‘Echo Beach’ is a song by Canadian musical group Martha and the Muffins. Written by band member Mark Gane, it was released as a single from their album Metro Music in 1980 and went on to reach number five in Canada, number six in Australia, and number 10 in the UK. It was certified gold in Canada on October 1, 1980, a month after Metro Music achieved gold status, and also won the Juno Award for Single of the Year. ‘Echo Beach’ was the band's only significant international hit, although they had other popular singles in Canada.
Echo Beach, as mentioned in the song, does not refer to a real beach, but rather a symbolic notion of somewhere the narrator would rather be, somewhere "far away in time". The song was created while Gane was working checking wallpaper for printing faults. He found the work rather dull and his mind drifted to times he would like to live over again. One such time was an evening spent at Sunnyside Beach on the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto in summer. 'Echo Beach' was a reference made to a faded time and place gone in the lyrics of the song ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ by the band Ultravox. The B-side, 'Teddy The Dink', is featured on the band's second album Trance and Dance.
The map shown on the cover of the Canadian and US version of the single is of the eastern part of Toronto, including the Beaches neighbourhood, the Leslie Street Spit, and a portion of the Toronto Islands. The UK version of the single shows the north-western end of the Fleet Lagoon and the bar of Chesil Beach, the location of Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset. It has been modified to show Chesil Beach being named as Echo Beach. While Marc Gane was a student at the Ontario College of Art, he had a job one summer at a paint and wallpaper factory. It was so boring that he daydreamed a lot. While Echo Beach did not exist as a real location, it was a symbol of a place everyone wants to escape to when they're not where they want to be. The inspiration was Sunnyside Beach on the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto. Says Gane, "The lake and beach could have been in the middle of nowhere while the city behind became a 'surrealistic sight'."
This won the 1981 Juno Award for Single of the Year, tying with Anne Murray's ‘Could I Have This Dance.’ It reached #5 in Canada and was the Canadian new wave band's only significant international hit, though they had several other hits in their homeland.
Label – Dindisc
Songwriter – Mark Gane
Producer – Mike Howlett
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I know it's out of fashion
And a trifle uncool
But I can't help it
I'm a romantic fool
It's a habit of mine
To watch the sun go down
On Echo Beach, I watch the sun go down
[Chorus]
From nine to five, I have to spend my time at work
My job is very boring, I'm an office clerk
The only thing that helps me pass the time away
Is knowing I'll be back at Echo Beach someday
[Verse 2]
On a silent summer evening
The sky's alive with lights
A building in the distance
Surrealistic sight
On Echo Beach
Waves make the only sound
On Echo Beach
There's not a soul around
[Chorus]
From nine to five, I have to spend my time at work
My job is very boring, I'm an office clerk
The only thing that helps me pass the time away
Is knowing I'll be back at Echo Beach someday
[Outro]
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time
Echo Beach, far away in time