The Song of The Sinking Woman (Rebsie's SOS)

mandolinquent

Get Flash to see this player.

Description

The wonderful Rebsie kindly helped me refit The Song Of The Sinking Man - sending files and sage advice from Cheltenham.

Atwood1956 contributed a piece of keyboard playing that originally was launched in his beautiful collaboration with kcsaito.

Stevel manned the lifeboats with some stratocaster work.

The sound at the end of the song is a genuine SOS sent out by MS Prinsenberg in 1980 after its radio had failed. The transcription reads - apparently; SOS Engine room on fire. Fire extinguishers empty. Help Urgent.

Leave a Comment

You must be registered and logged-in to comment.

Lyrics

If you give me some money
I'll sing you a song
Do you think that I do this for free?
but you better be fast
cause I'm watching the glass
And the water is rising round me

The captain is drunk
and the crew have all jumped ship
the compass aint working no more.
I'm here on the deck
of this smouldering wreck
I'm looking for signs of a shore

Some people are lucky
some people are not.
Can you gu ess which of these I might be?
But don\'t waste my time
I\'m not sure I can swim
and the water\'s still rising round me

I wish someone knew
where we are, all I know is
I\'m not where I wanted to be.
I\'m keepig my eyes on the distant horizon
but I can\'t see nothing but sea

If you give me some money
I'll sing you a song
Do you think that I do this for free?
But you better be fast
get up off your arse
cause the water is rising round me

Song Stats

Hits: 2792
Comments: 41
Fans: 17
Plays: 352
Downloads: 122
Votes: 25
Uploaded: Apr 24, 2005 - 05:03:00 PM
Last Updated: Apr 24, 2005 - 01:44:50 PM Last Played: Oct 19, 2009 - 07:13:21 PM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-ShareAlike

Song Actions

Hardware:

Stevel's stratocasters.
atwood1965's synth
A Gibson mandolin
My rubbish electric guitar
A penny whistle
A bodhran

Software:

GB 1.1

Comments

Epileptic Gibbon

Epileptic Gibbon said 1676 days ago (April 24th, 2005)

Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again!
I didn't hear either of the earlier versions of this track
(shame on me, I know) but I've heard this one so
better late than never, I suppose. Great song, nice
lyrics, wonderful vocals, strong musicianship. I'm
impressed! My only criticisms (sorry) are 1. Is it me or
are the vocals a bit out of synch with the music
towards the end? 2. I think the bodhran (great though
it is) could do with being a bit lower in the mix as it
"drowns out" (no pun intended) Rebsie's lovely vocals
just a tad. Great work though, you two!

Check out my latest song called Fiddler Off the Roof w/Komrade K & Caroline

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1676 days ago (April 24th, 2005)
	Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! Ah; thanks muchly for that. You're not the first to mention that about the bodhran. I think the levels on my cheap headphones are deceptive. I'll re-do them. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)
	Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! Again... thanks. Done a remix with those good points in mind and we'll post that at a later date; thanks for the constructive criticism. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Epileptic Gibbon	Epileptic Gibbon said 1673 days ago (April 27th, 2005)
	Wonderful Rebsie and Mando strike again! I'm glad my comments were useful to you. I began to wonder if it was just me or if I'd been a bit overly negative but as long as you took them as constructive criticisms (which is how they were intended) then job's a good 'un! Check out my latest song called Fiddler Off the Roof w/Komrade K & Caroline

stevel	stevel said 1676 days ago (April 24th, 2005)
	Lovely folk song The production sounds very nice indeed...you have added a lot to the last version I heard. Cool sound effects at the beginning. Rebsie's vocals are lovely. Well done! It was fun to collaborate - I'll have to do this more... S Check out my latest song called Electricity

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1676 days ago (April 24th, 2005)
	Lovely folk song Stevel... thanks so much for what you did to the track. Your playing really lifts it up. More collabs please. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Tom Atwood

Tom Atwood said 1676 days ago (April 24th, 2005)

Lovely, spooky tune
What I like about this is the laid back vocals while all hell
is breaking loose. Gives this piece a calm, nightmarish
quality. Something does seem slightly out of sync toward
the end. My guess is that it has to do with mixing all the
collaborative elements in a way that holds together.

Thanks for letting be part of the sinking ship...

Check out my latest song called Keep Looking for Jesus (MJRF)

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)
	Lovely, spooky tune Tom... sorry it was just such a small part. But thanks being so willing. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

macapa	macapa said 1676 days ago (April 24th, 2005)
	Beautiful A beautiful piece, a pleasure to listen to. It's downloaded and will soon find it's way onto my iPod.

