When I was a boy, our family would sail out to Damariscove Island, off the coast of Maine, for a day of simply rooting around. I often pondered the island’s earliest inhabitants, fisherman and scallop hunters, who settled here as early as 1607. Barely a mile from end to end, a small harbor nestles on its eastern side.
Not far from Damariscove is Pemaquid Point, my absolutely favorite spot on the East coast. In 1835, a 38-foot tall lighthouse was built and its original lantern was a set of mirrors and candles, which could be seen from about two miles away. In the 1850s, a Fresnel light was installed and was hand-operated; in 1936, it became automated. The Fresnel Light is one of only six left operating in Maine, a rocky coastline rich in lighthouses!
Across the stormy waves, which pound the rock-strewn coasts from West Quoddy Head in the north to Kennebunkport in the south, resound the voices of the sailors lost at sea in wooden ships from before the times of the lighthouses.

Sounds include:
“Location sounds” of surf, howling wind of an alien planet, and surf on a lake.
The voices heard here are by David Coffin with the cast and crew of the 2014 Revels, recorded at Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA, singing an old seafaring song called “Roll the Old Chariot Along”.

Credits:
Thanks, as always, to Freesound uploaders pg3a, dkaufman, savvahsjuhengof, tomlija. Special thanks to David Coffin. (See note on front page about David's work.)

Lyrics:
Roll The Old Chariot Along
(David Coffin)

Oh, we'd be alright if the wind was in our sails
We'd be alright if the wind was in our sails
We'd be alright if the wind was in our sails
And we'll all hang on behind...

And we'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind!

Oh, we'd be alright if we make it round The Horn
We'd be alright if we make it round The Horn
We'd be alright if we make it round The Horn
And we'll all hang on behind...

And we'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind!

Well the night’s watch below wouldn't do us any harm
Well, the night’s watch below wouldn't do us any harm
Well, the night’s watch below wouldn't do us any harm
And we'll all hang on behind...

And we'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind!

Well, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
Well, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
Well, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
And we’ll all hang on behind!

And we'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind!

Well, a night on the town wouldn't do us any harm
Well, a night on the town wouldn't do us any harm
Well, a night on the town wouldn't do us any harm
And we'll all hang on behind...

And we'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind!

And we'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
We'll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
And we'll all hang on behind...

Many thanks to David Coffin for his permission to use this rollicking track. Please find more information regarding his music, speaking and singing engagements, as well as available records at: www.davidcoffin.com

All artwork © 2020 Samuel Bissell