Music Monday ~ Eva, Sting, Jimmy, Fragile Fields and Shipyards

Today would have been the birthday of Eva Cassidy, who left us way too soon in 1996. Here she sings Fields of Gold written by Sting (aka Gordon Sumner).



Another of Sting's best, sung by himself: Fragile

I was sorry, but not surprised, when Sting's new stage show, The Last Ship , didn't do well on Broadway. It's a musical based on a story of North-East England's famous shipbuilding area on the River Tyne, and its decline. People in the USA will be mostly unaware of such calamities, though there are probably US equivalents. The flavour of England's Tyneside is unique though, and understood best by those who call that area home. Most of Britain is aware of its story and holds the region in affection, even though the local Geordie accent often confuses us.

When The Last Ship opened, Jimmy Nail played the leading role; I understand that Sting took over the lead later, in order to boost ticket sales, and provide name recognition.

Jimmy Nail has long been a favourite of mine. He wrote a song in 1995 on a similar theme to The Last Ship's story. I have always loved his song, Big River, and his own rendition of it. I'm not a Tynesider, I was born some 150 miles straight south of the River Tyne, in a city on the Humber estuary. Even so, this song never fails to bring a lump to my throat.

Internet Trail: Norma Rae - Songs - Tears - Appoggiatura

"I like the trail that the Internet created. For example, I was watching one of those Douglas Sirk movies, and I noticed that Rock Hudson towered over everyone, and I typed in "How tall was" and I saw "How tall was Jesus," and I'm like, "Sure," and half an hour later you're somewhere you didn't expect to be. It doesn't work that same way in books, does it? Even if you have an encyclopedia, the trail isn't that crazy. I like that aspect of it."
(David Sedaris, Bohemian.com interview, June 2009.)

An internet trail, the other day, took an unexpected turn, and found what I hadn't been seeking, as well as my original goal. Initial intent was to read the lyrics of a background song from a film seen on Turner Classic Movie channel the previous evening: Norma Rae- excellent film, by the way. They should have cloned the woman upon whom Norma Rae's character was based and stored the clones - 'til now - the country could use a few enthusiastic, "won't take no for an answer" union organisers!

The song I was seeking, sung by Jennifer Warnes behind the movie credits, is It Goes Like it Goes, written by David Shire and Norman Gimbel. The only version by Jennifer Warnes at YouTube is this one, heard behind 1979 Oscar nominations; this song won Best Original Song that year.



Chorus:
So it goes like it goes
Like the river flows
And time it rolls right on
And maybe what's good gets a little bit better
And maybe what's bad gets gone.

That's something we can all hope for!

Anyway, having found that song I veered off for some reason I can't recall and came upon some blog posts/articles and conversations about a musical device known as "appoggiatura". (See one of them here.) The device is used by composers to elicit emotion in the listener. It is a type of ornamental note which clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound, and is thought to somehow generate tension within the listener. In other words, appoggiatura is what puts the tear in a tearjerker song. The song mainly being discussed in this case was Adele's Someone Like You. I didn't know the song - it's linked via its title here. Although I usually enjoy Adele's singing, her tearjerker factor, for my taste, is a little weak, in spite of any appoggiatura.

Music is therapeutic, most of us find it calming and comforting when feeling distressed or just plain old miserable. It would be no surprise to those who study ancient history and mythology that sound waves, and that's what music is after all, have a power all their own.Some claim that music has actual healing qualities. Ancient Greek god, Apollo, as well as having connection to light, the sun, truth and prophecy, also had within his portfolio healing, music and poetry - so there's an ancient connection between healing and music. Early tribes used the rhythm of a drumbeat or other instrument to bring about physical, or psychological, response. Sound waves, rhythms, wavelengths - entities only partially understood by our still puny intelligence. Timing and the cyclic rhythm of planetary cycles....there's that too, the "music of the spheres".

Tearjerkers which almost always work on me, appoggiatura or no appoggiatura, are many; the two below were first to pop into my mind. They're not heartbreaky-misery-crying-in-your-beer songs, though. There's something in Mark Knopfler's guitar and Jimmy Nail's voice that can flick the tear switch; maybe both have a naturally inbuilt appoggiatura ?

Big River - written and sung by Jimmy Nail, here accompanied by Mark Knopfler. It has me bawling every time, and I'm not even from Newcastle-on-Tyne, the city that's the subject of the song !



Speaking of Mark Knopfler - in an especially dramatic episode of The West Wing a piece from his Brothers In Arms was used in the background - that brought a tear or two to my eyes.



(Wipes eyes).

Music Monday ~ Pisces, Neptune/Pluto Generation, Townes Van Zandt, Jimmy Nail, Nostalgia.

