It's a wonderful song. I've always felt that Lightfoot had to have been heavily influenced by the true life story of Canada Steamships Line's "Noronic" that burned in Toronto Harbour in 1949 with 119 deaths.
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The Impact of Lightfoot
Yea maybe, that'd make a lot of sense - though there's a long tradition of Canadian songs about ships. Must be the east coast influence that permeated folk music at the time (and has continued to). This was continued of course, in a consummate way by later writers such as Stan Rogers. In a lot of the places I play, I get regular requests for "ship" tunes, even from landlocked young people from the west or even from Ontario - peope who maybe go to the beaches of the Great Lakes or have seen the locks of St. Catharines but have never even seen a laker or a schooner up close. As for Lightfoot, he came from Orillia, what maritime tradition could he have absorbed firsthand? Interesting he latched onto those kinds of songs. Again, must be the east coast Romance.
I like them too. Ghosts of Cape Horn is a big favourite of mine and of course there is Marie Christine from the same era as Yarmouth Castle.
Yes, Stan Rogers. Another favourite of mine. Great songs and what a voice. I'm really big on "Tiny Fish For Japan"! Is Garnet still out there? We used to see him fairly regularly in Toronto but I've not heard his name lately.
Yes, Stan Rogers. Another favourite of mine. Great songs and what a voice. I'm really big on "Tiny Fish For Japan"! Is Garnet still out there? We used to see him fairly regularly in Toronto but I've not heard his name lately.
Yes, Garnet is indeed still out there. I run into him occasionally at a mutual luthier friend's shop. He does alot of his own guitar work using this fellow's tools -he is sometimes mistaken as an employee! I think he kind of likes that. He's still making music too, in fact he's been very active musically over the last few years.
"And if we want to eat fish, wwe'll just open a can..."
"And if we want to eat fish, wwe'll just open a can..."