Marie Swidersky | Singer/Songwriter

'I believe that everyone has a story to tell.'

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Dedicated to:

Bruce Ley, my amazing teacher, musician, arranger and friend–encouraging me to keep singing and writing through “thick and thin”. Always inspired and loved by my brothers and sisters of the Simcoe Free Church. My beautiful children, their spouses and my very loved grandchildren. My Mom and Dad, my sisters and brothers and all the Kane family. Dear friends–”like diamonds are precious and rare”. And last but not least, my beautiful husband, Len. Thank you for being with me on my journey.

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Album Produced by Bruce Ley

Dedicated to the love of my life, Len.

Something Good

One of my favourite songs from The Sound of Music is called "Something Good”. The lyrics go like this:

"Nothing comes from nothing

Nothing ever could

Somewhere in my youth or childhood

I must have done something good

...There must have been a moment of Truth”

Every time I hear it sung, the beauty of it brings tears to my eyes and fills my heart with hope. I hear the two lovers singing to each other, and I feel so thankful for my life—for my journey. I went from being a basically happy person, along with many fears and anxieties, to being full of joy and free of so many burdens I carried.

It happened one night when I was sitting in our Anglican Church, along with my friends, listening to a new minister, Dave Ward, giving a sermon in the pulpit. He talked about Jesus in a way I had never heard before—that Jesus was God on earth and that he loved ‘me’. So many questions I had always struggled with over life and death were answered. I saw Jesus was my friend and I came alive in Jesus—my life changed—I was free! A light went on that night and through all life’s struggles and joys—the light is still on!

I played the piano from a young child, but now, in the hippie days, I began to sing with my guitar for kids in the inner city and anywhere else that they would have me. Dave and Jan Ward become my life-long friends and the songs in the two CDs tell you all about my feelings and thoughts. I am also very grateful to Frank Squires who became our minister after Dave went on to Heaven and gives me a chance to sing my songs and play a few hymns every week. I feel like “somewhere in my youth or childhood, there must have been a moment of Truth”—to be so blessed!

The story of my life is in my songs. I live a life surrounded by my husband Len and his beautiful art, our amazing children, their spouses and our grandchildren. On my 70th birthday, they showered me with gifts of great food, and they also helped me to get over the shock of turning 70!!! When I opened our daughter Jessica‘s card she told me to look at the computer and I couldn’t believe what I saw! Jessica (a Fine Artist and Graphic Designer) created this beautiful website for my two CDs—what a gift! Tears of joy followed and thanks to her—voila!

So here we go! Thank you to everyone who listens and good friends that continue to help me on my musical journey. The article following this, called Follow Your Dreams, tells you more about me! It is one of many that I wrote for Chrissy Patchell‘s beautiful magazine, Dining and the Arts—another great friend that gave me a chance to write. This is an adventure to share with you another time!

I truly hope that some of my songs will find a place in your heart.

Marie

Follow Your Dreams

I believe that everyone has a story to tell, and I love writing about other people and the journey they take in their lives. However, when it comes to writing about me - that is a wee bit of a challenge! At the ripe age of 63, I also have a story to share with you- the very important part music has played and is still playing in my life. Well here we go!

I think I fell in love with music from the time I was born. Maybe I heard my Mother singing while I was in the womb, who knows? I inherited a bed from my great grandparents that had black flowers carved into the headboard and they became my piano keys. I woke up from a nap singing and went to bed with a song in my heart. When I was four years old, my Mother took me to a lady’s home and we bought a piano for me. I was asked if I liked it and of course I said ‘yes’. Any piano was fine for me! I began to write music – very primitive, of course, but they were notes and had a tune to go with them.

My parents loved music. Before my feet could touch the floor, I was dancing with my Father to the ‘big band’ music in the Imperial Room at The Royal York Hotel. We were there many Saturday nights. My Dad would tell us to get ‘dolled up’ and in the fifties that meant wearing a hat, white gloves and a fake mink stole. My love for dressing up likely began then! I played Chopsticks on the piano with Carmen Cavallaro and great singers like Ella Fitzgerald performed at the weekly shows. Those certainly were the days!!

Like many children, I took piano and singing lessons. Most of my teachers were kind but piano teachers often got a bad rap and for good reason. I was serving fudge at our Olde Stanton Store at Blue when a customer heard me mention my teacher’s name – Olive- and low and behold, that was her teacher too! Our hearts joined that day in sympathy – slapped on our knuckles and rapped on our heads for playing a wrong note or slouching at the piano bench. Yes, it was quite a rough way to keep our love for music intact! My brave brother John would not go to his lesson without my Mother to protect him!!

Throughout my school years, I stepped up to the plate and played and sang in musicals. In one play, Passionella, they had to make me look like a movie star and that is not what I looked like!! Padding (everywhere!), a wig – you name it! To top it off, I had to come out of a huge puff of smoke on stage and sing a song, to what seemed like the entire world, that I was ‘gorgeous – absolutely gorgeous’! Not quite my style but it was fun being a 60’s movie star for a short moment!! Somehow, I managed to pull it off!!!

I lived in downtown Toronto when I went to Trinity College and sang in the Mendelssohn Choir. I remember walking home up St. George Street, singing my lungs out. I always wondered what I would do if I couldn’t sing. Singing soothed anything that hurt me and when I was happy, singing made me happier. I whistled on the subway, even when a woman informed me that it was bad luck for a girl to whistle! Back in the 70’s, folk music was very hot. We carried our guitars everywhere – to Europe and sang wherever we could. Those were the days!

Now, forty years later, these are the days! What I consider a miracle happened to me. I began taking jazz piano lessons from Bruce Ley – a musician and music producer who lives with his wife, Candice, in the Mulmur Hills (south of Collingwood) not far from our home. For about two years I worked at learning to play chords – what a ‘brain challenge’ for me! The amazing part is that my kind, patient teacher never gave up on me and I also did not give up! I wrote a song using my guitar, as I had many years before and got up the courage to sing it to Bruce. Suddenly my life in music took a new direction. To my surprise, he liked my song and encouraged me to write another one for next week. I thought – are you kidding? But guess what! I started writing music and singing again – just as I had years before when our children were young.

I asked my teacher if singers like Paul McCartney were too old to be coming back to the music scene and he replied –‘definitely not’! It is never too late to follow any dream as long as we are still up and running! So here I am. Sometimes I feel a little silly when I tell someone I am recording a CD of some of the songs I have written. When that happens I remind myself how sad this world would be without music and love. I just keep on singing and hope that someday, when my voice gets a little rusty, I will always have a song in my heart.

– Marie Swidersky

Feel free to send me a message! Thanks so much for listening,

Marie Swidersky

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