Two singer/songwriters (and in one case, /actor) with Sun in Pisces came to mind via a kind of chain reaction. March 7, this Wednesday, would have been the birthday of Texan singer/wongwriter Townes Van Zandt. One of his songs, Pancho & Lefty, is a favourite of mine, when feeling country-ish. Searching YouTube for another of his songs to feature, I noticed his version of Dirty Old Town. Huh? That song, another longtime favourite and one that sends pangs of homesick feelings through my bones, was written by Ewan MacColl about the northern English city of Salford. Strange to hear it being sung by an American artist, and a Texan at that! Townes Van Zandt must have admired the song and managed to infuse a different flavour into it, but for me, his cannot equal the songwriter's own version, featured in a post last year - SEE HERE.

Listening again to Dirty Old Town had me longing to hear another homesicky song - one written and sung by actor/singer/songwriter Jimmy Nail: Big River, then I realised that Nail, born 16 March, also has Sun in Pisces.

Pisces probably rules nostalgia, and mild melancholia - homesickness. Several songs of both artists have that in common. I wasn't born in either Salford or Newcastle-on-Tyne (the Big River), but in another northern city on a river: Hull. I suspect that this kind of nostalgia is common to all English northerners (and Scots, and the Irish) when far from home.

These two guys, Townes Van Zandt and Jimmy Nail, born 5,000+ miles, 9 days and 10 years apart, have few things astrologically in common apart from their Sun and Mercury in Pisces, and the fact that neither has any planet in Earth signs. Without access to their times of birth I've set the charts at 12 noon. Both guys' natal Moons were at 21 Leo at noon; natal Moon of both would have to be somewhere in the second half of show-bizzy Leo, whatever their times of birth.

Townes Van Zandt, born into a wealthy Texas oil family fell into severe drug addiction and alcoholism early on, died, too soon, at age 52 .

Jimmy Nail was born in Newcastle-on-tyne, in the north east of England, best-known for his acting roles in TV series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Spender; seen in the movie Evita playing the part of Magaldi. He has around half a dozen cd albums to his name and his autobiography, A Northern Soul, was published in 2005.






Why one of these guys would fall into a swamp of addiction and suffer an untimely death wasn't clear to me from his chart initially. However, there's a configuration astrologers call a Yod (Finger of Fate) in Van Zandt's chart. It links Neptune and Pluto in sextile (60*) both planets link to Mercury via quincunx (150*) aspect.

The Neptune/Pluto sextile is a generational one, it'll be common to all born between (roughly) 1943 and 1956 with Neptune in Libra and Pluto in Leo transiting at around 60* apart. This is the generation who came to maturity in the 1960s, Van Zandt was one of the avant garde of that highly creative group, many of whose lives did, eventually and sadly end due to overwhelming addictions. Astrological Neptune connects to addictive tendencies, Pluto to darkness and death.

Bear in mind that Neptune is ruler of Pisces where both guys' Natal Sun and Mercury were at the time of their birth, making Neptune highly significant in the life patterns of these two artists.

Nail was born in one of the last years of that same Neptune/Pluto generation. His chart also has the Yod, in his case it links to his natal Sun - but - perhaps here's the big difference: Nail has a Grand Trine involving Neptune too: Neptune/Jupiter/Mercury. Could it be, I wonder, that this harmonious link of Mercury to benign Jupiter and creative Neptune has outweighed, or at least balanced Neptune's sextile to Pluto in Nail's life pattern, diluting the potential of Pluto's negativity? Just a thought.


And

RIP Davy Jones.

Music Monday ~ Valentines by Ewan MacColl & Jimmy Nail

Something a wee bit different, Valentine-wise, for this Music Monday, 14 February ~~love songs, of course - but love songs to places. Americans have hundreds of 'em. Off the top of my head (or my husband's head):
I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Oklahoma, Chicago, New York, New York, Deep in the Heart of Texas, Moonlight in Vermont, Rocky Mountain High, America The Beautiful.....and so many others.

The Scots and Irish, great wanderers and exiles, are past masters at writing love songs to places, filled with longing and nostalgia. The English, not so much. But two love songs about places in England spring to mind, because these are among my all-time favourite songs: Dirty Old Town and Big River.

Dirty Old Town was written by Ewan MacColl "dangerous radical" (astrology follows) in 1957 about the city of Salford, as it was then. It's a city close to Manchester in the north of England. Big River was written and sung by Jimmy Nail about the River Tyne, and his hometown Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the north-east of England. I can't hear either of these songs without a lump in my throat and a tear or two. I'm a northern gal myself and have a soft spot for all the cities of northern England. I was born in one of 'em but nobody has written a song about Hull, as far as I know.


Dirty Old Town. The original lyrics included a reference to Salford ("I smelled the spring on the Salford wind") but "Salford" was replaced by "smoky" later, due either to pressure from Salford municipal authorities or by the numerous Irish groups and singers (eg: Dubliners, Pogues) who hi-jacked the song. Many now suppose it was written about an Irish city.

In spite of a rather bitter tinge to the lyrics, I still see it as a love song, not only to Salford but to all cities, especially northern English cities as they used to be, once upon a time - grimy from smoky factories, and with a distinctly down-trodden feel.

The old, original version of Dirty Old Town sung by Ewan MacColl and his 3rd wife Peggy Seeger (half-sister of Pete Seeger). I love the great jazzy accompaniment, quite unexpected! (Other, Irish-tinged, versions available at YouTube.)

