Day 12: Chase the Horizon (with Murray Barker)

Lyrics:
Step out of the cabin, the sun on my face
The smell of the sea makes my heart start to race
Oh, let her roll
Oh, let her roll away

Haul up the anchor, let's get under way
Sea birds are calling to lead us away
Oh, let her roll
Oh, let her roll away

Don't know when this journey will end
But now the adventure begins
The sail is full of the wind and my dreams
The promise of something unseen
I don't know what I'm gonna to see
I don't know what I'm gonna find
As I chase the horizon

Sit on the deck with my ukulele
The vision of you inspires me daily
Oh, let her roll
Oh, let her roll away

I'll take you with me whereever I go
From tropical islands to fathoms below
Oh, let her roll
Oh, let her roll away

Don't know when this journey will end
But now the adventure begins
The sail is full of the wind and my dreams
The promise of something unseen
I don't know what I'm gonna to see
I don't know what I'm gonna find
As I chase the horizon

Thunder and lightning, the high rolling seas
Old man Poseidon is challenging me
Oh, let her roll
Oh, let her roll away

Don't know when this journey will end
But now the adventure begins
The sail is full of the wind and my dreams
The promise of something unseen
I don't know what I'm gonna to see
I don't know what I'm gonna find
As I chase the horizon

Details: I know Murray through Cheyenne Dane (who I collaborated with on Day 9, and on several other projects the last year or so), but he recently brought a lovely song into a critique group that I co-host in Loveland, and I thought it might be fun to do a co-write. Turns out that in the next month or so, he's leaving to sail around the world! Well, we had to write a song about that-- and why not do a sea shanty?

Murray has been a musician since he was a kid and part of his dad's traveling gospel show, and he's very talented. We rolled out this song fairly quickly-- it took about 2 hours to write, I think, then another hour to record. We had a deadline because Murray co-hosts a monthly jam session with Cheyenne, and we both went to that after the co-write. Lots of talented and exploratory musicians up there; I'm not much a jammer, but it was great to see what great musicians can improvise at a moment's notice.