Showing posts with label Pink Floyd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pink Floyd. Show all posts

Saturday, September 06, 2008

David Gilmour & "On the Turning Away"

I can't pretend to be a Pink Floyd fan, in general their style wasn't "my cup of tea". I guess I'm basically square in musical preferences. However, there is one song of theirs which I like a lot: "On the Turning Away", co-written and sung by David Gilmour.


Finding information on David Gilmour, as a person, rather than as a rock star isn't easy. Interviews concentrate mainly on his concerts and his music, rather than highlighting what kind of man he is.

There's a question mark over his year of birth too. Wikipedia and Astrotheme have it as 1946, but several other sites quote 1944. I wonder if, at some point, David wanted to appear to his fans as a little younger than his real age? I'm sure it's been done before. Or maybe the discrepancy came about from a scribbled date where the final digit could be read as a 4 or a 6.

Born 6 March, in Cambridge, England. The dual chart below shows both versions, 1946 in the center, 1944 in the outer ring. It's interesting to see what a difference two years make. There's no time of birth available, so both are set for 12 noon, which means that ascendant and Moon positions will not be accurate. (Click on image for a clearer view)


Sun in Pisces, along with either Mercury or Venus, depending on the year. Either way, that's a nice slice of imaginative, sensitive Pisces. In both charts Mars and Saturn, two powerful and often said to be challenging planets are close together. Exactly conjoined in 1944, in Gemini. Three degrees apart, in Cancer, in 1946. In what little personal information about David I've come across, from transcripts of interviews, he has said that he is shy. He's described as "a quiet man". He has admitted that, on occasion, he has felt very nervous in front of an audience, so much so that, in one film of a concert, his fingers could be seen trembling on the guitar strings! That describes emphasis on Cancer more than Gemini, so tends to favour 1946 as year of birth. As for those conjoined planets, Mars and Saturn, rather than offering challenge, I think in this case they reflect his energy - as seen in performances on stage, and resourcefulness. David has said that he is very keen to get and give value for money - that's a Saturnian trait

"We don't like to cut corners obviously. Things are very expensive and it's very easy to misdirect you money, and put an awful lot of money into something that isn't what I would call cost effective"

In the 1946 chart Mars/Saturn in Cancer trine (120*)Sun and Venus in Pisces. This is a soft Watery harmony, helping to negate any destructive tendencies from that Mars/Saturn conjunction.

Another plus for the 1946 chart is Neptune in Libra opposite Mercury (communications planet) in Aries - creativity and imagination from Neptune, with energy from Aries to bring it to the fore. As Neptune rules his Pisces Sun, this ties in well.

The song which started me on this tack? "On the Turning Away", lyrics written by David Gilmour, Pink Floyd's guitarist/vocalist, and Anthony Moore. The music reminds me of a traditional Celtic melody.

There are lots of YouTube videos of live versions of this song, but my choice is a video which, rather than showing the musicians, concentrates on the lyrics.




"On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we wont understand
Dont accept that whats happening
Is just a case of others suffering
Or youll find that youre joining in
The turning away

Its a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that were all alone
In the dream of the proud

On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night

No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
Its not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that therell be
No more turning away?"

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Eclipsed

We stood outside on the driveway watching as the lunar eclipse became total, around ten minutes to five. It was a beautiful sight. We had a grandstand view, and were the only humans around apart from a lady walking her elderly Dalmation.

With regard to the Moon, and eclipses in general, I have noticed that my life has seemed to move to a cyclic rhythm, in tune with my natal lunar nodes, and pre-natal eclipse (Taurus/Scorpio) - this could be due entirely, or in part, to the fact that Uranus (Sun's ruler) is conjunct South node, so this pattern may not be the same for everybody. What I have not noticed, though, are any significant events arising from eclipses which touched natal planets or points, other than the nodal ones. I guess this is just my personal pattern.

Today's lunar eclipse occurred in my relocated first house (natal 9th house), 2 degrees from natal Jupiter. I'll remain watchful over the coming weeks, just in case I can identify anything eclipse-related.

A past eclipse that I remember particularly well was on 4 May 2004. A Lunar Eclipse at 14.42 Scorpio, just one degree from my natal North node of the Moon. When arranging for our civil marriage, I noticed that the proposed date I'd given the Registrar (back in England) was the date of that eclipse! After researching electional astrology with regard to weddings, I decided that this would never do. I went back, feeling a little sheepish, to ask to amend the date, and gave my reason. The Registrar sighed and smiled wanly as I uneasily whispered, "We don't want any bad luck, do we?" We were wed on 30 April that year, and things worked out well. That was one eclipse that changed my life - and how !

In honour of the current eclipse season, here's a video I found on YouTube -"Eclipse" by Pink Floyd, with added graphics - I couldn't have done it better myself !