Wishbone Ash can trace its origins back to Torquay, Devon, England, a seaside resort in the southwest of the country. It was there that Martin Turner and Steve Upton first performed together; Turner on bass, Upton on drums, before moving to London in 1969 to seek fame and fortune. In the capital the decision was made to place an advertisement for a keyboard player and a lead guitarist. The resulting audition threw up two guitar leads, but nobody could decide who to choose and the trademark twin-lead sound of Wishbone Ash was born.
Ted (David) Turner and Andy Powell soon went through the poverty and growing pains of a new band, but were fortunate that Miles Copeland was championing their cause and a fairly rapid progression was achieved. The first Album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970 and their second, Pilgrimage, surfaced just six months later to reach #6 in the NME charts. Great things were just 11 months away with the release of Argus (1972) -- possibly the band's best album; certainly their most commercially successful -- which reached #2 in the UK charts and went gold. Argus is considered to be one of the great rock classics of all time. The next album, Wishbone Four, only 12 months later, went silver.
After these early highs, Ted Turner decided that he had had enough, and left the band to be replaced by Laurie Wisefield. Although Laurie’s style was not to everyone’s taste, he was generally well liked by the fans and brought a slightly harder edge to the folk-tinged progressive rock that was the Wishbone Ash formula. Wisefield was a dynamic player and became an excellent partner to Andy -- they were to play together for a very successful 11 years and the MKII version of the band is very well thought of for most of its output. About this time the band became more influenced by America and would eventually move there.
The next album, There's The Rub (1974), was recorded in Florida and produced by Eagles producer Bill Szymczyk. Once again it was to do well, achieving silver disc status. There's the Rub included the instrumental piece F.U.B.B. Steve Upton was arrested in New Zealand for announcing at a concert it's full title. In New Zealand, swearing in public is a criminal offense, and when Upton announced the title at an outdoor concert, a woman sunbathing in her garden nearby complained to the mayor. Upton spent the night in jail, and the album reached #3 in New Zealand due to the publicity.
It was inevitable that a turkey was due and to fans Locked In (1976) fit this bill. This record was not released -- it escaped! Fortunately things were much better with the quality of the following albums and although the high chart positions were gone, the fans were enjoying some competent, well-crafted output.
After 11 years in the band, Martin Turner decided to leave. This move began a period of frequent changes of bass player with the likes of John Wetton and Trevor Bolder being two of the better known; however, Wishbone Ash always has attracted musicians of the highest order. A much more controversial move was the introduction of Clair Hamill to fill in some of the vocal talent Martin had taken away with him. Clair was not popular with the fans which was perhaps a little unfair. She had contributed backing vocals on Just Testing (Turner's last album (1980), which he had also produced) and had co-written the excellent Living Proof, which is still a crowd favourite today. Her stay was short-lived with Andy Powell taking on more vocal duties. Wisefield left in late 1985 and the band continued to tour with various replacements, but were very much in limbo until 1987 when a miracle occurred. Miles Copland persuaded the original lineup to reform for a project for a music charity that he was helping, and a Hammersmith Odeon concert which the BBC recorded resulted. The project produced an instrumental album Nouveau Calls (1987), which was very well received. Even better received was the fact that three years of the original lineup were to follow.
Just when things were going so well, Steve Upton decided to quit the business entirely in 1990, to be replaced by Ray Weston. Martin Turner carried on for another year before leaving to pursue a solo career, and Ted left two years later. The next five years saw lots of personnel changes, but eventually resulted in a good period of stability with Ray Weston returning and Bob Skeet joining on bass in 1998.
The new millennium has also seen stability in respect of Andy's guitar partner, with the last 6 years being filled by Ben Granfelt and subsequently Muddy Manninen, both of whom come from Finland. 2005 saw Wishbone Ash celebrate their 35th year. 2006 heralded the new album Clan Destiny (the first featuring Muddy as guitarist). 2007 saw the exit of long-term drummer Ray Weston, due to the increasingly hectic pace of band life. Joe Crabtree (formerly of The David Cross band) stepped up to fill his place. With regard to new releases, 2007 saw First Light, which features original recordings of the songs featured on their debut album, as well as some outtakes. Also released that year was the new album The Power of Eternity (partly featuring Joe Crabtree on drums), which coincided with the Autumn tour.
