Piano - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1398436 By Bobby Darin. By Albert Lasry, Charles Trenet, and Jack Lawrence. Arranged by Tobi A Crawford. Contemporary,Jazz. Score (Chords/Lyrics). 7 pages. Tobi Crawford #981711. Published by Tobi Crawford (A0.1398436). This arrangement came to me over a number of weeks in a very organic way that began with the ostinato piano figure that prevails throughout the piece. I began playing it unattached to any tune and I just liked the way the line descended in the left hand and how I had to find voicings in the right hand that made harmonic sense ā like a puzzle. As I was playing around with this puzzle, thoughts of my father were swirling around in my head ā I was at the end of a 4 year period of separation from my parents owing to the fact that Iām a Canadian expat living in the US and the borders were closed for a long time because of Covid, and then I had work visa issues and my parents were getting older before my eyes. They were also losing friends to cancer and other ailments and my dad, in particular, had experienced the loss of many close family members and friends during our separation and it was taking a toll.Ā One day I sat down and played the now familiar-to-me ostinato but randomly I started to sing āBeyond the Seaā over it and it fit perfectly. I thought it a happy coincidence. As the days went on I committed to putting my ostinato with Beyond the Sea and the lyrics started to seep into my brain. I have, of course, heard these lyrics many times before, (who hasnāt seen Finding Nemo?) but the lyrics didnāt mean what I thought they meantā¦ Theyāre NOT about the ocean, they are about my dad!!! Well, kind ofā¦ I realized, through careful reflection and by slowing the words down, that the lyrics are talking about a person in heaven who is patiently waiting for their partner to join them.Ā Somewhere beyond the seaSheās there watching for meā¦Itās far beyond the starsItās near beyond the moonĀ And the lyrics end with them meeting, āWeāll meet beyond the shore, weāll kiss just like before,ā and the song ends with: āand never again Iāll go sailing.ā Itās like the big bang went off in my head about why all these thoughts of my dad, and his friends, and this arrangement, and what it all meant suddenly just MADE SENSE and I was able to start formulating a plan.Ā Performance Suggestions:Ā The improvisation solo in the middle should be free of any traditional āscat syllablesā and should be more of a lament. Listen to singers like Aubrey Johnson and Sara Gazarek improvise on ballads for inspiration.
