The Bay Of Biscay

Album: English Melodies (1936)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "The Bay Of Biscay" is written in 2/4 time and can be found in the 1936 collection English Melodies Easy Arrangements by Cyril Stanford, which was published by H. Freeman of London. Although the melody may be English, "The Bay Of Biscay" was actually written as a poem by the Irish-born actor John Cherry. The music was written by the Exeter-born John Davy, and was his most famous composition.
  • According to Derek Scott in The Singing Bourgeois, the Victorian tenor Sims Reeves used "The Bay Of Biscay" as a standard encore for thirty years; the song was also a popular choice for school music lessons in England at one time. The actual Bay of Biscay is located between Spain and France; the term Bay is something of a misnomer, as it is a very large area, and is renowned for some of the most treacherous storms in the Atlantic, the subject of the song. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."