/album.png)
The Backstory
There was a piece of dock board loose near the ocean side of the island. I used to sit there early, before anyone else showed up. Coffee gone cold. Phone still in my truck. You could see where the water had come up higher than it should have after Hurricane Florence. Sand pushed into places it didn’t belong. Dunes cut open. The kind of mess that doesn’t look like damage at first. Just… rearranged. That’s about where I was too. Still standing. Not where I belonged.
I had been living the other life before that. You know the one. Clean shirt. Calendar full. Always a little behind. Always a little tired. I kept telling myself it was temporary. Most men do. Then one day it wasn’t temporary anymore. It was just… my life. I didn’t quit in some big way. No speech. No moment. I just stopped believing it was mine. Drove over the bridge and stayed a little longer each time. Picked up work where I could. Boats. Docks. Odd jobs. Enough to eat. Enough to breathe.
The driftwood showed up a week or two after the storm. Two pieces crossed in the dunes like something had placed them there and walked off. I didn’t touch it. Didn’t need to. I knew what it was saying. Not church. Not doctrine. Just a reminder. You don’t have to carry everything they hand you. Some of it isn’t yours. Some of it never was. I sat there a while and felt something let go that I didn’t know I was holding. That’s where the song started. Not as a plan. Just a line that wouldn’t leave me alone.
Later on, I took it down the coast. Played it anywhere they’d let me plug in. From here to the Gulf. Same story in different accents. Men and women carrying too much. Waiting on a life that wasn’t coming. Every time I played that chorus, you could see it land on somebody. Quiet. Not loud. Just a small shift. Like they remembered something they forgot to protect. That’s all the song is, really. Not an escape. Just a turn. Face the water. Let a few things go. Keep what’s true. The rest will sort itself out if you give it some room.
- Echo Thatch (2023 - Bogue Banks, NC)Lyrics
[Verse 1]
The 9-to-5 nearly broke my soul.
Chasing that green was taking its toll.
So I traded my tie for a ten-dollar tee,
and found salvation where the waves meet me.
Now my rearview's got a city skyline,
and my front porch is a saltwater line.
Ain't looking back, just letting it swirl.
Life gets simple when you, oh, sway with the sea.
[Chorus]
Turn your back on the world, face that blue,
let the Gulf wind do what it's born to do.
Forget the chatter, the climb, the spin,
let the tide roll out what was buried within.
Yeah, yeah, let it go now.
No more clocks, no suits, no rush.
Just a rum soaked breeze and a mango blush.
You'll find heaven in the way the tide curls.
Oh, turn your back on the world.
[Verse 2]
There's driftwood cross in the dunes out back,
and a hammock hangin' like a heart attack,
that finally passed when I let things be.
Now the good Lord whispers through the salt and sea.
This beach is my pew. That boat is my hymn.
And every sunset's like confessing again.
Ain't preaching loud. But boy does it work.
'Cause grace shows up when you, oh come on down.
[Chorus]
Turn your back on the world, face that blue,
let the salt and the sky redefine you.
Forget the bills, the buzz, the spin,
let the ocean teach you how to begin.
Yeah, yeah, lean into the hush.
No more roads, no more rush.
Just the tide and the sun and a gentle hush.
You'll find heaven in the way the tide curls.
Oh, turn your back on the world.
[Bridge]
I got no plan,
I got no shoes,
just a coconut buzz,
and no bad news.
Call it running,
I call it true,
and the coast calls out the real in you.
Turn around, turn around,
face the sea, face the sea,
let the world fade out behind me, behind me.
Raise your glass, raise it high,
let it swirl, let it swirl,
here's the turning,
turn your back on the world.
Leave it all behind,
[Chorus]
Turn your back on the world. Face that blue.
Let the old you drift like a bottle or two.
Forget the grind, the graft, the sin.
Let the sea roll out where life begins.
Yeah, yeah, sail into the hush.
No more clocks, no more fuss.
Just a palm tree prayer and a God you trust.
You'll find heaven in the way the tide curls.
Oh, turn your back on the world.
[Outro]
Turn your back.
Yeah turn your back
on the world.
Face that blue,
let it all go,
let it all go through.
Turn your back on the world.