Farewell to You, My Brother (Farewell to Nova Scotia)

Jack: Desmond, you've done enough. You wanna do something? Go home and be with your wife and son.
Desmond: What about you, Jack?
Jack: I'll see you in another life, brother.
- The End

Farewell to Nova Scotia is one of the most achingly melancholy songs I have ever heard.  It came to mind again after a recent Facebook conversation with my friend Gail, and though I knew the song through the Irish Rovers, when I stumbled upon a live performance by Gordon Lightfoot from 1972, I was utterly mesmerized by the exquisitely elegiac quality of both his voice and face.  It then lodged itself firmly in my brain, and when I'm in filking mode, that means it's about to become my next victim.  I thought this moment was appropriately mournful, with just the right hint of beauty.

Farewell to You, My Brother

You doused the light, and I'm impressed.
You did your job; now it's time to flee.
We're almost at the end of our quest,
So go, and leave the rest to me.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Believe me, Desmond, I understand.
You grieve to leave - to let me go.
But life never seems to work out the way we planned,
And it's better to accept what you can't control.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

A doctor's pledge is to first do no harm.
I won't survive; I have to stay.
So farewell, farewell.  I'll take you by the arm
And then Hurley's gonna raise you to the bright light of day.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

It took three years, but I passed Jacob's test.
I found my faith, and I am blessed.
When I met you, I'd failed so terribly,
But you helped me 'lift it up,' and now at last, I'm free.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

Should I Save His Life Again? (Early Morning Rain, Gordon Lightfoot)

"I keep saving your life, and what good has it done? It's just gonna keep happening again and again, maybe that's the point, eh? Maybe it's a test."
 - Desmond, Catch-22

I think one reason the scene between Sayid and Desmond in The Last Recruit was so powerful was that Desmond had been similarly tempted to sacrifice Charlie for the sake of a reunion with Penny. Here I imagine Desmond's own crisis of conscience to the tune of Peter Paul and Mary's Early Morning Rain.

Should I Save His Life Again?

Should I save his life again when it’s time for him to die?
If the arrow finds his throat, can I look him in the eye?
For the sake of true love, must I sacrifice my friend
And be saddled with a guilt he can’t comprehend?

Brother Campbell told the tale of Abraham giving up his son.
If I let his death unfold, who will laud what I have done?
If it’s some great cosmic test, then will God reward my zeal,
Or will I be condemned for a dirty devil’s deal?

What is right and what is wrong? (What is right and what is wrong?)
Is there any way to know? (Is there any way to know?)
Do I interfere with fate or do I let Charlie go?
If I had him make the call, would he choose suicide?
If I knew the choice was his, would my own remorse subside?

With the moment drawing near, still the cryptic questions taunt.
Is it selfish to proceed? Is this what my love would want?
If I step aside, then I’ll be sure to find Pen,
But my conscience won’t comply, so I’ll save his life again.
No, my conscience won’t comply, so I’ll save his life again.

Careful Flyin' (Carefree Highway, Gordon Lightfoot)

"Doesn't matter who I am, you're showing footage of Seth Norris and that's not him, listen, this guy married his high school sweetheart at nineteen, he always wore his wedding ring and I'm telling you there's no ring on that body."
- Frank, Confirmed Dead

Frank Lapidus is a guy who prides himself on a job well done. His obsession over the fate of Flight 815 suggests that he has a guilty conscience and probably believes that if he'd been at the controls, the plane wouldn't have crashed. Here's a little reflection by him, circa Confirmed Dead, to the tune of Gordon Lightfoot's Carefree Highway.

Careful Flyin’

Slept through my alarm clock on the September day
That Oceanic 815 went down.
Now every night, I see that flight and how it went astray.
This is the conclusion I have drawn:

Careful flyin’s what I pride myself upon -
Careful flyin’ through a hostile sky -
And with my expertise, I’d’ve handled ‘er with ease.
Careful flyin’s what I pride myself, pride myself upon.

Starin’ through the static at the scene on the screen,
I think the sunken wreck looks pretty grim.
But they’re showin’ me Seth Norris, who got married at nineteen.
So where’s his ring? I’ll go out on a limb:

Someone’s lyin’. I guarantee ya that ain’t him.
Someone’s lyin’, and I wonder why.
Whatever’s in that Trench has a rotten sort of stench.
Someone’s lyin’. Do ya understand? Listen, that ain’t him.

Sick of feelin’ bad that if I’d been on my toes,
I could’ve flown ’em safe into the dawn.
To lift that weight, I’ll concentrate on tryin’ to expose
Just exactly where Flight 815 has gone.

Careful flyin’s what I pride myself upon -
Careful flyin’ through a hostile sky -
And with my expertise, I’d’ve handled ‘er with ease.
Careful flyin’s what I pride myself, pride myself upon.
What I pride myself upon.

Someone’s lyin’. Guarantee ya that ain’t him.
Someone’s lyin’, and I wonder why.
Whatever’s in that Trench has a rotten sort of stench.
Someone’s lyin’. Ya understand? Listen, that ain’t him.

Sundown! (Sundown, Gordon Lightfoot)

Last week's Sundown is a definite contender for the most depressing episode of LOST ever. It also shares its title with a smashing song by Gordon Lightfoot, so as soon as I heard what the title would be, I knew I'd have to do something with that song, no matter where the plot went. It went to a dark place indeed. Here's a reflection on the last few minutes of that episode.

Sundown!

Kate: Do I have to stick with Claire? I would say so, yes,
But it looks like we’re caught in a nasty mess.
Smokey: Sundown! It’s time to depart,
And a new reign of terror is about to start.
Sundown! It’s time to depart,
And a new reign of terror is about to start.

Claire: I just hope she’s feeling scared. She abducted Aaron,
And now, I intend to kill Kate, I swear.
Sayid: Sometimes, my conscience objects,
But for Nadia, I would snap a thousand more necks.
Sometimes, my conscience objects,
But for Nadia, I would snap a thousand more necks.

Smokey: I’m not sure I have the measure of Austen yet.
Has she joined as an ally, or is she a threat?
Sundown! It’s time to depart,
And a new reign of terror is about to start.
Sometimes, despite how I’ve planned,
I can’t help fearing Jacob hasn’t shown his whole hand.

Sayid: It’s a thrill to know that Ben is so petrified
And that I could have killed him if I’d only tried.
Sometimes, my conscience objects,
But for Nadia, I would snap a thousand more necks.
Smokey: Sundown! It’s time to depart,
And a new reign of terror is about to start.
Sundown! It’s time to depart,
And a new reign of terror is about to start.
Sometimes, despite how I’ve planned,
I can’t help fearing Jacob hasn’t shown his whole hand.