I don’t have much to say about this track. John Renbourn’s guitar playing is lovely and absorbing. I would be surprised if listening to it doesn’t lower your heartrate and calm your breathing.
The song was written by Dave Goulder, who is not prolific, but is one of my favorite songwriters. His website bio says, of his upbringing, “A real man of the soil, Bill Goulder instilled a love of nature, the land and it’s music into his son.” His songs are often evocative and sensative to the details of life lived outdoors.
This one is told from the perspective of a traveler on the road, “One Monday morn as / I walked out / The wild birds for to see / I met a man upon the road / And asked for charity.” The man offers him food and lodging and asks why he’s come walking out of the hills down to road along the coast.
He says that he is driven by the changing of the seasons, “The bird must flee the / winter, sir / She cannot stay behind / To build her nest upon the snow / Nor can I look for mine”
But if he had wealth he would build houses along the coast and walk between them “But if I had a hundred homes / To live in each a while / I'd build them all along the road / From Sandwood down to Kyle.”
There are two helpful notes in the discussion at mudcat cafe.
John MacKenzie highlights the geography, “And a lovely road too. Sandwood bay is just north of Kinlochbervie, and for the sea fishermen amongst us it is a very good spot for Dabs. The coast from there down to Kyle of Localsh is dotted with lovely villages and towns. Kylesku, Scourie, Lochinver, Achiltibuie, Ullapool. Lovely bays like Gruinard Bay, and oh so many lovely little nooks and crannies. I have been driving the road from Ullapool to Tongue, via Durness, and back to Lairg evry day for the last week doing deliveries for my company. It was a double pleasure, as it got me out of the office, and away from those damned phones, as well as putting me among some of the most beautiful scenery in Scotland.”
Gus Langlands tells the story of the song, “Could I perhaps add to this correspondence, by mentioning that Dave did me the extraordinary honour of actually writing this song for me, in (if my memory serves me correctly) 1970. I should sing it more often. I was living in Whitley Bay at the time and I remember well receiving his letter which contained the words, "Your song is ready - when can you come and collect?". At that time, Dave was living in Glen Cottage, Glen Torridon, Wester Ross, where he was running a climbers' hostel.”
Subscribe to Earnestness Is Underrated
I keep getting into conversations on substack, and want a place to store longer thoughts.