Watch Penelope's Song with Windows Media Player
The following in an excerpt from the Fall 2007
Notes From The Road found in the An
Ancient Muse
Tour Programme
3. In some of your
recent concerts, you have dedicated “Penelope’s Song” to someone’s
memory. Could you tell us more?
In
the liner notes to the recording An
Ancient Muse, I mention that one of the
initial inspirations for this song was listening to Homer’s
Odyssey, particularly
the part of that work that describes Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, waiting
for her loved one to return. I then wrote the lyrics extrapolating this
experience to the different situations in which we wait for loved ones
to return. It could tell the tale of someone who has emigrated; it could
evoke the story of the death of a loved one.
On the
last concert of our North American tour in May of this year, a request
was made of
me to dedicate a song to the memory of Captain Shawn McCaughey, a
Snowbird pilot who perished in an incident on May 18, 2007, just three
weeks before his wedding day. I choose “Penelope’s Song” as the
composition that I felt that would best capture one of the sentiments of
this situation. Later this summer, his fiancée Claudia wrote to thank me
for the dedication.
As many
Canadians know, the Snowbirds are the Canadian Forces’ aerobatic
show team. Late in August I had the privilege of joining Claudia and
Captain McCaughey’s family at the Snowbirds’ air show in Candiac,
Quebec, the town that Captain McCaughey’s family are from. The Snowbirds
have now incorporated “Penelope’s Song” into their presentation in their
Tribute Pass (where they fly over in commemoration of a lost
comrade). Needless to say, this was a very moving event
to witness.
I must also add that since becoming Honorary
Colonel
for 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron out of Winnipeg, Manitoba in
December 2006, I’ve had the opportunity to become more deeply acquainted
with the enormous contribution that the men and women of our Canadian
Forces undertake on behalf of Canadians as well as international
citizens every day of the year, year in and year out. In this vast web
of people and initiatives – search and rescue exercises, domestic and
international disaster relief, the re-supply of northern communities,
protecting our nation’s borders and participating in significant
international responsibilities – are found the
human stories, the real lives and the loves lost.
It is an honour to be able to dedicate this song, not only to the memory
of Captain Shawn McCaughey, but to all of those who, in the course of
selflessly serving others, have lost their lives. May these noble
spirits live on: “a heart well loved is never forgotten”.
~ LM