Today we have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music. Music that is destined to continue inspiring future generations, may his legacy live on forever. He was one of my favorites when I was growing up. “Sometimes I think it's a shame When I get feeling better, when I'm feeling no pain."
What was my favorite? "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald;" a cargo ship made famous by one of Gordon’s songs.As a former sailor myself, this is the most haunting song I've ever listened to."Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?" These lyrics give me chills every time I hear them; in a few words he fully captured human helplessness and awe of facing nature's immense power. He wrote it to honor all those regular men, who suffered a horrific death while they were just doing their everyday job. Let us all pause to remember and give thanks for the everyday working people, those people we never see or think of who make our own lives easier by their labor and sacrifices. Sailors, soldiers, truckers, longshoremen, farmers, pilots, firefighters, nurses, teachers, veterinarians, caregivers... So many people who are on the fronlines of life yet in the background, working hard, just struggling to survive and take care of their families and others while doing good things in this life.
Gordon Lightfoot - "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" - Chicago - 1979
Another one of my Gorden favorites is Sundown. It became a hit while I was in the Navy. I always thought it was about houses of ill repute and what goes on in them.
I can see her lying back in her satin dress In a room where you do what you don't confess
Sundown, you better take care If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs Sundown, you better take care If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
She's been looking like a queen in a sailor's dream And she don't always say what she really means
Sometimes I think it's a shame When I get feeling better, when I'm feeling no pain Sometimes I think it's a shame When I get feeling better, when I'm feeling no pain
I can picture every move that a man could make Getting lost in her loving is your first mistake
Sundown, you better take care If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs Sometimes I think it's a sin When I feel like I'm winning, when I'm losing again
I can see her looking fast in her faded jeans She's a hard-loving woman, got me feeling mean
Sometimes I think it's a shame When I get feeling better, when I'm feeling no pain
Sundown, you better take care If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sundown, you better take care If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sometimes I think it's a sin When I feel like I'm winning, when I'm losing again
One of the things I disliked about the Navy was that every port, especially those overseas, were inhabited by folks whose only reason for living was to take a sailor's dollar. It was easy because the sailor was away from home no one knew him; therefore he could get away with doing things he wouldn't do in his home port.
After several months a sea without a break a sailor's thoughts turn to beer and women, not the kind you would find in a Church, more like a queen in a sailor's dream. Those queens are normally found in a room where you do what you don't confess. Even though you know she don't always say what she really means, you know she's a hard-loving woman, that's got you feeling mean. Yet, sometimes you think it's a sin when you feel like you're winning, when you'rs losing again.
It's hard to keep your morals when there's nothing but decadence around you. This is one of the things that civilians don't understand about life at sea. The attitudes, feelings, thoughts and urges a sailor has after many months at sea without a break in the action. I guess that's why there's so much decadence in overseas ports.
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