Watching cities rise before me, then behind me sink again

[sovay]

At first we couldn't figure out why there would be mounted Boston police in front of the Omni Parker House on Tremont Street, especially in company of city officials and Mounties in dress uniform. Then we couldn't figure out why Boston Common was covered with crowds and corporate sponsors and considerably more in the way of security. spatch confirmed that it was Saint Andrew's Day, which maybe accounted for all the pipers, but maybe not. The penny finally dropped that we were attending the annual lighting of the Boston Christmas tree, this year commemorating the centenary of the Halifax Explosion and the aid Boston extended, in recompense for which the province of Nova Scotia gifted the city of Boston a significant tree for Christmas in 1918 and has continued the tradition every year since 1971. We watched the ceremony open with a performance by American and Canadian pipers and then there was a lot of Christmas pop and smokers behind us wherever we went and there seemed an insufficient percentage of CanCon in the festivities (I would have led with both national anthems, not just ours—it's an international event, come on) and the tree-lighting itself was an hour and half away and Rob got tired of me shouting "Just sing 'Northwest Passage'!" so we caught the Red Line from Park Street and fed the cats as soon as we got home and made biscuits for ourselves with milk gravy and the ground goat we had bought earlier that evening at the public market, a life decision I can enthusiastically recommend. And maybe there was more from Nova Scotia and less from Boston later on, but I think we would have needed to plan to spend the evening on Boston Common to find out. Here is Nathan Rogers singing "Northwest Passage" with Dry Bones in 2014. I hope people in this city remember the origins of their tree.

Comments

[cmcmck]

That is such a fine song.

I heard Stan do it many years ago and it has never left me!

[sovay]

I heard Stan do it many years ago and it has never left me!

I can understand that! I never heard Stan Rogers live that I know of, but I grew up on a number of his songs, and "Northwest Passage" was one of them.

[coraline]

My mother just sent me this:
https://shar.es/1M2n3A

and said "This is the most complete account that I have ever read. Your grandmother was four months old and her father, a deep sea diver, was on a boat in the harbour at this time." (Said grandmother and two of her sisters later emigrated to MA...)

[asakiyume]

Just read this--thank you for the link; it's wonderful!

Did your great-grandfather survive the explosion?

[sovay]

"This is the most complete account that I have ever read. Your grandmother was four months old and her father, a deep sea diver, was on a boat in the harbour at this time."

I didn't know that about your family!

I hope your great-grandfather was all right.

[coraline]

I didn't (consciously) know this about my family either! (I knew that there was some connection, but family history, especially on that side, is handed down in fragmentary, sporadic and emotionally fraught ways).
I don't actually know how my great-grandfather fared -- I want to say he was deafened but survived but I'm not entirely certain. Maybe I"ll get to ask someday :}

[sovay]

(I knew that there was some connection, but family history, especially on that side, is handed down in fragmentary, sporadic and emotionally fraught ways).

It looks as though your grandmother would not have been the only Haligonian to move to Massachusetts in the aftermath of the explosion. I hope there is a way to find out the rest of the story someday.

[asakiyume]

I read this last night and said to Wakanomori, "Did you know that Boston extended aid after the Halifax explosion?" and he *did* and rattled off all this info, and I looked at him flabbergasted and asked how he knew, and he mentioned that it had been covered when we visited the Citadel fort.

I never pay enough attention!

Anyway, what a great thing to have stumbled upon.

Hmmm, I need to import a winter icon.

[sovay]

Anyway, what a great thing to have stumbled upon.

We were really happy to run into it, even if we couldn't stay. I knew the general lines of the story—spatch knew more details of the explosion than I did—but it took a moment to make the connection. Neither of us had realized it had been a hundred years.

Hmmm, I need to import a winter icon.

One of your photographs?

[asakiyume]

This one from LJ will do (and it is one of my photos)

Cancon

[lauradi7dw]

I watched parts of it on TV. There was a band from Nova Scotia near the end. The lead singer remarked that not only was it their first gig in Boston, it was their first outside of Canada. There were camera shots of the family from whose farm the tree came, and a promise from the NS politician to return next year. Some of the other performers were very local (like the Boston Pops Gospel Choir, which I didn't know existed).

Re: Cancon

[sovay]

There was a band from Nova Scotia near the end. The lead singer remarked that not only was it their first gig in Boston, it was their first outside of Canada. There were camera shots of the family from whose farm the tree came, and a promise from the NS politician to return next year.

I'm glad to hear it!

How was the rest of the music? We did briefly hear two kids doing Christmas hip-hop/rap, who were quite good.

