Lay for the Day: 27th July

Lay for the Day 27th July

1866: the steamship Great Eastern, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, lands at Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, having laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable on the ocean floor.

Farther Shore

Wherever you happen to be,
If ever you happen need me,
However you happen to feel,
I want to help you really.
You just write or you call,
Whether it’s day or it’s night-time –
I’ll gather my hat and my coat,
Hurry to catch the train or boat,
Get there in no time flat.

Too many people here
Chatter about it’s a small world.
When you’ve got no hand to hold,
The world is as big as it is old,
Colder than starlight above,
When you’ve got no-one who loves you.

Nobody loving true
Who shines for you.
Nobody loving kind
Who reads your mind.

Make me your lighthouse,
I’ll be your guide through the storm,
I’ll bring you in to that farther shore.
I’ll bring you in to that farther shore.

Seventy seas aren’t enough
Nor an Atlantic wave so rough –
You’re my South Sea Island –
I’ll call the worst weather’s bluff.
All I need’s your smile and kisses
For my key to Eden.

Let the towers tumble
And the masters call us dreamers,
Let the cities crumble
And the planners call us schemers,
Let the banknotes wither
Though they call it legal tender,
Let the armies gather,
You’ll remain my solid sender.

We’ve got time on our side,
The other side is suicidal.
Beggars wishes we ride.
Take the spurs off and the bridle,
Bareback to the shoreline.

Let the traffic slow down
And the winners call us losers,
Let the gunmen show down
And the powers blow their fuses.

Everything’s gathering speed,
Hardly a moment to think straight.
Nobody’s got what they need,
Nobody wants to be too late.
Sentimentality reigns
Now it’s the fashion to walk in chains.
But you got me feeling so free,
You set me thinking of being me.
You hold a key to the sea.

Make me your lighthouse,
I’ll be your guide through the storm,
I’ll bring you in to that farther shore.
I’ll bring you in to that farther shore.

Words and music by The Children