Achi news desk-
Over 50 years ago, Sally Taylor’s mother wrote a song about a self-obsessed person taking a plane straight to Nova Scotia to see a solar eclipse; a few months ago, Taylor made a similar trip, arriving in time for a different eclipse.
Taylor’s mother is Carly Simon, singer of the 1972 hit “You’re So Vain,” which includes the line, “Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia / To see the total eclipse of the sun.”
“I thought, like, okay, Nova Scotia must be the coolest place on the planet, and I guess I planted a seed in my head as a kid that I could be so lucky one day with the Learjet man to finish in the world. Nova Scotia,” Taylor said. “And here I am.”
Taylor now lives in Halifax and recently researched the upcoming eclipse, learning that it will occur on Monday.
“And I think, what? I got here in time for the total eclipse of the sun,” he said. “Immediately I call my mom and I’m like, are you kidding me?”
Simon, 79, told CTV News Atlantic by phone that she hasn’t been to Nova Scotia, but was inspired by real events.
“I read about him somewhere in a paper that he followed his journey to Saratoga by going to Nova Scotia,” he said.
As for who is the person in “You’re So Vain?”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” Simon said with a laugh when asked. “You know I can’t answer that.”
Taylor said she planned to take in the solar eclipse while playing her mother’s song on repeat.
“I really hope that everyone will come out and enjoy the solar eclipse and remember Learjets and Carly Simon, and recognize how special the event is,” he said. “Maybe it will inspire them to write a song? I hope it will.”
