April: Oh, and Samantha

from A Year In Song by The Nautical Miles

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about

About the song...

Oh, and Samantha is a song that I wrote in August of 2007 during my brief stint as a prep cook at a popular Irish Pub in Vancouver. I peeled hundreds of potatoes and carrots and rolled out acres and acres of pastry during my three weeks in the kitchen. It was a crappy job, no question, but there was one perk. The long hours of monotonous work allowed me to do lots of songwriting on the job. I would often spend my shifts composing verses in my head and then race home and figure them out on my guitar before they were forgotten.

Oh, and Samantha was written entirely in my head during a particularly grueling shift. It is partly inspired by some of the people who worked there at the time. They were lovely people, but I think a lot of them were harbouring sadness- using their service industry jobs to get through periods in their lives that they hoped would soon be over. There seemed to be a lot of waiting for real life to begin. I suppose, at the time, the same was true for me.

Lucas Schuller is featured on the vibraphone.

About the artwork...

Suzo Hickey has been friend of the Nautical Miles for many years. She is an incredible painter who creates large, striking canvases. Her latest work is a series of landscapes representing the Renfrew Heights neighbourhood on the eastern edge of the City of Vancouver. Vancouver Special with Chain Link Fence comes from this series.

Oh, and Samantha is a very sad song. It was written during an extremely lonely period in my life. After working all day in the kitchen I would ride my bike home to the very neighbourhood that Suzo’s paintings depict. When I look at this painting I am reminded of the way that I felt that summer. I feel that it captures perfectly the way that the neighbourhoods we’ve lived in can come to represent the way we felt when we were living in them.

I find it very tragic, and very beautiful.

credits

from A Year In Song, track released April 15, 2009
Suzo Hickey: artwork
Corbin Murdoch: acoustic guitar, vocals
Lucas Schuller: vibraphone
Jesse Gander: production

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The Nautical Miles Vancouver

The Nautical Miles are an adventurous roots music band from Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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