blueNEWS Chapter 1 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
"Helly" made it on the record twice. We had
already decided before even considering using any live material, that "Helly"
would make it on the new cd. The song had blossomed a bit since September 1998. The
differences between the two tracks extend far pass the audience participation. Many people
have asked what "Helly" means. Let's just say it's a girls name. The
truth would be too difficult to explain.
"Counselor" has always been a crowd-pleaser often referrred to as the "bye,
bye baby" song. It isn't really about sex, I was simply trying to give the female
portion of the audience a few ideas <sneer>. The song is about a failing sexual
relationship, in which one of the two parties involved was hoping for something more
substantial and left in dissapointment. We could all learn a lesson from the being (God)
that is "afraid for every one of us because two of us are sad".
In December of 1997 I saw the movie Titanic. A couple of days later I heard Gordon
Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on the radio. I had just
switched over from the CD player where I was listening to the Tragically Hips
"Nautical Disaster" off their "Day For Night" release. Most of that
whole Titanic thing interested and moved me. In the late 80's I lived on Cape Cod where I
spent some time in the company of Dr. Ballards sons. Dr. Ballard was the
explorer/scientist/thrill-seeker that located and then visited Titanic. Needless to say,
the wrecked vessel was a popular subject of conversation in those days. I had my own ship
sinking inside me. I wanted to capture it and hopefully join the ranks of the other
writers that went so "deep" below the oceans surface.
My favorite line in the song was inspired by a verse from Simon & Garfunkel's
"Bridge Over Troubled Water". When Art Garfunkel sang "sail on
silvergirl" I always thought he was referring to the figurehead on the bow of a ship.
I later discovered while reading an old Playboy interview that Paul Simon actually wrote
the line after noticing a few strands of gray hair on a lady friends head. Many of the
older frigates had a nude woman carved from wood on the bow, facing front. She was the
boats guardian whose mission was to deliver the passengers and crew safely to their
destination. When they started making ships from Iron they did away with the old
silvergirl (figurehead). A superstitious or traditional minded person might think even
with the Iron siding, the ship was more at risk of sinking due to the absence of the
guardian girl.
Old Ironsides was constructed in the late 18th century and actually never sank. In fact
she still floats today in Boston Harbor. The song is a fantasy about a tragedy that never
occured. If it did, it certainly would have demoralized the nation, but then again, a
sunken vessel makes for a more fascinating legend. It's like a soldier that dies on the
field of battle. Some would argue it's one of the most honorable ways to go. Just ask
Forest Gumps friend Lieutenant Dan.
In 1830 Oliver Wendell Homes wrote..."Oh, better that her shattered hulk Should sink
beneath the wave; Her thunders shook the mighty deep, And there should be her grave".
..No honor in rusting gracefully in port.
For more on the ship...CONSTITUTION: "Old
Ironsides" Official Website
blueNEWS Chapter 1 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7