OK Mike, tell us where the song came from. What were the 'bitter memories' you were trying to escape from?
The memories that I was working at escaping from were - I had a relationship that had… for me had been very hurtful. A romantic relationship. And I had a lot of business and professional relationships that weren't working for me as well. I was 27 at the time and I'd just had my first flash of success in rock-n-roll. A lot of people wanted a part of me and wanted me to do what they thought I should do. And I felt a lot of intense pressure from every quarter. And that was what I wanted to escape from. I wanted this sense of purpose and moving forward with purpose. It's a fisherman image, casting outhis line into the sea to catch the fish - and what I mean is, to get on with what my dreams are without thinking about it too much.
'Light', 'bonds', 'chains', 'fateful'… What exactly are you talking about when you use these strong words?
Well, I'm getting more universal - I'm talking about my life as a human being. That I will be loosened from these mortal bonds and I will take up my true identity of being an eternal being of light - as we all are. By 'light', I mean spiritual light, and I should really have a capital letter on the 'L'. I mean, divine light. The divinity that I believe is in every person. I believe I can aspire to that, like everyone can.
How would you summarise your own song-writing, Mike?
I'm a romantic and autobiographical songwriter. But I don't believe that 'romantic' means 'unrealistic' in any way. I do believe that the world is a romantic place. And I believe in love, and I believe in wisdom, and I believe in the power of life. And I certainly hope to infuse the listener with that when I write. And that is the focus for my song-writing. I write primarily for myself, so the first person I'm trying to infuse with the sense of the magic and power of life is me. But if I can turn on a few listeners, then that's a job that's well done, as far as I can see.
Do you still believe that fishermen are the happiest people in the world?
When I went to live in the west of Ireland, I met fishermen, and their lives weren't quite as simple as I had idealised. But that's not important, 'cos it's a song, and the song makes a point - and that's all that matters.