Summer’s Day
It was pretty obvious that “Summer’s Day” had to be the first song in the album, simply because I started backpacking around Europe during Summer 2013. I had finished my studies in the UK, the graduation ceremony was a few months away, so I thought why not make full use of my time and savings before my student visa expires.
After doing some research, I asked for my dad’s permission. To my surprise, he approved and encouraged me to “go as far as I can”. Well, I may have left out the details about travelling alone… But to be fair, if you think about it, one is never really alone in this world, right?
What really pushed me out of my comfort zone was when all my close friends in the UK had returned to their hometowns/countries that summer. I was also going through a tough-ish time, which may have involved a heartbreak, I’ll save the story for my later posts. For now, I thought I’d share some fun facts about the song!
#1 Seven seas
I’d “only” flown across five oceans – Arctic, North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Hope to visit South America and Antartica in the future to complete the list! Did you know that “seven seas” was an ancient term used by sailors? It’s now known as “seven oceanic bodies of water”.
#2 Sunset (top photo)
After spending a month in Germany, and getting used to the rhythm of backpacking, I proceeded to my next stop – Prague in Czech Republic. It was one of the most picturesque and artistic cities I’ve ever been to. I was so content at one point, that moment lingered in my head for a long time. The sunset in the song was actually referring to that moment. It was not by the beach, but rather by the Vtlava river (longest river in Czech Republic) near the historic Charles Bridge, while admiring the Prague Castle.
#3 Sea Organ (Morske Orgulje by Nikola Basic)
You might have heard the subtle waves in the middle of the song at 2:15. It was not just another random sound effect. In fact, it was the actual sound footage of the Sea Organ in Zadar, Croatia. The Sea Organ is a musical instrument performed by nature itself. The movement of waves pushes air through the organ pipes located underneath the marble steps, and make them whistle. The pipes are tuned to two major key chords to evoke the harmonies of Dalmatian klapa music. What a masterpiece when architecture and nature combine!
#4 Medieval Bagpipes
You may come across a band performing with medieval bagpipes in an old town in “Summer’s Day”’s music video. It was in Prague, and the band is called Bohemian Bards.
#5 Versions
This song has gone through five different versions of arrangement with four different people, me included!
See if you can spot the things I’ve mentioned above in the lyrics/sound/footage!