Shell Song

Shell Song was commissioned by the Presbyterian Ladies’ College Perth in 2013 for the junior choirs. It was the schools first adventure into commissioning choral music and led to the creation of a new school anthem composed by Paul in 2015. The piece is written about the first European female, Charlotte Davis, who set foot on Western Australia in the early 1800’s and the legacy she has left the state.

Extracts from ‘A Passenger on the Parmelia’ – by Lyn Coy (a descendant)

“Charlotte Davis, aged 2, is claimed to be the first white female to set foot on the Swan River Colony in Western Australia. Charlotte was carried ashore by a sailor and set afoot on the uninviting land on 1 June 1829. My ancestors, the Davis family, sailed with Captain James Stirling on the ship Parmelia for the new colony of Swan River, Western Australia from Plymouth in England.”

“On 1 June 1829 fate was unkind and the Parmelia struck a sandbank. Orders were quickly given to lighten the load so 28 women and children, families of the artificers, were loaded onto Carnac Island with the heavy stores. Among them was two-year-old Charlotte Davis. A sailor carried her ashore and set her down making her the first of her sex to touch the strange new land. The next five days brought incessant rain and gale to the castaways, leaving them to survive the elements. Charlotte survived and became an early pioneer of the state.”

Sample recording courtesy from the Hunter Singers 25th Anniversary concert.

Themes

Sing a history Sing an Australian story Sing for an eisteddfod
Duration 4:50
Key F Major and modulates to G Major and E minor
Range A3 to F5
More info Use of ocean drum is recommended.
Price AU$3.00 per copy

Lyrics

S H E L L   S O N G                     
                           			    
By Paul Jarman & Bonnie Nilsson

Lying on the shore waiting to be found
A song in my shell as her feet touch the ground
She steadies herself, eyes open wide
A child, unknowing, a moment in time

Shining on the shore, waiting to be found
I picked up a shell and I listened to it’s sound
A song from within, deep in my ear
My story begins by the sea, the shell song in me

Day into the night and night into the day
Wind into the sky and sky into the rain
We must survive together
Find a way to belong

Take me to the shore
Carry me, carry me home

Did she feel its weight as she lived out her years?
Holding this title did she cry out in fear?
It’s the shell from the shore that reminds us today
That a child without knowing can lead the way

© Paul Jarman 2013