Procol Harum - A Salty Dog Lyrics

A favorite back in those days an still super 2020

Class tune

I WILL WAIT ALL NIGHT LONG. i'm not scared, i'm just sad.

maybe i am though.

it's so good it's almost excruciating.

Worth checking out the version by Transatlantic.

Real voices ,real instruments great arrangement, what else can you say.

Born in 1991 and listening. I’ll listen to this music over today’s stuff any day

This song can be seen as a metaphor for wandering lost and finally crying tears of joy when we are found IMO. Masterful!

Can't believe I never heard this before. Unique, little masterpiece !. True talent.

This song always makes me cry. I love it so much.

Well crafted and an emotional song, thanks for the great memories.

I feel Very Lucky to belong to this generation of so great stars of music! Oh..... yesssssss! Undoubtdely!

Yes too, yes.

Simplesmente maravilhoso! Que sortuda me sinto por ser desta geração de estrelas da música!

A really good friend of mine looked just like the picture on the album cover . Rest in Peace Thomas Monti.2/22/15

ad aeternam - Voce Dei-

Красивая Композиция и Группа - Классная

A very well off friend played this record for me on a really powerful stereo. When it ended and drifted into The Devil Came From Kansas - I thought I'd been shot.

I just listened to Taylor Swifts new song.....AND I'm so glad this was what I grew up on.

TRADUZIONE INTERPRETATA
Tutti gli uomini in coperta, ci stiamo allagando” Sentii il capitano gridare “Ispezionate la chiglia, sostituite la presa a mare, nessuno resti con le mani in mano”.
Attraverso lo Stretto di Magellano, intorno a Capo Horn, quanto lontano possono spingersi i marinai?
Il nostro terribile viaggio seguì un percorso tortuoso e nessuno tornò vivo.
Navigammo per regioni sconosciute agli uomini, dove le navi tornano a morire.
Nessuna vetta invalicabile, nessssuna orgogliosa fortezza, potevano sfidare lo sguardo del nostro Capitano.
Dopo 7 giorni di mal di mare, scegliemmo il nostro approdo: una sabbia così bianca, un mare così blu, non erano di questo mondo.
Scaricammo il cannone, bruciammo l’albero maestro e remammo dalla nave fino alla spiaggia.
Il nostro Capitano impartiva gli ordini, noi marinai piangevamo: le nostre erano lacrime di gioia.
Ora molte lune e molte estati sono passate da quando abbiamo toccato terra.
Un Lupo di Mare, il Capitano: ne è testimone questo libro di bordo, scritto di mio pugno.
-------------------------
La canzone parla dell'affondamento di una nave, nel tentativo di doppiare Capo Horn che è molto insidioso*. Non ci sono sopravvissuti [and no one left alive].
Il resto della canzone narra del loro viaggio nell'aldilà [Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call] dove “port of call “ (scalo) e metafora del “Paradiso”, come “seventh heaven” (settimo cielo).

In un altro punto della canzone si indica che questo è "no mortal place at all” (nessun luogo mortale).
Nel verso finale "and burnt the mast” (è bruciato l'albero) indica che non si può tornare al mondo mortale, I marinai hanno accettato questa realtà e il loro ingresso nell'aldilà è accolto con " tears of joy” (lacrime di gioia).
Infine l'affondamento è annotato nel registro di bordo dal "your witness” (il tuo testimone) è da intendersi come “dio ne è testimone”, dal momento che la nave affondò in mare senza sopravvissuti e venne distrutta dall'oceano nel tempo, non ci sono testimoni umani del loro "tortured course” (straziato percorso).

* Salty Dog (letteralmente “cane sotto sale” è un soprannome dato ad un marinaio degli Stati Uniti che ha trascorso gran parte della propria vita in mare, a bordo di una nave. La frase si riferisce alla convinzione che l'applicazione di sale su preziosi cani da caccia li manterrebbe liberi dalle zecche. In questo contesto, un "cane salato" sarebbe qualcuno caro al cuore di chi parla.

** Capo Horn è il punto più meridionale del Sud America e segna il confine settentrionale del Passaggio di Drake. Per molti anni fu una pietra miliare sulla rotta del clipper: le navi a vela che trasportavano scambi commerciali in tutto il mondo. Tuttavia, le acque intorno al Capo sono particolarmente pericolose, a causa di forti venti, grandi onde, forti correnti e iceberg; questi pericoli lo hanno reso noto come un cimitero di marinai. Le espressioni “Roaring Forties” (quaranta ruggenti) e “Furious Fifties” (cinquanta urlanti) è stata coniata dagli inglesi e da un lato deriva dal nome dei paralleli alla cui latitudine soffiano questi venti, dall’altro dal rumore che il vento produce sibilando attraverso gli alberi, il sartiame e la velatura delle imbarcazioni a vela, che somiglia a un ruggito sui 40° e ad un grido sui 50°.


