While gigging with The Tomatoes in Gulf Shores, AL, we were staying at an excellent
beachfront hotel, Young’s-By-The-Sea. I had a desire to play guitar, so I picked up
Hank Becker's Guild jumbo acoustic and stepped out on the balcony. As I sat down, I
saw a girl standing on the beach looking out over the water. The wind was blowing
through her long dark hair and ruffling her flowing dress, but she was standing as
still as a statue. I played a kinda dark chord, and was transported to another place
and time where she was bidding farewell to the love of her life as he sailed away
on a Spanish galleon. Though she had seen him leave many times before, somehow
she knew that this time he wouldn’t return. I felt her sadness and resignation, and
her loving hope that someday they would meet again. And with the help of that
wonderful guitar, my notebook and a Bic pen, Sail Away was born.
This version was recorded on my 4-track cassette recorder shortly after it was written. Though
it was really just a "scratchpad" version, it captured the moment's mood and I like it. Hopefully
I’ll be able to revisit it at some point and record an updated version.
Sail Away © 2024 - Joey Arata