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We Are The Sea (Single)

by Chris McKay

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1.
We Are The Sea 11:11
lyrics
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We Are The Sea Seeing the sea recede A foolish man thinks he's beaten the tide So he goes deeper in Shaking his fists with a threat to the sky Then he looks to the shore Calling to those who choose to be fooled "I have defeated the sea, so clearly I am the one to rule". But what he can't really know It's already to late to be saved 'Cause when it all turns around It'll be in the form of a tidal wave We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. Many followed him in Emboldened, they scrawled their hate in the sand "Our words will stand for all time..." Just as the sea came crashing in And there was nowhere to run No one to blame, no God, and no gun Nothing could stop the wave Until the wave was done We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. Now, there is no sound Except for waves, and birds, and life The ugliness is gone Taken by the incoming tide And every wave that crashes Reclaims what was always to be And the clock will only go forward into history. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops...
2.
We Are The Sea (Radio Edit) 05:42
lyrics
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lyrics We Are The Sea Seeing the sea recede A foolish man thinks he's beaten the tide So he goes deeper in Shaking his fists with a threat to the sky Then he looks to the shore Calling to those who choose to be fooled "I have defeated the sea, so clearly I am the one to rule". But what he can't really know It's already to late to be saved 'Cause when it all turns around It'll be in the form of a tidal wave We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. Many followed him in Emboldened, they scrawled their hate in the sand "Our words will stand for all time..." Just as the sea came crashing in And there was nowhere to run No one to blame, no God, and no gun Nothing could stop the wave Until the wave was done We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. Now, there is no sound Except for waves, and birds, and life The ugliness is gone Taken by the incoming tide And every wave that crashes Reclaims what was always to be And the clock will only go forward into history. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops. We are the sea. Time is the tide. We have the power to make things right We will not change. We will not stop. The ocean is made of single drops...
3.
We Are The Sea (Instrumental) 07:25
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about

I wrote "We Are The Sea" in direct response to the inauguration of the Donald Trump. I was inspired by The Women's March and other grass roots protests that sprung up and continue to do so. My band had been asked to play a benefit show around that time and that gig gave me the impetus to finish up the song and work it into a special set.

We performed "We Are The Sea" a few times at shows, and the response always surprised me in that the song seemed to resonate in a way that I'd never really seen. When I had the opportunity to go back into the studio, I felt this song needed to be recorded first. To me, it's time sensitive. The last thing I want is for this song to be timeless.

I have never released an overtly political song, and while "We Are The Sea" is allegorical, I believe that the references are very clear.

During the composition, I first imagined that no one had ever written a protest song or chant and asked myself what I thought needed to be said in such a context.

At the time, I was hearing from those around me that they felt helpless, and that they couldn't do anything as "just one person".

So the idea of a single drop of water came to mind. A single drop of water is easy enough to wipe away, but an ocean is one of the most powerful things on Earth, and an ocean is made of single drops.

The rest of the chorus appeared around that basic idea.

I decided to build a story around the chorus. In my mind, I was writing a children's story, but I didn't want it to be one that talked down. I didn't scrimp on the darkness, because I wanted it to be honest first and foremost. When all the ideas coalesced, I shortened it, simplified it, and only kept what felt necessary.

I was very calculated with the melody and chord progressions. I borrowed from all of my influences liberally (no pun intended). I make no apologies for that. It was required to make the point I needed to make.

For the ending, I wanted the voices repeating the chant to slowly turn into an audio portrait of an ocean overcoming "the ugliness".

For the studio sessions, my bandmates Justin Sheffield (piano, vocals) and Andrew Hanmer (drums) joined in for the recording session. For the group vocals, we brought in our amazingly talented friends Caroline Aiken, Kathy Kirbo, Kimber Sheffield, and SJ Ursrey.

Kyle Spence manned the boards, and sat through about 39 hours in the studio working on this one song.

I created the ocean, white noise, and folding vocal section in my at home and flew it in separately.

At last count, there were over 100 tracks utilized on this song. There are around 70 vocals. Probably 14 or 15 guitars.

At one point in the song, there are 20,000 notes happening at once. That's every frequency audible to human ears.

We went way too far in the production of this song, and we know it. To me, it felt necessary to communicate what I hope to communicate with the song.

After all, we, as Americans, have gone too far. We are deafened by the white noise all around us, but we can and must overcome. As we stand up and work together, we will overcome, and when we do, the white noise will be washed away and it will become the peaceful sound of the ocean.

I did my best to create that in audio form.

We can and will make a positive difference. "We have the power to make things right."

credits

released January 1, 2018

Recorded and mixed by Kyle Spence at RJS, December 3 - 18, 2017.

Performers:

Chris McKay: Lead vocals, All guitars, Bass, Chorus vocals, Tambourine, Handclaps
Justin Sheffield: Piano, Chorus vocals, Handclaps
Andrew Hanmer: Drums

Caroline Aiken: Chorus vocals
Kathy Kirbo: Chorus vocals
Kimber Sheffield: Chorus vocals, Handclaps
SJ Ursrey: Chorus vocals, Handclaps

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Chris McKay Athens, Georgia

Chris McKay is a singer, songwriter and performer based in Athens, Georgia.

In addition to his solo music and his work with original bands The Everywhen, The Critical Darlings, The Spinoffs, and Q-Sign, he also regularly has performed the music of The Beatles as a member of Abbey Road Live!

Definitive versions of his albums are featured here, often with bonus tracks not available elsewhere. ... more

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