She the Ocean

She the Ocean
by: The Barra MacNeils

He had a way with children
They'd all gather round
To play silly games
He gave from the heart
Sharing their lives he knew so well

She had to paint the seagulls
Watch their feathers
Ruffle in the wind
She was obsessed with motion
Or was it the notion of living by the sea

He loved the prairie
She the ocean where they married
By the tide she would stay
He in a wheat field
Cutting the hay

He lived from the land
Reaping the gifts
He sowed by hand
She stayed the sea
Caressed by the breeze and the touch of the sand

There came a day that he would travel
To his lover
On the shore
She would see her children
On the prairie they'd live no more

He loved the prairie
She the ocean where they married
By the tide she would stay
He in a wheat field
Cutting the hay

He loved the prairie
She the ocean where they married
By the tide she would stay
He in a wheat field
Cutting the hay

Now he loves the seagulls
Watch their movements
On the ocean
She loves her children
Kiss them softly into sleep

For the past week I have been listening to The Barra MacNeils pretty much non-stop. Also, The Rankin Family, Great Big Sea, and Darrell Keigan, none of which are really much of a departure. "She the Ocean" is probably one of my all time favorite songs by The Barra MacNeils. I couldn't explain to you why, since I am not someone from the ocean, nor am I really a beach person, nor do I like seagulls (in fact, they, like all birds, terrify me). Regardless of this fact, something about this song sucks me in every time. It's mostly the second verse (She had to paint the seagulls / Watch their feathers / Ruffle in the wind / She was obsessed with motion / Or was it the notion of living by the sea) that randomly will pop into my head. And it made me think of this picture that I took of a seagull sitting on a windy beach. This picture is actually on a beach outside of LA. I was sitting there, minding my own business, and this seagull decided I would be a good person to hang out with. I disagreed, but grabbed my camera anyway. It was really (and I do mean REALLY) windy on the beach, and actually fairly chilly, but that is kind of the way I prefer my beaches. I'm weird, I know.