The Songs of Change project asked the question: What were the moments in our lives where we were changed? Altered. Moments when we saw things anew. It is tempting to think of such moments as sudden. But not all change is a fracture. A shock. Change can be relaxed. Slow. A delicious realisation. A warm reflection.

So many of the group talked about countries and cities they’d lived in, grew up in, worked in, spent time in when they were younger. Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hamburg, London. They talked of these times as times of adventure and discovery. They talked of laughter and parties and knapsacks and wild 80s hairdos. They talked of cherry trees and landscapes. And as they talked, their faces filled with delight. In remembering familiar places, they were reacquainted with their younger selves. And they remembered how in experiencing new places, they discovered new versions of themselves. Bolder. Brasher. Brighter. It’s this spirit and energy that flows through ‘Come Sail Across the Ocean’, which you can hear below.

Lyrics

Come sail across the ocean
Spend some time in Sidi Bou Said
Blue, bright white, smooth walls, soft, sea,
The warm caress of the sun,
The lazy heat of the sun
Bygone ways imagined lives
The past is gone we’ve rolled the die

Inhale the scent of Jasmine
Adrift the warm night Cypriot air
Still, stone forts, coarse rock, dome, gold
The gentle wash of the moon
The loving touch of the moon
Bygone ways imagined lives
The past is gone we’ve rolled the die

Ooh ooh

We travel to remember
Who we are or thought we’d be

Ooh ooh

Our histories told in blood and bone
Whispered lament on the breeze

As we get older holidays fulfil our desire for adventure. For something different. Something new. And that thought led to a deeper reflection. So Come Sail Across The Ocean became about the journey from the person we were to the person we are and a reflection on how we live in the modern world inspired by Verina talking about her time living in Kuwait.

Hear the nomads’ pale footfall
In the sands of Alabdaliyah
Slope, ghost ropes, wool floor, breathe, air
The dark embrace of the night
The sombre fall of the night
Bygone ways imagined lives
The past is gone we’ve rolled the die

In the workshops we took a circuitous route. The artistic map we followed was inspired by Jacques Lecoq’s idea of a universal poetic sense – space, light, colour, materials, & sound. Jacques Lecoq (1921 – 1999) founded his school of physical theatre, École Jacques Lecoq, in Paris in 1956. Our first exercises worked on associations with space and light. Then we worked on colour.

There were three prompts for each colour.

  • Name a piece of art that comes to mind when you think of the colour
  • What is the landscape that comes to mind when you think of that colour
  • Capture a life moment you associate with the colour in a short text

Breda, in response to blue, named Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Frederic William Burton as her piece of art. Her landscape was the walk from Greystones to Bray. The sky and the sea. She said it was like the Bay of Naples. And her text captured a place she loved to visit.

Breda's Words

Come across the ocean and visit the shores of Tunisia
Spend some time in Sidi Bou Said
And marvel at the Mediterranean blue doors against the stark white walls
The turquoise sea and the brilliant sky will dazzle you
Your mood will be altered, your eyes will be grateful
And you will forever remember this visual feast

Working on yellow, Verina remembered her time in Kuwait and how living there made her reflect on the coexistence of the old and the new, the coexistence of nomadic lifestyles alongside the ultra-modern city.

Verina’s Words

Kuwait.
Desert.
Big, new, shiny, expensive jeeps.
Rich locals trying to remember what it was to be a nomad.
Going from tent to tent to drink a strong coffee with heavy sugar-soaked sweets.
Hot, dry, anything for rain.

So, the song became about time. It’s passing. And our need for time. To reflect. And remember.

Come sail across the ocean
Spend some time in Sidi Bou Said
Blue, bright white, smooth walls, soft, sea,
The memory of the sun

Ooh ooh

Memory of the sun
Memory of the sun