It was May 3rd, 1866, as Mark Twain annotates, when the clipper ship Hornet suffered a fire while out at sea. A one week approximated voyage for San Francisco turned into a nightmare “of 43 days in an open boat, through the blazing tropics, on 10 days rations of food.” Miraculously all 31 sailors survived, though very near death, which Twain credits Captain Josiah Mitchell-“a New Englander of the best sea-going stock of the old capable times”. Twain was in Honolulu, Hawaii commissioned to write for the Union when the “lean and ghostly survivors arrived there”. Their faint cries ‘Land in sight! Land in sight!’, upon realization of at last some shoreline echoed in the harbor of locals waiting to bring them in and help them to recover.
What and inspiring and victorious struggle for life, in which I have become familiar with in my own small little way, one that I know my listeners will find way to resonate as well.
-Autobiography of Mark Twain
Produced by: Mike Odmark and Jesse Lafser
Vocals, guitar, banjo: Jesse Lafser
Electric guitar, keys, percussion: Mike Odmark
Drums: Evan Hutchings
Bass guitar: Mike Rinne
Pedal steel: Spencer Cullum
Fiddle: Kristin Weber
Cello: Hitoshi Yamaguchi
Background vocals: Andrew Combs (2,6) Lindsay Hayes (3,5)
Recorded, engineered and mixed by Mike Odmark at Gray Matters Studio, Nashville, TN.
Mastered by Matthew Odmark, Gray Matters Studio.
Art & Design by Benjamin Rumble, Strange Bird Media.
All Songs c Northbound Train, SESAC
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