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And tide and tide and 'tween the tides her sons go out and in
Berlioz's Les Troyens at the Boston Symphony Orchestra: monumental and shimmering, like the ancient cities that you dream. Coming down with a severe sore throat: probably created a slightly more hallucinatory impression than Berlioz intended. On the other hand, Yvonne Naef had a head cold for tonight's Cassandra, and I should sound that good on my healthy days.
Pursuant to my last post: a playlist of sea-yearning songs. Some will be familiar to readers of this journal—some I have gotten from readers of this journal—of this particular batch, a few are traditional, most are coined, and all, when I heard them, spoke to me in the right language of the sea. They may not for anyone else. (The sea has many voices, / Many gods and many voices.) There are thirty songs here; translations or transcriptions can be provided upon request, and there may be a sequel to this playlist at some point. Until then or otherwise, enjoy! I am going to drink a lot of tea and go to bed.
The Bills, "Bamfield's John Vanden"
So your questions of romance don't ask me
I'm the man who wed the Pacific sea
Brian Peters, "The Widow at Windsor"
Walk wide o' the Widow at Windsor,
For 'alf o' Creation she owns:
We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame,
An' we've salted it down with our bones.
(Poor beggars!—it's blue with our bones!)
Cliff Haslam, Jeff & Gerret Warner, Tony Saletan, "The Dreadnought"
Here's a health to the Dreadnought and the whole of her crew
To the bold Captain Samuels and his officers too
You can keep your flash packets, Swallowtail and Black Ball
Oh, the Dreadnought's the flyer that can lick them all
Cyril Tawney, "Roll Down (The Shantyman)"
Now the anchor's aweigh and the sails are unfurled
(Roll down)
We're bound for to take you halfway round the world
(Walk around, me brave boys, and roll down)
Dar Williams, "The Ocean"
It's where we came from, you know
And sometimes I just want to go back
After a day, we'll drink till we're drowning
Walk to the ocean, wade in with our work boots
Wade in our work boots, try to finish the job
The Decemberists, "The Island (Come and See, The Landlord's Daughter, You'll Not Feel The Drowning)"
I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green your grave will rise
Eliza Carthy & The Kings of Calicutt, "Fisher Boy"
Oh, the bonny fisher boy that brings the fishes from the sea
Oh, the bonny fisher boy, the fisher boy got hold of me
Gordon Bok, "Peter Kagan and the Wind"
Kagan, Kagan, Kagan
Bring the dory home
The wind and sea do follow thee
And all the ledges calling thee
John Roberts & Tony Barrand, "Anchor Song"
For the wind has come to say:
"You must take me while you may,
If you'd go to Mother Carey
(Walk her down to Mother Carey!),
Oh, we're bound to Mother Carey where she feeds her chicks at sea!"
John Roberts & Tony Barrand, "Drake's Drum"
Drake he's in his hammock and a thousand miles away
(Captain, art thou sleeping there below?)
Slung atween the round shot in Nombre Dios Bay
And dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe
Yonder looms the island, yonder lie the ships
With sailor lads a-dancing heel and toe
And the shore lights flashing and the night tide dashing
He sees it all so plainly as he saw it long ago
Kaizers Orchestra, "Dekk Bord"
Ro, ro heim til Transylvania
Gløm nå personalia og andre trivialia
Dekk bord, send et telegram
Til Victoria, for snart komme me fram
Row, row home to Transylvania
Forget the personal notes and other trivia
Get the table set, send a telegram
To Victoria, for we're soon coming home
Lal Waterson, "Bath Time"
What's all this fuss and commotion?
