STEPHEN
I grew up in a three-storey house looking over the Wexford harbour. At night, especially a winter’s night,
I loved to look out across the black water towards Wales, mesmerised by the glistening porthole lights of
fishing boats in the distance. I loved to imagine the fishermen inside having tea or playing cards.
It was never my intention to emigrate or leave my large, loving family. But the first song I wrote was called
“I Climb into My Boat” so that sea was beckoning even then, whether I liked it or not. This song tackles
a very large subject; I have always admired Leonard Cohen for taking on subjects of biblical proportions,
and telling the story concisely and economically. The only way to write a song like this is to have it come
naturally, and know exactly where it is going, I personally could never fabricate it, I’m no good at fiction.
