Most of the historic audio materials in the Montauk Library’s archives consist of recordings of oral history interviews, lectures, and local community organization meetings captured on cassette. But hidden among the stacks was a copy of Old Montauk: The Song for People Who Love It on vinyl record. Old Montauk is a country-inspired ballad performed by Bonnie Lee Sanders and Susan Green with Randall’s Island providing backup instrumentals, produced by Ditch Plains Records in 1972.
The opening verses set the stage with a relatable sentiment, felt by tourists, second homeowners, and former city residents who fled to Montauk in search of a slower pace of life:
Coming home from work at night
Feeling tired and uptight
‘Cause the city pace just knocks me off my feet
Oh the sky is out of sight
Can’t tell if it’s day or night
All hemmed in by towers of steel and cold concrete
Akin to an oral history recording from that era, the vocalist and lyricist Bonnie Lee Sanders recalls scenes of old Montauk during the 1970s, painting a picture of Montauk and its transformative powers.
That’s when I dream of old Montauk
A hundred miles from New York
Where the sea-swept cliffs at dawn
Make me feel I’m being born
As the sun begins to drench the rock-bound beach
And the air is damp with spray
As the seagulls greet the day
Montauk it’s the place I want to be
“We would listen to the song on repeat, we just couldn’t wait to come out,” reflects Lisa Montella, Library Clerk at the Montauk Library. She remembers listening to this record with her cousins before coming out to Montauk with her family in the 1970s and 1980s.
Oh how I dream of old Montauk
A hundred miles from New York
There’s a light to guide me home
I’m going back where I belong
The catchy lyrics evoke the senses. Listeners are transported through smell, taste, and touch to a time when Montauk was celebrated for its natural beauty and untamed wilderness.
Where the taste of fresh steamed clams
And the mussels laced with sand
Fill my stomach and my heart with such content
Picking berries by the load
Up and down that country road
Montauk I’ll be back soon as I can
In a recent email correspondence, Bonnie Lee Sanders remembers parade floats playing her legendary song. And once she performed live on a float singing along to the 45rpm record, which was on “all the jukeboxes.” She even wrote a follow-up song, Moon Over Montauk, “reminiscent of Patti Page’s ‘Cape Cod.’” Bonnie and her family spent over 35 years in a “beautiful charming house” on Old West Lake Drive. Some of her favorite haunts were the Crow’s Nest, Shagwong, the lighthouse, Port Royal, Snug Harbor, the Memory Motel, Gin Beach, the Montauket, Deep Hollow Ranch, and Sharon’s Inn, where she and her husband stayed with their small children until they purchased their own home. “My feelings for Montauk will never change,” she said nostalgically.
That’s where I learned to walk with ease
And to enjoy that cool night breeze
I’m going back where I belong
Montauk I’m coming home
Oh yeah I know where I belong
Montauk I’m coming home
All lyrics reproduced with permission of the lyricist © Bonnie Lee Sanders.
2 Comments
This was absolutely wonderful. I had never heard this before. Thank you for sharing.
The band is probably noteworthy, too. Randall’s Island was a band established by the highly regarded session player Elliott Randall. He never had great success under his own name, but he played with many stars from that era, in many styles, from Frankie Valli to Joan Baez to John Lennon. Most remembered for his remarkable guitar work on Steely Dan’s Reeling in the Years.