“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.
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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