Sailing Songs

From the first time yonder 15th-century troubadour picked up his lute, pulled on his deck loafers, boarded a boat, and penned a sea shanty, the allure of the ocean has remained a fixture in popular songwriting tradition. Following that time-honoured tack, Rod Stewart recorded his epic, wistful "Sailing" in 1972, and the Beach Boys updated a traditional West Indies folk song to create "Sloop John B" (1966). Here, you can listen to the sounds of the port receding in the distance, like a dream, as you cue up the hang-dog pleasures of Tom Waits' "Shiver Me Timbers," the deceptive lull of Randy Newman's "Sail Away," and Enya's massage classic "Orinoco Flow."

Annie Lennox takes you on an epic voyage; Patsy Cline . . . not so much, as you'll discover in Next Steps.

You really haven't lived until you've stood on deck, turned a complete 360 degrees, and seen nothing but more ocean. After all, seven-tenths of the Earth's surface is covered in water, and sailing it is an incomparable way to get a feel for the size and majesty of our planet. Don't have yacht to hand? No worries, landlubber, because these songs will plonk you smack in the middle of the briny blue, in an instant, whether it's Annie Lennox's hobbit-odyssey anthem "Into the West," Patsy Cline's lyrical equation of heartbreak with solo-yachting "I'll Sail My Ship Alone" or the Byrds' benign hook-up with the creatures of the deep, "Dolphin's Smile."

Toots, Pogues and Little Feat . . . the decks are loaded, in Deep Cuts.

By now, you've got your sea legs, and maybe even become a shellback (an honour awarded to those who have sailed across the equator). Or perhaps you're still stuck in traffic with sea dreams. No matter: the ocean is a state of mind, and you can always escape . . . with the music, and here it's provided by the boozy island rhythms of "Sailing On" by Toots and the Maytals, the keel-hauling clip of "Navigator" by the Pogues, and the horizon-scanning piano of "Cool Change" by the Little River Band. Lowell George pulls on his "Sailin' Shoes" with Little Feat, and Eric Stone rubs salt into his margarita-time homage with "Everybody Wants to Be Jimmy Buffett."

Avast, ye landlubbers! Hoist the mainsail! Swab the decks! Load up your cargo hold with these wind-blown Sailing Essentials! There's no greater adventure than sailing the seven seas, watching the sunrise over the stern as you glide toward some exotic port. The air is fresh and vibrant with the salt spray; the gentle rolling of the waves beneath the hull rocks you gently on your journey. But beware, the sea is a harsh mistress, and her awesome power is mercurial. Friday's glassy vista may roil with 50-foot surges Saturday, so you'd best batten down the hatches and make certain all is ship-shape before setting off. Then again, if you've no intention of actually crossing an ocean, let your mind drift with the tide of these tracks by Otis Redding, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Sting, Split Enz, and their salty companions.