This morning at 11:30 a.m. EST, the space shuttle Atlantis successfully launched, marking NASA’s final shuttle mission. Atlantis will be in space for twelve days before returning to earth at Kennedy Space Center.
A previous Chimesfreedom post featured some thoughts about the end of the shuttle program, but watching this final launch online this morning at NASA HD-TV brings back a flood of memories, ranging from the excitement about the program when it was first announced, the thrill of the first test flights when the shuttle rode piggyback on jets, and remembering where I was when we lost the heroes on the Challenger in January 28, 1986 and on the Columbia on February 1, 2003. So today, it is hats off to all of the men and women (as well as some animals) who have contributed to the space program through the years, and here is hoping for future safe adventures.
The space shuttle is named after a seafaring research ship, following a practice for naming the shuttles after ships. The articles do not say where the research ship got its name, but one may surmise that the name “Atlantis” comes from stories about the lost civilization and the continent that was buried beneath the sea. Tales about Atlantis, whether myth or reality, have circulated for centuries, and Plato wrote about it around 360 B.C.
A little more recently, in 1969, Donovan released an album featuring the classic song about the lost civilization, “Atlantis.” It is an unusual and unforgettable song, where the singer begins by telling us about the island’s tragedy as an epic story and ends with his sadness over a lost love. The song was originally released in the U.S. as a B-side to the song “To Susan on the West Coast Waiting” because the record company thought U.S. record buyers would not be interested in a song with a long talking introduction. But they were wrong, and “Atlantis” became a much bigger hit than the A-side did.
Around the Internet, there are rumors that Paul McCartney sings in the background and plays tambourine on “Atlantis,” although he is not listed in the credits for the song. Give it a listen and you will hear the McCartney-like voice near the end. But in a 2008 Goldmine interview, Donovan said that it was not McCartney (although McCartney claps and giggles on Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow“).
And as you listen to “Atlantis,” send good thoughts to the astronauts on their journey, as well as to “the poet, the physician, the farmer, the scientist,/ The magician and the other so-called Gods of our legends.”
Bonus “Atlantis” song: On Twitter, someone pointed out that The Shadows recorded an instrumental song also called “Atlantis” in the early 1960s. For readers who may not be familiar with the group, as explained on Allmusic.com, The Shadows were a landmark U.K. band in the 1960s and became one of the most popular instrumental groups in the world. Also, they often performed with Cliff Richard. Check them out if you do not know them already. (Thanks to @RetrospaceAndy.)
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)
(1974), which was the second album by Tom Waits. Waits is one of the great songwriters of his generation. I am not sure why more artists do not cover his songs, but it might be because Waits’s vocal style is so distinctive and memorable.
(1991). But there are not as many covers of the beautiful song as one might expect. Nothing matches the original recording by Waits of this song about regret and about recognizing what you have lost only when it is too late.
