From Robyn on Patreon in 2022
This is my first attempt at a sea-shanty. I’ve adopted the appropriate voice, trying to channel the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem; they were contemporaries of Bob Dylan in New York 60 years ago, who worked in the idiom of traditional Irish folk music. Over in Surrey, England, my father bought their LPs and their version of “Wild Mountain Thyme” was the first I ever heard, as the black & white TV flickered in the corner at my grandma’s feet.

What can you do about the past? Nothing. If the way you acted makes you cringe, then be grateful you’ve learned from it. You are not the master of your circumstances. High achievement is often at other people’s expense. If you could do it all again, to be sure you’d do it differently: but you wouldn’t be the same you, would you? All that leads you to is a scrambled mind on lonesome toast. And, if you’re very lucky, a pint of Guinness…