Richard Cousins & Comic Life
Richard has kindly contributed his song 'Boats' to the 'Earth Stars' CD. The song is about living your dreams & was recorded back in 1997 when the musicians were:-
richard cousins (vocals, guitar & keyboards), phil ward (fretless bass, congas)
( Production and mixing: phil, st annes studios, salisbury,1998)
The current line up of the band is:-
richard cousins (songs, guitars, vocals), tim harland (keyboards, mandolin)
brian iredale (drums, percussion), patrick williams (bass)
Here are some very honest notes richard wrote about the song some years back in an attempt to summarise some of his ‘output’ in a short biography.
Put your Boat out on the Sea - November 1997
“And so on to what is undoubtedly one of my best compositions, written in the full flood of inspiration, seemingly with the divine steering committee staying up late that night to help out! The arrow flies clean and straight, there are no lapses of style or content, there are no awkward or poor musical transitions, the whole moves from beginning to end (if you will indulge me for a moment to say so) in a pure and inevitable progress.
The song arose out of something close to despair (but not quite – I try not to do despair).
I was pretty much out of the world with no job, self respect at a low ebb. The only things I had were this artistic shadow life and Amanda, who put up with the occasional storms that attended such an existence with stoic endurance. She was a wonderful companion and lover who I will never forget. In fact most of our days were good, metaphorically cloudless and happy.
But when things went wrong they did go wrong, and she took this very badly. For going wrong, read me shutting the gates of Castle Adamant – nothing more. But whilst I was holidaying in the manner of a religious ascetic in the solitude of a deserted and ruined fortress in Northumbria, she was beating on the outer gates in the rain all night alone.
She never could believe that I was in there and still loved her.
If I could go back now I would open the gates and let her in.
But I cannot, so I will not linger.
This is the background to ‘Boats’. But there is also hope – great hope in the song, looking out, looking forward to better things, the pregnancy and mystery of the sea,the explicit wish to make this art and my life more of a success.
Well, the sentiments expressed in the song have not entirely been fulfilled so far, but there is time, and there is still hope, and perhaps with those two I can make a ship which will sail.”
richard
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