Stephen Stills’s divorce from Veronique Sanson in 1979 was particularly hard on him. In the past, both he and Nash had had relationships with the same women, notable among them Rita Coolidge, which had caused friction within the band and even a breakup of the group in 1970. Stills’s marriage to Sanson didn’t involve Nash, but the emotional turmoil of it was similar.

An avid sailor, Stills took to the Southern Pacific Ocean, braving the Roaring 40s alone. That experience is the inspiration for the song “Southern Cross,” which laments the lost love of his wife and his subsequent immersion in music. Stills said, “It’s about using the power of the universe to heal your wounds.” Sailing alone across the Pacific to French Polynesia gives someone plenty of opportunities to admire the night sky and the power of the naked universe, free from the influence of modern society or even just other people. Stills mentions Papeete in the song, which is the capital of French Polynesia.

He also discusses nautical terms in the lyrics. Reach, for example, is to sail closer to the wind than when running with it coming across the beam from the stern. When sailing, it allows you to sail faster than the wind is blowing. Making way is sailing at a good speed. Having 80 feet of the waterline means that the boat was probably much longer overall because the bowsprit and stern would hang out over the water somewhat.

Roots in Fairy Tales

Seven-leauge boots don’t have a story only about them. Rather, they appear in many stories of many countries. Those stories are about the protagonists searching for their lost loves. On land, a league is equal to the distance someone can walk at an average pace, about three miles. At sea, where distances are based on nautical miles, a league is equal to 3.45 miles. Seven leagues on land, therefore, is the distance someone can walk in an average day with an hour of rest for lunch. Seven-league boots allow the person to stride seven leagues at a step, circumnavigating the globe more than 40 times during those same seven hours. Rick and Michael Curtis wrong a song called “Seven-League Boots,” upon which Stills based CSNY’s 1981 hit. According to Stills, the Curtis Brothers’ song “… drifted around too much,” so he reworked it into one of the band’s most recognizble songs of the 1980s.

In Other Media

The song’s appeal has led it to appear in television programs, such as “The Blacklist” and “My Name is Earl.”

Lyrics

Ooh

Got out of town on a boat goin’ to Southern islands
Sailing a reach before a followin’ sea
She was makin’ for the trades on the outside
And the downhill run to Papeete

Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas
We got eighty feet of the waterline nicely making way
In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you
But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away

Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me larger voices callin’
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten

(Been around the world) I have been around the world
(Lookin’) Lookin’ for that woman girl
(Who knows she knows) Who knows love can endure
And you know it will

Yes

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way
‘Cause the truth you might be runnin’ from is so small
But it’s as big as the promise, the promise of a comin’ day

So I’m sailing for tomorrow my dreams are a dyin’
And my love is an anchor tied to you tied with a silver chain
I have my ship and all her flags are a’ flyin’
She is all that I have left and music is her name

Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me larger voices callin’
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten

(I’ve been around the world) I have been around the world
(Lookin’) Lookin’ for that woman girl
Who knows love can endure
And you know it will, and you know it will
Yes

Ooh

So we cheated and we lied and we tested
And we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do
You will survive being bested
Somebody fine will come along, make me forget about loving you
At the Southern Cross

Listeners of Rock music, might also appreciate the song Whiter shade of pale by Procol Harum.