Winedark Open Sea (song)

This image is a cover of an audio recording, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the work or the artist(s) which produced the recording or cover artwork in question. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of such covers qualifies as fair use.

Album This song officially appears on the Off The Ground Official album.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1993

Timeline This song has been written (or started being written) in 1991 (Paul McCartney was 49 years old)

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Wings Of A Lightest Weight

Master release

Off The Ground

By Paul McCartney

Related sessions

This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions

"Off The Ground" sessions #1

December 1991 - July 1992

Off The Ground sessions #2

September - October 1992

New “Winedark Open Sea” video premiered

Nov 11, 2020

Spread the love! If you like what you are seeing, share it on social networks and let others know about The Paul McCartney Project.

Song facts

“Winedark Open Sea” is a track from 1993 album “Off The Ground“. Paul started to write it ( “Sailing On The Winedark Open Sea” was the current name) in August 1991 while on holidays (“Calico Skies” was written at the same period), and recorded a demo a month after.

“Winedark Sea” is likely a reference to Homer, who mentioned this line dozens of time in his epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey:

The wine-dark sea is a traditional English translation of οἶνοψ πόντος (oinops pontos), an epithet in Homer of uncertain meaning. A literal translation is “wine-face sea”. The only other use of oinops in the works of Homer is for oxen, where it seems to describe a reddish color, which has given rise to various speculations about what it could mean about the blue seas.
From Wikipedia

That’s a nice track, simply played and underproduced as well. I know I would have added more to it, but it’s a case of the magic’s in there and you’ve got to leave it alone.
Hamish Stuart – From the “New World Tour” tour book

“Winedark Open Sea” was rehearsed in anticipation of the 1993 New World Tour, but was finally never played live. A rehearsal turned into a jam was aired on McCartney’s Oobu Joobu radio show in 1995.

In 2020, a film clip directed by award-winning surfing filmmaker Jack McCoy used “Winedark Open Sea” as its soundtrack, to gather funds for Surfers For Climate.

Last updated on December 25, 2020

Lyrics

Open up your heart
If you want to set me free
Full of love, your love.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.

Lighten up, my heart
Leave it to the evening breeze.
Give me love, your love.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.

Oh my, I feel love for you
Spreading through my body,
I remember how
We can be so loving.
I feel love for you now.
I feel love for you right now.

Loosen up, my heart.
Let me have some time to be
With a love, my love.?
Sailing on a winedark open sea.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.

Oh my, I feel love for you
Spreading through my body,
I remember how
We can be so loving.
I feel love for you now.
I feel love for you right now.

Sailing on a winedark open sea.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.

Oh, I feel love for you now.
I feel love for you right now.
I feel love for you now.
Baby I feel love for you right now.

We're sailing on a winedark open sea.
Sailing on a winedark open sea.