Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills and Nash song)
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| "Southern Cross" | |||||||||
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| Single by Crosby, Stills & Nash | |||||||||
| from the album Daylight Again | |||||||||
| Released | June 21, 1982 | ||||||||
| Recorded | 1981 | ||||||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||||||
| Length | 4:41 | ||||||||
| Label | Atlantic Records | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Stephen Stills Rick Curtis Michael Curtis |
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| Producer | Crosby, Stills and Nash | ||||||||
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"Southern Cross" is a song written by Stephen Stills and performed by the rock band Crosby, Stills & Nash. It was released in 1982 on the band's Daylight Again album. Stephen Stills sings lead vocals throughout, with Graham Nash joining the final verse.
The song, which peaked at #18, is about a man who sails the world following a failed love affair. During the voyage, the singer takes comfort in sailing ("We got eighty feet of the waterline. / Nicely making way."), in the beauty of the sea, and particularly in the Southern Cross, a constellation by which sailors in the Southern Hemisphere have traditionally navigated. But his final consolation is music ("I have my ship / And all her flags are a flyin' / She is all that I have left / And music is her name.").
Southern Cross is based on the song "Seven League Boots" by Rick and Michael Curtis. Stills 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."[1][2]
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[edit] Original recording
- Stephen Stills - lead vocals and acoustic guitar, co-writer
- Graham Nash - vocals
- Michael Finnigan - keyboards and additional vocals
- Michael Stergis - acoustic guitar
- Timothy B. Schmit - backing vocals
- Art Garfunkel - backing vocals
- Rick Curtis - co-writer
- Michael Curtis - co-writer
[edit] Cover versions
"Southern Cross" has also been covered by:
- Jimmy Buffett, whose version first appeared on the Live album, Buffett Live: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays; the song became a staple at many of Buffett's concerts and corresponding "Live" releases.
- British artist Dave Mason.
- Pat McGee, on his debut album From the Wood.
- Sludge metal band Weedeater, on their debut album ...And Justice for Y'all.
[edit] Locations
The song mentions a number of locations that one may visit on a sailing voyage from Southern California to the South Pacific, following the "Coconut Milk Run."[3] In order of appearance in the song (and reverse order of the sailor's southwestward journey), they are:
- Southern islands - referring to Polynesia
- Papeete - capital of French Polynesia on the island of Tahiti
- Marquesas - group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, northeast of Tahiti
- Avalon - island city on Santa Catalina Island, California
[edit] Notes
- ^ CSN Boxed Set
- ^ "Southern Cross by Crosby, Stills & Nash". songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3004. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
- ^ "A starlit revel on the Coconut Milk Run". OceanNavigator.com. http://www.oceannavigator.com/content/starlit-revel-coconut-milk-run. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
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