On January 21, 1975, Shirley Bassey flew on the inaugural passenger service of the Concorde on a British Airways flight from London to Bahrain.

Whenever I tell people of this YouTube discovery, the reactions are never as enthusiastic as I would like them to be. They are always at least slightly more interested when I explain that Shirley Bassey is best known for singing the legendary James Bond song from the movie “Diamonds Are Forever”.

To mark this occasion, the BBC filmed her journey and produced a special feature (can be found on youtube) in which Bassey is seen singing all over the cabin on her journey before touching down and being whisked away off the runway by a palm tree green Rolls Royce, complete with a personalized license plate bearing her name: ‘SHIRLEY’.

Yes, the flight of the Concorde is great, but the real significance of this production comes later on in the video when Shirley visits Ain Adhari, or the natural spring of Adhari.

The video gradually comes into focus as the music begins to play. Shirley materializes within the gently swaying trees. The breeze causes the sleeves of her silk dress to flutter. Unbeknownst to her, these were winds of change. The spring of Adhari, around which she glides while singing the lyrics to “The Way We Were”, is still. Its water levels would soon decline. The spring would soon be dry.

I like to believe that Shirley could see this future, a future where this place would be transformed beyond recognition. I like to believe that her song choice was site specific, that future generations of Bahrainis would be able to listen to her lament the loss of this place.

In Arabic, the word for ‘spring’ (as in ‘natural spring’) translates to ‘eye’. Our eyes produce water and reflect the images of our loved ones.

All the tears at Adhari have dried.