When the Tide Goes Out

The full title of the song is When the Tide Goes Out the Table is Set and it is taken from local First Nations traditions that refers to the rich coastal bounty in shellfish and kelp, etc.

Brian Robertson, of Vancouver, wrote this excellent song which is a plea for all of us to take care of our fragile environmental.

Duration: 3 min. .03 sec.

The song is being sung here by Vancouver’s former folk group “Three Strong Winds” (Ellen van der Hoeven, Jim Edmondson, and Christina Ray) on their excellent CD We Are Here.

1.    Along the shore is where life began,
Fed by sea and formed by land,
Under the sun and the moon’s command,
Down through the ages feeding man,

Cho:    Oh when the tide goes out, the table is set,
And the sea serves up her bounty bless’d;
Oh come with me while the sand’s still wet,
Oh when the tide goes out, the table is set.

2.    I know some people whose minds get stuck;
To them low tide means slime and muck,
But when I go there I’m prepared to … shuck,
The oyster, the clam and the geoduck,

3.    Now go a little further, put your foot in the sea,
Then Try wading out, say up to your knees:
There’s crab and abalone, and special seaweed,
Fix them up right, and they’re bound to please,

4.    Now the driftwood fire is burning hot,
Drop your catch in the cooking pot,
Come on, everybody, find a place on the log,
Share a steamingbowl and a grateful thought,

5.    Well, I was born and raised by Georgia Strait,
She’s a part of me and I share her fate,
And all of these poisons, she just can’t take,
We’ve got to stop it now, before it’s too late,
’Cause when the tide goes out…