Petula Clark
My Friend The Sea

Oh, the splendid Petula Clark, the idea of paying her tribute has been floating in my head for a while, but in what way? There are dozens of best-of albums and collections of her work in single, double, triple records, etc. I had already sketched out a standard overview, some biographical notes, talking about "Downtown," "This Is My Song," "My Love," "Romeo," "Don't Sleep In The Subway," her extraordinary interpretations of classics like "The Windmills Of Your Mind" or "Happy Heart"; It would have turned out to be a decent didactic lecture, and I didn't like that one bit, better to change strategy. Given that the Lady has aged magnificently and is still active both in the studio and live, why not review "Lost In You" from 2013, her latest album, in which, among other things, she covers certain "whippersnappers" surpassing them without appeal in terms of elegance and expressive intensity (studio aids or not, hearing an octogenarian sing like this is really something that leaves you speechless); already a better idea, but perhaps there's something even more incisive and personal I can do to pay tribute to "granny" Pet.

And so, why not put all the chips on a single song, not even among the most well-known ones for that matter? Eureka, finally! I’m going to "rescue," in every sense, a 54-year-old single: "My Friend The Sea", a minor hit, lost in the mists of time, I evidently have a soft spot for songs from these great '60s performers that talk about the sea, as well demonstrated by this other marvel. I won't bore you with a technical dissertation, I wouldn't even be capable of it, I just want to say that this is one of the most delightful things, that's precisely the most suitable adjective to describe it, I've ever come across. I have an image in my head, nothing more than a small "fanfiction," but who can say for sure: Sweden, 1961, the eleven-year-old Agnetha Fältskog listens to "My Friend The Sea" on the radio and is enchanted, she has her dad buy the record and starts singing it, over and over, trying to imitate Petula Clark's style in every way possible; after a few attempts, she succeeds wonderfully and, well, the rest of the story is well-known. This is fantasy, but that AF owes a lot to Pet seems a fact to me, the similarity not only in tone but also in style is very evident, same sprightly grace, same slight theatricality.

As I've already said, I prefer inviting you to listen than rambling on about choirs and trumpets, but there is one aspect of this adorable oldie I'd like to analyze a bit more closely, namely the lyrics. The lyrics, well yes, this "humble" and totally carefree easy-listening little song has lyrics that are worth a thousand of the sermons of quite a lot of celebrated alleged poets, prophets, charlatans, and blowhards I won't name. "Oh you great ocean so deep, oh you ocean so wide, I feel you are my friend so in you I confide, you know the world, every land, every shore, there's not a place you don't explore, send every wave as it rolls on its way searchin' high, searchin' low, searchin' each little bay, send out a plea to the whole of seven seas, where is the one I adore? My friend the sea be good to me, my love one day sailed far away, my friend the sea, please ask the tide to bring my love on to my side". Original, and disarmingly tender; tender not in a "sugary" sense but understood as candor and naivety. A girl who talks to the sea, asks it to search in every nook, by any means possible, the waves, the tides, the fish, you great ocean that sees all and can do all, bring back my beloved! "My Friend The Sea" is a song that makes you smile, in a strictly flattering and positive sense, it makes you smile and also dream, thanks especially to the charisma and credibility Petula Clark interprets it with.

"Even simplicity has the right to exist": so declared a famous "cornutazzo" from our country on some unspecified occasion concerning his "art" and, with some obvious distinctions, he is perfectly right. His "simplicity" for instance finds its best place at the bottom of the toilet, but the Simplicity of Petula Clark, of a piece like "My Friend The Sea" is timeless and priceless. It deserves not only to exist and be passed down but also every possible praise, those praises perhaps squandered (and I've also squandered quite a few) on more modern things, more celebrated, more suitable to fill our mouths and give ourselves gravitas. Many of her generation were adept at riding new waves, renewing themselves and their image, others have vanished more or less quickly; despite a never-interrupted career and the affection she still elicits among enthusiasts, Petula Clark belongs to the latter category, but in this, there is absolutely nothing wrong, nothing that somehow diminishes her indisputable talent. Without wanting to be necessarily nostalgic (for an era that I haven't even remotely lived through...) or contrary just for the sake of it, I say that it would be a great thing to rediscover artists like this, step off the "paths" of the gurus and sages who impose the usual "cool" names; one feels a bit like an archaeologist, and the satisfaction in discovering such forgotten treasures is even greater.