TONY PARKER NESC
LIFE ON SUB-ANTARCTIC
CAMPBELL ISLAND
THE WEATHER STATION YEARS
A double album that uses music, narration and Sub-Antarctic sound bytes to paint a picture of living and working at Campbell Island during the era known as "The Weather Station Years."
The Lyrics
Select a song from the Track List
TRACK LIST:
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Southbound (On the Southern Ocean 2.01
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Perseverance Harbour 1.37
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The Solitude (Swampy's Reflection) 3.24
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Campbell Teal 3.21 [ Read the Blost Post ]
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The World's Loneliest Tree 4.08
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A Long Way from Home 4.04
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Wild Weather 4.45 [ Read the Blog Post ]
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Shine Your Light 4.07
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Southern Lights (Swampy’s Reflection) 2.47
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Aurora Australis (Southern Lights Serenade) 3.28
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Whales (Swampy’s Reflection) 2.37
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Walking into Windlass Bay 1.44
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The Endangered Yellow Eyed Penguin 2.25
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Spring Is Coming 6.05
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Time to Go 4.32
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Going Home 3.29
Beeman Point: Marston matting, leading to the meteorological office “the mettery”, at Beeman Point. A snow-covered Mt, Dumas in the background.
A penguin in the kitchen
A sea lion in the hall
A whale outside my window
And he don’t care at all
There is, oh, so much to see.
It’s life at Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
Oh, at Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
There is, oh, so much to see
It’s life at Beeman Point
I’m standing at the window.
I’m looking to the heads.
The albatross they fill the sky
Like kites in the breeze
And it’s such a sight to see
It’s life at Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
Oh, at Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
And it’s such a sight to see
It’s life at Beeman Point
Frozen rain on the window
Snow on the ground
The screaming fifties are calling my name
I can’t stand my ground
Oh, it feels so strange to me
It’s life at Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
Oh at Beeman Point
At Beeman Point
Oh, it feels so strange to me.
It’s life at Beeman Point
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
The Isolation- Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion mail bag drop every few months. Our link to the outside world.
Isolation:
Every day, every day is the same
Monday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Friday.
It’s all just the same.
In isolation
In separation
This destination
It’s isolation
Every day, I feel so far away
No one hears me, I'm all alone
Like an ocean wave
In isolation
In separation
This fascination
It’s isolation
There’s no cars
No TV
There’s no bars
Only me
In isolation
In separation
Perfect location
No population
Fascination
Exploration
Obligation
Weather station
There’s no cars
No TV
There’s no bars
Only me
In isolation
In isolation
In isolation
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
Wild Flowers (The Megaherbs of Campbell Island)
Megaherb field of pleurophyllum speciosum on Campbell Island. The island was described by English botanist Joseph Hooker as having a "flora display second to none outside the tropics. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery, ODT."
Woke up to the land so cold
Woke up to the melting snow
Like a dream, never seen such a beautiful thing
Wild, wild flowers everywhere
Summer hills, so bright
Like fireworks in the night
There's huge size megaherbs everywhere
Huge, wild flowers everywhere
As far as I can see
There's blues, yellows, pinks and green
A rainbow of colour lights the hills
Wild, wild flowers everywhere
There's wildflowers on Mt. Lyall
There's wildflowers on St. Col
A sea of colour dancing in the breeze
Huge wildflowers are everywhere
Huge wildflowers are everywhere
Huge wildflowers are everywhere
Huge wildflowers are everywhere
Words: Tony Parker & Peter Fisher
Music: Tony Parker & Peter Fisher
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
The Campbell Teal: Once thought extinct for a century due to Norway rat predation on Campbell Island, the Campbell teal was rediscovered in 1975 on rat-free Dent Island. Yet, its population on the 23-hectare islet remained perilously small, vulnerable to extinction from any significant event
Campbell Teal
There is an island within an island
It is there on Dent,
You will find the Teal
Little Teal can’t fly from home
Little Teal can’t find the wings
Little Teal, where have you gone?
For 100 years, we thought you’d gone
Wiped away, away from the Earth
It took a hundred years to find you
A hundred years, you were gone
It took a hundred years to find you
Make Campbell home, make it home
It took a hundred years to find you
A hundred years you were gone
It took a hundred years to find you
Now you’re home
Make this home
It took a hundred years to find you
A hundred years you were gone
It took a hundred years to find you
Now you’re home
Make this home
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
The southern royal albatross boasts the largest wingspan among albatross species, averaging over 3 metres (9.8 feet). The majority of these majestic birds nest on the rat-free Campbell Island in the Sub-Antarctic, with around 8,200 to 8,600 breeding pairs.
