Searching for the dolphins in the sea
March 9, 2023 8:30 PM   Subscribe

"We could talk about the performance. We could mention the lazy swell of guitar and bass on which Fred Neil's rich, caramel voice drifts for nearly seven minutes. We could mention Neil himself, and how he disappeared from music in the 70s and dedicated the rest of his life to the protection of dolphins."

This old world may never change the way it's been (Fred Neil, 1969)
And all our ways of war can't change it back again (Kenny Rankin, 1969)
I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea (Linda Rondstat, 1969)
And sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me? (Harry Belafonte, 1969)

I'm not the one to tell this old world how to get along (Dion, 1968)
I only know that peace will come when all our hate is gone (Richie Havens, 1970)
I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea (Tim Buckley, 1974)
And sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me? (Fred Neil, Vince Martin, John Sebastian, 1976)

Sometimes I think about Saturday's child (The The, 1991)
And all about the times when we were running wild (Billy Bragg, 1991)
I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea (Aztec Camera, 1992)
Sometimes I wonder (Beth Orton and Terry Callier, 1997)
Do you ever think of me? (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 2003)
This world may never change (Dave Alvin and the Third Mind, 2020)

"Fred Neil really did go searching for the dolphins in the sea. He retreated to Coconut Grove, Florida and dedicated the rest of his life to dolphin research and preservation. He helped to found the Dolphin Project, an organization dedicated to preventing the capture and exploitation of dolphins worldwide. His interest in dolphins had been there all along."
posted by vverse23 (8 comments total) 22 users marked this as a favorite
 
While we're reflecting on beautiful and mysterious voices, the first recommended article below this one is about Cocteau Twins' "Crushed," which I have always been convinced is one of their greatest songs. (In a nice bit of six-degrees, famed "Dolphins" interpreter Tim Buckley's son would later have a fleeting relationship with Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser.)
posted by mykescipark at 9:53 PM on March 9, 2023 [3 favorites]


Cool post. I'd never heard the song until that episode of the Sopranos, where Christopher gets high in his car, outside a parking lot fairground. Beautiful bit of television.
posted by brachiopod at 9:54 PM on March 9, 2023 [4 favorites]


Very cool post - thank you!
"Fred Neil really did go searching for the dolphins in the sea." - I love that detail - and would also add that he went to live "Where the sun shines brightly in the pouring rain" -Florida - in order to do so in very much the Midnight Cowboy style. Maybe other songwriters should hold themselves to the challenge of going and actually doing that thing they've been singing to us about?
posted by rongorongo at 12:26 AM on March 10, 2023 [1 favorite]


What a beautiful post, especially with the linked versions of this song. I've always liked it, and what a cool story about its writer. Thank you!
posted by Miko at 6:00 AM on March 10, 2023 [3 favorites]


This dude's gonna receive a silvery smoked-glass fishbowl with an inscription on it.
posted by onehalfjunco at 8:24 AM on March 10, 2023 [2 favorites]


The kind words from all of you are very much appreciated and have made my day. Once I started to explore these wonderful cover versions and read about the trajectory of Neil's career, the post started to just write itself. It has been really nice to bask in this beautiful music and story.
posted by vverse23 at 10:16 AM on March 10, 2023 [2 favorites]


This has been one of my favourite obscure songs for decades. From the Linda Ronstadt cover.

Wow!
posted by Savannah at 12:00 PM on March 10, 2023 [2 favorites]




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