Ephemera: Ballads
Today is the anniversary of the sinking
On Nov. 10, 1975 the Great Lakes ship S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank…
The rock music and folk music of the ‘60s had morphed into a flood of ballads. Helen Reddy, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, Gordon Lightfoot, Don McLean, Bobbie Gentry, Vicki Lawrence, they all had ballads. Every time you turned on the radio someone was singing a story. And the combination of words and music made the full story stick in your head.
I have to wonder if ballads influenced my writing as much as punk music did.
And, yes, ballads are near impossible to dance to. One brain center atrophies while another hypertrophies.
Love me a good story song, and unintentionally wrote a lot of them.
I applaud your knowledge of Canadian history! They don't even teach that here (on Planet Canada) in our history classes; we only listen to the same song by our "legend" Gordon Lightfoot as you do. At least in Quebec, which doesn't want to know much about the Rest of Canada.
Hi from Isolation btw. My husband and I tested positive for C19 on Sunday (we're newbies, it's our first time!!). At least we got to enjoy our vacation.
Rest assured that my husband and I both feel fine. I'm grateful to be able to work, and knowing that I might not have full capacity at any time is quite the motivator to get as much work done while I can (but it's been a steady upturn in symptoms).
PS I like "If you could read my mind" (also Lightfoot) better