I grew up on the North East coast of England and feel endlessly drawn to the sea although I live, here in Cambridge, almost as far away from any coast as you can get in England. Oh well. It’s always inspirational to see the whitecaps on any visit and to spend time at the shorelines in any kind of weather, although sunny and warm is preferred over freezing cold and tipping down. It’s perhaps the beauty of it, the briskness, the stones and sand, the spindrift, the mindfulness, the timelessness…
A recent trip to the coastal village of Mundesley with Mrs Sciencebase and some friends got the creative juices flowing. We even had a bit of an audience on our first night singing and playing a few songs and Mrs Sb demonstrated her percussive prowess on the tambourine. One of our party, RL, did some beautiful pen and paint sketches in between beers, there was plenty of lively plucking of banjos and guitars, kicking and picking of stones, lots of scenic photos taken, laughs had, beer supped, wine uncorked (both delicious and otherwise), songs sung and some serious discussion too…
This is my musical sketch of the trip. I must confess although we were close to The Poppy Line, we didn’t actually take the train and that’s really just a reference to walk through fields of ripe barley destined for beer, speckled with the occasional coquelicot. I have not added the early morning sounds of wrens, wood pigeon, blackbirds, chaffinches nor any other dawn choristers for the sake of our sanity, but there is the sound of the sea and a telephonic ident in there for the clear of hearing.
You can listen to the track on SoundCloud (128kbps mp3) or on BandCamp (high-quality file to stream or download for free).
For completeness, the lyrics:
Prevailing Wind Reading between the lines Sketching the fever of a swollen tide The endless meaning of a mindful time Picking up the stones of the smoothest kind And then it begins Beyond the veil of original sin Reaching out to sea Carried on a prevailing wind And so you have your say That the proof's the truth in its own sweet way The bluest blue carries you away Back to where you grow And so it begins Beyond the pale you take it in Dream of the sea and foreign shores on a prevailing wind You didn't see the signs Painting a picture of another time Drawing deeply from a tainted vine Kicking up the dust on The Poppy Line And so it begins Beyond an age of original sin Setting out to sea Carried on a prevailing wind