skeith Posted December 28, 2011 Report Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) Ok, I have liked this song for years and always wondered about the meaning. It would seem that the singer prefers where he is (presumably Liverpool?) and is suggesting to the one to whom he's singing that you can go, but I will stay here. Is that all there is to it? Was this some sort of saying or expression at the time? And if you take the ferry ... you would be going where... to Liverpool or away from it. If away, is it just to some suburbs of Liverpool? (If so, big deal, that would be sort of like saying ferry cross the Hudson for New Yorkers) The song seems to be loaded with sentiment and it would seem to mean something big... so I wonder if someone can provide some context. Edited December 29, 2011 by skeith Quote
sonnymax Posted December 28, 2011 Report Posted December 28, 2011 This great song is Gerry Marsden's homage to his birthplace, Liverpool. It's a busy, yet friendly place - "the place I love. And here I'll stay". I don't see that he's speaking to any one person in particular. And given that he's asking that the "ferry cross the Mersey", I assume he wants it to take him to the place he loves. The song comes from a 1965 film bearing the same name. It stars Marsden and the Pacemakers and portrays the excitement surrounding the Liverpool music scene with the rise of the Merseybeat sound. Quote
BillF Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 The lyrics seem to contain a contradiction - wanting to stay and yet taking a ferry somewhere. Well, the situation is, as skeith suggests, like "ferry cross the Hudson" for New Yorkers. Ferries ply all the time across the Mersey from Liverpool to Birkenhead, part of the same conurbation and about half a mile away. I can testify to the warmth and communal feeling of Liverpudlians. There isn't a hint there of the "English reserve" which I find in the south of England and, though a Mancunian, I'm first to admit that the social atmosphere is a good deal chillier in this city than in Liverpool. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 5:58 AM, BillF said: There isn't a hint there of the "English reserve" which I find in the south of England... That's because Liverpudlians are Irish, not English. Quote
AllenLowe Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 I thought they were extremely small people visited by Gulliver. Quote
JSngry Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 7:47 AM, A Lark Ascending said: On 12/29/2011 at 5:58 AM, BillF said: There isn't a hint there of the "English reserve" which I find in the south of England... That's because Liverpudlians are Irish, not English. So, The Beatles were really leprechauns? Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 12:58 PM, AllenLowe said: I thought they were extremely small people visited by Gulliver. That's funny shit. Quote
sonnymax Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 5:58 AM, BillF said: The lyrics seem to contain a contradiction - wanting to stay and yet taking a ferry somewhere. Liverpool. Where's the contradiction if he's heading home, as I suggested? Quote
skeith Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Posted December 29, 2011 I take the song to suggest that the singer is telling another to go across the Mersey, but he is going to stay put. I suppose that could be one interpretation. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 I wouldn't read too much into it. Catching a ferry across the Mersey is hardly the same as popping down to Liverpool docks to take a boat to New York, More like catching a bus to get to work. At the time it came out (1964) things Liverpudlian were incredibly fashionable in a Britain not just in the thrall to the Beatles but also to all things Northern and working class. Working the word 'Mersey' into a song was a way of getting a hit. Quote
BillF Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/28/2011 at 8:55 PM, skeith said: Ok, I have liked this song for years and always wondered about the meaning. It would seem that the singer prefers where he is (presumably Liverpool?) and is suggesting to the one to whom he's singing that you can go, but I will stay here. Is that all there is to it? Was this some sort of saying or expression at the time? And if you take the ferry ... you would be going where... to Liverpool or away from it. If away, is it just to some suburbs of Liverpool? (If so, big deal, that would be sort of like saying ferry cross the Hudson for New Yorkers) The song seems to be loaded with sentiment and it would seem to mean something big... so I wonder if someone can provide some context. Here's some information: http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/content/Commuters/CommuterTimetable.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mersey_Ferry Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 5:56 PM, JSngry said: North-east, not north-west. Where is your sense of geography? Quote
JSngry Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 Geography? That's like, old rocks and stuff, right? Is Brian Ferry not an old rock star? I believe he is! Q.E.D.! Quote
Dave James Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 If this helps, the music video that was made to accompany the song showed the band taking the ferry from Birkenhead to Liverpool. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 6:05 PM, JSngry said: Geography? That's like, old rocks and stuff, right? Is Brian Ferry not an old rock star? I believe he is! Q.E.D.! You're thinking of geology. Quote
Dave James Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 6:18 PM, A Lark Ascending said: On 12/29/2011 at 6:05 PM, JSngry said: Geography? That's like, old rocks and stuff, right? Is Brian Ferry not an old rock star? I believe he is! Q.E.D.! You're thinking of geology. Right. The study and tracing of lines of descent or development. Quote
JSngry Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 I thought that was arthurology. Oh well, two languages separated by a common ocean. Whatcah' goona' do, eh, right? Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 6:31 PM, JSngry said: I thought that was arthurology. Oh well, two languages separated by a common ocean. Whatcah' goona' do, eh, right? Get the geography right, perhaps? Nottinghamshire is east of the Atlantic. Texas is West. Quote
JSngry Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 Texas is everywhere, not just West. Quote
Neal Pomea Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 12:58 PM, AllenLowe said: I thought they were extremely small people visited by Gulliver. You're thinking of those fancy white Austrian horses they train to march funny. Quote
Dave James Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 On 12/29/2011 at 7:10 PM, JSngry said: Get your taxonomy right! What does the IRS have to do with this? Quote
JSngry Posted December 29, 2011 Report Posted December 29, 2011 That's the label that Sting was on, and I'm sure he was on a boat with Bryan Ferry at some point in his life. His loss if not. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted December 30, 2011 Report Posted December 30, 2011 They spend a lot of their youth in the north-east waiting for the boat to come in. Quote
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