WOW you people have a lot of sadness in your lives.
The song is actually about a ship. Old and worn from years of servitude to humanity. Stripped of everything that is worth anything, even her bell. Towed out to deep water and scuttled. In her final hour, She quietly calls out to the heart of a man who now stands upon the deck of another ship. A man who has served her every need for most of his life. A man who caries the memory of nearly every other man who was ever broken upon her deck or built up and made strong. And the powerful memories of men who died or were lost to the sea in servitude to her. A man who has come to love her every timber, bow to stern, port to starboard. And in their final hour together, he is powerless to do anything else but watch her slip beneath the waves to her final resting place, her soul heavy on his heart. Bow his head.
@JohnathanGregoryStone
Not true. It is a song about despair.
From the songwriter David Pack, of Ambrosia fame:
@JohnathanGregoryStone
Not true. It is a song about despair.
From the songwriter David Pack, of Ambrosia fame:
“People often tell me that "Oh Life" is one of their favorite songs. I performed it live once with my dear friend & co-writer Alan Parsons at The Greek Theatre benefit for "Children of Bosnia," and someday I intend to release that powerful version (Simon Phillips on drums!).
“People often tell me that "Oh Life" is one of their favorite songs. I performed it live once with my dear friend & co-writer Alan Parsons at The Greek Theatre benefit for "Children of Bosnia," and someday I intend to release that powerful version (Simon Phillips on drums!).
The lyrics were based on a true story and didn't come to me until
I was in England in the '90s to work on Alan's final Arista L.P. Try Anything Once....
The lyrics were based on a true story and didn't come to me until
I was in England in the '90s to work on Alan's final Arista L.P. Try Anything Once.
I was riding on an English train when in a flash, I remembered a story in the local South Bay of L.A. papers. It was about an woman who was so heartbroken after her husband had died that she decided to drive herself and her two children off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro —one of the saddest stories I'd ever heard.
So I began imagining and feeling her total despondence when I wrote the Chorus:
"In the docks the boats are harboured
Where the water's cold and still
"Oh life, "she cries, "I've lost the will…
From the bridge she sees a lifetime, being washed upon the shore, oh life she cries
there must be more"
And this progresses to the next chorus:
"From the docks the boats are leaving
As she cries into the dawn
"Oh life, I'm barely holding on"
And she sees her future falling
'Til it finds the ocean floor
"Oh life," she cries, "There must be more"
Alan told me at the press release party in N.Y. that Clive Davis, music's most legendary impresario, had decided to read my entire lyrics of the song to the press and attendees; Alan said it was just an extraordinary reaction, with several in tears.
Little did anyone but me know that only ten years prior, Clive pushed back on bringing me to his label because he said my lyrics needed "more depth" (really Clive?). In his 20 years with Arista, Alan said he'd never seen Clive personally read the entire lyrics to press & media as he did with "Oh Life."
God has a way of evening things up!
One day I hope to record an unplugged version of this. I thought you might like to know a little of the back-story, as it may help someone who needs to hear this song & lyric today.
The important thing is…in this song, the woman never jumps! But you get the impression she has.”
WOW you people have a lot of sadness in your lives. The song is actually about a ship. Old and worn from years of servitude to humanity. Stripped of everything that is worth anything, even her bell. Towed out to deep water and scuttled. In her final hour, She quietly calls out to the heart of a man who now stands upon the deck of another ship. A man who has served her every need for most of his life. A man who caries the memory of nearly every other man who was ever broken upon her deck or built up and made strong. And the powerful memories of men who died or were lost to the sea in servitude to her. A man who has come to love her every timber, bow to stern, port to starboard. And in their final hour together, he is powerless to do anything else but watch her slip beneath the waves to her final resting place, her soul heavy on his heart. Bow his head.
And sail away.
@JohnathanGregoryStone Agreed!!
@JohnathanGregoryStone Agreed!!
@JohnathanGregoryStone Not true. It is a song about despair. From the songwriter David Pack, of Ambrosia fame:
@JohnathanGregoryStone Not true. It is a song about despair. From the songwriter David Pack, of Ambrosia fame:
“People often tell me that "Oh Life" is one of their favorite songs. I performed it live once with my dear friend & co-writer Alan Parsons at The Greek Theatre benefit for "Children of Bosnia," and someday I intend to release that powerful version (Simon Phillips on drums!).
“People often tell me that "Oh Life" is one of their favorite songs. I performed it live once with my dear friend & co-writer Alan Parsons at The Greek Theatre benefit for "Children of Bosnia," and someday I intend to release that powerful version (Simon Phillips on drums!).
The lyrics were based on a true story and didn't come to me until I was in England in the '90s to work on Alan's final Arista L.P. Try Anything Once....
The lyrics were based on a true story and didn't come to me until I was in England in the '90s to work on Alan's final Arista L.P. Try Anything Once.
I was riding on an English train when in a flash, I remembered a story in the local South Bay of L.A. papers. It was about an woman who was so heartbroken after her husband had died that she decided to drive herself and her two children off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro —one of the saddest stories I'd ever heard.
So I began imagining and feeling her total despondence when I wrote the Chorus:
"In the docks the boats are harboured Where the water's cold and still "Oh life, "she cries, "I've lost the will… From the bridge she sees a lifetime, being washed upon the shore, oh life she cries there must be more"
And this progresses to the next chorus:
"From the docks the boats are leaving As she cries into the dawn "Oh life, I'm barely holding on" And she sees her future falling 'Til it finds the ocean floor "Oh life," she cries, "There must be more"
Alan told me at the press release party in N.Y. that Clive Davis, music's most legendary impresario, had decided to read my entire lyrics of the song to the press and attendees; Alan said it was just an extraordinary reaction, with several in tears.
Little did anyone but me know that only ten years prior, Clive pushed back on bringing me to his label because he said my lyrics needed "more depth" (really Clive?). In his 20 years with Arista, Alan said he'd never seen Clive personally read the entire lyrics to press & media as he did with "Oh Life."
God has a way of evening things up!
One day I hope to record an unplugged version of this. I thought you might like to know a little of the back-story, as it may help someone who needs to hear this song & lyric today.
The important thing is…in this song, the woman never jumps! But you get the impression she has.”