Musings from Kevin… So you are out on the ocean and need some inspiration for the long nights by the dredge? Well, have I got the CD for you! Here are a few of my favorites that bring me back a mile or two below the surface (metaphorically, as I spend my time usually in front of a computer):
- “What Does the Deep-Sea Say?”
Done by Bill Monroe & Doc Watson, Woody Guthrie and Dave Alvin, this song is a harrowing tale of a sailor boy that is now sleeping at the bottom of the deep sea through the wrath and fury of the ocean. It doesn’t say anything, but “It moans, it groans, it flashes and it foams and rolls on its weary way”, while a lover stands on the beach and gazes “at the misty blue”. She places a rose of wave crest and watches for driftwood…
- “Sorrows of the Sailor/Blue Water”
One of my favorite songs from Scottish-born Canadian David Francey is also from one of my all-time favorite albums, Torn Screen Door. “Sorrows of the Sailor” is a beautiful a capello piece that serves as sort of intro to Blue Water. David sings solo about the treacherous work of being a sailor, “Caught between the Devil and something worse, Hung between heaven and the life on earth”. “Blue Water” is beautiful song of the parallels of the ocean and life. Sometimes I feel like I’m always at sea, Always pulled by the tides of the time, In the faces and places that beckon to me, My heart always knows its own mind.
- “The Beautiful Sea”
A not so well-known but very talented band from New York called, Hem, crafted this lovely song with nice female vocal. In this song they are looking for things that are “Out of reach but leading me into the beautiful sea”.
- “Deep Sea Ball”
A rockin’ oldie from Clyde McPhatter.
- “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” & “Deep Water”
Two songs from Chris Rae dealing with the struggles of bad luck and living life the way want to, using the ocean as an allegory for his personal struggles. Its that old boy himself and he always knew, Sooner or later, If you dont say whats true you’ll end in chains , And you’ll always be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
Hi, thanks for writing a very nice comment about my husband’s music! I have included it on our site (Kind Words blog) Only thing is, I am not sure who wrote it!
Nice to know that David’s music holds up on land or at sea!
Beth Girdler
The above post is attributable to K. Zelnio
Hi Beth,
I’m a huge fan of David Francey’s songwriting, just got Rights of Passage in my mailbox a week or two ago!