The Doldrums - Haul Away

[shangri la 1]

Line from the new song Haul away, mentions the Doldrums. There is a Wiki reference here:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doldrums

   I thought Mark was just referring to the sailors being bored on a long voyage but is it more to do with a colloquial expression as explained...?

[Love Expresso]

I think he stays in his excellent maritime picture here. "The morning brings out a fresh young breeze, fills our sails and ends the doldrums, our lucky ship speeds across the sea..."

(Ahhhh, i love this song.) The moment of stagnation, or grief, passes and now life will go on. I think that's the meaning of the picture. The sea funeral has this strong image, too. You have to go out there, say farewell, leave the beloved one "in the deep dark sea", and than you return... because you yourself are (still) a living man. And life goes on.

This is a song I can really relate to. I think he really gets to the point here with every line. Much better than in some of the Get Lucky lyrics for example.

Although I really love the GL album and I really think it is his best solo album, some of the lyrics seem not to have the same relevance than some of his classic ones used to have. Or I am just not able to find the relevance. Border Reiver is a good example. He obviously wrote it because he used to hitchhike down the road from Glasgow to London and was happy when an Albion truck took him up. Also he remembered the Albion Factories and the driver in their long coats because he was a kid when he lived just opposite these factories. So these drivers were real heroes to him and the truck itself was a symbol for liberty and youth and energy. BUT these facts are all well known to us only because he told us in the press kit. When listening to the lyrics, I just find no link to these themes. It is just a song about how nice it is to drive an Albion truck in the Glasgow morning sun and maybe about how tough it is to be a driver in this vehicle. It is still great of course, and Mark maybe wants it exactly this way, but I would like to have some more levels if you know what I mean. Just one example. Same with So Far From The Clyde. If it is just a song about wrecking a ship, well then it is not so relevant. If it is a song that works on several other levels, I can't find any hints for that (apart from one that Dusty once pointed out about some religious pictures). I could go on and on about this because I really think very much about Mark's lyrics at the moment. And I very much like the Haul Away lyrics because they have a clear picture and also deliver a clear key that leads me to the other lyrical dimensions. The quality of Haul Away and also from Privateering (lyrics) gives me hope that he maybe reaches a new level of song writing on his new album.
Sorry, too long again..

LE

[Hophead]

Not sure if this helps LE..but as far as "Border Reiver" goes..the phrase "sure as the sunrise" is a reference to the logo of Albion motorworks ..that phrase was imprinted on the logo..on the radiator...of all their trucks..reflecting on the dependability of their trucks. When you think of this song..you have to bear in mind Mark's love for driving. Being a truck driver myself..I know exactly how he feels..you depend on that truck everyday. "So far from the Clyde" isn't so much about the ship itself..as much as it is about the decline of the shipbuilding industry along the River Clyde..a rather tragic and depressing end to a noble trade. Some of the most infamous ocean liners in history..for the White Line and Cunard Line..were built along the banks of the Clyde. At least this is my take on these two gems..both fantastic songs.

[daylon]

 Also he remembered the Albion Factories and the driver in their long coats because he was a kid when he lived just opposite these factories.

Mark stayed in Wheatfield Rd in Glasgow ,which is around 4 miles from South Street where the Albion factory was. I always wondered why he would be hanging around the docks area aged 8 ?? and so far from his house.Especially in a city like Glasgow .

[Stanko]

I think he stays in his excellent maritime picture here. "The morning brings out a fresh young breeze, fills our sails and ends the doldrums, our lucky ship speeds across the sea..."

(Ahhhh, i love this song.) The moment of stagnation, or grief, passes and now life will go on. I think that's the meaning of the picture. The sea funeral has this strong image, too. You have to go out there, say farewell, leave the beloved one "in the deep dark sea", and than you return... because you yourself are (still) a living man. And life goes on.

This is a song I can really relate to. I think he really gets to the point here with every line. Much better than in some of the Get Lucky lyrics for example.

Although I really love the GL album and I really think it is his best solo album, some of the lyrics seem not to have the same relevance than some of his classic ones used to have. Or I am just not able to find the relevance. Border Reiver is a good example. He obviously wrote it because he used to hitchhike down the road from Glasgow to London and was happy when an Albion truck took him up. Also he remembered the Albion Factories and the driver in their long coats because he was a kid when he lived just opposite these factories. So these drivers were real heroes to him and the truck itself was a symbol for liberty and youth and energy. BUT these facts are all well known to us only because he told us in the press kit. When listening to the lyrics, I just find no link to these themes. It is just a song about how nice it is to drive an Albion truck in the Glasgow morning sun and maybe about how tough it is to be a driver in this vehicle. It is still great of course, and Mark maybe wants it exactly this way, but I would like to have some more levels if you know what I mean. Just one example. Same with So Far From The Clyde. If it is just a song about wrecking a ship, well then it is not so relevant. If it is a song that works on several other levels, I can't find any hints for that (apart from one that Dusty once pointed out about some religious pictures). I could go on and on about this because I really think very much about Mark's lyrics at the moment. And I very much like the Haul Away lyrics because they have a clear picture and also deliver a clear key that leads me to the other lyrical dimensions. The quality of Haul Away and also from Privateering (lyrics) gives me hope that he maybe reaches a new level of song writing on his new album.
Sorry, too long again..

LE

Nice thinking!

[LoveExpresso]

Funny you bring this up again. This is an example for what Mark was meaning lately when he mentioned that too much information about meanings and lyrics of a song can spoil the whole thing for you!
I think when I wrote that longish post I only knew the song from the Dylan live shows and had not yet the album in my hands... so the press release wasn't out yet. Although I made a connection with the song and the Patrick O'Brian novels on myself, the story behind the song... well... indeed spoiled the fun for me. Mark spoke about that one special scene where a character in the book jumps into the water to commit suicide.. the scene also is contained in the movie Master and Commander. It was about superstition among sailors and ghosts and so on. My idea of the sea funeral had a much broader appeal to it I thought, the concrete scene itself is just too simple for me to make a song out of it that could means many things. There was a love story involved with another man and so on.. to cut a short story short, MK's explanation about the relation to the book/movie scene spoiled the content of the song for me. I could not work out by myself until today if this song is possibly able to work on many other levels...
Strange, isn't it?

LE

[Stanko]

My first thought about this song is that that is actually about two ships, but the true is, along with your thoughts as well, that the story could work on for so many diferent themes...
Higher level of this song (in my humble opinion) would be celebration of the surviving and staying alive instead of give up and died in general. The theme that apear in other songs of the album as well.
Regards,
Stanko.