Dolphins
"Dolphins" (or "The Dolphins") is a song by Fred Neil, originally released on the album, Fred Neil on December 1st, 1966. It was covered by Chrissie Hynde and Dave Gahan and appears on the album, Duets Special, released on October 17, 2025.
Lyrics
(from original recording)
And all the ways of war can't change it back again
I've been a-searchin' for the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me
I'm not the one to tell this world how to get along
I only know that peace will come when all hate is gone
I've been a-searchin' for the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me
Oh, sometimes I think about Saturday's child
And all about the times when we were running wild
I've been a-searching for the dolphins in the sea
And sometimes I wonder, do you ever think of me
Ah, this old world ain't ever change
This world may never change
This world may never change
My Take
This is a very simple folk rock song with no big production or embellishments. Fred's voice in the original is very deep, melodic, and smooth and I really love the way he stretches out the syllables at the end of many of the verses. Thematically speaking, the lyrics really appear to speak to the desires of an escapist. The original writer seems to view the world through a pessimistic lens and so they go looking for simple, little joys elsewhere, such as in the "dolphins in the sea" or "Saturday's child," which could mean a very specific thing to the singer or any given listener. I would say that this theme would really resonate with Dave. Finally, I do wonder if Dave will employ a very similar singing style, especially with the stretched out syllables even though he doesn't typically sing in that way.
Both Dave and Chrissie take turns singing the verses in their version and a few lines get switched around but for the most part, it stays pretty close to the original. There is a little bit more in the instrumentation but the focus is mainly on the vocals. Dave starts off singing the "Saturday's child" verse and at first it struck me as a little odd when he sings in a much higher register than the original, but then when Chrissie later joins in, it made more sense since I realized that it was more in her natural register. Both of them do stretch out some of the syllables like Fred does in the original although not quite as much. Both of them sound very melodic and smooth, though, and it was wonderful to hear them interleave their voices for a bit in the latter parts of the song.
I finally must also recommend Tim Buckley's version of this song since Chrissie cited his version as the "definitive" one. Listening to that one, it makes more sense where she and Dave got the inspiration for their version from!
Music Video
There is no music video announced for this song.