"Candles on the River"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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Yester-day, after posting what I wrote about "Candles on the River," I realized that there's more evidence for that John Donne connection - "New World (My America)" from the Zombies' New World album.  Chris White says in the liner notes:

"New World (My America)" was co-written with Andy Nye (my nephew - it seems that Rod and I have this tendency towards nepotism - but only if the talent is there).  It was done specifically for the album and Colin's voice.  I got the idea from the poet John Donne; I think the poem "To His Mistress Going To Bed" was the starting point.  The line I was inspired by was "O, my America, my Newfoundland."

I actually have an original vinyl copy of In Deep (I have the wrong year in that post though), and in the sleeve notes, Bob Henrit notes that "Candles on the River" is a Chris White song (Argent and White were splitting the writing credits at this point):

The Donne connection in "New World (My America)" is undeniable, and since "Candles on the River" is also a Chris White song, I feel it's more likely that the "islands" in it is an intentional Donne reference.