A bit less than 24 hours ago I had just boarded the C-17 to leave Afghanistan for Kuwait. As soon as I sat down I pulled out my little music player & popped my earphones in and pressed play. I have about 390 songs loaded on it & have it set to random play. My tastes in music are very random and I have favorites from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga; The Everly Brothers to Maroon 5, so I never know what I will hear next.
The first song that came on as I settled into my seat was Gordon Lightfoot singing Early Morning Rain (please click that link & listen to a live recording from 1969 – awesome; this link is another live recording 41 years later – Early Morning Rain – what an amazing singer/songwriter).
Early Morning Rain (Clouds) (Photo credit: doug_wertman)
This is one of my favorite songs and I like his version better than any of the covers. But what struck me was how much I could actually relate to the words given my current situation. With just a few minor adjustments to the real lyrics, this was me…
I am getting closer…
lookin' thru my eyes 
We are all here….following your journey home. Getting close…like are you in Atlanta yet? I certainly hope it didn’t take you 24 hours to get from Afghanistan to Kuwait.
How exactly do you fly…I know military C-17 to where? At what point do you go commercial? Standby? Kind of hard to purchase tixs in advance or does the military take care of it?
OMG…Gordon is that you?
Music is a great gift that certainly pops up at ironic moments. As I listened to Gordon sing, I could feel what you must be feeling waiting for that ride out. My experience has mostly been waiting for the plane to bring my soldiers home. It was interesting to get a little of the experience on the flip side. Not to mention Gordon Lightfoot is alway a good listen. There is a quality to his voice that would make listening to the phone book enjoyable. 🙂
To smooth flights, pleasent flight staff, safe landings and wonderful homecomings!!
Thank you – even at 72+ years old, Grodon still has an amazing voice.
Thank you!
Early Morning Rain is such a sentimental song. I love how Gordon Lightfoot’s voice is all shakey-shakey on this one…
The quality of his voice at 70+ amazes me. It may not be any musical match to his younger years, but it is unmistakably his
Lightfoot was at his peak during my high school and college years. He, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and The Guess Who were my favorite Canadian artists.