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Wings Of A Seabird

from Songs In The Key Of Green by Ecopella

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about

Being a marine biologist whose passion is the preservation of seabirds, it was little surprise that Nicholas brought us a song on that subject. Emery accepted the job of arranging it and little more was heard for two years. Nicholas would occasionally leave messages on Emery's answering machine consisting only of recorded seabird calls.

When the completed score was delivered to the choir we could see how such an intricate and exciting piece of music had taken so long to create. It would also take some time to learn, interrupted as we were by the emigration of key members from our Sydney branch, and the formation of new branches.

Four years later (with the professional assistance of the Sydney Lyric Strings who provided us with an exquisite guide track) the work finally made it to disk, and was premiered live at the Illawarra Folk Festival in 2008. Whew! But oh, so worth the effort!

lyrics

I'm flying on the wings of a seabird
Spread out over new worlds
Over the ocean 'twixt land and land
But people please heed the warning
Our numbers are falling
Threats of extinction are in your hands
Hearts and hands

Hey you! That fish you are eating
Caught on the high sea
Long lining where we feed
We dive on your baits, hooks cut!

Deep in our soft bills lead weights drag us down
'Til were hauled dead onto your boats then tossed aside

For centuries our islands you plundered
Food for your sailors for settlers and sealers
And feathers for trade
Dumb struck we know not to fear you
On islands we're near you
For nesting to breed we fall easy prey

Abandon, abandon
You leave us with island wrecks
With cat, rat, goat beset

Havoc! In what was our paradise

In some isles once we were millions
Reduced to just handfuls and sometimes just gone

I'm flying on the wings of a sea bird…

credits

from Songs In The Key Of Green, released September 10, 2020
Words & Melody: Nicholas Carlile, 2001
Music: Emery Schubert, 2003
Strings: Adrian Keating and Sydney Lyric Strings

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Miguel Heatwole image

Miguel Heatwole Sydney, Australia

Miguel’s a versatile singer, choral director & composer. His interests include folk & world music, political satire, the environment, trade unionism & the responsible enjoyment of alcohol. His songwriting embraces themes like peace & justice, the family cat, & visceral passionate attraction. His enthusiasm for recording community singing has let many people share the power of their songs. ... more

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