[moon_custafer]

shouting "Just sing 'Northwest Passage'!"

\o/


Thanks, Boston.
Sadly, this reminder came up yesterday that we still have to acknowledge racism in the relief distribution.

[moon_custafer]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-explosion-relief-blacks-unfair-treatment-racism-1.4412528

[sovay]

Thanks, Boston.

I had no ancestors in this city in 1917, but I am pleased that it did the right thing! (I can feel connected through A.C. Ratshesky, who helped found the hospital where I was born. Nicknamed "Cap," to boot.)

Sadly, this reminder came up yesterday that we still have to acknowledge racism in the relief distribution.

That is frustrating and sad and I believe it. Thanks for filling in the picture.

[moon_custafer]

I can’t take much credit — it was only the article that brought it to my attention, even though I’d heard of Africville.

[movingfinger]

Oh, so lucky to be there! One of my great-uncles was present at the explosion---under a pier, working on some dirty job the men didn't want to do!

[sovay]

Oh, so lucky to be there!

It was a wonderful thing to walk into. We could have decided to take a different line home and missed it completely!

One of my great-uncles was present at the explosion---under a pier, working on some dirty job the men didn't want to do!

May I hope that he survived?

[pameladean]

I looked at my reading page last night just before bed, and burst out laughing at your post title, because I was reluctantly tearing myself away from a YouTube extravaganza of different versions of "Northwest Passage." I periodically get a yen to hear a woman or women sing it, but that's a bit hard to find. There is one woman in The Fugitives and I like their version; and there's a slightly alarming one by String Theory, but they botch my favorite line ("this tardiest explorer driving hard across the plain") so that's not as much fun as it should be.

P.

[sovay]

I looked at my reading page last night just before bed, and burst out laughing at your post title, because I was reluctantly tearing myself away from a YouTube extravaganza of different versions of "Northwest Passage."

Excellent!

Nathan Rogers sounds most like his father when he's singing his songs. I like the arrangement I linked on its own merits, but I understand why the comments are full of people talking about possession. He doesn't have the same voice—it's lighter, for one thing—but the timbre and the wire and the growl are the same and he vaults into his upper register the same way. Most of the time I listen to Nathan singing his own music, where the likeness is evident but not uncanny. Then every now and then I run into a video of him singing one of Stan's songs (I'm not sure he's studio-recorded many, which is a legitimate choice) and it leaps out like a face in the dark.

There is one woman in The Fugitives and I like their version; and there's a slightly alarming one by String Theory, but they botch my favorite line ("this tardiest explorer driving hard across the plain") so that's not as much fun as it should be.

What do they do to it?

If we're ever in the same place, if you wish, I will sing "Northwest Passage" for you.

[pameladean]

Nathan Rogers sounds most like his father when he's singing his songs. I like the arrangement I linked on its own merits, but I understand why the comments are full of people talking about possession. He doesn't have the same voice—it's lighter, for one thing—but the timbre and the wire and the growl are the same and he vaults into his upper register the same way. Most of the time I listen to Nathan singing his own music, where the likeness is evident but not uncanny. Then every now and then I run into a video of him singing one of Stan's songs (I'm not sure he's studio-recorded many, which is a legitimate choice) and it leaps out like a face in the dark.

It certainly does in your link! I've only listened sparsely to Nathan Rogers because I feel I'm not doing him justice. It's always like listening to a ghost. Possibly more rather than less listening is the answer to this dilemma.

What do they [String Theory] do to it?

My ignorance of music and its terminology stuns even me. That said, they pick up the tempo a fair bit, alter the tune or do a variant on it, and make it, um, kind of bluegrassy? They have voices that a 19th-century novelist might describe as "light but true" and sensibly do not attempt to bellow it out or hold onto any notes; their version rushes along like a river. I'd like to hear a version where the lead singer doesn't stumble over a line and recover. I don't think theirs would ever be my favorite rendition, but I do like it a lot.

If we're ever in the same place, if you wish, I will sing "Northwest Passage" for you.

*heart eyes* That would be so lovely.

P.

[sovay]

I've only listened sparsely to Nathan Rogers because I feel I'm not doing him justice. It's always like listening to a ghost. Possibly more rather than less listening is the answer to this dilemma.

It helped differentiate him for me. His father never did throat singing.

That said, they pick up the tempo a fair bit, alter the tune or do a variant on it, and make it, um, kind of bluegrassy? They have voices that a 19th-century novelist might describe as "light but true" and sensibly do not attempt to bellow it out or hold onto any notes; their version rushes along like a river.