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1672 days ago (April 28th, 2005)
	Beautiful Many thanks, macapa. Your comments are always great to hear... Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

twonicus	twonicus said 1675 days ago (April 24th, 2005)
	nice gotta love some pure folk. very smooth, lyrical, kind of a perfect example of the genre. thank you. Check out my latest song called Say It Loud (MJRF)

I. Spike

I. Spike said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)

Strange and alluring
This song is quite odd
like an over ripe cod
but I dare say it tickles my ears
all the sounds you implore
make it less than a bore
but something is a little bit queer
but I'll leave it alone
and walk all the way home
'cross the pond to the apple pie land
and when I'm inside
I will regale all with pride
with The Song of the Sinking Woman

Check out my latest song called Mighty Cracker Fly

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)
	Strange and alluring Your rhyme is devine Thanks for taking the time To comment on this song of mine, About ambitions sunken And drinks that are drunken And it sound slike you've had some yourself... (Please try "Cakeless" as well, It's a story I tell Of a girl who's been left on the shelf) Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Rebsie

Rebsie said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)

I love it!
This collaboration was a delight to work on and I love
the finished song. You are a very talented songwriter,
Mando, and an impressive multi-instrumentalist. I
think you've done an amazing job of combining all
those different instruments. Thank you so much for
letting me be a part of this. If you want to do any
more collabs I'm certainly up for it!

Check out my latest song called Amongst The Colours (w/ Luna Trick)

drakonis

drakonis said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)

Very nice!
For some reason, I hear faint echos of David Bowie's
"Major Tom" in this... nice haunting piece, well paced. I
like the various sound effects at the beginning, but the
shortwave SOS at the end was a little too loud and
distracted from Rebsie's humming... also, it is not obvious
(to much of your audience) what that sound is, other than
possibly a distorted Minke whale :-) I would have liked a
softer, cleaner-sounding morse-code fading in and out at
the end while Rebsie's humming fades and increases in
echo... making sure its pitch doesn't interfere with the
song. Rebsie's singing has her usual delicious longing to
it (I did hear a bit of the above-mentioned lag though).
Great playing on the whistle and strings... great folksy
feel... also reminds me of a long-forgotten Al Stewart
song I used to listen to... grr, what was it called? Overall,
a very nice song, well-written lyrics. I'm heavily critiquing
it because I like it a lot and would love to hear an even
better version (though you're all probably quite done with
it for awhile now!) :-)
ttfn,
Drakonis

Check out my latest song called Lullaby for the Inner Child

Mystified	Mystified said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)
	Great Folk Fine job on this all around. I would agree with the suggestions on bringing the vox 'forward' a bit in the mix, syncronizing the vocals at the end. Like the use of sound effects. Very well done! Check out my latest song called For the Beauty of the Earth

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1671 days ago (April 28th, 2005)
	Great Folk It will be done, Mystified. We're working on it. Thanks. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

bronco

bronco said 1675 days ago (April 25th, 2005)

Bodrahn?
Okay, I admit it. Even with my encyclopedic knowledge of
folk music I had no idea what a bodrahn was and had to
do a google to find out. To me it seems the strings that
are drowning out the vocal somewhat. Rebsie has a
delicate, plaintive voice and needs to be mixed way
upfront to get the best effect. Of course since you know
who this is you know I am the worst mixer in the world so
you can ignore all of the above. I liked it a lot. Very
creative use of sound effects at the start. Rebsie has a
lovely voice. Actually I've liked all the versions of this.
Nothing like a true song to hit home. I just to go fishing a
lot in the Gulf of Mexico in a small boat so I know what
it's like to look around you and see nothing but ocean.

Check out my latest song called Strange Feeling

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1674 days ago (April 25th, 2005)
	Bodrahn? Yep. You're right, bronco. Thanks for not letting me off the hook easily. We're planning a remix doing what you, drak, and Epileptic Gibbon have suggested. I'm going to have to lower all the levels a bit to let Rebsie's voice sit a bit higher as she's at top volume... Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Z293	Z293 said 1674 days ago (April 25th, 2005)
	Beautiful Playing and singing fits this song's genre well. I can almost smell the salt in the air. Check out my latest song called The Fine Line

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1674 days ago (April 26th, 2005)
	Beautiful Grinning... thanks. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

TobinMueller	TobinMueller said 1674 days ago (April 26th, 2005)
	Cinematic I felt like I was watching a movie, and was surprised in the end that it was just a song. You evoke wonderful images. Check out my latest song called Forge A New Life (MJRF)

Mcboy	Mcboy said 1674 days ago (April 26th, 2005)
	strings of my heart....love that mando sound......this tune sends me back to ancient celtic worlds......and i'm not even celtic......hehhehheh.......lovely vocals and composition... Check out my latest song called Heros( aclarke/mcboy)

country john	country john said 1674 days ago (April 26th, 2005)
	nice one folks . . . . . . i can't get tired of this song . . . . . . and seemingly, you can't either ! . . . ; ) nice vocals rebsie . . . . . . and great playing from the rest of the crew ! i love the way this song has progressed . . . the addition of the intro, solos and outro are fantastic ! well done to all of you ! safe Check out my latest song called atom bomb