Two children in a tin bath on a clippy mat
We sailed a mighty ocean
Lal Waterson, "Midnight Feast"
And always in our ears was the sound of the ocean
Always in the distance was an indigo sky
Lal & Norma Waterson, "Jenny Storm"
But in Boggle Hole lay the lad she should wed
(The larks they sing so clearly-o)
The seaweed was tangled about his head
(As the tide came flowing in)
Martin Carthy & The UK Group, "The Mermaid"
For last night, last night the moon shone bright
And you know that she had sons five
Tonight she may look in the salt, salt waves
And find but one alive
My Favorite, "How I Saved My Life"
She shook a black tambourine in my shipwrecked dreams
A heart like an anchor that sank her down to me
At the bottom of the sea
Peter Bellamy, "We Have Fed Our Sea (The Song of the Dead)"
There's never an ebb goes seaward now
But drops our dead on the sand—
PJ Harvey, "Water"
Now the water to my ankles
Now the water to my knees
Think of him all waxy wings
Melted down into the sea
The Pogues, "Turkish Song of the Damned"
Did you keep a watch for the dead man's wind?
Did you see the woman with the comb in her hand
Wailing away on the wall of the strand?
Rasputina, "SweetWater Kill"
All along, it was the ocean's song
That called me down to listen to her
Swirling still in a sweetwater kill
A swiftly sifting riptide
Robyn Hitchcock, "The Ghost Ship"
The bubbles rising from the deep
Where dead men sing themselves to sleep
From oak and coral, they do seep to say
Okay, you read my future like a chart
See through my skin into my heart
Stan Rogers, "Barrett's Privateers"
God damn them all! I was told
We'd cruise the seas for American gold
We're fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's privateers
Stan Rogers, "Three Fishers"
Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower
And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down
And they looked at the squall and they looked at the shower
And the night wrack came rolling in ragged and brown
The Starboard List, "The Banks of Newfoundland"
Wash the mud off the dead man's face and heave to beat the band
There blow some cold nor'westers on the banks of Newfoundland
Sting, "Blood Red Roses"
Oh, you pinks and posies
Go down, you blood red roses, go down
Sting, "Why Should I Cry For You?"
Under the Arctic fire
Over the seas of silence
Hauling on frozen ropes
For all my days remaining
Sting, "The Soul Cages"
If you lose a wager with the king of the sea
You'll spend the rest of forever in the cage with me
Vetiver, "Luna Sea"
The moon drives the seas insane
Soon the tide will take you in
Why do I bother to explain?
Waterson : Carthy, "Captain Kidd"
My parents taught me well
To shun the gates of hell
Against them I rebelled, as I sailed
The Young Tradition, "Shanties (Fire Maringo, Hanging Johnny, Bring 'Em Down, Haul On The Bowline)"
Lift him up and carry him along
(Fire Maringo, fire away)
Put him down where he belong
(Fire Maringo, fire away)
Pursuant to my last post: a playlist of sea-yearning songs. Some will be familiar to readers of this journal—some I have gotten from readers of this journal—of this particular batch, a few are traditional, most are coined, and all, when I heard them, spoke to me in the right language of the sea. They may not for anyone else. (The sea has many voices, / Many gods and many voices.) There are thirty songs here; translations or transcriptions can be provided upon request, and there may be a sequel to this playlist at some point. Until then or otherwise, enjoy! I am going to drink a lot of tea and go to bed.
The Bills, "Bamfield's John Vanden"
So your questions of romance don't ask me
I'm the man who wed the Pacific sea
Brian Peters, "The Widow at Windsor"
Walk wide o' the Widow at Windsor,
For 'alf o' Creation she owns:
We 'ave bought 'er the same with the sword an' the flame,
An' we've salted it down with our bones.
(Poor beggars!—it's blue with our bones!)
Cliff Haslam, Jeff & Gerret Warner, Tony Saletan, "The Dreadnought"
Here's a health to the Dreadnought and the whole of her crew
To the bold Captain Samuels and his officers too
You can keep your flash packets, Swallowtail and Black Ball
Oh, the Dreadnought's the flyer that can lick them all
Cyril Tawney, "Roll Down (The Shantyman)"
Now the anchor's aweigh and the sails are unfurled
(Roll down)
We're bound for to take you halfway round the world
(Walk around, me brave boys, and roll down)
Dar Williams, "The Ocean"
It's where we came from, you know
And sometimes I just want to go back
After a day, we'll drink till we're drowning
Walk to the ocean, wade in with our work boots
Wade in our work boots, try to finish the job
The Decemberists, "The Island (Come and See, The Landlord's Daughter, You'll Not Feel The Drowning)"
I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Lay you close to water
Green your grave will rise
Eliza Carthy & The Kings of Calicutt, "Fisher Boy"
Oh, the bonny fisher boy that brings the fishes from the sea
Oh, the bonny fisher boy, the fisher boy got hold of me
Gordon Bok, "Peter Kagan and the Wind"
Kagan, Kagan, Kagan
Bring the dory home
The wind and sea do follow thee
And all the ledges calling thee
John Roberts & Tony Barrand, "Anchor Song"
For the wind has come to say:
"You must take me while you may,
If you'd go to Mother Carey
(Walk her down to Mother Carey!),
Oh, we're bound to Mother Carey where she feeds her chicks at sea!"
