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Songs of the Sea

by Ian David Green

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1.
Oh beautiful heart Still as a whisper moored to the shoreline Oh beautiful heart Washed in sun that clings to the treeline Oh beautiful heart When you were young Did you run through the fields in the summer? Oh song that you’ve sung Floats like a leaf to the mouth of a river Oh beautiful heart Go now where we will not reach you Oh beautiful heart Go now to the sea Oh beautiful heart Far far from me
2.
Submarines 03:37
This was the house that we built Strong to the wind White in the harbour sun Our steps touched this ground Where weeds now grow And small staccato veins of raindrops run So long ago Arms on the wall We stood and turned our faces to the foam Out beneath the waves Boundless blue A million metal messengers alone When do you think they’ll come up for some air Take a look around and see if someone’s there When do you think they’ll come up for some air And lift their heads from their submarines? Tides took a toll Stone turned to sand Plans became moments left behind Out beneath the waves Dull heavy grey You battened down the hatches of your mind This was the house that you lost Cut by salt Storms overdue still came too soon This was the rail that you held Gun-metal stairs Called you down into the gloom Don’t forget to come up for some air Take a look around and see if someone’s there Don’t forget to come up for some air You can’t live your life in a submarine There was a house that you built Strong to the wind White in the harbour sun
3.
I was born under a northern light Peering through rooflights at the sun-lines at midnight Straining my ears to hear the distant horns of ships at night I was born under a northern light Come on boys you know you’ve got them on the hop Remember to stand tall when we send you over the top Walk slow put out your chest, better the bullets to stop For you were born under a northern light You may think me below your high philosophy Born to be ruled over by those born to rule over me But when I stare at the horizon you do not see what I can see For you were not born under a northern light My feet they will seek the coldest winds when I’m awoken My eyes they will prefer to see the beauty in the broken My tongue it will prefer to speak with words that are unspoken For I was born under a northern light
4.
Sailboats 04:08
Water at sunrise, cliffs gave a view My father beside me, in silence we knew How foolish to curse some god who’s not there For crosses we never decided to bear No choice but to stand, two shapes on the sand, As the strength left his hand and he fell to the spray And drifted away Another sailboat on the bay Sit not by my grave, son, gaze not to the sea My father will live in the man you will be And your sorrow will not profit me What more then to say? We all must one day Make our own way Another sailboat on the bay
5.
Tall Ships 04:00
Do you remember how the sun beat from the sky And how we ran there - who was faster you or I? We jumped the sea wall, we couldn’t wait to be the one To make the first call and point the way to everyone Did we stumble, did we fall onto our hands Running circles round the statues in the sand Blue horizon, through the furnace of the light Sails came shining, our hearts exploded at the sight Here come the tall ships See the main sails make the driving wind their friend Bows won’t fail, gleaming sheets that have no end No-one to tame us, every wave is cut to foam No-one can claim us, this whole wide ocean is our home We ran like the tall ships Na na na na na na Na na na na na Na na Here we stand looking up at the same sky Tricked by time, who’s more foolish you or I? We can’t return, there’ll be no parting of the sea What have we learned from all these driftwood memories Of the Where are you now? Somewhere on this spinning world Let your eyelids down, let the warm breeze in your hair Feel the calm, see the white lines of the shore Reach out your palm and run with me once more Won’t you run with me once more Won’t you run with me once more? We’ll wave to the tall ships Na na na na na na Na na na na na Na na We’ll wave to the tall ships now
6.
Compasses 04:50
Lost at sea, she gazed At the stars above, she prayed To no-one at all, she sighed Touching the waves That rolled through the night “Take my hand, my child” The old man smiled, “for my god Has spared your life, and pulled You up from the flood That drowned all of your world” “No, kind sir, I’ll stay As I am, for your boat, though great and tall Is blown just like mine, and like me You will build Where the wind lets you land" "And these gales of hail we brave Are ours to face alone With our own compasses we hold In our eyes To find our own light”
7.
I walked upon the orange sands Sifting grains of copper through my hands Found a lady standing there Skin of salt and pearl and charcoal hair She said “You know that if we take this chance Some sad embrace, some slow and awkward dance For fools not lovers let us hang The shallow song we thought that we could sing “Look out across these mermaid waves Upon these lost and lonely sailors’ graves No matter how the stars align The sun is always dragged below the line No matter how we beg or cry We cannot hold the colour in the sky No matter to what god we pray The dark will always cover up the day “Oh oh oh the night will come Oh oh oh the night will come” I looked into her coral eyes Said: “I do believe you’ve made me realise I will not cry unto the sun I will not look for hope from anyone I will not stand against the night Or rage against the dying of the light Upon your words I run aground At your feet I lay my anchor down “But when the wind falls from our sails Our hollow hearts and tired bones have failed When the moon has withered in the sky The sun has crawled into a hole to die When all the stars have breathed their last And all the planets bleed upon the mast If then the universe will fold And every spark will drown in cold And every circle never turn again Then damn the dark one dawn to free Spend the cold night here with me Beside this black and barren sea And love will be its own reward you’ll see “Oh oh oh the light will come Oh oh oh the light will come”
8.
We set out on the Queen Marie Full of rum and gold To do what we’d been told Bring back pieces of the sun And with the main sail set on high The wind blew from the starboard side We mumbled forth on waters mild And sailed into the sun After fifteen months at sea There was just the cook and me Counting out the gold And drinking all the rum After nineteen months at sea There was just the ship and me Counting out my gold And dreaming of the sun “Oh have courage!” I did shout Pointing to the land In the afternoon An island made of sun And with a casket laid with gold To the shallow shores I rowed As people gathered in the glow Shining like the sun And there they held me to the sky Carried like the cross of Christ Burning gold upon my eyes And raised me to the sun And as the furnace closed around All the drowning and the drowned There the Queen Marie went down In pieces of the sun A million souls lit up the night Golden fireflies in flight Drifting up and out of sight And swallowed by the sun A million years fell by as one As every father to his son Gave his heart and returned home To the caverns of the sun
9.
Tides 05:42
Bright the dawn that breaks our eyes Wakes us under wondrous skies Kind the waves that take us to the shore To walk the paths our fathers walked before Sweet the sun that warms the land Sweet the rain that cools our hands Sweet the sleep that carries us away Sweet the nights that promise us the day Strong the wind that filled your sails Deep your anchor in the gales True the course you charted through the seas Good the ground you ploughed and planted seed Long the walks along the cove Full the nets your fingers wove Glad the child who stumbled at your knee Straight the path you led him through the reeds By your side By your side By your side By your side Red the sun that staggers low Dim the twilight in the glow Blind the tides that force us to return And sail over the dark edge of the earth Cold the waves that sweep the bay And wash the walls we built away Far the whispered world where you have gone To the diamond islands and beyond Soon the day when we will follow on Out with the tide With the tide Out with the tide With the tide
10.
Turn your face unto the sun Light will die to bring another dawn Hold on hold on Pull the stars into your eyes Raise you up beyond the rising tide Hold on hold on Let the waves that break apart Wash across the oceans of your heart Hold on hold on As long as there is life to live There is love that we can give to you Hold on hold on
11.
There’s a fine white line Drawn between the ocean and the sky There’s a fine, fine sign A sinking sun, the stars roll in behind On Applecross ridge, I cast ashes to the sea On Applecross ridge, I set his broken body free What a thing to share Paper words, promises of air What a thing to be A lifeboat that won’t go into the sea On Applecross ridge in the setting sun I do not wait, you do not come On Applecross ridge in the setting sun The ghosts are gone, the ghosts are gone

