This song is by Westlife (Facebook link), a group that has been in the charts since 1998. It is from their final album “Greatest Hits” . The Irish group has said they will be splitting up after their final 2012 tour.
The album contains some older songs and four new ones including this one called “Lighthouse”. It is the band’s second compilation of greatest hits, following the 2002 release of “Unbreakable.”
“I am the very loneliest of all creatures in the universe Indeed I am an epitaph to man For having witnessed mass destruction like you’ve never dreamed and worse I fear I shall bear witness once again.”
So said the lighthouse keeper As he struggled up the spiral stairs Which led him to the laser flare which spanned the cosmic void Where keeping constant vigil He’d forewarn this gallant guard of guards Beware all ships the space graveyard and its stones of asteroids
“For though my race was thought immune Themselves they did consume So be warned or be mourned tomorrow And from your deafness do desist And pray take heed of this For your present course can only end in sorrow…”
So said the lighthouse keeper As he wiped a teardrop from his nose Upon which his spectacles rose and gazed out to the stars And like a portrait still he stared And sighing to himself declared “I must invent the perfect prayer Not yours, not mine, but ours
Which in the name of charity Might lead us to eternal peace The ultimate philosophy Some simple, single phrase.” The old and much encumbered man Then came to rest with head in hand He thought and thought and thought away His last remaining day – lyrics
In late [27th] May of 1990, the container vessel Hansa Carrier encountered a severe storm in the north Pacific Ocean (approx. 48°N, 161°W) on its passage from Korea to the United States.
During the storm, a large wave washed twenty-one (21) forty foot (40 ft.) shipping containers overboard. See this video of damaged cargo ships and cargo being lost.
Five of these 20-metre containers held a shipment of approximately 80,000 Nike® shoes ranging from children’s shoes to large hiking boots. It has been estimated that four of the five containers opened into the stormy waters, releasing over 60,000 shoes into the north Pacific Ocean.
This one looks a bit rough
That winter of 1990, hundreds of these shoes washed ashore on the beaches of the Queen Charlotte Islands , western Vancouver Island , Washington and Oregon.
After hearing of the accident, oceanic scientist Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer seized the opportunity and established links with beachcombers and formed a network of people reporting the landfall of the contents of this spill.
When Oregon newspapers began running the story, the Associated Press picked it up, and the word spread. The publicity resulted in many additional reports of the finding of Nike shoes on Pacific beaches. Dubious about some of the reported finds, Ebbesmeyer decided to confine his study to only those shoes found in groups of 100 or more. Even with this restriction, he accounted for approximately 1300 shoes from the more than 60,000 released.
Despite a year in the ocean, much of the footwear was in fine shape and wearable after a washing. Unfortunately, the shoes were not tied to one another so that matching pairs did not always reach the beach together.
“I remember this very well as I could never find a matching pair!” – retlkpr
Each shoe, however, had an identifying serial number, and with information obtained from the manufacturer, Ebbesmeyer was able to determine that the shoes were indeed from the Hansa Carrier.
Drift bottle
The accident turned into a scientific gold mine. With information on the locations where the shoes were found, Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Jim Ingraham were able to use the spill to test and calibrate their ocean current model. In the past when researchers have released a multitude of drift bottles1 to provide data for testing models, only about one or two percent of the drift bottles are typically recovered. Thus, the accidental release of approximately 61,000 shoes and the recovery of approximately 1600 shoes (2.6%) provided data as good as any pre-planned study.
Ebbesmeyer and Ingraham used the OSCURS (Ocean Surface Currents Simulation) computer simulation model to determine where and how the shoes may have drifted after the containers were swept overboard.
The model suggested that the main landfall would have been around the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the central coast of British Columbia approximately 249 days after the spill.
The first reports of shoe landfalls came from Vancouver Island and Washington approximately 220 days after the spill. A large number of shoes were recovered in the Queen Charlotte Islands and northern Oregon suggesting that when the shoes neared the North American coast some were diverted north and others south by coastal currents.
In the summer of 1992 (two years after the incident), shoes were reported arriving at the northern end of the Island of Hawaii. After reaching North America these shoes may have continued southward along the California coast and then been pushed off the coast by currents moving westward to Hawaii.
The rest of the story is on the website of Keith C. Heidorn (aka the Weather Doctor).
This song is from the album Undun by the Roots. It is called Lighthouse. The words to the chorus are interesting. Imagine lying in the ocean and seeing a lighthouse nearby and no one sees you because it is unmanned! Imagine the feeling of fear! Think automation? Unmanning lighthouses?