And
Big River by Jimmy Nail, who is primarily an actor with some hit UK TV series under his belt: Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and Spender for example. He had a couple of hit singles too, and played the role of Agustín Magaldi in the movie Evita.

I've always considered that Jimmy Nail is vastly under-valued and under-used. It's a pity we don't see and hear more of him. He was born on 16 March 1954 by the way - Sun and Mercury in Watery Pisces, so appropriate that he wrote this love song to a river!

BACK TO EWAN MACCOLL
Ewan MacColl, who wrote Dirty Old Town, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and hundreds of folk songs, was born on 25 January 1915 in Salford, England.

MacColl was a political activist, socialist, prolific songwriter and poet with links to the theatre through his first wife Joan Littlewood. He was father of singer Kirsty MacColl who died in a tragic accident in 2000.

The UK Independentnewspaper, in 2006, reported that (HERE) that:

Ewan MacColl, the celebrated folk musician and father of singer Kirsty, was tracked by the security services for more than 20 years on the grounds he was a dangerous radical. Top-secret files released today, which date back to 1932, reveal that Special Branch even kept watch on the Manchester home that he shared with his first wife Joan Littlewood, the celebrated theatre director and actress.

The plays and concerts staged by the high-profile couple, who were both ardent members of the Communist Party, were also closely monitored in a bid to establish that the pair were spreading extremist propaganda.

The MI5 documents, now made public by the National Archives, also reveal that the BBC banned the MacColls from taking part in broadcasts because of their Communist connections.

A hero for the common man, Ewan MacColl - real name James Henry Miller - influenced generations of dramatists and performers with his protest ballads and subversive plays.

The chart is set for 12 noon. Rising sign and Moon position will not be accurate.


A clip from biographical detail written by Peggy Seeger allows us some insight into the kind of guy he was. (See here for complete piece)

There were two Ewan MacColls, the id and the ego: the man he was and the man he wanted to be: The first was all feelings, vulnerable and insecure, the boy who wanted to go unnoticed in school; who was convinced that his ears were bigger and more prominent than Dumbo's; who wrote "Nobody Knew She Was There" but could not hug his mother; who was terrified of physical violence yet who believed that real social change was impossible without it; who knew he was talented and was frightened of not doing justice to that talent and to his class; the one whose last years were tormented by a sense of failure. This persona would surface in times of inebriation (rare), stress (chiefly in his later years) and illness (periodic and finally chronic).

The second man was the thinker. He walked with a little strut, like a wee hard man, a man who always made sure that he was the centre of attention in any group; who had a unique way, at a social gathering, of homing in on and isolating anyone he wanted particularly to talk to; who needed to be an authority on every subject; who was convinced that he could write a play or song about anything (which he could); who wanted to live a middle-class life and still be considered working-class; who gave the impression, even while feeling he was a failure, that he was living a happy old age. Persona #2 was well aware of Persona #1 and kept the latter in check.

He was given to exaggeration and sometimes one doubted whether he really knew the truth about certain matters upon which he was confidently holding forth. He would learn something about a subject, then expound on that area of knowledge as if he knew all about the whole subject. This tendency to expand and decorate facts and to employ his verbal weaponry selectively could irritate both family and friends but it often benefited his songwriting.

Hearty chuckles followed as I pulled up his natal chart! Of course the man was a radical - what else could he have been with Sun in Aquarius conjunct Uranus (ruler of Aquarius)- not only that it's part of a cluster spanning 4 to 27 degrees of Aquarius: Sun/Uranus/Mercury/Jupiter. There are people born in February 1962 with globs of Aquarius planets, but they don't have Uranus in Aquarius, so do not have the same driving force towards radicalism.

In the extract above it is said that he was given to exaggeration - Jupiter planet of exaggeration (and publication) is part of the Aquarius stellium; also Venus (planet of the arts including music) in Sagittarius the Jupter ruled sign adds an extra layer of excess to the mix.

I can't help but notice how clearly Peggy Seeger's words describe this man's astrological indications. Even his "two sides" can be linked to two oppositions
:Sun/Mars opposed by Neptune and Venus opposed by Saturn. The creative vulnerable side represented by Neptune and Venus opposed respectively by the rationality of Saturn and the Aquarius planets.

It's a pity there's no birth time available. Natal Moon could be in either late Taurus or, if born at 2:00PM or later in early Gemini. His writing/communication skills lead to Gemini, but equally Venus-ruled Taurus relates to music - so it's a toss-up!



Oh, go on then...a proper love song....to a person, for Valentine's Day -

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - a version sung by Roberta Flack, for me it's the definitive. However, the song's composer Ewan MacColl reportedly hated this, and all other cover versions of his beautiful song. According to some sources it was written in 1957 for his long-time live-in partner (later to become his 3rd wife) Peggy Seeger, half-sister of the legendary American folk singer Pete Seeger. The Flack version is much slower, and twice as long as the original: