The Island
They say the skies of Lebanon are burning
Those mighty cedars bleeding in the heat
They're showing pictures on the television
Women and children dying in the street
And we're still at it in our own place
Still trying to reach the future through the past
Still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone...
But Hey! Don't listen to me!
This wasn't meant to be no sad song
We've heard too much of that before
Right now I only want to be here with you
Till the morning dew comes falling
I want to take you to the island
And trace your footprints in the sand
And in the evening when the sun goes down
We'll make love to the sound of the ocean
They're raising banners over by the markets
Whitewashing slogans on the shipyard walls
Witchdoctors praying for a mighty showdown
No way our holy flag is gonna fall
Up here we sacrifice our children
To feed the worn-out dreams of yesterday
And teach them dying will lead us into glory...
Now I know us plain folks don't see all the story
And I know this peace and love's just copping out
And I guess these young boys dying in the ditches
Is just what being free is all about
And how this twisted wreckage down on main street
Will bring us all together in the end
And we'll go marching down the road to freedom....
Freedom
© Copyright Round Hill Music
©who/what?
The Island initially appeared on Paul Brady's 1985 album 'Back to the Centre'. It features Kenny Craddock on piano and a guitar solo by Phil Palmer
Paul Brady usually seems to be credited as the author and on his own website www.paulbrady.com …Paul has a list of other musicians who have covered The Island. Paul states that all lyrics are by him and he doesn’t acknowledge any other collaborators. Paul’s website does include a list of about 80 musicians who he has written and collaborated with since the 1990s, but no indication of co-authorship on The Island.
©Copyright is attributed to Round Hill Music. Further info: wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Hill_Music
songwriting mis-identification?
In several instances online credits are given as written by: or songwriters: - Geoffrey Downes and Trevor Charles Horn
In these cases lyrics are credited © Copyright Universal Music Publishing Group with no mention of Paul Brady
The Buggles (Downes/Horn) and ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ was great and Trevor Horn is a fantastic producer, but some serious clarification regarding these claims of authorship and copyright holder status of The Island lyrics is very much required
The Island, Paul Brady at Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, Jan 2013
Why this song?
“During the creation process of ‘Borderline | Stranger in a Strangeland’, …I estimate that I’ve listened to The Island somewhere around 3-4 thousand times”
Obviously, the desire to include the song as the soundtrack for the project is not just a whim. In interviews, Ian has stated that ‘The Island’ has been an inspiration for a number of artworks over the years. Indeed Ian Fleming’s first solo show was actually entitled “Let me take you to the Islands”
Ian Fleming’s philanthropic aims and ‘CommonUnity’ projects have been encapsulated in the following 3 hashtags
#WellBeingForEVERYone
#WageAWarAgainstViolence
#ObstructTheAbuseOfPower
The lyrics of ‘The Island’ are very much in line with those aims. Importantly they also point towards the one thing that makes life worth living - love and our personal relationships
From childhood Ian Fleming’s psyche was traumatically impacted by the naked sectarian hatred that stalked the streets of Belfast and indeed throughout all of the communities in the north of Ireland during ‘The Troubles’, as they were described
The lyrics speak of the vain glory earned by those who were indoctrinated, brainwashed and often forced into participating in the carnage and terror
The 3 themes or sub-projects within the ‘Borderline | Stranger in a Strangeland’ project are
#DestinationUnknown
#TerminalVelocity
#DeadAhead
DestinationUnknown describes the times prior to our birth, of which we know little, unless they form part of the indoctrination and propaganda aimed at trying to reach the future through the past
TerminalVelocity is Ian Fleming’s best attempt to describe the horrific nature of the twisted wreckage down on main street that left scars on the psyche, bodies in the ditches and traumatised an entire population who were exposed to the naked sectarian hatred
While the title DeadAhead is personal to the struggles experienced by Ian Fleming, nevertheless it also reflects the idea that it is possible through CommonUnity for all of us to leave the death and destruction of the past behind us and concentrate on what is ahead. Lets make love the focus of that future
