Westport Beach - written and performed by Andy Brook
Westport Beach is a 6 mile stretch of golden sand on the Kintyre Peninsula, near Campbeltown, on the west coast of Scotland.
In 2017 a lone surfer became caught up in bad weather and was swept out to sea, clinging to his surfboard. He was rescued 32 hours later, seven miles from the Northern Irish coast, uninjured but exhausted.
The idea of drifting off into the sea was one of the inspirations for this song, which was written whilst walking along this beach, grappling with problems, trying to find a resolution to them.
At the end of a long day, looking towards the isles of the Inner Hebrides, a deep red sunset bathed the sky, calm descended to the beach and the problems were put into perspective.
The video was filmed over the course of a year to August 2018, during visits to the area.
Westport Beach
Dawn was breaking and I couldn’t sleep
So I took my cares to the beach
Found a little hollow, sheltered from the wind
And settled down to see what the day would bring
Not a soul out there to break the peace
As I lost myself on Westport beach
I gathered up my troubles, held them in my hand
Then I ran my fingers through the golden sand
The waves rise up as if in greeting
They beguile me with their grace
With the moon’s reflected power,
So intense, yet so much space
And I wish the waves would carry me out
As far as I can see
Where there is a little fishing boat
So far from the quay
Mid day now and the swell is high
Surfers skate between sea and sky
The fastest one of all becomes a bird and flies away
I dream that I might follow it one day
The waves rise up as if in greeting
They beguile me with their grace
With the moon’s reflected power,
So intense, yet so much space
And I wish the waves would carry me out
As far as I can see
Where there is a little fishing boat
So far from the quay
And a sailor who is looking back at me
And a sailor who is looking back…
The Shipping Forecast
The area forecast for the next 24 hours….
Viking, north-west, 5 or 6, becoming variable, 3 or 4
Slight or moderate; fair, good
Fastnet, Irish Sea, north, becoming variable
Then south-west later, 3 or 4
Slight or moderate, becoming slight, fair, good
Malin, Hebrides, northerly or north-westerly 4 or 5,
Occasionally 6 in east, slight or moderate, fair, good
Evening falls, the sky grows deep
With the red of night; it’s time to sleep
The glory of the sunset, with heaven in its reach
And at last I found myself, on Wesport Beach
The waves rise up as if in greeting
They beguile me with their grace
With the moon’s reflected power,
So intense, yet so much space
And I wish the waves would carry me out
As far as I can see
Where there is a little fishing boat
So far from the quay
And a sailor who is looking back at me
Andrew Brook, August 2018