Posted on 05/16/2016 7:39:08 PM PDT by ghosthost
"One of our Submarines" is a song by British new wave/synth pop musician Thomas Dolby. The song was recorded in August 1982 and remains a favorite among Thomas Dolby fans. Originally written for The Thompson Twins, the track was released in a 12" extended version (found on the successful 1982 "Blinded by Science" EP) clocking in at 7:18, as well as in the album version found on The Golden Age of Wireless.
The inspiration for the song was Dolby's late uncle, who died as a submarine crewman during World War II. The submarine that his uncle served on sank due to an accident during routine manoeuvres, not combat, which according to Dolby instilled a sense of futility in his death.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
The inspiration for the song was Dolby's late uncle, who died as a submarine crewman during World War II. The submarine that his uncle served on sank due to an accident during routine manoeuvres, not combat, which according to Dolby instilled a sense of futility in his death.
There was a sub genre of New Wave called "Nerd Rock" in which Thomas Dolby slots nicely. Along with Gary Numan, Haircut 100, Joy Division and others.
That whole album is awesome, I’m partial to “Airwaves.”
I remember this well right around the time President Reagan was turning the country around.
Never knew the sad inspiration of the song.
Thank you for posting an excellent song memory.
RE: Thomas Dolby
I love that song “One of our Submarines”. Thomas Dolby is brilliant. I have the CD “Golden Age of Wireless” and will never part with it.
I have used this song for years to remove ear worms. The disjointed melody breaks up even the catchiest jingles.
That is not a nice thing, sir, to say regarding my favorite song.
Thank you!
Now that I could use. Not long ago I found myself listening to this miserable thing -- I usually have better taste -- and I found that it simply would not stop playing in my head. I could ignore it, but it kept coming back.
“The inspiration for the song was Dolby’s late uncle, who died as a submarine crewman during World War II. The submarine that his uncle served on sank due to an accident during routine manoeuvres, not combat, which according to Dolby instilled a sense of futility in his death.”
It was a dangerous time and an extremely dangerous job. Seventeen U.S. submarines disappeared in the Pacific during World War II. The Navy presumes them to have struck mines. They presume two others to be friendly fire incidents, though the evidence for that is weak. Two were sunk by their own torpedoes and one sank in an exercise off Hawaii.
22 out of 52 were just gone. That was the cost of fighting the enemy and men knew it. It wasn’t futile.
Bflr
That’s funny, just this morning I was thinking of ‘Europa’.
Had a distant cousin lost on the Triton SS-201 in 1943
One of my favorites is “I scare myself”
I had an EP version that had an excellent solo in it.
I love this song too.
Thanks for sharing it.
I had no idea of the inspiration for it.
Incidentally, the first UK and US releases of the album included neither "She Blinded Me with Science" nor "One of Our Submarines." The former was a huge single for Dolby later, and so it and "Submarines" were included on subsequent re-releases of Wireless—of which there were several, all varying in different ways.
if I were on a deserted island , I would take Wireless with me
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.