumski bridge barely visible on the right.

“The Sounds of Silence” – Simon and Garfunkel

“I Don’t Know” – Oybin, Germany

To be completely accurate, this was actually en-route from Oybin to Zittau. Please forgive my notebook with the lyrics, it’s a bit of a wordy song that I haven’t completely memorized yet, but I couldn’t resist the chance to play on an old-fashioned train. Many thanks to everyone who came on the trek today.

“I Don’t Know” – Lisa Hannigan

“Sweet Caroline” – Prague, Czech Republic

A beautiful Spring day in Prague (partway up Petřín hill with the city in the background) to mark my ukulele’s first birthday.

“Sweet Caroline” – Neil Diamond

“What About Everything?” – Ljubljana, Slovenia

Before filming the video, I was sitting on the steps by the river Ljubljanica waiting for things to quiet down. I don’t mind ambient noise, in fact I think it can add to the video, but there was a group of fifteen or so kindergarteners getting their picture taken by their teacher and chattering quite a bit, so I was going to hold off filming until they’d passed by. They were milling around, and I looked up to see their teacher smile at me and gesture, like playing an instrument. I quickly grasped her meaning and started to play this song. The kids were immediately enthralled and within ten seconds were all sitting in a line on the step above me, staring at me with rapt attention. When I finished the song, they all started clapping and saying things in Slovenian. After I said “thank you” in English a few times, they, with prompting from their teacher, let out a chorus of “thank you’s” and “goodbye’s” in English. It was very sweet and a perfect start to a sunny day.

“What About Everything?” –  Carbon Leaf