B.B. King's Blues Club on Holland America
Having watched the Grammy’s last WEEKEND and being a big music fan I started thinking how much music permeates our lives and how we seem to particularly enjoy it when we are on VACATION.
SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT perhaps, as we are BUSY BEING FABULOUS. And indeed, certain songs are extremely evocative and CONJURE up SWEET DREAMS and MEMORIES of cruise ships, beaches and visions of sun, the DEEP BLUE SEA and SAND IN MY SHOES.
There are certain songs you are always going to hear from one of the bands on board when on HOLIDAY. Likely on deck, WALKING ON SUNSHINE, wearing an ITSY BITSY TEENY WEENIE YELLOW POLKA DOT BIKINI, a frozen drink in hand, humming THE PINA COLADA SONG. Songs we can tap along to, sing along with and recognize easily.
Music is also a big part of what many ships and cruise lines are bringing to their guests; music of many genres and in many different parts of the ship – Holland America’s partnerships with B.B. King Blues Club and Billboard are prime examples – and ones guests love!
There are great shows on board too with contemporary and premium cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line. Things like AFTER MIDNIGHT, GREASE with those SUMMER NIGHTS, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET and those BLUE SUEDE SHOES, CATS, CHICAGO, MAMMA MIA along with the odd SOS and likely a DANCING QUEEN!
So I thought I’d have a bit of fun with this inspiration and try to write a column (much like my nautical notes piece from a few weeks back) that encompassed not only some of my favourite songs but ones that might have some relevance to the cruise industry today – maybe to even ROCK THE BOAT. So read on and enjoy and please pardon the puns and accept all alliteration!
I know I have missed some obvious ones so if you clever people want to add a few along the way – please send them in.
SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA, with RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET, the WOODEN SHIPS go SAILING, with some folk being WASTED ON THE WATER as they spent too much time at MARGARITAVILLE eating that CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE.
Sometimes, there are TOO MANY FISH IN THE SEA. A girl can get caught BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA and has to say, SAIL ON SAILOR, or else there’ll be a SHARK IN THE WATER, or a MERMAID IN THE NIGHT, and those CHANGES IN LATITUDES can create a SHIP OF FOOLS, and maybe even A TEARDROP TO THE SEA!
So as we are SAILING AWAY, with a MOON OVER MIAMI and THE TIDE IS HIGH, CRUISIN' ACROSS FIVE OCEANS, to our AVALON, THE WILD, WILD SEA brings us to the SOUTHERN CROSS or even OCTOPUS’ GARDEN, as ONLY THE OCEAN can do.
You might find yourself DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE, something to which I am somewhat susceptible and I’m not BULLETPROOF! Or just go with the ORINOCO FLOW as you sail INTO THE MYSTIC, and ACROSS THE RIVER, and we say, MICHAEL, ROW THE BOAT ASHORE, or find us that BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER as we DRIFT AWAY on a SEA OF LOVE, ROLLING IN THE DEEP and looking for those WICKED GAMES – because we can!
And SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW, AT LAST, those LAZY-HAZY-CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER beckon us, giving us a PEACEFUL EASY FEELING, under a HARVEST MOON and as we GET HERE, we MOONDANCE with joy. As Cuba comes into sight there's that familiar song GUANTANAMERA being played and yes perhaps there's even SMOKE ON THE WATER or diving down you might see a YELLOW SUBMARINE.
Perhaps go DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE and take that LAZY RIVER, from the BLUE BAYOU to find ONE PARTICULAR HARBOR, with WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE, and then HERE COMES THE SUN and guess what, it’s a TEQUILA SUNRISE not a DESPERADO moment!
