Spindrift

Background and Commentary

“Spindrift,” in which the narrator shouts at waves crashing against the shore, is written in the form of a lover’s quarrel, although the quarrel isn’t between two people but between the narrator and the world.

“What am I supposed to say? / Where are the words to answer you / When you talk that way? / Words that fly against the wind and waves.”

Neil says in his essay The Game of Snakes & Arrows that he got the idea from Robert Frost’s epitaph, “I had a lover’s quarrel with the world.” He used the same device in the lyrics for “Good News First.”

Musically, the piece is divided into two parts. In the first, Alex’s guitar evokes the idea that it’s coming at the quarrel from the side of the crashing waves, the uncaring world that could easily crush the lover against the rocks. In the second, his guitar shifts to the perspective of the gentle wind that carries the lover safely off the rocks: “Where is the wind that will carry me / A little closer to you?”—Rob Freedman, Rush Vault

Lyrics

As the waves crash in
On the western shore
The wind blows fierce from the east
Wave tops torn into flying spindrift

As the waves crash in
On the western shore
It makes me feel uneasy
The spray that’s torn away
Is an image of the way I feel

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?

As sun goes down
On the western shore
The wind blows hard from the east
It whips the sand into a flying spindrift
As the sun goes down
On the western shore
It makes me feel uneasy
In the hot dry rasp of the devil winds
Who cares what a fool believes

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?
Words that fly against the wind and waves

A little closer to you
Where is the wave that will carry me
A little closer to you?
Where is the wind that will carry me

What am I supposed to say?
Where are the words to answer you
When you talk that way?

What am I supposed to do?
Where are the words that will make you see
What I believe is true?
Where is the wave that will carry me

A little closer to you
Where is the wind that will carry me
A little closer to you?
Where is the wind that will carry me
A little closer to you?
Where is the wind that will carry me
A little closer to you?

Tablature

By Jesse Dowdle (jessed-13@hotmail.com)

Excerpted from Ultimate Guitar.

Tuning: All Gtrs Standard

Intro-Gtr 1- Clean, Delay Repeat 4 times
e|—————————————————————————|
B|—————————————————————————|
G|——–0—–0—–0——0—–0——0——0—————————|
D|——–5—–5—–3——5—–3——0——0—————————|
A|—————————————————————————|
E|—————————————————————————|

Gtr 1 continues
Gtr 2- Clean tone
e|—————————————————————————|
B|—————————————————————————|
G|—————————————————————————|
D|—————————————————————————|
A|————————-5–4————5–4————————-5–4-|
E|—1–2——1–2———————————–1–2——1–2———|

Rhy. Fig 1
Gtr 3- Heavy Distortion Play with Verse 1&3
e|—————————————————————————|
B|—————————————————————————|
G|—7—6———–7—6—————————————————|
D|———————————–3—4————-3—4—————–|
A|—5—4—–0—–5—4—-0—————-3—————–3———–|
E|———————————–1—2————-1—2—————–|

Gtr 5- Clean Tone Both guitars to be played together during “Ooh”
e|——-5——-5——-5——-5——-5——-5——-5——-5———–|
B|—–8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8—8———|
G|—7——-7——-7——-7——-5——-5——-6——-6—————|
D|—————————————————————————|
A|—————————————————————————|
E|—————————————————————————|
|Rhy. Fig. 2
|Gtr 4- Heavy Distortion |
e|—————————————————————————|
B|—————————————————————————|
G|–3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3—4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4—5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5—2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2—-|
D|–3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3—3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3—3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3—2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2—-|
A|–1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1—2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2—3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3—4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4—-|
E|—————————————————————————|

For complete tab, go to Ultimate Guitar.

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