Sailor (song)

"Sailor" is the title of the English-language rendering of the 1959 schlager composition "Seemann (Deine Heimat ist das Meer)" originally written in German by Werner Scharfenberger (de) and lyricist Fini Busch (de): featuring lyrics in English by Norman Newell (writing as David West), "Sailor" would in 1961 afford Petula Clark her first UK #1 hit, simultaneously granting Top Ten success to Anne Shelton while also bringing her chart career to a close. Clark was also afforded international success with both her recording of "Sailor" and also with Marin the French-language rendering of the song.

Original German-language version

see Sailor (Your Home is the Sea)#Original German-language version.

English-language version

Composition

Lyricist Norman Newell would recall that his publisher phoned him on a Friday requesting he write English lyrics for Lolita's hit "Sailor (Your Home is the Sea)": although Newell agreed to prepare the lyrics over the weekend the assignment slipped his mind until a messenger arrived Monday morning to pick up Newell's work. "I sent [the messenger] to the canteen and wrote the lyric 'Sailor' in ten minutes." While the original German lyrics of the song had addressed a seafaring love object with an acceptance of his wanderlust the lyrics written by Newell - as David West - inverted this sentiment turning the song into a plea for the sailor to return.

Marin (wind)

The Marin is a warm, moist wind in the Gulf of Lion of France, blowing from the southeast or south-southeast onto the coast of Languedoc and Roussillon. It brings rain to this region which it has picked up crossing the Mediterranean, and also can bring coastal fog. The clouds carried by the Marin frequently cause rain on the slopes of the mountains in the interior, the Corbières, Montagne Noire, and the Cévennes. The wind is usually dried by the föhn effect when it crosses the mountains and descends on the other side. The Marin wind contributes to the creation of another regional wind, the autan. The Marin blows gently from the offshore coast of the Mediterranean towards the Cévennes and the Montagne Noire. When this occurs it creates fine weather for swimming in the gulf, but when the wind is strong it creates heavy swells which strike the coast with high breaking waves.

The Marin is next in frequency and importance to the mistral, the cold, dry northwest wind in Provence. It is caused by low-pressure systems which enter the Gulf of Lion from the west or southwest after traversing southern France and northern Spain.