In the course of my brief and failed search, I found another song by this “Jack the Lad“, a 1970s British band that reminds me of American Bluegrass of the same time. I mean that as a great compliment.
The song is good. It’s called “The Seven Seas”. I like it a lot.
Even if I didn’t understand English, the song would be pretty nice, but the lyrics just make it cross a threshold into memorable-greatness, for me. These lyrics roughly explain why I came to Korea.
Below is my transliteration of the lyrics (I could not find the lyrics anywhere else online). [Click to read lyrics] .
By Jack the Lad / 1975
Sitting by the fire
In an old rocking chair
Like my grandaddy taught me to do
Listening intently
To the words he had to tell me
Because in my mind
I knew they were true
He said he’d sailed the seven seas
In ships, with tall masted sails
And he’d ridden, from London to Leeds
In one day-!
[Get up!]
I took a walk to pass the timeI discovered many things
Things that I had to force myself to do
Like study and find a job
Take a wife, feed my kids
And I did them, as I thought they were new
But I never sailed the seven seas
In ships, with tall masted sails
I never rode from London to Leeds
In one day~!
As I’ve walked, there passed the time
I’ve collected many assets
Folks say that I’m “successful as can be”
But my grandaddy died
Without a penny to his name
He was a damn sight more successful than me
Because he’d sailed the seven seas
In ships, with tall masted sails
He’d ridden from London to Leeds
In one day
[Fiddle]
And now I’m sitting by the fire
In that old rocking chair
And I’m dreaming of the time around now
I’m searching for a yarn
To tell my own grandson
And I’m wishing to God that time would face about
So I could sail the seven seas
In ships with tall masted sails
And ride from London to Leeds
Sail the seven seas
In ships, with tall masted sails
And ride from London to Leeds
In one — day~!