Back to the Sea

“When am I going to get a song written for me?” – Basically everyone

The hard part of writing songs is when you are being requested to write one instead of letting it hit you like any good muse does.  

That was the problem when Mom was asking for a song written for her.  What would I write about?  How I loved the fact that she stayed with us when we were kids?  How awesome her casseroles were?  How I love her infectious laugh?  No!  There had to be a stronger song out there to be sung.

This song was born after I started to listening to Stan Rogers.  I really enjoyed his folk tunes and I thought “Hey, I need to write something like that.”  I found out that folk tunes were typically played in DADGAD tuning on the guitar so it lends a drone which also plays well with the fiddle.

January 2018 was the time I started playing around with DADGAD tuning and let me tell you, it worked out quite well!  I wrote three songs within the month.  I had never felt more inspired.  

One of those tunes ended up being Back to the Sea.  An ode to my mother and I suppose to a lesser degree, an ode to anyone who grew up on the Gaspe coast.  The running joke at the moment is that Nanny wants a song written for her so I just say this is also written for her!  But we all know the truth.  This one is for Susie Patterson.

Recording notes

Lyrics, main vocals, acoustic guitar (DADGAD tuning): Ryan Palmer

Harmonies and acoustic guitar (EADGBE tuning): Troy Palmer

Recorded in the Red Room – London ON the day after a ripping Smashing Pumpkins concert (August 10, 2018).  We were quite surprised we could even do anything at all the next day

Recording thoughts: As with many folk tunes, there isn’t a whole lot of production to them and that’s what I wanted to replicate here.  We set up two vocal mics as well as a condenser mic to capture everything in the room.  This was recorded live off the floor and we settled upon Take #11 (the final one) as the one to use.  We added one overdub of the guitar intro by Troy.

Click here to download the M4A file.

When you click on the link to listen to it, you can also download it by clicking on the arrow icon in the top right hand corner.

Lyrics

I’m happy here where I live

I’m happy here with my family

But we all get the thought creep in our mind

The thought that it’s time to leave

 

I’m searching for some inspiration

I’m looking for that thing to come

Well I know just what I need to do

Return to the place that I’m from

 

And I think I’ll drive to the water

And I think I’ll step in the sea

And I know that my heart will grow fonder

There’s no better place than the old Gaspesie

 

I’ll wake up alone in the morning

Wake up and talk a walk on the beach

The old tide is coming in swiftly

My toes are never within reach

 

There’s never a sunrise more pretty

And the salt in the air is piercing my lung

It’s here where I find all the melodies

Of all the songs still left unsung

 

And I think I’ll drive to the water

And I think I’ll step in the sea

And I know that my heart will grow fonder

There’s no better place than the old Gaspesie

 

I’ll return here every summer

Cause my heart was a victim of theft

But when I see the ocean

It’s like I never left

 

If you’re sitting alone, thinking

Sitting alone, wondering of me

Just sit back with a smile and ponder

And hum me that old melody

 

And I think I’ll drive to the water

And I think I’ll step in the sea

And I know that my heart will grow fonder

There’s no better place than the old Gaspesie

And I think I’ll drive to the water

And I think I’ll step in the sea

And I know that my heart will grow fonder

There’s no better place than the eye can see

There’s no better place than here with me

There’s no better place than the old Gaspesie