Canadian Railroad Trilogy - Gordon Lightfoot

Lyrics

Youtube video

If I had to pick an artist for every season, autumn would surely be Gordon Lightfoot. His deep, soothing voice and poetic lyrics take me back to a time in my life when my family and I were able to take vacations in autumn, when it was okay if I missed a couple days of school. I close my eyes, and I think about the long car rides into northern Michigan, when all the leaves are turning bright red and orange, and maybe it's raining, just a little.

Another, personal memory that arises is the time my friends and I went to Chicago. My friend Strider had just gotten interested in Gordon Lightfoot and as we took the train into the city, we tried to recall how this song went - but to no avail. It was one of the few Lightfoot songs that I didn't have on my iPod that trip.

You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon

Lyrics

"You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, and truly the entire "Graceland" album is very special to me. My dad had the Graceland lp, and recorded it onto a casette tape. I only found out much later that he had accidentally recorded side two before side one.

The tape started off with "You Can Call Me Al," with its distinctive trumpet and synthesizer background. We listened to this tape everywhere - vacations, trips to the store....We had it before my brothers were born, and continued to listen to it after they were. I remember all three of us bouncing in the backseat, singing along to the song, and all the other songs on the album. Good times.

We still have the tape somewhere, but now I have the entire album on iTunes. How technology has changed, just in the last ten years!

Overture - Andrew Lloyd Webber

When I say "Overture", I am of course referring to the Overture from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera." It's funny, I was just talking about Phantom with Strider yesterday.

The Phantom of the Opera has always held fascination for me, ever since I first heard "Music of the Night" on a commercial break on 104.3 WOMC radio. I always thought, "That's such a beautiful song, I wonder what the rest of the play sounds like."

When I found out my godparents owned the two-disc set, I asked if I could borrow it. So I did - and I think I kept it for about a year (accidentally!) until they bought me my own set for my birthday.

The way the prologue leads into the overture just gives me chills.

Auctioneer, speaking of the chandelier: "Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of so many years ago with a little illumination. Gentlemen!" And this huge, rich, dark organ sound fills your ears.

It got even better when I saw the movie. The transition of a dusty, cobweb-laden chandelier being lit and all the antiquity of the stage being blown away, the torches flaring into life... spectacular. And then later, when we were in marching band, we played Phantom of the Opera for our opening sequence. True, the flutes didn't have the best parts, but it was still fun.

Phantom of the Opera is definitely on my list of "must see on stage." I want to be in the audience when that chandelier swings down. Not to mention wanting to hear Michael Crawford's beautiful singing voice.

Caribbean Blue - Enya

Lyrics

"Caribbean Blue" by Enya takes me back to my house in Berkley, when I was a little girl. My mom and dad would be working on their computers, and dad would have the Shepherd Moons Enya album playing. I would be on the floor, or at the huge drafting desk, maybe tracing something on the light table or coloring a sheet of Batman logos or mermaids my dad had drawn for me and printed out on the computer.

When I need some inspiring, relaxing music, I play Enya music. Caribbean Blue, with its layers upon layers of full rich sound and slightly aquatic tonality is great to draw, read or do homework by. And the music video is pretty cool too.

I Will Play a Rhapsody - Burton Cummings

Thus begins my Rhapsody project. Every other day, or every week (I haven't made up my mind which), I will put my iTunes on shuffle. I will write about the first song that comes up, and what it means to me.

Today is the song my blog is named after - "I Will Play a Rhapsody" by Burton Cummings, formerly the lead singer of The Guess Who. Lyrics

The first time I heard this song was on my way to a flute lesson. My mom was driving, and we put the CD in. I remember she said that this was one of her favourite songs by Burton Cummings. I particularly remember her mentioning how he harmonized with himself near the song's end, and when I listened for it, found it very pleasing to the ear.

So this song always reminds me of the car ride to my flute teacher's, and the time spent with my mom listening to music we both enjoyed. Burton Cummings has since been one of my favourites.