The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu

(To  listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)

The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu

Art Hughes, a friend of mine, recommended I use videos to help promote my children’s book, K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play. He also suggested using OpenShot Video Editor to create the videos.

So, I wrote a song titled The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu. Here it is:

The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu
Lyrics by Jim Potter

Chorus: K-9, K-9 Kudzu, a working dog who loves to play

K-9 Kudzu’s
a deputy dog.
He can find children
lost in the fog.

His partner’s Tom Jennings,
a uniformed cop.
They work long hours
that just won’t stop.

Chorus: K-9, K-9 Kudzu, a working dog who loves to play

Drug dealers don’t like him.
He puts them in jail.
His nose finds drugs
on the scent trail.

He’s playful and driven
to find his blue ball.
His nose sniffs for drugs
inside of walls.

Chorus: K-9, K-9 Kudzu, a working dog who loves to play

He’s a German shepherd,
a beautiful breed.
He’s curious and smart,
courageous, he leads.

He’s named for a vine,
found in the south.
It smothers all trees,
choking them out.

Chorus: K-9, K-9 Kudzu, a working dog who loves to play

Tom loves to eat.
He’s gaining weight.
Kudzu’s more careful.
But he’d love to taste cake.

Twelve hours down.
It’s time to go home.
If that police radio
would just leave them alone.

Chorus: K-9, K-9 Kudzu, a working dog who loves to play

*

Next, J. Alex Potter recommended using the tune of a song we grew up with while watching Davy Crockett on TV in the 1950s. The chorus is so catchy that I must warn you to not listen to The Ballad of Davy Crockett or The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu just prior to bedtime.

Once I had the song recorded, I asked Gina Laiso, Integrita Productions, to send me individual files of her dynamic color illustrations used in K-9 Kudzu.

I reluctantly recorded The Ballad of K-9 Kudzu, my voice only being a place holder until I could line up Dolly Parton to record it. If you know Dolly or run into her in Nashville, please ask her to call me at 620-899-3144. We need to talk. Thanks.

Then I put the images in order while listening to my audio recording. Once I had them lined up with the proper time sequence, I exported them as a project file.

Following Art’s advice, I put this slideshow/video on my YouTube channel and added subtitles to it so children can use it as a tool for improving their reading.

Here’s the slide show with audio. Be sure to turn on the closed caption (“CC”) control at the bottom of the screen.

Our book signing is tonight, July 20^th from 6-8 p.m.

Until next time, happy writing,

*

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• Bookends bookstore, 123 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS, is open Wednesady through Saturday. Phone 620-259-7511. Website link http://bookendshutch.com
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