Glide (Of the Southern Royal Albatross)
I can only imagine in a dream
In another place
in another time
And another world
way up high
Working the wind
Owning the sky
I am here
watching the albatross glide
Watching the albatross glide
Watching the albatross glide
I am standing here on Beeman Hill
Watching your wings kiss the ocean
You fly so high
You are the sky
With a wingspan wide
You fill the sky
One with the wind
One with the sky
I am here
watching the albatross glide
Watching the albatross glide
Watching the albatross glide
One with the wind
One with the sky
I am here watching the albatross glide
Watching the albatross glide
I am here
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
Photograph of a southern right whale, taken from the middle of Perseverance Harbour, Campbell Island on the afternoon of 19 May 1985. The whale pictured is the subject of this song, photographed here against the Mt. Honey shoreline.
As I row across the bay
As the wind numbs my face
I hear you before I see you
Putting on a display
I can hear you
I can see you
I’m a long way from home
I’m a long way from home
As you dive deep into the ocean
I fear you are right under me
As you look into my eyes
Just for one moment we are free
I can see you
I can hear you
I am such a long, long way from home
I am such a long, long way from home
I can see you.
I can hear you.
I want to know you.
I want to be you.
I am such a long, long way from home
I am such a long, long way from homea long way from home
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
Based on a true event 19th May 1985
The legend of the Lady of the Heather tells of a Jacobite royal, believed to be Bonnie Prince Charlie's granddaughter, abducted from France and left stranded on New Zealand's Campbell Island. In solitude, she resided in a sod hut in Camp Cove, adorned with lace curtains and a heather garden.
Despite sporadic visits by sealers, she eventually passed away alone. Norm Judd, an authority on Campbell Island, has studied her story extensively, documenting the remains of her hut, path, and grave, confirming elements of the legend.
This is the story and the legend that became"The Lady of the Heather"
The Lady of the Heather by Will Lawson
The Poem inside the cover - Will Lawson
Down in the South, by the waste without sail on it -
Far from the zone of the blossom and tree -
Lieth, with winter and whirlwind and wail on it -
Ghost of a land by the ghost of a sea.
Wild is the cry of the sea in the caves by it -
Sea that is smitten by spears of the snow -
Desolate songs are the songs of the waves by it -
Down in the South, where the ships never go.
"The Lady of the Heather" - by Will Lawson
Published Angtns & Robertson (1945)
The Legend of the Lady of the Heather:
Lyrics:
She’s the ghost of the land
She’s a ghost of the sea
She’s been banished to this island
It’s been said that she’s the daughter of Bonnie Prince Charles of Scotland
Who fled to France,
who fled to France
Treated as a traitor to the Jacobite Cause
Suspected of spying on England
She was handed over to a whaler and a sealer
Captain William Stewart
Who whisked her away to the bleakest exile
Of Campbell Island
Down on the south
Weather ships never go
She’s lost to the wind
She speaks to the stars
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea
She walks in the moonlight
In a tartan gown
A paisley shawl and she’s with a silver buckle
And in her Glengarry bonnet, she wears a sprig of Scottish Heather
She wears Scottish Heather
The ships crew left her to her fate
Not before leaving her with the ship bell
She would ring out the Angelus bell in her lonely hours
In her lonely hours
Down on the south.
Where the ships never go
She’s lost to the wind
She speaks to the stars
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea
She’s a ghost of the land, she’s a ghost of the sea
She calls to the wind
She calls to the sea
She waves heather at the whalers, hoping they will see
She’s lost her mind. She’s lost her way
She watches the sunset
Just another day
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
Campbell Island, situated in the Southern Ocean's Screaming Fifties, is known for its fierce winds. Its rugged terrain and exposure amplify the strength of the prevailing westerlies, making it a challenging environment.
The Wind Blows Through Me
There's a cold wind blowing in
Keeps me up all night
There's a cold wind calling me
Calls me by my name
The wind blows through me
The wind blows through me
The wind blows through me
There's a screaming sound
It's there night and day
It's chasing me
It's calling me
It's chasing me
It's calling me
There's a cold chasing me
Keeps me up all night
There's a cold wind taunting me
Calls me by my name
The wind blows through me
The wind blows through me
The wind blows through me
Words: Tony Parker & Peter Fisher
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
This captivating track delves into the experiences of a dedicated Meteorological Officer stationed on the remote sub-Antarctic Campbell Island during the 1980s. Amidst the harsh elements, the song vividly portrays the officer's relentless efforts in deciphering the ever-changing winds and tirelessly transmitting crucial data back to New Zealand, regardless of the hour.
