Now that I am in the recording phase of my current project, I thought it would be nice to share a new song that is starting to take shape and to dive into the process of writing a song with a conceptual framework.
A short project recap for newcomers……
Simply, I am using the Nerang River as my muse, provocateur and inspiration to write and produce an album of songs, searching for anecdotes, ideas and stories that might inform and inspire my compositions.
The Nerang (Ngarang-wal) is the largest river catchment in the Gold Coast, a city where water and leisure are intrinsically intertwined with daily life.
Like most cities around the world that occupy the banks of a river, there are deep connections between everyday life and the flows of the waterways. From the mountain creeks that find their way into the valleys, to the city that has risen from the coastal sands, all the way to the meeting of the river and sea, or in the instance of Ngarang-wal, The Seaway.
The concept
I have been trawling through our local studies library here on the Gold Coast looking at our history in relation to the river, coastline and waterways, including the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language group who lived and thrived along the banks of Ngarang-wal and the coastline.
A few books I have encountered, ponder on the time when The Endeavour (Captain Cook’s infamous 1770 east coast exploration) sailed past what is now known as the Gold Coast. Those aboard were intrigued by the inhabitants of this yet to be explored land (there are diary entries that describe a number of small fires amidst the vegetation as the ship passed). And the Kombumerri people of Ngarang-wal no doubt would have been wondering about this strange ship.
But it was quite a number of decades until the first westerners made their way by foot to the coast, most likely escaped convicts from up north near Brisbane.
As well as the Endeavour there were other ships that sailed by in the late 1700s to early 1800s like The Mermaid, The Kangaroo, The Investigator and The Norfolk.
That got me thinking about those years where ships would quietly sail by.
“The sails of ships that pass quietly by”
This was line I could work with. It paints a picture of a particular time and place. The last decades of a past that was soon to be disrupted and irrevocably changed.
The Song
If you can imagine standing on the shore watching a ship sail quietly by, there is a slowly evolving calmness to the scene.
I have purposely kept the melody and phrasing of my main lyrical line simple and repetitive. By using basic vocal harmonies I get to keep the simplicity intriguing enough for you, the listener to enjoy as the song slowly evolves.
I dive a little deeper into the story by singing the names of some of the ships that passed quietly by.
The Mermaid and The Kangaroo, The Investigator, Endeavour and Norfolk too.
My partner, when she heard this song for the first time, wanted to hear more names of ships. But so far I have been reluctant to add more words. Simplicity, remember?
You can hear a number of wind instruments softly stacked together playing just two notes that repeat along with the repetitive guitar. These instruments are the wind that helps blow the sails of the song forward. I will likely keep adding more wind instruments as the recording continues (I really want my son to add some saxophone).
It is my hope is that the conceptual framework I have adopted here translates effectively to you, the listener.
I’d love to know what do you think?
The Sails of Ships