This video is featured with lyrics and more at mobile-friendly GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador: http://www.gestsongs.com/02/lights.htm The song was w...
“Those northern lights that shine so bright when the night is cold and clear
The snow is bright from the pale moonlight and silence fills the air
I cast my eyes to those sparkling skies and I can see once more
Those northern lights that shine so bright in the skies of Labrador”
-Northern Lights of Labrador by Corey & Trina
Growing up in Labrador, I remember one cold dark February night when I was a little kid, my mom woke me up and bundled me up in my snow pants and jacket and walked me out on the frozen lake to look at the northern lights. An iridescent band of electric chalky green zigged and zagged across the sky, fading in the distance over the mountains. If you held your breath you could almost hear the crackling and buzzing of the auroras. The way they danced felt like magic, we stayed out watching the northern lights that night until our faces grew too cold and we had to go in. I am very fortunate to be from a place where you can see the aurora borealis all throughout the year, and no matter how many times I see them in my life I am always just as amazed as I was that night.
The three writings about the northern lights I chose each describe them in different ways. The first is the entry on the northern lights in the Canadian Encyclopedia, the next is the FAQ page from Northern Tales Yukon tours who offer northern light tours, and the final piece of writing is one the first pieces of media I can remember about the aurora borealis: The Northern Lights of Labrador by Newfoundland musicians Corey & Trina.
The entry on northern lights in the Canadian Encyclopedia is informative and authoritative in its approach. It explains the natural mechanisms that cause the auroras, their size and shape, and range. It is effective in that it provides an objective and accessible understanding of the northern lights.
The FAQ page from Northern Tales Tours in the Yukon is very vivid and exciting in its description of the science behind how the auroras are formed. The sections about visiting Whitehorse and the best time of the year to see the northern lights are engaging and speak to the visitors directly addressing them as “you.” This is effective because it makes the experience of seeing the northern lights seem fun and exciting and entices people to visit.
The song, the Northern Lights of Labrador is very romantic, portraying the northern lights as a beautiful sight so rare that nowhere on earth compares to them, and that they will always think of the auroras. The song is effective because it describes the beauty of the auroras ang the nostalgia that comes with seeing them once they are over.
The first two writings are similar in that they explain how the northern lights work, however, the first post differs from the last two as it is an objective explanation of the aurora borealis and not an exciting or romantic portrayal. What the last two posts have in common is that they appeal to the reader's sense of wonder and excitement and make them want to go see the northern lights themselves. These two posts want the reader to understand the excitement and beauty of seeing the northern lights as opposed to just understanding how they work.
-Ossie