I just found this live version, if that's the one you're describing. I find it a little counterintuitive that the person in this ensemble with the strongest and steadiest voice is not taking lead—she's the fiddler, so she only comes in at the chorus—but I like the arrangement and I'm not against their alterations to the tune. I think the singer just glitched on "this tardiest explorer." I agree there's no reason for women not to sing this song.

That would be so lovely.

It's a deal.

[pameladean]

It helped differentiate him for me. His father never did throat singing.

He certainly didn't. I'll give that a try (I mean, more listening to Nathan Rogers, not throat singing.) I've got a lot of fiddly revision and proofing ahead of me and that's a good time to put music on and only pay half-conscious attention to it unless something wows me.

I just found this live version, if that's the one you're describing. I find it a little counterintuitive that the person in this ensemble with the strongest and steadiest voice is not taking lead—she's the fiddler, so she only comes in at the chorus—but I like the arrangement and I'm not against their alterations to the tune. I think the singer just glitched on "this tardiest explorer." I agree there's no reason for women not to sing this song.

That's the one. I should have just linked to it but I'm having a somewhat scattered morning. (Afternoon. As I said, scattered.) I agree about the fiddler's voice. In my roaming around finding many versions of the song, I find that a lot of groups parcel out the verses one each to a different singer, and it's interesting how that showcases both flaws and virtues in their voices. I kind of wish String Theory had done that.

It's a deal.

I won't forget, and shall look forward to it.

P.

[sovay]

I've got a lot of fiddly revision and proofing ahead of me and that's a good time to put music on and only pay half-conscious attention to it unless something wows me.

That sounds like a plan. (I can't listen to music as background unless I know it really well, but I understand that most people can.) What are you working on?

In my roaming around finding many versions of the song, I find that a lot of groups parcel out the verses one each to a different singer, and it's interesting how that showcases both flaws and virtues in their voices.

I realize this won't help with the differentiation problem, but I really like this version of "Barrett's Privateers" where Nathan Rogers and Barney Bentall switch off on the verses.

I won't forget, and shall look forward to it.

This is where the smile would go if I used emoji.

[pameladean]

That sounds like a plan. (I can't listen to music as background unless I know it really well, but I understand that most people can.) What are you working on?

I sometimes have to revert to music with no lyrics, but generally I can. Sometimes a particular form of concentration dictates NO MUSIC.

I'm getting three ancient out-of-print stories ready to be reissued in a self-published collection. We were just going to do "Owlswater," which is closely connected to the new novel; but it's so short, only about 15,000 words, that it was hard to get a price for the POD edition that was fair both to us and to readers. I don't write much short fiction, but providentially realized that of the available material, every single story was based on a song. So that's enough connection for a collection, the length is much more respectable, we are very happy. But it's had to be scanned afresh since the stories are so old (and, I guess, my backup strategies inadequate) that the files had gotten corrupted. Hence the fiddliness. I'll also have to be going over the finished new book in the fairly near future.

I realize this won't help with the differentiation problem, but I really like this version of "Barrett's Privateers" where Nathan Rogers and Barney Bentall switch off on the verses.

Oh, that's a dynamite version; I really like that.

This is where the smile would go if I used emoji.

I will just beam quietly here.

P.

[sovay]

We were just going to do "Owlswater," which is closely connected to the new novel

Speaking of things sung by Stan Rogers!

I'll also have to be going over the finished new book in the fairly near future.

That sounds wonderful and I look forward to it.

[pameladean]

Speaking of things sung by Stan Rogers!

Indeed!

That sounds wonderful and I look forward to it.

Thanks! I am of course very nervous about it given the huge amount of time it's all taken. I'll be posting about all this on DW as soon as things are firmed up a bit.

P.

[sovay]

a YouTube extravaganza of different versions of "Northwest Passage." I periodically get a yen to hear a woman or women sing it, but that's a bit hard to find.

It is a different song, of course, but I just came across a woman singing "The Mary Ellen Carter" and thought of you.

[pameladean]

It took me a while to sit down and listen to it, but I like that very much indeed. And of course that is also a fine song to hear in a woman's voice. Thank you so much.

P.

[sovay]

Thank you so much.

You are very welcome.

[umadoshi]

I saw the tree being prepped for its send-off! How lovely that you got to see it. *^^*

[sovay]

I saw the tree being prepped for its send-off! How lovely that you got to see it.

I had forgotten you lived in Halifax! That's wonderful.

[umadoshi]

I had forgotten you lived in Halifax! That's wonderful.

Casual Job's current office space is located right above the downtown spot where things like "show off the Boston tree before sending it on its way" happen, so I sometimes get to see very cool things. ^_^