Rye, New Hampshire

©1987 Andrew Calhoun, recorded on Walk Me to the War

Rye Beach, actually, a marvelous place. Jesse Winchester has a gorgeous song about walking on the beach in Mississippi, "Biloxi," and there should be more songs about walking around.

In Rye, New Hampshire, I walked by the sea
Where the steady swells, and the big-bodied gulls
Restored my sense of soul to me

I ran up the beach, past a man and boys
Their dog cut my path, I fell down and laughed
And got sand in my corduroys

It's a long drive back to a Midwestern city
On a huge, quiet lake, whose waves hardly break
And black and white make grey

In Rye, New Hampshire, I walked by the sea
Where the steady swells, and the big-bodied gulls
Restored my sense of soul to me