Sunset

Tonight, I searched my collection for a song that might do some justice to the sunset that Sweety and I witnessed this evening. 

Like yesterday, we took a road trip up Manitoba Provincial Trunk Highway 59, but this time stopped in at Patricia Beach Provincial Park. I was probably in my twenties the last time I was there, if not younger. It’s a lovely place, and there is parking all along the roadway that runs parallel to and not far from the beach, so it’s not a great chore to lug all your gear to spend a day there. And it’s about a half-hour closer to home as well.

When we arrived, the sky was clear and the weather hot, but a cooling breeze off the lake kept us in comfort.

We stayed at the beach later than last night, and the sky rewarded us with a beautiful canvas as it prepared to say farewell to the day. (I took a lot of photos and a few videos, thinking in a back corner of my mind that such memories might be helpful in another lockdown if we get there.)

“Sunset,” today’s track, is by Kate Bush. It is from the magnificent, two-CD set, Aerial, and I’ll beg your forgiveness for featuring the same artist twice within ten days; this song fits the mood and the impact of the day and the wondrous time we spent in nature under a sky that changed so much through the afternoon and evening. It is a divine piece of music.

Bush took time away from recording music from 1993 for 12 years to raise her son. Her return to the studio in 2005 produced Aerial. She themed the work on sky, sea and birdsong, and one can hear the influence and presence of her child in the music. The first CD of the set is called A Sea of Honey, and the second, A Sky of Honey; titles reflected in today’s song, which comes in at the halfway point on the second disc.

I remember being enthralled with it the first time I heard it. (I found it in an eBay store about ten years ago, aware that it had been a long time since I’d seen anything by her.) I haven’t listened to both discs in one sitting yet, but I will do that soon.

The lyrics for the song are serendipitously perfect for the experience we had watching the sky, lake and birds tonight. 

“Could be honeycomb
In a sea of honey
A sky of honey
Whose shadow, long and low
Is slipping out of wet clothes?
And changes into
The most beautiful
Iridescent blue

Who knows who wrote that song of Summer
That blackbirds sing at dusk
This is a song of colour
Where sands sing in crimson, red and rust
Then climb into bed and turn to dust

Every sleepy light
Must say goodbye
To day before it dies
In a sea of honey
A sky of honey
Keep us close to your heart
So if the skies turn dark
We may live on in
Comets and stars

Who knows who wrote that song of Summer
That blackbirds sing at dusk
This is a song of colour
Where sands sing in crimson, red and rust
Then climb into bed and turn to dust
Who knows who wrote that song of Summer
That blackbirds sing at dusk
This is a song of colour
Where sands sing in crimson, red and rust
Then climb into bed and turn to dust

Oh sing of summer and a sunset
And sing for us, so that we may remember
The day writes the words right across the sky
They all go all the way up to the top of the night”

(“Sunset,” by Kate Bush)

As we got to the car tonight, the beautiful skies started to sprinkle a little rain on us — a cleansing anointing from Nature.

Now you know a little about why this is my song of the day for today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy. (And if you enjoyed this post, please let me know your thoughts!)

Here is the audio for the song from Kate Bush’s official YouTube channel. Please remember to click on “thumbs-up” on the video if you appreciated the artist’s work.