“In My Heart I Am Sailing” by the Memories is a bubbling cauldron, a breaking surface, a sharp breath full of water. Flooded lungs, heavenly gasping, reaching for a handful of sky. It’s a deeply peaceful song – a song about giving in to the currents of life, about sharpening your vision and looking both backward and forward without judgement – only gratitude.
The song opens with cheerful harmonizing drawls, supported by guitar plucks and hints of twinkling bells. It draws out an adventure story for the listener, as the narrator likens their heart to a body of water through which they can travel to revisit memories and loved ones. The song’s execution is light, serene, and follows a gentle rise and fall thematically on par with the ocean imagery. About midway through, the song breaks into intoxicating vocals that overlap and roll over one another, then taper off.
Though the use of heart imagery is a bit cliché, it summons the appropriate image – this is a song about internal spaces, about the experiences and people that we hold closest to ourselves, about sailing through the memories which we hold most dear. It’s also a surprisingly light listen. This isn’t a song you have to emotionally prepare for, or a song you should skip on your more vulnerable days. This song is safe. It’s grateful and warm. It makes you feel good to listen to it.
We asked Rikky Gage of The Memories a few questions about this song.
“In My Heart, I Am Sailing” bursts with water imagery. How does your relationship with water (i.e. are you afraid of it? Are you drawn to it? Why write about water?) motivate the metaphorical construction of your song?
I am a Pisces and I love to swim. I also love to drink water. However I am terrified of the open ocean. Have you ever seen that movie Open Water? Fuck that.
How does the soundscape of the song reflect who you are as a band?
Well, we are the ones who made it so that’s the ultimate reflection right there. But it’s also like watching your reflection in moving water; a trippy blurred version.
How do you write a song like this? Is it a collaborative project or does one member emerge as the leader?
I wrote the lyrics and chords but the rest was contributed by other members of the band. Whenever someone has a song we tend to invite one or two of the others to finish writing it, then keeping adding from there.
How has your work changed or stayed consistent in the lead up to this release?
Music like this is diary-like, so it’s about as consistent as we are as people, which is both of the past and the present.
Who do you want to hear this song? Is it an anthem for any particular group or type of person?
I want the people who it will make the happiest hear it. It’s not an anthem but it is a hopeful song about maybe, eventually, settling down someday.