The static at the start of the song is a recording from the speaker of the large radio transceiver used to transmit weather messages from Campbell Island to the Kelburn meteorological office in Wellington in the 1980’s.
"Wild Weather" is a poignant narrative woven with atmospheric melodies, offering listeners a glimpse into the challenging yet awe-inspiring world of weather observation in one of Earth's most unforgiving environments.
Wild Weather
The sun peaks through the clouds
A rare celestial show
As I decode the heavens
Forecasting winds that blow
Wild Weather
Wild Weather
Radio calls echo
Through the lonely night
To the weather base in Wellington
My beacon and my light
Wild Weather
Wild Weather
Wild Weather
It's wild weather
All the time
If the polar blasts don't get you
The screaming fifties will
The wind knows your name
It will get you in the end
Wild weather
Wild weather
Wild weather
It's wild weather
All the time
All the time
For 96 days, it's been raining
feels like
All the time
All the time
All the time
This place is sunlight's hostage
600 hours a year
the Clag clouds dreams
it's a mist that doesn't clear
Wild Weather
Wild Weather
Wild Weather
It's wild weather.
All the time
All the time
Words: Tony Parker & Peter Fisher
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
A young southern royal albatross is keeping guard on the rugged and unforgiving west coast of Campbell Island.
Shine Your Light
Took a hike to Mt. Azimuth
Lonesome beach calls my name
I don’t need
I don’t need
A light on me.
An albatross is keeping guard
Crystals break into icy shards
I don’t need
I don’t need
A light on me.
Just a slip pulls a snowgrass free
800 feet to the cold cold sea
It takes my breath away
And my heart skips as I pray
And it leaves me hanging on.
Shine your light on me
Shine your light on me
Shine your light on me
Where do I go from here
The goal in sight has disappeared
I need a light
I need a light
A light on me.
Against all odds I found my way
From the edge of despair to a brighter day
I had a light shine down
Down on me
I can’t believe I’m still alive
A narrow escape, I risked my life
A lonesome beach left unexplored
And my faith in wonders is restored
And it’s left me holding on.
Shine your light on me
Shine your light on me
Shine your light on me
You shined your light on me
You shined your light on me
Music by Tony Parker
Words by Tony Parker and Peter Fisher
Produced by Tony Parker and Peter Fisher
Whalers at Cambell Island
Windlass Bay on Campbell Island was a whaling and sealing hub in the 19th century. Remnants like the windlass winch remain, once used to haul whales ashore by their tails. The beaches are scattered with bones, recalling the island's dark past as a hunting ground for seals and whales.
The Ghosts of Windlass Bay
The hunter seeks refuge
From the turbulent skies
That are blowing in
On the raging sea
Beneath the sun gaze
The bones remain
The silent refuge
Of a merciless chase
These broken bones
On this beach
This windlass winch
It's left in ruin
All your secrets
And no one to tell
It's all just blowin' in this wind
Oh Windlass Bay
Oh Windlass Bay
The things you have seen
You can't undo
These broken bones
On this beach
This windlass winch
That's left in ruin
This cold, cold wind on my face
This cold wind blows away my words
Oh Windlass Bay
Oh Windlass Bay
The things you have seen
The things you have seen
Oh Windlass Bay
Oh Windlass Bay
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
Spring is Coming
The light of day changes everything
The light of day changes everyone
When your winter comes and the clouds roll in
when the ground is cold
and the storm begins
when the seasons change
please don't give in
Winters the season to dream
Winters the season to dream and create
because spring is coming
spring is coming
spring is coming, it's near
The southern sky changes everything
The southern sky changes everyone
when the leaves are gone
and the sky is grey
when the clouds roll in
when you've lost your way
when the seasons change
please don't give in
Winters the season to dream
Winters the season to dream and create
because spring is coming
spring is coming
spring is coming, it's near
Spring is Coming
spring is coming
spring is coming
Words: Tony Parker & Peter Fisher
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher
Time to go
I used to find I was caught in the chaos of living
In a world driven by nine-to-five
But in this land, I have found that time stands still
If you let it call you from inside.
Now the time
The time has come
It's time to go
Go back home
Now the time
The time has come
It's time to go
Go back home, Go back home.
I'm going home; it's time to go
Back to a life I used to know
I found myself in the solution
In this Sub-Antarctic world
I haven't seen much sun
But I have seen the rain
I have seen the wildlife
Come out to play
There's an ocean between
between the waves
It's time to go
but I wanna stay, I wanna stay
Now the time
The time has come
It's time to go
Go back home
Now the time
The time has come
It's time to go
Go back home; I wanna stay
I wanna stay
Words: Tony Parker
Music: Tony Parker
Production: Tony Parker NESC & Peter Fisher