about

Written as a tribute to the artist’s late father, Songs of the Sea delicately explores the foundations of what makes us who we are - memory, identity, our bonds with others - and describes with deep sensitivity a journey of letting go the things that we build and would wish to keep.

"Suffused with sorrow, with joy, with love, hope, hurt and a humanist soul, Songs of the Sea is a truly magnificent work."

folking.com/ian-david-green-songs-of-the-sea-own-label/

"An amazing debut, full of stunning lyrical deftness...an unadulterated joy to listen to from start to finish."

www.backseatmafia.com/album-review-ian-david-green-songs-of-the-sea/

"A fine ear for a song...lyrical, personal and thoroughly earnest. Songs of the Sea is a moving, sincere album, and one that promises interesting things to come."

www.folkradio.co.uk/2021/01/ian-david-green-songs-of-the-sea/

"a unique work of art...a huge accomplishment in terms of musicality and story-telling; Songs of the Sea is a heartfelt ode to life that will not leave its listeners unmoved"

lessthan1000followers.com/2021/02/27/ian-david-green-songs-of-the-sea/

credits

released February 20, 2021

Ian David Green (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, keyboards)
Marty Hailey (vocals, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, bass, drums)
Phil Alexander (accordion)
Marcus Britton (brass)
Will Fry (percussion)
Gordon Bragg (violin)
Rachel Smith (violin)
Felix Tanner (viola)
Niamh Molloy (cello)

Strings and Brass arranged by Marty Hailey
Produced and Mixed by Marty Hailey at Metro13 Music, Edinburgh
Mastered by William Bowden at King Willy Sound, Launceston

All songs written by Ian David Green
Copyright Ian David Green 2021

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Ian David Green London, UK

A singer, songwriter and composer from Liverpool, Ian's influences range from folk greats like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison to more contemporary folk / indie / Americana artists such as Damien Jurado, Phosphorescent and Iron & Wine.

With a gift for rich, compelling storytelling and layered lyricism, Ian builds his songs with carefully crafted, evocative and striking language.
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