Tuesday 26 October 2010

For One Brief Shining Moment


4:17:12 PM
For a few brief shining moments
the sun broke through

4:17:24 PM
and changed the spent maroon
of the leaves to brilliant gold

4:18:01 PM
but for a few
brief shining moments
only

*

Photographed
this afternoon
Images and above text
Copyright by Merisi

*

"Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot,
For one brief, shining moment
That was known as Camelot
."

Whose voice
do you remember when reading
these lines from "Camelot"?
Richard Burton's it is, for me,
from a long lost LP of the musical "Camelot",
with Richard Burton in the role of King Arthur:

"Each evening from December to December,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tales that you remember,
of Camelot.

Ask every person if he's heard the story,
And tell it loud and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting whisp of glory,
Called Camelot ...

Where once it never rained til after sundown,
By 8 AM the morning fog had flown
Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot,
For one brief, shining moment
That was known as Camelot
."


17 comments:

  1. I was sitting at my desk when I noticed that the light had changed. Looking out the window and grabbing my camera, I managed to open the window just in time to capture the moment, before the golden light was gone.
    Richard Burton's voice was already there, while I pushed the shutter. Strange, how some lines and voices revisit you in the most unexpected moments.

    I listened to Burton's voice again just moments ago, on Youtube, after I don't know how many years. The LP I remember was old even back then. I typed the text while listening, I hope I got it right (I found the lyrics online too, but they were different from Burton's).

    A wonderful afternoon and evening to all of you,
    Merisi

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  2. lovely! absolutely lovely, sugar. i think of richard harris and vanessa redgrave, i have to admit, and of course, president kennedy. another time, thanks for the memories. xoxoxox

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  3. .. lovely, just lovely ... thanks for the little lunch break ...

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  4. Tis gloomy here today too, although I don't mind. And windy. I don't care as much for that.

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  5. I'm really enjoying these recent photographs, Merisi. I have the feeling that you're in experimental mood.

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  6. A few nights ago I watched the film version with Richard Harris in the role...for me he was the more human. And that was my favourite song from the show. So good to be back doing the rounds again.

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  7. The quality of light in the autumn . . .
    For me Merisi, it is Richard Harris playing opposite Venessa Redgrave. The snow scenes were brilliant.

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  8. The briefness of the moment makes it all the more precious!

    And oh yes! Camelot! The once and future dream...

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  9. Savannah,
    I listened to that old LP at a time when Kennedy and Richard Burton both were already part of a time far removed, but I was still so very young that I was fascinated by the fact to be able to hear this voice from a past that to me seemed so remote, it could well have come from King Arthur's Court itself.

    Karen in CT,
    you are welcome!
    I hope you are enjoying the colorful autumn season!

    Charles Gramlich,
    living on the East Coast, I did not mind the one or other gloomy day either, but only because I knew that even the winter sky is often bright blue there.

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  10. Martin H.,
    you caught me! *smile*
    I am getting a little tired of the same old.

    Moannie,
    so good to see you around again! :-)
    Unfortunately, I never saw the film version with Richard Harris. I will search for that DVD!

    Meanwhile, I found this footage on Youtube:
    I am not at all sure who all these people are. I have an inkling, though.

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  11. Arija,
    I am looking forward to see the Richard Harris film!

    Vicki Lane,
    yes, indeed! :-)

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  12. I found, at least I think I did,
    the scene with Richard Harris:
    Richard Harris as King Arthur

    (And my kids love Monty Python, what a world!)

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  13. You caught this from your desk? Unbelievable. I especially love the light in the second shot.

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  14. Farin,
    just two windows down from my desk:
    I noticed the light had changed (there is a window to the right side of my desk) and grabbed the camera and headed to the next room, to get a better camera angle.

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  15. What a wonderful brief moment you have captured....now for as long as cyberspace lasts....and as I read the words, Richard Harris' voice was singing them in my memory....I remember when the movie came out and my girlfriend and I made a special trip to San Diego to see it on the big screen...and after that we bought the record and had the whole thing memorized before long. Wonderful times....

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  16. Arthur will always be Burton to me. We were lucky enough to have tickets--so long ago now--to what was his final performance of that role in NY, though no one knew that at the time. Our seats were in the upper, upper, upper balcony (aka "nosebleed section") and still that magnificent voice carried every syllable to us, un-miked. Splendid.

    Thanks for the re-memory.

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  17. Sara,
    thank you for your kind words,
    I am so glad you have those precious memories!

    DS,
    what splendid memories, to have seen and heard Richard Burton on stage!

    We went once to Radio City Music Hall and got same-day tickets in the way back (it was an Easter Show, the kids were small and loved it). The acoustics were excellent, even back there!

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