Thursday, June 6, 2013

Welaka (Tales of Paradise Lost)



Once upon a time I was a sailor
'a sailin' my ship across the deep blue sea
A boy out on an ocean called Welaka
It was a beautiful sight to see
What a beautiful sight to see

On a clear blue sky the clouds drift above me
Below, the gators and the manatees
Now and then the dolphins rise to greet me
What a beautiful thing to see
It was a beautiful thing to see

Friday Flash 55 at the G-Man's



 I can still see my father out on that river
throwing his net to feed the family
There were fish and shrimps and crabs aplenty
We thanked the Lord, and we were free
It was a beautiful thing to see

Sometimes I think about the old homestead
A cabin on the banks beneath the trees
The woods rang out with songs of God's creation
Oh, what a wonderful place to be
It was a beautiful thing to see
And I wonder why, why it still can't be


OK, so I cheated, but I wanted to share this song that I wrote with you.  A tale of my childhood on the great river Welaka (St. Johns) in Florida. (c) 2013 c. higginbotham
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25 comments:

  1. KBThursday, June 06, 2013 9:34:00 PM

    A beautiful song. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Brian MillerThursday, June 06, 2013 9:36:00 PM

    nice...sounds like a beautiful place...i learned sailing on a river up north...sailed every summer...lived in florida too and spent time def admiring the wildlife down there...we used to get gators in our lake out back...swam with the dolphins too...

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  3. g-manThursday, June 06, 2013 9:58:00 PM

    Ahhhh
    Mr C. This was bliss!!
    With something that Cool you may take any poetic license you wish to
    Loved your nostalgic 55
    Thanks for this little Gem
    And have a Kick Ass Week End

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    Replies
    1. Mr. CharlestonFriday, June 07, 2013 9:04:00 AM

      Thank you G-Man. Always a pleasure to participate in the 55.

      Delete
  4. TALONThursday, June 06, 2013 11:40:00 PM

    I had an inkling Galen wouldn't mind a little poetic cheat in this case. :)

    Sounds like a gorgeous place to grow up. Made me miss my Dad.

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  5. MargaretThursday, June 06, 2013 11:58:00 PM

    You didn't cheat... you over achiever you! Wow, this is so stunning and I LOVE the photos. I can't blame you for wanting it back!

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    Replies
    1. Mr. CharlestonFriday, June 07, 2013 9:06:00 AM

      Thant you Margaret. Coming from an artist like yourself, high praise indeed.

      Delete
    2. MargaretFriday, June 07, 2013 10:57:00 AM

      This is prettier than anything I have ever written... I love the photo in the bottom. It had to be taken from the water, or maybe the shore curved around there - but I enjoy the old car and the slack hammock between the trees. The first photo, I assume is your dad, and your mom probably called his name and snapped the photo. Just so nice. Black and white captures the moment in a way color can't (the old color would be "off" anyway as it it didn't age well from that time period. Fun if you could find more family photos and write to them :)

      Delete
    3. Mr. CharlestonFriday, June 07, 2013 4:08:00 PM

      I did a post some time back with several of the photos. Maybe I'll dig it out for a reprise. It is my dad in the boat and the homestead in the photo. At the time these photos were taken, we lived so deep in the woods we didn't have electricity. Now, it's inside the beltway.

      Delete
  6. ellen abbottFriday, June 07, 2013 10:11:00 AM

    sounds like heaven. it's unfortunate that in this country at least a lifestyle like that is no longer possible.

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    Replies
    1. Mr. CharlestonFriday, June 07, 2013 4:09:00 PM

      I believe that's true Ellen. I haven't visited anywhere in the past 20-years or so were you can live like that. Maybe Montana or Alaska?

      Delete
  7. Vanessa Victoria KilmerFriday, June 07, 2013 3:27:00 PM

    Lovely. You did it justice.

    Flash 55 - Revenge by Chance

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  8. Susan Flett SwiderskiFriday, June 07, 2013 5:36:00 PM

    Great job, and as soon as I read the first verse, I figured it was a song you'd written. Now you're gonna have to video yourself strumming and singing it. (Acoustic accompaniment, right?)

    Happy weekend.

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  9. Maude LynnFriday, June 07, 2013 9:08:00 PM

    This is marvelous!

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  10. HelenFriday, June 07, 2013 10:08:00 PM

    We simply must hear the musical score that accompanies these amazing lyrics ....

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  11. Other MaryFriday, June 07, 2013 11:01:00 PM

    I agree with Helen, this is begging to be set to music.

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  12. the walking manSaturday, June 08, 2013 7:58:00 AM

    Sadly the days gone by...

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  13. Kerry O'ConnorSaturday, June 08, 2013 9:42:00 AM

    A sea shanty which speaks of nostalgia for days spent at sea, and brings the wonder of dolphins and manatees fresh upon the inner eye.

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  14. Tom HarperSunday, June 09, 2013 6:14:00 PM

    Beautiful song and pictures. I spent a lot of time on lakes and rivers in Ontario during my childhood. North or South, this brings back a lot of halcyon memories.

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  15. UnknownTuesday, June 11, 2013 9:42:00 AM

    great, Carlton, just great ! glad to see you are getting out and about, hope to be picking with you again soon....

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