The Copper Sea

I was playing this one again last week and think I got it pretty good, at least better than the other times I’ve posted it here on the blog. See the Oct 10, 20011 post and the sept 3, 2012 post. I keep working on the lyrics to this song, and I keep playing it slower and slower. Currently the words are:

We sailed the copper sea

We played out our destiny

We walked together in the sand

You were my woman and I was your man

Walk on, Walk on

The letters came a-tumbling from the sky

And the people walked away and didn’t wonder why

And the letters cast their shadows on the land

You were my woman and I was your man

Walk on, Walk on

We sailed the copper sea

There’s a song that you sang for you and me

And we crossed to the silver land
You were my woman and I was your man
Walk on, walk on

sunrise_over_mediterranean_sea

Here’s to brave Odysseus again
It’s an image, an archetype, that calls to us all. Such is the power of the classics.
The story of Oydsseus calls forth so many images – at least for me.
I’ve read the Illiad in the Lattimore translation and read The Odyssey in the Fitzgerald translation.
A good friend a long time ago recommended the Lattimore translation to me, and insisted that I needed to read the Illiad (and a good translation, he pointed out) in order to obtain a perspective on the rest of literature. He was quite right. The rest of literature pales in comparison.
The Homeric images, the feel from the book, are something that stays with you. Similarly the story of Jean Valjean is part of my personal world. Tolstoy’s characters as well. Let’s not be so hard on the rest of literature.

Author: Bumba

Shown on a recent visit to the Big Apple, Bumba has written two literary novels and has recorded two CD soundtrack albums to accompany them. Check it out on Bumba Books.

13 thoughts on “The Copper Sea”

    1. Me too. Ever time I hear the story I love it. The musical no, but all the movies versions are terrific.l Did you see Claude Lelouche’s version?

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      1. No… I haven’t yet found a movie/musical version that really does it justice. The book is so profound, so epic, so incredible… there’s just no way to fit even a fraction of it into a 2 or 3 hour presentation.

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        1. True. But Claude LeLouche does something very interesting with it. He tells the story over several time periods. And Jean Paul Belmondo as Jean Valjean is pretty good.

        2. I just read the Wiki article about the Lelouch movie, it sounds very interesting… I think I’ll check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.

  2. Totally agree, having read The Iliad when 18, it has stayed with me more than many other books, The Gods would have been proud. Guess I need to get my copy of Les Misérables to complete your recommended set of the best.

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  3. I agree with you on Homer [surprise surprise!]. What can you do, it’s like Bach… there’s Handel, Mozart etc and there’s BACH! I rest my case!
    I like it that it’s slowing down!
    🙂

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    1. Thanks, Marina. Of course all you Danaans, Archaeans, and Helenes feel Homer in your blood. But it’s out there for us all, and inside of us too.

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