DAY 107 -COUNING DOWN TO THE 50TH

GOOD MORNING, CLASS OF '64

The Sailor Musician - William Henry Midwood

The Secret of the Sea

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(from Seaside and Fireside, 1850)

In each sail that skims the horizon,
In each landward-blowing breeze,
I behold that stately galley,
Hear those mournful melodies;

Till my soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

A Sailor's Return - L.F. Tantillo

 Requiem

Robert Louis Stevenson

(from Underwoods, 1887)

Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Outward Bound - Norman Rockwell

 One Hit Wonders - 1957

Ivory Joe Hunter

Since I Met You Baby

Written by Ivory Joe Hunter (his real name)

"Since I Met You Baby" topped

the Billboard magazine

Rhythm and Blues Records chart

for three weeks in 1956,

and became Hunter's only

Billboard Hot 100 entry,

stopping at No. 12.

 This was his only Top 40 pop song.

Some estimate he wrote

more than 7,000 songs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Joe_Hunter

Ivory Joe Hunter - 1956

Sometimes God calms the storm,

sometimes He calms the sailor.

Unknown

 Cindy, Oh Cindy

Peaked at No. 9 on the charts.

Also recorded by Eddie Fisher,

and it was his last Top 40 single.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy,_Oh_Cindy

Vince Martin And The Tarriers - 1956 

Cindy oh Cindy

Cindy, oh, Cindy
Cindy don't let me down
Write me a letter soon
And I'll be homeward bound

I joined the navy to see the world
But nowhere could I find
A girl as sweet as Cindy
The girl I left behind
I sailed the wide world over
Can't get her out of my mind

Cindy oh Cindy
Cindy don't let me down
Write me a letter soon
And I'll be homeward bound

I see her face in every wave
Her lips kiss every breeze
Her lovin' arms reach out to me
Through calm and stormy seas
At night I pace the lonely deck
Caressed by memories

Cindy oh Cindy
Cindy don't let me down
Write me a letter soon
And I'll be homeward bound

I know my Cindy's waiting for me
As I walk the deck alone
Her lovin' arms reach out for me
Soon I'll be heading home
Then my sailin' days will be over
And no more will I roam

Cindy oh Cindy
Cindy don't let me down
Write me a letter soon
And I'll be homeward bound
Mmmmm Mmmmm...

Vince Martin

INTERVIEW

The story of Cindy, Oh Cindy  

 Interview recorded in Brooklyn,

September 14th & 15th, 2009.

(language warning)



An angry skipper makes an unhappy crew.

Rudyard Kipling



Cathy Carr

Ivory Tower
 Carr's version reached #2 and
Gale Storm's #6 on the Billboard pop charts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Tower_(1956_song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_Carr
Cathy Carr - 1956

The Ancient Mariner would not have taken

so well if it had been called The Old Sailor.

Samuel Butler 

The Teen Queens

Eddie, My Love

(sisters of the song's writer)

Number three on the R&B Best Seller chart and

 Number fourteen on the Billboard Charts 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_My_Love

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Teen_Queens

The Teen Queens - 1956

A sailor is an artist whose medium is the wind.
Webb Chiles

Sailor's Wedding - Ralph Calhoon



It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me.

But life at sea is better.

Sir Francis Drake

The Sea Captain's Return Home - Unknown

 At sea, I learned how little a person needs,

not how much.

Robin Lee Graham

Basin with Sailor - John Singer Sargent

 The Old Sailor

Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

I've crossed the bar at last, mates,
My longest voyage is done;
And I can sit here, peaceful,
And watch th' setting sun
A-smilin' kind of glad like
Upon the waves so free.
My longest voyage is done, mates,
But oh, the heart of me,
Is out where sea meets skyline!
My longest voyage is done. . . .
But - can I sit, in peace, mates,
And watch the settin' sun?

For what's a peaceful life, mates,
When every breeze so free,
When every gale a-blowin',
Brings messages to me?
And is the sky so shinin',
For all it's golden sun,
To one who loves the sea, mates,
And knows his voyage is done?
And, can a year on land, mates,
Match with one day - at sea?
Ah, every wind a-singin'
Brings memory to me!

I've crossed the bar at last, mates,
My longest voyage is past,
And I must watch the sunset,
Must see it fade, at last.
My steps are not so light, mates,
As they were, years ago;
And sometimes, when I'm tired,
My head droops kind of low -
Yet, though I'm old and - weary,
The waves that dance so free,
Keep callin' to my soul, mates,
And thrill the heart of me!

The Old Sailor - John Keaton

DAY 134 - COUNTING DOWN TO THE 50TH

Good Morning, Class of '64

City 2 Surf - Deb Broughton

 Surfing's one of the few sports that you look ahead to see what's behind.
Laird Hamilton

Landlocked as we were, 
we still loved the surfing songs.

Morning Surf - Curt Edwards

Wipe Out
  The term 'wipe out' refers to a 
fall from a surfboard, 
especially one that looks painful.
Spent four months on the national 
Billboard chart in the autumn of 1963, 
reaching #2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wipe_Out_%28instrumental%29 

Surf Session - Curt Edwards

Pipeline
"Pipeline" was the Chantays' only hit single.
Pipeline - The Chantays - 1962 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipeline_%28instrumental%29
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21827 

Surfing USA - Curt Edwards

Surf City
  #1 hit record in July 1963 for two weeks
"Surf City" became the first surf song 
to reach number one on the 
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. 
The song also crossed to #3 
on Billboard's R&B charts.
Surf City - Jan & Dean - 1963
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_City_%28song%29
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21765 

Surfing USA 
number three in Billboard and Cash Box
Surfing USA - The Beach Boys - 1963
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin%27_U.S.A._%28song%29 
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1244 

Sunset Surf - Gary Birdsall

 

The Beast at Vetzyland - Colleen Gnos

DAY 135 - COUNTING DOWN TO THE 50TH

Girl Seated by the Sea - Robert Henri

By The Sea

Emily Dickinson

I started early, took my dog,
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me.

And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.

But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,

And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve -
And then I started too.

And he - he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, - then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.

Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.

Collecting Sea Shells - Marie Green - 1900

Beyond the Sea

Bobby Darin's version of Charles Trenet's 

classic "Beyond The Sea" 

was recorded in 1959.

reaching no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100,

 no. 15 on the US R&B Chart, 

and no. 8 in the UK Singles Chart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Sea_%28song%29 

The classic, La Mer, talks of white seagulls, 

tall wet reeds, rusty houses, and clear gulfs.

With new lyrics, "Beyond the Sea" 

talks about a man and his love.

La Mer

(The Sea)

Charles Trenet

Written by Charles Trenet 

and recorded in1946. 

It became an unexpected hit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mer_%28song%29 

POLL

Would you rather:

Go down to the sea
Go up to the mountains
Stay at home
Take a group tour
(Poll is in the side bar to the right of your screen.)

Children on the Beach - Winslow Homer

There was a magic about the sea. People were drawn to it. People wanted to love by it, swim in it, play in it, look at it. It was a living thing that as as unpredictable as a great stage actor: it could be calm and welcoming, opening its arms to embrace it's audience one moment, but then could explode with its stormy tempers, flinging people around, wanting them out, attacking coastlines, breaking down islands. It had a playful side too, as it enjoyed the crowd, tossed the children about, knocked lilos over, tipped over windsurfers, occasionally gave sailors helping hands; all done with a secret little chuckle.
Cecelia Ahern, The Gift
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/sea 

 

Little Sea Bathers - Edward Henry Potthast