*** abbreviazione di seacock (presa d’acqua a mare) che dà l’esatto significato al precedente “we've run afloat” (ci stiamo allagando)

That sailor looks like Sid Haig..R.I.P.

Thanks to my parents and my music teacher who showed me the beauty of 60's music.

The Essence Of Life & Death ? Guess So...
It's All about This Short, Small Stinking Lifes That we ALL have to Live...
Fantastic Lyrics. Fantastic Music, And A GREAT Band with Strings Attached..
So Much Sorrow, So Much Pain,,, An Still untill NOW I Do Remain...
All Hands On Deck !
LOvE Per RB Hoiness

This is awesome

Jeez what a beautifully written song.

So sweet, if a bit salty... I want this piece of music be among the last aural sensations I take in and consciously contemplate in this particular, only life of mine.

I think Peter Gabriel was definitely listening to this.

The violin after 'we fired the gun' always gets me. What a genius band they were and rarely talked about any more. Will always love you.

I'm so glad we're all here

Pelle d'oca dall'inizio alla fine… semplicemente meraviglioso. Un brano che ti porta in atmosfere celestiali, un autentico capolavoro della musica di tutti i tempi.

Wow! what a perfect song... birth of Prog Rock maybe... and was there ever a better song?

My Dear Brother Loved This Song. God Bless Him.

I saw the LP cover.....my my... I was 19 again..'Robin Trower' on Guitar...and the rest of the band of course........great post...Though their second LP ..Shine on Brightly....hard to top.

Sounds like the theme in Scarface.

Extraordinary song, one of the best ever. --- A chi ha una sessantina d'anni o più, evoca ricordi di una TV morta e sepolta, come lo è la nostra epoca. Il testo ha una doppia chiave di lettura, in senso profondo è il viaggio dell'uomo nella vita e nella morte. Straordinario capolavoro.

I played this song over and over junior year in college...Moody Blues, Procul Harum, King Crimson, later...Emerson, Lake and Palmer...

so true mr harley. we were spoil to death. our ivies defined by the music of our years. Every song every brilliant sound andinn ovation reminding us of where we were at in our lives. God bless the 60s, Elvis, The Beatles. and all those influenced by.

I heard this song while I was dreaming this night. beautiful song buried in my most ancestral memories and in a night returned to light as it deserves.

as a 70 year old, i feel so sorry for all the youngins who missed when people wrote and played there own music.

How far can sailors fly?

Still: W O W

Absolutely brilliant! 👍

What a masterpiece! Procol Harum are in a class of their own, just sublime.

cape cod nights. Dense fog rolled in covering the whole town. Very quiet evening

God, what a song!

Recorded live 1972 with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

I was just going over information about Douglas Adams and found out that apparently some of the inspiration for the Hotel at the end of the Universe came from the Procol Harum song Grand Hotel. I've been going down this rabbit hole for a few hours now, damn good music that oddly doesn't get played on any of my local radio stations.

great for harmonica!!! key first part in Low Eb, than MelodyMaker tuning E ( second position),than change to Low Eb ....so on.
same for the solo, great fun to wail n fly!

Le plus beau tube de Procol Harum avec "A whiter shade of pale".

E pensar que não conhecia Procol Harum... Está me fazendo muito bem esse estilo! Uau!

"All hands on deck, we"ve run afloat" I heard the captain cry
"Explore the ship, replace the cook, let no one leave alive!"
Across the straits, around the Horn, how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive
We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold, could match our captain's eye
Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call
A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all
We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore
The captain cried, we sailors wept, our tears were tears of joy
Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land
A salty dog, this seaman's log, your witness my own hand
Songwriters: GARY BROOKER,KEITH REID

Thank you so much! What an amazing song!

Não é apenas uma música. É um espetáculo!

The instrumental piano section is absolutely beautiful! Always loved this song and early Procol Harum 😎

For me this record set the band apart from the run of the mill songs around at the time.CH

Amazing GREAT album
.band..still

It's a shame to all those who have never heard this brilliant song !

THANK YOU!!!....

My baby brother sleeps with this song 😁😁

Remember the song being played before Robin Trower's BRIDGE OF SIGHS show in April 74'. Makes my heart flutter to this day.

I was born in 1974. I am from Brazil but I grown up listening this music on the radio. For me the songs between 1960 and 1970 are the best but the Procol still is the king.

Belle musique

I love Procol Harum

I think I have bought one of the last Greatest CD’s at amazon.uk....pretty expensive, but I need it in my collection.