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1673 days ago (April 27th, 2005)
	nice one folks . . . CJ... so good to have you aboard. I'm missing new CJ material badly. Just listened to your Chibbums and Woosberries. Excellent playing! You should be on this recording... Can we do something together? Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Rebsie	Rebsie said 1673 days ago (April 27th, 2005)
	nice one folks . . . I'm delighted to see you back too, CJ. We miss your weird psychedelic masterpieces. Check out my latest song called Amongst The Colours (w/ Luna Trick)

Peter Greenstone	Peter Greenstone said 1673 days ago (April 26th, 2005)
	Wonderful new version I was a big fan of the previous versions too. I really like the new long intro and all the little touches you added to this. Rebsie's singing is really nice but a bit hard to hear at times. Great to hear some of my favorite MacJammers collaborating. Check out my latest song called From Nothing

Joanna	Joanna said 1673 days ago (April 27th, 2005)
	Loved it I didn't have the problems some of the others had once I put on my headphones. As always, I'm a huge fan of Rebsie's vocals, and mando's storytelling. What a sweet combination! Check out my latest song called Nellie G.

mikkinylund

mikkinylund said 1673 days ago (April 27th, 2005)

Awsome song
I like this a lot, to me, very strong vocals, very good
harmony's. The production is also very clean and solid.
The potential out-of-synch vocals does not bother me a
bit, one of thus days. In fact, don't clean this song up too
much is my suggestion, sometimes it's best as is! Great
work, I am going to listen to more of your music for
sure...

Mikki

Check out my latest song called Fairyland (Satumaa)

	said 1671 days ago (April 29th, 2005)
	Wonderful Collab I enjoyed the vocals and most of the instruments. I was distracted (listening on headphones) by loudness of the synth-string section accompaniment when it comes in (it's a nice dramatic touch though), moreso than the morse fade (which stirs memories for me as an ex-navy cryptologist) . I look forward to hearing the remix.

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1671 days ago (April 29th, 2005)
	Wonderful Collab Ex navy cryptologist? Good gosh. Thanks for the feedback, Mungo. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Doadars Uncle	Doadars Uncle said 1671 days ago (April 29th, 2005)
	Cool! Fresh. Contemporary vision. Lost at sea! I love it! Check out my latest song called Capitalist's Drag

cjhoose	cjhoose said 1669 days ago (May 1st, 2005)
	lovin' it. Excellent production! I could easily see this on a Celtic CD compilation somewhere. The SOS at the end brings some reality to the song where the lyrics are nearly ridiculous- almost made me cry. Check out my latest song called Julia

dotwood	dotwood said 1663 days ago (May 7th, 2005)
	I love these folksongs I really do, they have so much power, I get the same goosebumps I got from good Rocksongs. Allthough I don't like the strings in it, it's the only thing about it I'm not wild about (but I'm really not a strings lover) Check out my latest song called Milk & Oranges

jiguma	jiguma said 1660 days ago (May 10th, 2005)
	Beautiful Green with envy - have just found MacJams and it feels like the world has suddenly expanded! an inspiration. Check out my latest song called Lost In Translation (w Mike Watkins)

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1660 days ago (May 10th, 2005)
	Beautiful Welcome to Macjams. And thanks. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

fairy beth	fairy beth said 1654 days ago (May 16th, 2005)
	ooooh lovely harmonies rebsie. gorgeous mandolin mando. sweet tune. well done :-) Check out my latest song called Message No.1 - David Gwynne

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1649 days ago (May 21st, 2005)
	ooooh Hairy Breath! Thanks a lot. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

Boris the Bull	Boris the Bull said 1650 days ago (May 19th, 2005)
	thoughts from the bull... holy crap this is amazing! jeez! and it just gets better and better. wow. sorry, don't mean to inflate ego's, but this is just wonderful all over the place. every corner of the song is pure music to the brain. i need a pint. immediately (hic) you are all truly blessed and gifted! well done! Check out my latest song called What You'd Be Like

mandolinquent	mandolinquent said 1649 days ago (May 21st, 2005)
	thoughts from the bull... Hey Boris. Thank-you. I'm a big fan of you're writing, so I'm very flattered by that. Check out my latest song called Had We But World Enough

ktb	ktb said 1018 days ago (February 10th, 2007)
	great The overall effect is stunning. The vocals are empyreal. I especially like the strings. This is much more than the sum of its incredible contributions. Awesome collab Check out my latest song called Texas stump

Fan List

Artist Info

Name: William

Rebsie - Join The QueueRebsie - LightfingersRebsie/Revolving Doris - Boar's Head Carol Rebsie/Revolving Doris - Sycamore Tree Country John - bluebird Dadai - She's Like The Wind atwood1956 - What Is Wrong With This World snowdragon - Git Along ... [see more]

Check out some of my other songs:

Genre Info

More songs in Folk (contemporary):

Chat