There are not many times in our busy hum-drum lives when time stands still. This song was inspired by a time in my life when it did.
In the 1980s I and my then wife Valerie (we’re still very close) went to visit friends who lived in a farmhouse in the Massif Central area of France. One early evening in summer we all went out for a walk in the countryside near where they live and stumbled across a wide river (The Loire) winding its way through the fields full of cattle.
I sat down by the side of the river with my chum Richard whilst the two ladies walked off on their own. Us men didn’t talk for about an hour (there was no need, we were good friends) and I remembered listening to the sound of the water rippling through the reeds almost at my feet and also the sound of a skylark somewhere up above me.
These two sounds almost hypnotised me and, a year later when I wrote this song and remembered the situation I did realise that for me on that occasion ‘time actually stood still’. This recording was done at Loophole Studios, Brighton and two good friends accompanied me with lovely layers of sound: Bing Lyle on accordion and Richard Spong on Fiddle.
BANKS OF THE LOIRE by Tim Kent
JUST IMAGINE YOURSELF ON THE BANKS OF A RIVER
DRIFTING AWAY LIKE THE CLOUDS IN THE SKY
NO ONE AROUND TO DISTRACT OR UPSET YOU
THE WATERS SLIP SILKILY BY
THE WATERS SLIP SILKILY BY
THOSE FAST RIPPLING WATERS ARE SILENT AND GLISTENING
YOU STARE AT THE SURFACE AND THINK THAT YOU’RE FREE
FROM THE TROUBLES AND STRESSES THAT EACH DAY BESET YOU
YOUR WORLD THERE DRIFTS SO SILENTLY
YOUR WORLD THERE DRIFTS SO SILENTLY
THIS IS A TIME YOU WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER
IT’S AN HOUR THAT YOU LET YOURSELF COMPLETELY GO
THERE’S NO ONE AROUND TO DISTRACT AND DIVERT YOU
THE PASSING OF TIME SWIFTLY FLOWS
THE PASSING OF TIME SWIFTLY FLOWS
TRY TO REMEMBER THIS TIME IN YOUR MEMORY
AS SOON YOU’LL BE LEAVING THIS SO PEACEFUL PLACE
THE EBB AND THE CURRENT OF THIS GENTLE RIVER
WILL SHOW IN THE SMILE ON YOUR FACE
WILL SHOW IN THE SMILE ON YOUR FACE
TOMORROW YOU’LL GO AND RETURN TO THE CITY
THE HASSLE WILL SLOWLY SWEEP INTO YOUR BRAIN
AND YOU’LL THINK BACK TO LIFE ON THE BANKS OF THAT RIVER
IN THE HOURS OF YOUR DREAMS ONCE AGAIN
IN THE HOURS OF YOUR DREAMS ONCE AGAIN
JUST IMAGINE YOURSELF ON THE BANKS OF A RIVER
DRIFTING AWAY LIKE THE CLOUDS IN THE SKY
NO ONE AROUND TO DISTRACT OR UPSET YOU
THE WATERS SLIP SILKILY BY
THE WATERS SLIP SILKILY BY