Hi Folks
For this week's theme of "In Love With Mother Nature" I thought it would be worth revisiting one of my favorite songs.
"The Islands" by Ralph McTell is a song written in the mid nineties ,it paints vivid images of life on The Shetland Islands which lie on the far Northeast coast of Scotland.
On January the 5th 1993 an oil tanker named "The Braer" ran aground of the southern tip of Shetland. The ship had been on a course from Norway to Canada when it was hit by a storm and lost power. After drifting for a few hours it eventually ran aground spilling 85,000 tons of crude oil into the sea.
What should have been a significant environmental disaster was avoided due to the extreme weather which washed most of the crude oil far out into the north sea.
It was a miracle of nature and mother earth that such devastation was prevented by wind and waves.
Im using a chord progression for this song which I made up to suit the lyrics.
I hope you guys enjoy my tune this week.
"The Island's" Ralph McTell
We do not fear the long ships We've seen long ships before Men sailed here from the north land And hauled their boats ashore They brought with them the music The language and the lore And burned their boats and stayed here On the islands
It's midday in the wintertime Before the moon does pale The winter songs are very long The storm winds and the gales The midnight sun's as distant As the ca'ing of the whales Till spring returns again To paint the islands
The grey seals and the otter The salmon and the charr The land bound and the sea trapped The free birds of the air The shepherd and the farmer And all those in their care Harmonise the music of the islands
We never feared the long ships Till the coming of the "Braer" The roaring sea in anger Washed that broken boat ashore Spilled fuel enough to take that ship Twice round the world or more And filled the air with oil To paint the islands
As if the sea had realized The tragedy in store Its waves continued pounding About a week or more Most of the crude was washed away And never came ashore The sea regained it's temper 'Round the islands
Oh, let this be a warning To those who's faceless greed Would sail close to the shoreline To save both fuel and speed The sea is our protector Provider of our needs A jealous guard and keeper of the islands
We do not fear the long ships We've seen long ships before Men sailed here from the north land And hauled their boats ashore They brought with them the music The language and the lore And burned their boats and stayed here On the islands
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