Virginia Water Radio

Click to listen to episode (9:16).

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Image
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)
Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 2-1-24.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the weeks of February 5 and February 12, 2024.

MUSIC – ~35 sec – lyrics: “We are on a ship, a great big ship. It takes all of us to take of it. And we can use the stars to navigate our trip. We are riding on a ship.”

That’s the closing of “On a Ship,” by Blacksburg, Va., singer-songwriter Kat Mills. Since January 2010, Virginia Water Radio has been bringing you sounds, music, and information about the watery nature of the good ship Earth, particularly the waters of the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the recent passage of Water Radio’s 14^th anniversary, this will be the show’s last regularly scheduled episode. Water Radio may return from time to time with special-project episodes; if so, I hope you’ll be able to have a listen.

To mark the transition away from regular episodes, I’ve invited several guests to call out the range of topics that Water Radio has aimed to explore. Have a listen for about 45 seconds to their voices, interspersed with some favorite sounds, of birds, the spokesman for traditional fishing boat singers, children, a rolling river, and rumbling thunder.

VOICES AND SOUNDS - ~41 sec

VOICE 1 - Water in the biology of humans, birds, frogs, plants, and other living things. SOUND 1 - Little Blue Heron fishing, plus sounds of Red-winged Blackbirds.

VOICE 2 - Water-related history and cultural expression. SOUND 2 – Spokesman for Northern Neck Chantey Singers saying, “We are the Northern Neck Chantey Singers.”

VOICE 3 - Water laws and policies, management and uses, and people. SOUND 3 – Group of children and adults calling out “Take a kid to a park!”

VOICE - Groundwater, surface water, and watersheds. SOUND 4 – South Fork Roanoke River in Montgomery County, Va.

VOICE - Water science, water research, and weather. SOUND 5 – Thunderstorm.

Along with its focus on water-related sounds, much of Water Radio’s vitality has come from music about water, with either the music or the musicians having a Virginia connection. Several groups and individuals have graciously allowed frequent use of their songs. Those include Kat Mills, whose song “On a Ship” you heard earlier; Ben Cosgrove and Stewart Scales, whose versions of “Shenandoah” and “Cripple Creek,” respectively, open and close alternating episodes; and the following artists, whom you’ll hear in an upcoming medley:

the late Madeline MacNeil, with “New Spring Waltz”;
Timothy Seaman, with “Bass Fisherman’s Reel”;
Torrin Hallett, with “Tropical Tantrum”;
Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand, with “Samuel Mason.”
Chamomile and Whiskey, with “Dirty Sea”;
The Steel Wheels, with “Valley”;
No Strings Attached, with “Kartune”; and
Bob Gramann, with “Rappahannock Running Free.”

Have a listen for a little over three minutes.

MUSIC - ~3 min./15 sec.

“New Spring Waltz.” - ~ 23 sec – instrumental.

“Bass Fisherman’s Reel - ~20 sec – instrumental.

“Tropical Tantrum” - ~27 sec – instrumental.

“Samuel Mason” - ~24 sec – lyrics: “Samuel Mason, that is my name. I left Fort Henry seeking fortune and fame. I came from Virginia a long time ago, but now I am a pirate along the Ohio.”

“Dirty Sea” - ~18 sec – instrumental.

“Valley” - ~41 sec – lyrics: “These mountains have been here for centuries. There’s stories in the water, something if you’re listening; what kind of stories do you wanna see? ‘Cause I wanna go where the wind don’t blow; take me down to the valley. I wanna go where the wind don’t blow; take me out tonight.”

“Kartune” - ~19 sec – instrumental.

“Rappahannock Running Free” - ~23 sec – lyrics: “I love the Rappahannock, and its water ...

Click to listen to episode (4:33).

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)
Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 1-19-24.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of January 22, 2024. This is a revised version of an episode from January 2016.

MUSIC – ~9 sec – instrumental.
In this episode, we use music by a Blacksburg, Va., singer-songwriter to help us dive underwater. Have a listen for about 55 seconds.
MUSIC - ~54 sec – Lyrics: “Endless water calls to you. Falling backward into blue. Lovers breathing, adapting, reaching, receiving. Bubbles lifting, creatures sweeping into view; you’re an alien at sea. Scuba dive; scuba dive.”

You’ve been listening to part of “Scuba Dive,” by Kat Mills, on the 2015 album “Silver.” Ms. Mills’ lyrics use the challenges and thrills of underwater diving as metaphors for exploration and trust in human relationships.

While human interactions can be quite unpredictable, the main challenges of the underwater environment come from several predictable physical, chemical, and biological properties of deep water. Water’s density affects vision and hearing underwater. Buoyancy—resulting from the density of a submerged object compared to the density of the surrounding water—must be adjusted for moving up or down. Movement is also affected by the frictional resistance of water, or drag. Pressure from the weight of the water affects a diver’s lungs, sinuses, and ears, as well as the levels of oxygen, nitrogen, and other gases dissolved in the water and in one’s blood. Temperature affects dissolved gases, too, along with presenting a body-heat challenge. Divers can become partially dehydrated through breathing dehumidified compressed air. And dangerous aquatic organisms may await. Adapting to those challenges through underwater breathing devices, other equipment, training, and experience allows divers to enjoy the exhilaration of feeling weightless, seeing fascinating creatures, and exploring worlds most humans never see.

Add in some trust and overcoming of one’s fears, and people continue to fall backwards into endless blue water, literally and figuratively.
Thanks to Kat Mills for permission to use this episode’s music, and we close with about 30 more seconds of “Scuba Dive.”
MUSIC - ~30 sec – Lyrics: “Scuba dive.”

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624. Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 299, 1-18-16.
Scuba (also written SCUBA and S.C.U.B.A.) is an abbreviation for “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.” For information on this abbreviation, see Underwater Kinetics, “What does SCUBA stand for? Plus other diving acronyms,” December 19, 2019, online at https://uwk.com/blogs/scuba-guide/diving-acronyms.

“Scuba Dive,” from the 2015 album “Silver,” is copyright by Kat Mills; used with permission. More information about Kat Mills is available online at https://katmills.com/home.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES