Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey | Paul Mcartney & Linda Mcartney
I listened to this while reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, a lovely science fiction reboot of the Austen classic. It was an interesting pairing and felt quite quintessential English as I sipped some earl gray tea.
The song begins slightly somber, with nomadic vibes, a strong image of a traveler walking along a paved road at a slow pace. This traveler is likely inspired by Paul Mcartney massaging the horns or maybe wrangling a ram on the album cover*. In whatever case, there suddenly Paul said:
“hands across the water, water
heads across the sky”
Our traveler was then skipping and jogging off the paved path to the waters edge, flinging their head back to meet the sky parallel. You could know this because the beat picked up with a staccato trumpet dalliance. It was so playful and the lyrics seemed to join in that reverie. The words had a then and now effect: Apologies to Uncle Albert to new insight from Admiral Halsey, somber sorry within a slow beat to refreshed adventure within a fast one. I rather liked it. Delightful!
[Book of Delights p. 68 | No. 21 Coffee Without the Saucer]
*Paul with the Ram
Source: Genius Lyrics