Sunday, June 25, 2006

Illustration Friday: Rain








Was listening to this song the other day, written by Gordon Lightfoot, covered by Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Peter, Paul, & Mary. For melancholy rainy days. Peace, everyone.

In the early mornin' rain
with a dollar in my hand,
With an achin' in my heart, and my pockets full of sand.
I'm a long way from home, and I miss my loved one so;
In the early mornin' rain and no place to go.

Out on runway number nine big seven-o-seven set to go.
Well, I'm stuck here on the ground where the cold winds blow.
The liquor tasted good, and the women all were fast.
There she goes, my friend, she's a rollin' down at last.

Hear the mighty engines roar, see the silver bird on high.
She's away and westward bound; far above the clouds she'll fly,
Where the mornin' rain don't fall, and the sun always shines.
She'll be flyin' over my home in about three hours time.

This old airport's got me down; it's no earthly good to me.
'Cause I'm stuck here on the ground, cold and drunk as I might be.
You can't jump a jet plane like you can a freight train,
So I best be on my way in the early mornin' rain.

Gordon Lightfoot, 1962

25 comments:

Katili said...

That was melancholy undeed, great rain illo.

valerie walsh said...

I love this stylized illo and the beautiful song goes with it perfectly!

Andrea said...

Very cool! That figure is haunting...

Jaimie said...

The song is beautiful and sad. Your picture illustrates it perfectly

° said...

well i jumped a few freightes for fun and that was hard enough, so ill take old gordons advice ,and not attempt a jet lol. great song and matching illo perfect fit

andrea said...

I had no idea this song was covered by so many noteworthies. Being Canadian, I can only hear Gordie's version in my head :). Your illustration makes me think of Leavin' On A Jet Plane -- also covered by Peter, Paul & Mary (though I hear John Denver singing that one in my head).

Larry Lee said...

I wasn't familiar with this song. I looked it up on the Internet. It's a good song. When I think of Gordon Lightfoot, I think of Wreck of the Fitzgerald, mostly because of my Michigan roots. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was a big story there. Great story and illustration.
8^)

Dana S. Whitney said...

Rain does make you want to sing, whether it is for joy, for thanks or the blues. I like how much you suggested without actually making overt... expecially the facial features.

Queen Tut said...

Nice work. I like the jet stream behind the plane. Your Dance illo caught my eye too.

Lou said...

What a simple yet powerful illustration. This is really cool.

HARDWAX said...

Down on his luck, in a cold rain-you've illustrated that idea so well-beautiful, and the Gordon Lightfoot song fits the piece to perfecion.

Amy Zaleski said...

Great job on the rain itself...also like the composition and the movement of the jet. The song is a nice touch!

Unknown said...

nice illo!

arvindh said...

Great illo!

carla said...

This really does capture the melancholy desolation of a person who has taken a lonely direction...and that song always makes me feel so sad! I love that your figure has his chest bared to the elements and no real facial features...as if he's blending into the rain. In contrast, the plane looks like a triumphant bird swooping away. Great job on the rain and the moody blue atmosphere.

carla said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
steve said...

Yeah, i grew up on Gordon via 8 track. Great accompanying artwork here. I always love when art is inspred by music.

Christine Lim said...

I like your take on the subject. Excellent thoughts well executed. :)

modroom said...

Swishy illustration. In the Uk nowadays, they actually let people who hi-jack planes stay here because of human rights!

Kim de Young said...

on the whole this is a very meloncholy piece, the figure and the rain. The plane taking off in the background is very graphic-artsy. I could see this as one of the airline's animated comercials with the figure's face changing to diffrerent peoples faces to represent every man/woman

Janet said...

Always nice to see what you will come up with! Another nice illo/word pairing!

Twisselman said...

Thanks so much for all the nice comments. Gordon's song seems to resonate with lots of folks.

Apologies that I haven't had time to do much exploring of other folks' IF posts for the topic. Life has been... well, life. Think I'd like to hop that plane myself.

Paul Tuller said...

the illustration and qoute go side by side like they were meant to be that way! no surprise there Twiss :)

tiffini elektra x said...

Wonderful melancholy illustration. I am loving your matching posts lately as well. Your picture matches the words perfectly.

TXArtcGal said...

What a wonderful illustration...and, thanks for sharing the lyrics! They fit together wonderfully!! I love the simple, stylized look of you illo! Awesome!