There is an index to all our current series and some of our recent series of articles on the home page. We also have a very active Facebook page. An index to the songs previously covered in this series is given at the end of the article.
By Tony Attwood
This is part of a series of articles in which I take a look at the songs Bob selected for his post-doctorate volume, “The Philosophy of Modern Song.” I did start the series by trying to comment on Bob’s comments withinh the book, but I found I couldn’t really add anything meaningful or useful, so I changed the series to one that offers a recording of each song, so if you wish to hear the song Bob was talking about, eventually they will all be available in one place – on this site once I have listed them all in the final episode. And because I can never resist it, I have added my own comments too.
So today we have “Beyond the Sea” recorded by Bobby Darin and with the English version written by Jack Lawrence and Charles Trenet. And I say “English version” because “Beyond the Sea” is the English translation of the French song “La Mer”. written in 1945. The English version by Bobby Darin was released in 1959. In its various forms it has sold over 70 million copies worldwide.
But it was at the moment of the translation into English that the lyrics changed. The original French version was in fact an ode to the sea – hence the name – but the English version, “Beyond the Sea,” is a love song.
And we should also note that before even that version, the song existed as an instrumental piece and indeed as a hit as an instrumental before the lyrics were added. I can’t find a recording of that instrumental version at the moment – if you have a link to the original instrumental on the internet (rather than the 2021 re-make), please do add the URL as a comment.
First here is the French version
Here’s the English version that became a hit in the US and UK.
Jack Lawrence also wrote the official song of the Maritime Service and Merchant Marine, “Heave Ho! My Lads, Heave Ho!” while he was conductor of the band at Sheepshead Bay Maritime Service Training Station. And to go further, Lawrence also wrote “Yes My Darling Daughter” – which is a song I remember from my early childhood – I guess either we had a 78rpm record of it in the house, or more likely, my father played it on the piano. It was one of Lawrence’s first hits. I’ve put a link to it (for my sake if no one else’s) at the end.
But back to Jack Lawrence, he even managed to write a song for Linda Eastman, who was then one year old and whom he knew because she was the daughter of his solicitor. You may have heard of her as she went on to marry Paul McCartney.
Thus, Jack Lawrence’s connection with the musical establishment was enormous, and it was no surprise when the Bobby Darin version of the song was a number-one hit. And it has gone on to be a hit time and again… This version is from 1984…
But what is particularly interesting musically about this song, especially given that Bob selected it for his book, is the extraordinary complexity of the chord sequence within the song. If you have been kind enough to read some of my commentaries about Bob’s music, you will have noted how many of the songs are based on just three or four chords. “Visions of Johanna” for example, for all its lyrical complexity, only has three chords behind it.
However, La Mer has no less than six chords in the introduction (G, Em, C, E7, Am, D) and the complete verse contains 15 chords (G, Em, C, E7. Am. D, D7, B7, A7, Am7, F#7, B, G#m, C#m and Bm). And although there might be another song out there that does this, while remaining eminently hummable, I can’t think of it.
Indeed, La Mer could be called the exact opposite of a Bob Dylan song. But what we also find is that the lyrics are not nearly as extensive as some Dylan song. Here is the full set of lyrics of La Mer
Somewhere beyond the sea Somewhere waiting for me My lover stands on golden sands And watches the ships that go sailing Somewhere beyond the sea She's there watching for me If I could fly like birds on high Then straight to her arms I'd go sailing It's far beyond the stars It's near beyond the moon I know beyond a doubt My heart will lead me there soon We'll meet beyond the shore We'll kiss just as before Happy we'll be beyond the sea And never again I'll go sailing I know beyond a doubt, My heart will lead me there soon We'll meet (I know we'll meet) beyond the shore We'll kiss just as before Happy we'll be beyond the sea And never again I'll go sailing.
130 words – many of which are repeats, but with 15 chords in the music. It may not sound odd in any way if you are not a musician, but show the music to a guitarist or pianist who hasn’t played it before and they are most likely to say, “hang on a minute… let me work this out. ” It is, in fact, the absolute antithesis of a Dylan song in terms of its construction.
Previously in this series
- Ball of confusion
- Cheaper to Keep Her
- CIA Man – the Fugs
- Detroit City
- Don’t let me be misunderstood
- Dirty Life and Times
- Detroit City
- Dirty Life and Times
- Don’t let me be misunderstood
- I got a woman
- I’ve always been crazy
- Jesse James and Po Boy
- Keep my Skillet Good and Greasy
- Mac the Knife
- Money Honey
- My Generation and Desolation Row
- Nellie was a Lady
- Old Violin by Johnny Paycheck
- On the road again (save a horse)
- Pancho and Lefty
- Please don’t let me be misunderstood
- Poor Little Fool
- Poison Love
- Pump it up
- Saturday night at the movies
- Strangers in the Night
- Take Me from This Garden of Evil
- The Pretender
- The Whiffenpoof Song
- There stands the glass
- Tutti Fruiti (A wap bop a … etc)
- Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
- When
- Where or When
- Willy the Wandering Gypsy and Me
- Without a song
- Yes My Darling Daughter