No one’s in the lighthouse You’re face down in the ocean And no one’s in the lighthouse And it seems like you just screamed It’s no one there to hear the sound And it may feel like there’s no one there That cares if you drown Face down in the ocean
The rest of the lyrics can be found here. The video below is just the song as it is sung by the group. I think you must hear it a couple of times to get the meaning of the song. I know I did.
[Hook: Dice Raw] No one’s in the lighthouse You’re face down in the ocean And no one’s in the lighthouse And it seems like you just screamed It’s no one there to hear the sound And it may feel like there’s no one there That cares if you drown Face down in the ocean
[Verse 2: Black Thought] After the love is lost Friendship dissolves And even blood is lost Where did it begin The way we did each other wrong Troubled water neither one of us could swim across I stopped holding my breath Now I am better off There without a trace And you in my head All the halted motion of a rebel without a pause What it do is done till you dead and gone The grim reaper telling me to swim deeper Where the people go to lo and behold the soul keeper I’m not even breaking out in a sweat Or cold fever but I’m never paying up on my debt or tolls either I’ll leave the memories here I won’t need them If I stop thinking and lie, now that’s freedom Your body’s part of the Maritime museum Face down in the past is where I’m being Lyrics provided by http://www.kovideo.net/ Source – http://www.kovideo.net/lighthouse-lyrics-roots-1266459.html
[Hook: Dice Raw] And no one’s in the lighthouse You’re face down in the ocean And no one’s in the lighthouse And it seems like you just screamed It’s no one there to hear the sound And it may feel like there’s no one there That cares if you drown Face down in the ocean
[Outro: Dice Raw] If you can’t swizzim then ya bound to drizzown Passing out life jackets bout to go didown Get down with the captain or go down with the ship Before the dark abyss I’m gon’ hit you wit’ dis (Repeat)
I came across this article that shows the life on an Australian lighthouse starting in 1971. A wee bit different than Canada I must say.
What got my attention were the requirements for a lighthouse keeper:
The job requirements of a lighthouse keeper were a car licence, an ability to climb to heights and an ability to get along with the other lighthouse keeper . . .
The article is worth reading to illustrate the differences between Canadian and Australian lights (wildlife, for one), plus, on the page is a reference and a link to an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) website which is exploring some of Australia’s iconic lighthouses.
This new site is called Shining a Light and is an excellent documentary on some of Australia’s lighthouses. The map above shows the lighthouses mentioned.
I came across this item in a sale flyer that came out today. It is a jigsaw puzzle lighthouse in 3D. It is available in many places in Europe, and possibly in America (Canada and USA), although I did not find it in Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. The finished tower is 8.3 cms (3.25″) wide by 35.0 cms (13.5″) high.
The advertising video on the webpage shows it a bit exaggerated I think. To find the videos look to the right of the two small photos on the webpage, and you will find the videos in two blue boxes labelled TV-Spot and Erklärfilm. One of the videos is here – click your mouse on the blue link.
A friend found this for me, and sent me the links. It is nice song, and the photos are so beautiful that I just had to share it. There are two versions with different photos. I have inserted the lyrics in between the two videos so they are available for both.
The first video has the lyrics embedded over the photos, while the second video has no lyrics visible. Enjoy!
Anyone remember this song? I was on McInnes Island when I first saw the movie “A Clockwork Orange [1971]” and heard the song. We did not have a TV station, but we did have a TV and a cassette player.
This film on DVD was a new release in 2010. It does not appear to be available in the PAL format for Europe and other countries.
A must see if you love romance and the idea of romance near a lighthouse, then I guess the film is for us. If you have seen it, tell us what you thought of it in comments.
An impressive 33-metre-long aquarium went on display in Taipei, Taiwan on Friday at the opening ceremony of an aquarium expo.
The aquarium is believed to be the longest in the world and was built to celebrate Taiwan’s centennial this year. It features scenery and landmarks from around the island and 100 species of domestic cichlid fish.
The tank holds 28 tons of water and is made of tempered glass with an extra explosion-proof layer.
The aquarium has seven sections with nearly 30 modelled landmarks, including the Yehliu Geopark at the north coast, the landmark Taipei 101 building, Taiwan’s highest Jade Mountain, the Taroko National Park, and the Eluanbi Lighthouse down south. Each of the tanks is connected with a curved tank displaying waterfalls.