A hybrid prog-rock/folk-ballad/new-age, swashbuckling drama of love, deceit, regret, and tragedy.
Music/arrangement/production/vocals: Billy Playle
Lyric: Donna Devine
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The Cowry Shell
V1
She was a humble fisher lass
[And] I was a lord on the sea
I captained a mighty schooner
And the girl fell in love with me
I'll not forget her glowing eyes
The blush that tinted her cheek
Chorus
The cowry shell I gave her
Was common on many a beach
But I told her it was precious
Her innocence to breach
The cowry shell I gave her
Was common on many a beach
V2
From Africa to Portugal
I've had women in every port
But masts of oak and sails of silk
[Ever] lured me away from the shore
And for every maiden left behind
There'd always be one more
Chorus
The cowry shell I gave her
Was common on many a beach
But I told her it was precious
Her innocence to breach
The cowry shell I gave her
Was common on many a beach
Bridge
Yet often my thoughts would turn to the girl
Alone on that distant coast
The wanton lies I had told her
Haunted me the most
So one night off the Cape of Storms
I swung my ship around
But the sea is a jealous Mistress
And she forced my vessel to ground
Now I lie in the Siren's arms
While seaweed cradles my head
And coral's grown from my brittle bones
In the years since I've been dead
Musical interlude
Chorus
The cowry shell I gave her
Was common on many a beach
But I told her it was precious
Her innocence to breach
The cowry shell I gave her
Was common on many a beach
Outro
I swear sometimes I see her
Holding the shell to her breast
And her wild tears deepen the ocean
Where my soul can find no rest
Only if she forgives me
Can I leave this watery hell
When I left her behind I knew I'd been damned
By the girl with the cowry shell
© Donna Devine
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