John Roberts & Tony Barrand, "Drake's Drum"
Drake he's in his hammock and a thousand miles away
(Captain, art thou sleeping there below?)
Slung atween the round shot in Nombre Dios Bay
And dreaming all the time of Plymouth Hoe
Yonder looms the island, yonder lie the ships
With sailor lads a-dancing heel and toe
And the shore lights flashing and the night tide dashing
He sees it all so plainly as he saw it long ago
Kaizers Orchestra, "Dekk Bord"
Ro, ro heim til Transylvania
Gløm nå personalia og andre trivialia
Dekk bord, send et telegram
Til Victoria, for snart komme me fram
Row, row home to Transylvania
Forget the personal notes and other trivia
Get the table set, send a telegram
To Victoria, for we're soon coming home
Lal Waterson, "Bath Time"
What's all this fuss and commotion?
Two children in a tin bath on a clippy mat
We sailed a mighty ocean
Lal Waterson, "Midnight Feast"
And always in our ears was the sound of the ocean
Always in the distance was an indigo sky
Lal & Norma Waterson, "Jenny Storm"
But in Boggle Hole lay the lad she should wed
(The larks they sing so clearly-o)
The seaweed was tangled about his head
(As the tide came flowing in)
Martin Carthy & The UK Group, "The Mermaid"
For last night, last night the moon shone bright
And you know that she had sons five
Tonight she may look in the salt, salt waves
And find but one alive
My Favorite, "How I Saved My Life"
She shook a black tambourine in my shipwrecked dreams
A heart like an anchor that sank her down to me
At the bottom of the sea
Peter Bellamy, "We Have Fed Our Sea (The Song of the Dead)"
There's never an ebb goes seaward now
But drops our dead on the sand—
PJ Harvey, "Water"
Now the water to my ankles
Now the water to my knees
Think of him all waxy wings
Melted down into the sea
The Pogues, "Turkish Song of the Damned"
Did you keep a watch for the dead man's wind?
Did you see the woman with the comb in her hand
Wailing away on the wall of the strand?
Rasputina, "SweetWater Kill"
All along, it was the ocean's song
That called me down to listen to her
Swirling still in a sweetwater kill
A swiftly sifting riptide
Robyn Hitchcock, "The Ghost Ship"
The bubbles rising from the deep
Where dead men sing themselves to sleep
From oak and coral, they do seep to say
Okay, you read my future like a chart
See through my skin into my heart
Stan Rogers, "Barrett's Privateers"
God damn them all! I was told
We'd cruise the seas for American gold
We're fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's privateers
Stan Rogers, "Three Fishers"
Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower
And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down
And they looked at the squall and they looked at the shower
And the night wrack came rolling in ragged and brown
The Starboard List, "The Banks of Newfoundland"
Wash the mud off the dead man's face and heave to beat the band
There blow some cold nor'westers on the banks of Newfoundland
Sting, "Blood Red Roses"
Oh, you pinks and posies
Go down, you blood red roses, go down
Sting, "Why Should I Cry For You?"
Under the Arctic fire
Over the seas of silence
Hauling on frozen ropes
For all my days remaining
Sting, "The Soul Cages"
If you lose a wager with the king of the sea
You'll spend the rest of forever in the cage with me
Vetiver, "Luna Sea"
The moon drives the seas insane
Soon the tide will take you in
Why do I bother to explain?