Canzone stupenda e grande interpretazione. Grandi Procol Harum!

told a story way back when still telling it today.

Glorious!

"Procol Harum was sadly unappreciated."

I'm not sure. I think we of that period were so spoiled, overdosed and saturated with such an incredible volume of magnificent creative artists and music over a 5-10 year time that we simply couldn't absorb all of it.

So true. I never realized it. Great comment!

Styx' cover is just as good IMO. This is timeless though

THE SHIP is life.

Sounds a little like MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY.

I am a Navy Veteran and we were in the Mediterranean. There were many nights where the weather was so bad, we thought we would capsize and never return home.
So this song has a very deep meaning for me..I weep with tears of joy and thanks that we survived.

I am a Navy vet too. I also sailed the Med. The Atlantic Ocean was the worst. The Indian Ocean was smooth as glass.

the sound of Gary's perfect vocals laid across the banked strings in the last chorus is one of the very high points of popular music so far, this song is an absolute masterpiece.

70 thumbs down? ahahahahahahahah Who's are these Isis headhunters with negative?

You won't believe but I remember when I heard this Music the very first time on radio more than 40 years ago. It impressed me deeply!

Capolavoro assoluto 🙄😍💗

a salty dog..Gary Brooker. pure inspiration!

folks listen to the whole album to me this album and "shine on brightly" are the best ones.
i came here because i unfortunately missed to port them to my notebook. long time standards, i love to listen to them since 17, i'm not that aged but already 52. i was born when all this fine music was popular and i can't let off the '60s in general. why is so different? one can listen to this over and over, often i say "nah, there is even good music today" but i guess i lie when i say such.

I remember vacationing in Fairhaven, MA back in '96 in a hotel on the harbor and this song played through my head over and over again.

if you like their music you must buy a canary. I had 2. They sang in pure joy to their music. Even birds in the yard would gather near the windows & sing.,

Thats cool👍👍

Truly one of the greatest songs anyone ever did!! Timeless and classic!! Besides Grand Hotel this is also my fave!!

No mortal place at all..... This is one of the greatest songs of all time in every way. Totally agree with all those who say they can listen to it for hours on end. I run it in my mind, and can have it any time, wherever I go. The power of that last verse! the added string commentary, the incredibly expressive solo voice (anyone notice how wide a range is needed to sing this? and to sustain those high notes as he does?!!).... Well, words fail, and that's what music is for. Gonna go listen to it again....

I bought this album in 1969.

I'd place this with "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Space Oddity".

2522 thumbs up??? you gotta be joking (I expect Puff Daddy has 100 times more)

I can almost smell the salt air.....

Really? Better than WSOP? The song John. Lennon said was the most beautiful song he ever heard? Not to me.

A true Master piece!

their best.  a true classic

Estate 78 camicia a fiori 45 di salty dove nelle mani. Indimenticabile!!!!!

Fantastic!

I cannot find the original ""A Salty Dog" on iTunes, only covers. Not even the original "Homburg".(Only " Whiter Shade of Pale")
I cannot believe I bought and then lost this LP back at the end of the 60's. Probably I lent it out as we often did then and it was never returned.
John Mendelson, writing for Rolling Stone, called it "a confusing album. He's right.But I loved it then, I love it now. It's so mystical, it's timeless. At least thank God we have YouTube and BlueTooth.

Such a great chord progression in this song with a few surprises......tthose drums are also so great......shows you they could follow up from WSOP

GREAT SONG

A Salty Dog
Procol Harum
"All hands on deck, we"ve run afloat" I heard the captain cry
"Explore the ship, replace the cook, let no one leave alive!"
Across the straits, around the Horn, how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive
We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold, could match our captain's eye
Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call
A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all
We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore
The captain cried, we sailors wept, our tears were tears of joy
Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land
A salty dog, this seaman's log, your witness my own hand

#throwbackthursday

Ho conosciuto questa bellissima canzone grazie al film: "Compagni di Scuola" di Carlo Verdone. La scena del cameriere della villa che si avvicina a Verdone:
«Scusi de mi permetto...Sono cose che a me non riguardano... Ma Lei mi fa un po' pena...»
La bravura dei due attori, la bellissima voce del cameriere, le parole verissime e bellissime con questa musica stupenda in sottofondo sono una delle combinazioni cinematografiche "musica-immagini" più belle apprese da bambino, e rimaste scolpite nella mia mente e nel mio cuore.

"There are three sorts of people; those who are alive, those who are dead, and those who are at sea." - Old Capstan Chantey attributed to Anacharsis, 6th Century BC
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Will

My first concert at the Fillmore East

Awesome song!

Gary Brooker is a Genious.