Thursday, November 10, 2011

Gordon Lightfoot & Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald

10 November, on this date in 1975 an ore carrier, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a November storm, taking the lives of all 29 crew members. Later that month, Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, inspired by an article in Newsweek Magazine, wrote Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald .



That's not his most famous song though, at least it wasn't in the UK. I'd never heard of it until my husband mentioned it, in passing, one day. Early Morning Rain and If You Could Read My Mind are my own Lightfoot favourites.

Gordon Lightfoot, born 17 November 1938 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada with Sun in Scorpio, along with Venus, and Scorpio rising must have felt immediately drawn to the tragic story of death in water. Scorpio is the Fixed Water sign of the zodiac, and with its ruler, Pluto, links to death and darkness.

Even in If You Could Read My Mind he writes of ghosts and chains and darkness - more Scorpionic symbolism! I love this one though.



And ....Ribbon of Darkness - still more dark Scorpio-ness



He's still not exactly joyful in Early Morning Rain, but less dark - here from a 1969 performance -


5 comments:

James Higham said...

I wasn't aware he was still alive. I too hadn't heard this number.

Mokihana Calizar said...

Gordon Lightfoot, still alive and singing deep and dark and purely(mostly) Scorpio. My seaweed roots are loving these tunes ... remembered them all and enjoy them still. Thanks, I breathing in the darkness with the moon rooting in Taurus, and my South Node Scorp ... doing a backstroke.

M

Kaleymorris said...

My favorite Gordon Lightfoot tune.
http://youtu.be/962Aw_pxKrM

Twilight said...

James, Mokihana & Pete

Hi all - thank you for your comments. :-)

Yes, GL seems to be wearing well.

(I have N.Node Scorpio - maybe that's why Scorp singers and songwriters, and writers appeal to me so much)

Twilight said...

Kaleymorris ~~ Hi!

Thanks for the link. Am on laptop with crappy sound - will listen properly at home. title not familiar though.

(We're "pickin" for the weeknd in East Texas -Mineola/Gladewarer/Winnsboro area)
Also up for
a bit of leaf-peepin' Trees looking good in spite of the drought it seems to have been good for fall colour production, at least!