SLS: Southern Cross

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Now that Christmas is but a distant memory it is time for life to return to normal. It is Sunday, which can only mean one thing for me: SLS. For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim is inviting us to play a song that features nautical terms, words connected with ships, sailing or navigation, in his post The Seven Seas. This was an absolute no-brainer of a choice for me: it simply had to be my favourite song by one of my favourite bands. Unlike most weeks I’m sticking to just one today: this is so good it stands on its own merits.

No messing about – let’s get straight into the music. This is the official video but it isn’t from the band’s own YouTube page, so it is a little bit grainy. The song is still magnificent, though:

And here are the lyrics

Got out of town on a boat goin’ to Southern Islands
Sailing a reach before a followin’ sea
She was makin’ for the trades on the outside
And the downhill run to Papeete
 
Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas
We got eighty feet of the waterline nicely making way
In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you
But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away
 
Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin’
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten
 
Around the world (I have been around the world)
Lookin’ (lookin’ for that woman girl)
Who knows she knows (who knows love can endure)
And you know it will
 
When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way
‘Cause the truth you might be runnin’ from is so small
But it’s as big as the promise, the promise of a comin’ day
 
So I’m sailing for tomorrow my dreams are a-dyin’
And my love is an anchor tied to you (tied with a silver chain)
I have my ship and all her flags are a-flyin’
She is all that I have left and music is her name
 
Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin’
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten
 
I have been around the world (I have been around the world)
Lookin’ (lookin’ for that woman girl)
(Who knows love can endure)
And you know it will
And you know it will
 
So we cheated and we lied and we tested
And we never failed to fail it was the easiest thing to do
You will survive being bested
Somebody fine will come along make me forget about loving you
And the southern cross
 
Writer/s: Michael Curtis, Richard Curtis, Stephen Stills
Publisher: MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Wixen Music Publishing
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
 
Southern Cross was included on Crosby Stills & Nash’s Daylight Again album, released in June 1982, and then came out as a single in September 1982. Stephen Stills sings lead throughout, with Graham Nash joining on the second verse. Because David Crosby did not reunite with Stephen and Graham until the album was well underway, his vocals are not featured on the album version, although he did appear in the video, as you will have seen, and subsequently sang it with them in live performances. The single did well in the charts, reaching #18 in the US, and is still their final hit in the US top 40. Amongst those providing backing vocals you may be able to make out Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles hitting some high notes. The album made #8 in the US but didn’t make the UK charts, and neither did the single.
 
This one is based on a song by Rick and Michael Curtis, and on the liner notes for CSN, the band’s box set compilation, Stephen explained, “The Curtis Brothers brought a wonderful song called Seven League Boots, but it drifted around too much. I rewrote a new set of words and added a different chorus, a story about a long boat trip I took after my divorce. It’s about using the power of the universe to heal your wounds. Once again, I was given somebody’s gem and cut and polished it.”
 
I had the album, and also the aforementioned incredible 4CD box set CSN, which was released in September 1991. If you want their best in one package that’s the one to go for – it is a real career retrospective across the band’s work together, solo, and in other collaborations. Highly recommended.
 
There have been several cover versions of this song, notably by Jimmy Buffett, who has got to sing it in concert with Stephen and Graham guesting. His is a valiant effort, but it’s hard to see how anyone could improve on what, for me, is near perfection.
 
And that’s it for today. A briefer one than normal, but the song is a real beauty and deserves to be heard as a standalone. As Stephen said, he cut and polished a gem. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll see you again on Tuesday for the first of a two-parter of songs for the New Year. Until then, stay safe and well – and warm! 😊

25 thoughts on “SLS: Southern Cross”

  8. One of the best by CS&N and a great choice for SLS. CSN&Y or CS&N are just about the closest thing we have to American royalty in music; they have long been favorites of mine. Their immediately recognizable sound of both music and voice is surpassed only by the Beatles IMO. An excellent song choice by a brilliant group. Thanks, Clive. 🌟

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