City Lights (Memories of Sydney)

Written in memory of the time spent in Sydney with OSP Australia 2006.

Words and music by David. Harmony by Kristen. The original version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia. Version 2 was recorded by Lilly at the Knoll at Stanford.

Version 2:


Original Version:


Download Version 2 or Download Original Version

Verse 1
Now our journey moves to an end
Back down the coast we travel
From our nights in the wilderness
We find ourselves dropped down
In a whole new world
Brilliant visions wash in flood through my sight
It’s the city lights

Verse 2
This town’s excitement hangs in the air
So full of life, so vibrant
Down the shining streets I walk on
Until the buildings end
At the sparkling gem
Black sky meets arching sails of bright white
O the city lights

Chorus
These city lights
Oh-oh
Swirling around, I’m awash in the sight
These city lights
Oh-oh
Beckon me into the night
These city lights

Verse 3
It’s a town that sleep never finds
The late-night crowd still wanders
On my own I set out through the night
Down to the harbor where
I can sit and stare
Dark water shines with glimmers so bright
It’s the city lights

Predator Song (The Croc Came Out of the Water)

Words and music by David. Harmony vocals by Kristen. Featuring our professor Bill Casey on the blues guitar solo. This version was recorded live on a single mic in Brisbane, Australia.



Download Recording

Verse 1
We were just students bent on havin’ some fun
Off to Down Under for three months in the sun
We traveled up the coast to the forest and sea
Taking in the flora the fauna with glee
But hiding in the shadows something waited for us
And we didn’t see it coming

Chorus
And the croc came out of the water
The shark and the jelly moved in formation
The leech was jumping from the stinger tree
While the noddy made its bombing run
All the predators are coming after us

Verse 2
From shark attacks at Straddie to the Lamington leech
Stingers waiting for us when we went to the beach
Crocs are in the rivers where go for a swim
Threats from everywhere, the situation looked grim
We knew what we were up against but proudly we said
That we wouldn’t let it stop us

Bridge
We’ve been leeched, been jellied, been shat on
Fallen into the Daintree while the crocs looked on
But whatever comes we’ll keep pressing on
Singing this our predator song

Outtakes

Having fun after a long day of recording, the OSP Australia Singers (Chris, Emily, Kat, Ryan, Matt, and Courtney) show their stuff. I think this is probably my favorite recording of the day.



Download Recording

Why Coral Bleaching Is Important To You (Live)

Written for the presentation of our Targeted Research Project (TRP) on the physiology of coral bleaching. (View paper) It was long day of presentations, and we figured we needed to do something to wake everyone up . . . so we wrote a song and hosted a raffle to see who could guess how many zooxanthellae cells were counted.

Words and music by David and Lindsay. Background humming part by Lindsay. This version is taken from a live video recording of the original performance of the song during our TRP presentation.



Download Recording or Watch Debut Video

The earth is heating up,
All the corals turn white,
And soon they fall dead
In the hot sunlight.
And you're asking yourself
Why should you care if it's true.
I'll tell you why coral bleaching is important to you.

The beauty won't be here
For your children to see,
No more nifty new cures
Or a guard from the sea.
When the reefs disappear
All the fish will go too.
And this is why coral bleaching is important to you

There will be nothing left to study
For your TRPs
Unless you want to get stuck
In those mangrove trees.
No more coral cuts
Or transects til your face turns blue.
And that's why coral bleaching is important to you

It damages the reefs
Both near and far,
But hey, it lets Ove
Be a TV star.
And when they're all gone
We'll be sad and blue.
And that's why coral bleaching is important to you.