Wishbone Ash are still performing 150 gigs a year in the U.S. and Europe. They get very supportive crowds with good numbers turning out all over Europe -- the U.S. tends to attract smaller audiences, but very committed fans. If you want to hear classic Wishbone Ash, get ahold of Argus. Visit their web site www.wishboneash.com, where tour dates and albums, etc. can be obtained.
Walk on Water
Wishbone Ash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"I will get a job if I can,
But I'm I proud man,
and there's no one who's willing to pay for what I am."
"But the rent has to be paid,
and day after day we go deeper in debt.
The child has a school and
she can't stick to rules that she does not have".
She says, "I can't walk on water to will,
I'm sinkin' in the real world.
I can't walk on water to will.
Everybody sells themselves,
why don't you do the same?"
Her calm is broken,
and she's tired of toein' the line for you.
You have your conviction,
but does that prevent you from listenin' too?
You say you love her,
but she can't love someone she does not respect.
The psychology is,
you want somethin' bad, you have to go get.
Chorus
He never thought that she would give up and move on,
For he tried so hard to convince her that his love was strong.
Chorus
The lyrics of Wishbone Ash's song "Walk On Water" tell the story of a woman named Susie and her struggles to survive in the real world. Susie's father is unable to find a job, and as a result, the family is struggling to make ends meet. The situation is exacerbated by Susie's refusal to follow rules at school. Susie feels helpless and unable to do anything to make things better. She admits that she cannot "walk on water," that is, she cannot perform miracles or do the impossible, and she is sinking deeper and deeper into debt.
The chorus of the song echoes Susie's feelings of frustration and helplessness. It suggests that in the real world, everyone has to "sell themselves" to survive. It implies that people have to compromise their values and beliefs to make a living in a society that is not always fair or just.
The second verse of the song is directed at Susie's lover. It accuses him of being too stubborn and closed-minded to listen to her. Susie is tired of compromising her values for someone who does not respect her. The lyrics suggest that love cannot survive without mutual respect.
Overall, the lyrics of "Walk On Water" are a powerful commentary on the struggles of everyday life. They remind us that everyone has to make compromises in order to survive, but they encourage us to maintain our dignity and self-respect even in the most difficult circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
Now Susie's old man says, "I will get a job if I can, But I'm a proud man, and there's no one who's willing to pay for what I am."
Susie's father is struggling to find a job but doesn't want to give up his pride or values. Unfortunately, he is not finding work that aligns with his morals and is struggling financially as a result.
"But the rent has to be paid, and day after day we go deeper in debt. The child has a school and she can't stick to rules that she does not have".
Despite their financial struggles, the family has obligations to pay rent and ensure their child's education. The child is struggling to follow rules that aren't properly defined or enforced.
Chorus: She says, "I can't walk on water to will, I'm sinking in the real world. I can't walk on water to will. Everybody sells themselves, why don't you do the same?"
Susie feels overwhelmed by the challenges of the real world and can't keep pretending like everything is okay. She can't perform miracles or solve everything on her own. She questions why others are willing to compromise themselves to make it in the world.
Her calm is broken, and she's tired of toein' the line for you. You have your conviction, but does that prevent you from listenin' too?
Susie has been trying to maintain a calm exterior and follow the rules for the sake of others, but can no longer keep it up. She questions whether the people she's trying to please are truly listening to her or just following their own beliefs.
You say you love her, but she can't love someone she does not respect. The psychology is, you want somethin' bad, you have to go get.
Susie's partner claims to love her, but she can't love someone who doesn't treat her with respect. The song suggests that if you want something badly in life, you have to work hard to obtain it.
Chorus
Same as above
He never thought that she would give up and move on, For he tried so hard to convince her that his love was strong.
Despite his efforts, Susie's partner never believed she would leave him. He tried to prove his love to her but ultimately failed to meet her expectations.
Contributed by Emily T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Danny Comer
I barely remember out of the corner of my mind that this band even existed. Why are they so obscure? Certainly worth remembering, better than some main stream artists. Maybe it's just me that's obscure?
henry smith
great tune from a great album. almost sounds like this could be a Cars tune.
Johan Peter Niclassen
From the album "Here to Hear" ... orginal members. Martin Turner wrote "Walke on Water"