Waterson : Carthy, "Captain Kidd"
My parents taught me well
To shun the gates of hell
Against them I rebelled, as I sailed
The Young Tradition, "Shanties (Fire Maringo, Hanging Johnny, Bring 'Em Down, Haul On The Bowline)"
Lift him up and carry him along
(Fire Maringo, fire away)
Put him down where he belong
(Fire Maringo, fire away)
no subject
Sleep well, wake better.
Nine
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It would have been more organized if I were less tired: chanteys, historicals, traditional, mythical, whacked-out alternative that still worked its way into my hindbrain . . . Perhaps I will put together a set of CDs later this spring. I could very easily make a playlist for "The Salt House" (although it would overlap several times with this set). But nothing right now. Thank you for those songs that came from you.
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You're welcome. I am pleased to be a tributary to your sea.
Nine
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exactly--and as wonderful to pick through as what washes up on shore.
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Well, then, whatever works! Enjoy!
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The first one I got was the Robyn Hitchcock, because I love him. Have you ever heard "My Desert is Waiting"?
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No; I have only a dozen or so of his songs, although I like all of them and several I love. Between your recommendation and
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...it's actually fantastically unrelated to the sea, come to think of it. Train of thought is such an odd train; the tracks are built in such strange locations.
"My desert" would make a great drinking song--as would another by the Jazz Butcher, "Down the Drain."
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I think you're thinking of Robin Williamson . . .
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Yes, you're right; I was meaning/thinking Robin Williamson.
I *do* like Robyn Hitchcock, though, even if my attempts to hurl a dart at him keep hitting other singers.
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Y'know, if you ever get the urge to trade themed mix CDs...
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Yes! Picked up the summer before last, I think, and it overlapped much less with my extant collection of sea-songs and chanteys than I had been expecting. I am nothing like a comprehensive collector; I just like this music.
Y'know, if you ever get the urge to trade themed mix CDs...
Hmm . . .
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I expect you have one or more of these already, but in thanks for the music, here are a few of my favorite sea songs.
Shaye - No Mermaid (http://www.sendspace.com/file/0khd7v) (a cover of the Sinead Lohan song; I have the original too, if you'd like it)
John Tams - The Sea: One More Day (http://www.sendspace.com/file/53y604)
John Tams - The Sea: Pretty Nancy (http://www.sendspace.com/file/g2qn7u)
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Thank you! I didn't have either of the John Tams.
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Prrrr. Tibi gratias.
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So many wonderful songs ... thank you! They made me think of this one, which is, I think, both sea-yearning and its denial:
"Then come with me" you say, "to where the Southern Cross
Rides high upon your shoulder."
"Come with me!" you cry,
"Each day you tend this lock, you're one day older,
While your blood runs colder."
But that anchor chain's a fetter
And with it you are tethered to the foam,
And I wouldn't trade your life for one hour of home.
- Stan Rogers, "The Lock-Keeper"
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Yes. I think I need to look this one up.
Thanks!
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Also you forgot 'Valparaiso'.
*gurgles*
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I'm very glad that Les Troyens was, if I take your meaning correctly, as it ought to've been. And very sorry that you've had a sore throat. I hope you're feeling better now, and, if not now, that you'll be feeling much better very soon.
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I already knew that I loved Berlioz because of his Symphonie fantastique, but Les Troyens just gave me more reasons. I am going to see if I can find a recording, someday when I have money.
And very sorry that you've had a sore throat. I hope you're feeling better now, and, if not now, that you'll be feeling much better very soon.
Thanks. I don't feel very well still, but I spent most of the day watching classic films; many worse things could have happened to me.
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Excellent.
Thanks. I don't feel very well still, but I spent most of the day watching classic films; many worse things could have happened to me.
Most welcome, as always. I suppose that's so, and I'm glad that nothing worst has you befell. Nonetheless, I persist in hoping that you'll soon feel better.
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I'm particularly taken with Roberts and Barrand's "Drake's Drum." And the Waterson Carthy version of "Captain Kidd" is excellent; I've not heard that song since my friend Patsy, who used to sing it sometimes, moved to Minnesota.
Oh, and I've put up the Danú version of "Farewell Angelina," and somewhat else as well. Most recent post on my LJ, it is.