Gordon Lightfoot

by RAYZORBLADE 54 Replies latest social entertainment

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  SafeAtHome

  Hey RAYZORBLADE, you still around? Had to add to your thread from 12 years ago. Saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert last week in Akron Ohio. My daughter had tickets and took her old mom who has always been a fan. She is 28 but loves all the music from my young years, especially The Beatles. Man, I had no idea he had been so ill. What a toll it took! I can't believe he is still touring. Please remember, I have always been a hugh Lightfoot fan, but my goodness, it was painful to watch. You could barely hear him and he had to stop several times to use an inhaler. Don't get me wrong, even so I am thrilled to have seen him in person. I only wish I would have seen him in the 70's when he had the voice we hear on the old records.

  Went to my library and got all the Lightfoot CDs they had and noticed his voice started to go even before his illness in 2002. But my goodness, his lyrics send chills. He has to be one of the greatest in that department. His band was awesome, played so he wasn't totally drowned out. And he looks so thin and frail, would never have recognized him if someone would have asked who he was. Anyway, just wanted to say Hi and share my experience. YouTube has a few posts from the Akron concert if anyone wants to see what I am referring to, as far as his condition, etc. As I said even with that, I am happy I went to be in the presence of such an iconic talent. Thank You Canada!
  
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  Prefect

  Another great Gordon Lightfoot ballad about a ship.

  Ballad Of Yarmouth Castle

  Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon
  And the anchors have been weighed
  From Miami to Nassau
  She's bound across the waves
  She'll be headin' south through Biscayne Bay
  Into the open sea
  Yarmouth Castle, she's a-dyin' and don't know it
  Now the many years she's been to sea
  She's seen the better times
  She gives a groan of protest
  As they cast away her lines
  And the grumble of her engines
  And the rust along her spine
  Tells the Castle she's too old to be sailin'
  But the sands run out within her heart
  A tiny spark glows red
  It smolders through the evening
  There's laughter overhead
  Now the dinner's served and the cards are dealt
  And the drinks are passed around
  Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'
  Now it's midnight on the open sea
  And the moon is shinin' bright
  Some people join the party
  And others say goodnight
  There's many who are sleepin' now
  It's been a busy day
  And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'
  "Oh Lord," she groans, "I'm burning
  Let someone understand"
  But her silent plea is wasted
  In the playin' of the band
  Everybody's dancin' on her deck
  And they're havin' such a time
  And a voice says, "Shut up and deal, I'm losin'"
  Deep within the Yarmouth Castle
  The fire begins to glow
  It leaps into the hallways
  And climbs and twists and grows
  And the paint she wore to keep her young
  Oh Lord, how well it burns
  And soon that old fire is a-ragin'
  Up beneath the bridge it's climbin' fast
  The captain stands aloft
  He calls up to the boatswain, says
  "Boatswain, we are lost"
  For the ragged hoses in the racks
  No pressure do they hold
  And the people down below will soon be dyin'
  All amidships, oh she's blazin' now
  It's spreadin' fore and aft
  The people are a-scramblin'
  As the fire blocks their path
  The evil smoke surrounds them
  And they're fallin' in their tracks
  And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'
  Oh then the ship, Bahama Star
  Comes steamin' through the night
  She sees the Castle blazin'
  And 'tis a terrible sight
  "Jump down, jump down", the captain cries
  "We'll save you if we can"
  Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'
  "God help the ones who sleep below
  And cannot find the way
  Thank God for those we rescue
  Upon this awful day"
  Now the heroes, they are many
  But the times are growin' slim
  And now from stern to bow, she's a-blazin'
  Oh the Yarmouth Castle's moanin'
  She's cryin' like a child
  You can hear her if you listen
  Above the roar so wild
  Is she cryin' for the ones who lie
  Within her molten sides?
  Or cryin' for herself, I'm a-wonderin'
  But the livin' soon were rescued
  The ones who lived to tell
  From the Star they watched her
  As she died there in the swells
  Like a toy ship on a mill pond
  She burned all through the night
  Then slipped beneath the waves in the mornin'
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  SafeAtHome

  Prefect: Just listened to it on YouTube then read the story on Wiki. Man, that ship was a disaster waiting to happen. Got familiar with several Lightfoot songs I didn't remember from the library cds and just downloaded about 30 onto my mp3. Can't get over how he looks now, he was so entirely HOT in the 70's, but then. weren't we all? (Well those of us who were around in the 70's )
  
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  Prefect

  SafeAtHome

  Yes. Time catches up with us all.
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  Kensei01

  Hey Razorblade!! How are things pal? I love ol Gordie too. All of his music is excellent. Hope your having a good one pal.

  Kensei
  
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  LisaRose

  I love his music, my husband is a huge fan also. Whenever we see singer guitarists playing that kind of music my husband will ask them to play the Edmund Fitzgerald, but they usually can't because it's too hard.
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  SafeAtHome

  I was hoping Rayzorblade would see my post, I think he is still around. Listening to all the cds I got from the library I've discovered several new favorites. Of course I love the ones that were popular here in the states, the ones everyone is familiar with, but now I LOVE Baby Step Back, Race Among the Ruins, Did She Mention My Name, I'm Not Supposed to Care and Song for a Winter's Night. Can't get enough of Gordon right now!
  
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  Pete Zahut

  When I was in Bethel there was a particularly cold and bitter winter where we hit below zero weather for several weeks. I remember seeing from my window on those frozen mornings, the big freighters coming up the frozen Hudson river, breaking through the thick ice and seeing it peel back from the bow as they plowed toward their destination. More than once the "Wreck of the Edmon Fitzgerald " was playing on my radio in the background and to this day, that is the vision I have whenever I hear that song.
  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DUFPNILvM

  
  

  ON A MORE CHEERFUL NOTE....

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojaGcRRGVWI
  
  
  
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  dropoffyourkeylee

  The Edmund Fitzgerald has a lot of words and is difficult to remember. Few singers would know all the words to be able to perform it on request.
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  SafeAtHome

  Thanks Pete, I don't know how to link like that. In November it will be 40 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. Of course he sang that at the concert last week and although he is 76 and frail, he made it through all the lyrics. I would love to go to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Michigan, I looked it up on the map and it is waaaaaay the heck up there, 8 1/2 hours from me. It would be a gorgeous drive in the fall though. They have one of the lifeboats from the Fitzgerald.