Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her

(Partridge)

#\#i#/#The Big Express#\#/i#/#

The Big Express

 Recordings
XTCfans interview with Andy Partridge
Art
Lyrics
Chords and Tablature
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Recordings

  1. Album version, 3'50.
    Euphonium recorded at Odyssey Sound, London, England, Spring 1984.
    Mixed by David Lord and XTC.
    Released on The Big Express.
    Andy Partridge - Linn Drum (triggering percussion samples)
    Steve Saunders - Euphonium
    Andy: “. . . the first song I'd ever composed on a keyboard using two hands.”
    Andy: “Yeah, well, we used lots of sampled sounds and messed with them in ways. Like all the little bits of percussion on ‘Seagulls Screaming’ are all things like milk bottles, thumb pianos. . . all odd natural things, like Pyrex dishes, plates, just stuff that was in the kitchen, struck.”
  2. BBC version, 4'21.
    Recorded 11 October 1984 at BBC Studios.
    Produced and engineered by Dale Griffin and Ted De Bono.
    First broadcast 20 November 1984 on the Bruno Brookes Show.
    Released on 5 October 1994 on Drums and Wireless in the U.K.
    Also available on Transistor Blast.
    Andy Partridge - vocals, guitars, zippy zither and drum programming
    Colin Moulding - vocals and bass guitar
    Dave Gregory - keyboards
    Andy: “Really primitive; the first song I ever wrote on keyboard. I think the version on Big Express is slightly better, but this is pretty good.”
  3. Demo version.
    Released on 25 September 2006 on Fuzzy Warbles Volume Seven in the U.K.
    Andy: “Thought this demo would be perfect right here. She's the one the seagulls are urging me to kiss, which I never did until 1993. It's the first tune I ever learned to play with two hands on the keyboard, in this case a Mellotron. Recorded on a 4 track cassette in my back bedroom, the one that had the dripping basin. I have to say I was pleased as Mr Punch with its lyrics and convoluted structure. Seasidechedelic.”
  4. 2023 stereo mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the reissue of The Big Express on 29 September 2023 in the U.K.
  5. 2023 Dolby Atmos mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the reissue of The Big Express on 29 September 2023 in the U.K.
  6. 2023 DTS-HD MA Surround Sound mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the reissue of The Big Express on 29 September 2023 in the U.K.
  7. 2023 instrumental mix.
    Mixed and produced by Steven Wilson from the original multi-track tapes.
    Released on the reissue of The Big Express on 29 September 2023 in the U.K.

Art

Naoyuki Isogai's “Seagulls Screaming, Kiss Her Kiss Her”

Naoyuki Isogai's “Seagulls Screaming, Kiss Her Kiss Her”

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Lyrics

It's raining on the beach
She's inches close but out of reach
The waves look painted on
Seagulls screaming

The sea is warship grey
It whispers “Fool!” then slides away
Black coastline slumbers on
Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her

And all the flags that flap on the pier
Spell why on earth do you wait
The fog hides much but one thing is clear
She's nearer

Dead deck chairs under shrouds
And life belts gape like minstrel mouths
Her hair still smells of salt
Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her
Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her
He who hesitates is lost

If you want her, you should tell her
Take her by the hand
If you wait, November wins her
She returns to sand		      If you hesitate
November will win her
So get ahold of the girl

I say I like your coat
Her thank-you tugs my heart afloat
I nearly didn't hear for
Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her

He who hesitates is lost

© 1984 Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd.
[Thanks to Scott Reiss]

Chords and Tablature

Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2017 12:32:57 -0600
From: Will Maher <beatles394 (at) gmail dot com>
Subject: Seagulls Chords
Message-ID: <CAPQMQ-istnhzmGrXe+Ti+T_yeSfZAcH9Oto-hYzxhfYiMwdE-Q (at) mail dot gmail dot com>


I've transcribed the chords to sound relatively decent on guitar even
though the song is very keyboard based, either one will work. The bass is a
little ify.


Intro: Dm7/A, Dm/F, X3 F#m

Dm7/A        Dm/F
It's raining on the beach
Dm7/A      Dm/F
She inches close but out of reach
Dm7/A          Dm/F
The waves look painted on
F#m
Seagulls screaming
Dm7/A      Dm/F
The sea is warship grey
Dm7/A       Dm/F
It whispers 'Fool!' then slides away
Dm7/A           Dm/F
Black coastline slumbers on
F#m
Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her
E/B                                C#m7
And all the flags that flap on the pier
      Cdim7               E/B
Spell why on earth do you wait
                                    F#m/C#
The fog hides much but one thing is clear
      Bbdim/E    Bb/F
She's nearer
Dm7/A            Dm/F
Dead deck chairs under shrouds
Dm7/A          Dm/F
And life belts gape like minstrel mouths
Dm7/A          Dm/F
Her hair still smells of salt
F#m
Seagulls screaming kiss her, kiss her

Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her
E/B    C#m7 G   A/E  Ebm
He who hesitates is lost
Eadd9, E,   Emaj7, E6 X2
If you want her, you should tell her
Eadd9, E, Emaj7, E   G/D, G, F/G
Take her by the hand
If you hesitate

If you wait, November wins her November will win her
                    G,     F7/G
She returns to sand So get ahold of the girl
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:09:52 +0100
From: Jordi Ibáñez Llauradó <lohagoporelmessenger (at) hotmail dot com>
Subject: xtc songs
Message-ID: <BAY113-F11D978375E7EAC7A754B66DA390 (at) phx dot gbl>


OK, my first posting. please be gentle. i just want to say that
that's been done with no keyboard or organ at hand, so i can't
be more precise about the chords. that's why here you'll only
find the basic chords: it's up to you, people that can write,
read and dissect chords, to finish this work. so here it goes,
all the songs in the XTC catalogue that hadn't been tabbed in
this great site, from "black sea" to "nonsuch". you won't find
anything from "mummer" because the whole album has already been
"chorded" in this site.

don't expect any riffs or arpeggios, BTW. that's as far as my
skills go...

maybe i should be ashamed to post something like this (so
incomplete, wrong and childish) but it's just for the sake of
people who just want to strum XTC songs and sing and don't care
much if this is a sus4, added or other bollocks chord (and i must
point that i am one of those who really care, so i'm willing to
read all kinds of comments and corrections). please, john relph,
erase every transcription of mine as soon as a proper tab of each
song made by any other XTC fan who's more trained on guitar than me
comes to your mail.

songs like "the somnambulist" or "seagulls..." were meant to be
played on keyboards and sound terrible on guitar. beware!


SEAGULLS SCREAMING KISS HER, KISS HER
verse: Dm(7)-Am(7) and then F#m
bridge: E-C#m-C-E-C#m-E-F
bridge after second verse: E-C#m-G-E-D#m
chorus: E-C#m-E-C#m-E-C#m-G
"so get ahold of the girl": F

--
hope that will be useful for somebody.
merry Xmas!
feedback welcome at jordiibanez (at) mixmail dot com
                 or lohagoporelmessenger (at) hotmail dot com
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