On utube with some old slides.
http://youtu.be/RdkRG6GpqPA

On Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/tuigorge/where-are-you-willie

RD - Rock modern waltz
Bass - RT1189
Guitars - RT860
RT 854
Midi tubular bells
Seagull wave.

Where Are You Willie

New Years Celebrations in the fishing village at Kaingaroa in the roaring 40's. About 1970. A workable bay nestled behind a scruffy rocky reef. We had a hangi with lots of food and a sleep. Then a party in the company hall beside the packing plant. The crews from the crayboats came ashore so we were all there.Oodles of grog and fine drunken performances all round to welcome the new year. Eventually we all wandered off to our caravans or huts to crash or continue drinking. The morning was bleak with staggering hangovers and a continuing offshore southerly gale. The word spread through the village like the wind. Two guys were missing. Willie and Spoff. Not in the hall. Not in the camp. Not on anyones boat.
Spoff turned up under his workboat. Curled up with a peaceful smile, weightless in a sandy nest, spectacles still in place, hair billowing with the tide. We stored him in the blast freezer with the cray tails.
Willie was more of a mystery. An aluminiun dinghy was missing from the beach. A keel furrow dragged through the sand. Bootprints. One old oar on the beach. No sign of the dinghy on the rocky headland or reef. He must have set out after midnight to return to the boat. One oar and seaboots and drunk. Maybe he lost the oar and maybe the wind just blew him out past the reef. Maybe he fell overboard. We fired up our vessels and combed miles of restless ocean until dark. Never found Willie.

A New Year's Eve spirit flows through the camp
The crews are ashore for the party
There's plenty of food and and plenty of booze
The hall is uproarious drunken and glorious
Live for each moment a wild life we've chosen
and celebrate being alive

A fierce offshore gale companions and mail
Tall tales of fun fish and frolic
I crash in the night out like a light
And wish I was home with a girl of my own
where the wind didn't shriek in the rigging
And ghosts didn't cry in the night

Where are you Willie
How did you get there
What are the sights that you see
I hope your not cold
and never get old
and don't want to change places with me

It's a hungover morning and Willie is gone
in a dinghy dragged down from the beach
an oar and big bootprints marks in the sand
The sea is still foaming the wind off the land
We fire up the diesels and comb the wild sea
But there's no sign of Willie. He's gone

Where are you Willie
How did you get there
What are the sights that you see
I hope your not cold
and never get old
and don't want to change places with me
Cause it's dark and it's cold lost at sea.

Hope you enjoy. Cheers.

Interesting story Rich very vividly told. And singing the chorus was a nice departure from the narrative. Sad about Willie. I thought the music you choose fit it well.


Josie

Hi Rich.

I enjoyed the story and the slide show enormously. Love this style of story telling and as Josie says the sung chorus is great.

Rich,

Very enjoyable story song... Nice job on this.

Bob

Thanks Sundance. I am delighted that you enjoyed it. Old memories. Cheers.

Thanks Joanne. The slides seem like another world when I look at them now. Cheers.

Thank you Bob. Am starting to enjoy telling stories. And of course the backing is so easy to add. Cheers.

Hi, Richard !


A very beautiful but tragic story
so well performed by you !
I enjoyed your story and share
the sadness you must have felt after
having lost a good friend like that !

Dani

Hi Rich ...

Very nicely done! The music is perfect for the flavor of the lyric. A story nicely told. Great job!

Al & Di

Thank you Dani for checking the song out and for your sympathy! Cheers.

Thanks Al and Di for listening and for your wonderful comment. Cheers.

Hi Rich

Excellent tune. Loved the story and slideshow. Love stories about the sea. Excellent playing and singing..

Hi Rich,

you are a great story teller.
The music is perfect for the lyrics.
Liked the slides.

Guenter

Thanks Scott. Have a lot of almost forgotten fishing stories. glad you liked it. Cheers.

Thanks Guenter. The incident made a huge impression on me at the time. Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers.

fun song, some nice imagery thanks for sharing!

Really nice emotion in this one! Feels alive! Great images and details. Love it. Keep it up. Take care. Greg

Richard,

"where the wind didn't shriek in the rigging
And ghosts didn't cry in the night"

You are writing some good stuff! This is very well done. Original. Interesting. Good production and mix.

Nice.

floyd

I really like your imagery. Simply top notch story telling wrapped in a nice supporting arrangement and mix. Great work!

I had to stop it and go back and see the slide show version! I am glad I did. Good sea shanty feel and good story telling, for sure. Good chorus that contrasts well against the story verses. A fun listen (besides the story line!) and good visuals.

Thanks for checking it out Robert. enjoyed your comments. Cheers.

Thanks Greg for the very supportive comments. Cheers.

Thanks Floyd for being so positive and encouraging. Cheers.

Thanks Janice and Bud. Wonderful comments. Cheers.

Kemmrich. I really enjoyed your comments. Thanks. Cheers.

Every once and a while I am inclined to bring up a favorite that just absolutely sticks in my mind. Thank you RichMac. This is one if those times!

Glad this was bumped up again as I missed it first time around. Enjoyed the song, well written and I really enjoyed the slide show.


Charlie

Ricg
How did I miss this??
What a sad an beautiful song, all the emotion.
Great video,it seem to fit so well.

Well done, excellent.

Alyn

RichMac,

Love to hear your songs as I never know what to expect. Each of your songs is unique.

where Are You Willie tells an interesting story in an engaging manner. You made a nice choice of instrumentation and well mixed. The tubular bells and sound effects were two touches that added to the production.

What a surprise! Thanks Patrick for reminding me.
I have a few more unwritten Chathams fishing songs to do.
They are true stories to the best of my recollections but it was 45 years ago.
I am so pleased you like this one. Cheers.

Thank you Charlie.
Was fishing there for six years and wish I had taken more photos.
One has my corrugated iron hut and craypots and another my little black steel boat.
Cheers.

Thanks for listening to this one Alyn.
His disappearance made a great impression on me at the time.
Cheers.

Thanks for the nice comments Jim.
Ah that was the life!
The bell was meant to represent a fairway buoy and I had to include some seagulls.
I changed the names but the rest is factual.
Cheers.

Yes man and the sea.
Good write Richmac.
A good story well told.
Rob.

We missed this one. Watched the video, all very impressive.
The slides are well chosen, the music fits the voice very well.
Nice production!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Thanks Rob. I'm glad you enjoyed this one. Cheers.

Thanks R&AM. One of my earlier songs from 12 months back which seems a long long time ago.
The place is nothing like that now. 45 years later. Processing factories gone, boats gone, huts and caravans gone.
The hall we had parties in is a tiny school now. Cheers.

Hi Richard,

I missed this one and I'm really glad that Patrick went fishing and pulled it back to the surface. This is great! There is so much to like about the story and the way you've told it. I agree with floyd. These lyrics are strong.

What really appealed to me was the "uproarius / glorious" rhyme. It's a very inventive word pairing.

All the best,
Noel

• latest song: Walk With Me

A fine, fine tale!! Really nicely done. Contrast between spoken versus and darkly musical chorus is perfect. May be my favorite of yours. Love the bell and the heavy drum beat. Enjoyed a LOT!!! Take care. Greg

Thanks for the comments Noel. I'm glad you liked this one.
It's closer to reality than many of my songs. Cheers.

Hi Greg I'm delighted you like this one. The drumbeat was meant to represent a funeral march. Cheers.