so - what's the story with Gordon Lightfoot???

[RPM]

tell me about the man.

[Blue-Jay]

1. He wrote a song about Ella Fitzgerald.

Apparently, she was involved in some sort of traffic accident.

[RPM]

2. seems like he likes to write about wrecks

at least 2 songs...

[CanuckAmok]

39. one for Wrecks Harrison and one for Wrecks Reed

...

[Magrittes Pipe]

6. She sang really good

My guitar's made of wood
The car crash of Ella Fitzgerald

[DanCa]

25. LOL. And her legend lives on from the Chippawah on down...

to the great lake they call Gitchagoomie.
:rofl: :thumbsup:

[Left Is Write]

3. He wants you to read his mind so he can write a paperback novel.

[RPM]

4. whats that supposed to mean

i dont get it

[Left Is Write]

5. It was a nonsensical reference to this song...

"If You Could Read My Mind"


If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
’bout a ghost from a wishin’ well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
You know that ghost is me
And I will never be set free
As long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see
If I could read your mind love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind that drugstores sell
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
But heroes often fail
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take

I’d walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script
Enter number two
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me
But for now love, let’s be real
* I never thought I could act this way *
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feelin’s gone
And I just can’t get it back

If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
’bout a ghost from a wishin’ well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
But stories always end
And if you read between the lines
You’ll know that I’m just tryin’ to understand
The feelin’s that you lack
I never thought I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just to get it
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feelin’s gone
And I just can’t get it back

[RPM]

7. thanks

trying to learn a thing or two

[Left Is Write]

8. I love Gordon Lightfoot.

"Sundown" is my favorite.

[liberaltrucker]

11. Mine's "Carefree Highway"

Really helped cope with my divorce years ago.

[Pale Blue Dot]

9. That's a GREAT song. nt

[WritingIsMyReligion]

10. That song is my favorite GL single.

:loveya::loveya:

[Arugula Latte]

47. That song gave me perhaps my most persistant earworm ever.

I had it in there for a couple of weeks, pushing out all else that attempted to enter my brain.

[RebelOne]

45. My favorite Gordon Lightfoot song. Brings back many memories.

[zone]

12. But you ought to check out Harry Chapin

Deep, man, and awesome politics.

[Redstone]

15. Oh, Gawd. Did he preach to us much? Was there EVER a lamer song than

"Cat in the Cradle?" Jesus.

Redstone

[WritingIsMyReligion]

18. "Cat in the Cradle" makes me sad.

It annoys me, too, somehow. :shrug:

[Redstone]

23. It SHOULD make you sad that anyone could make money from such an

incredibly lame, hackneyed piece of an excuse for songwriting.

Redstone

[JVS]

21. 50,000 lbs of bananas!

[Maddy McCall]

29. I hate that fucking song.

When I was teen, a friend of mine, who felt neglected by his father, always got drunk and sat in his car with "Cat in the Cradle" blasting.

[RPM]

34. yes - most songs are lamer

that is a good song man

[fishwax]

42. gawd i hate that song

:puke:

[Redstone]

13. Huh? Urmph. What's that? Hang on a second...let me rub my eyes...

Sorry. I must have fallen into a coma from reading that name. It used to be hearing his songs that would knock me out like that, but I guess I've gotten weaker as I get older.

Seriously, folks, has there EVER been a more excruciatingly boring hit song than "Edmind Fitzgerald?" It's what, eight minutes long, and his voice never rises nor drops more than half a note the whole time?

Redstone

[WritingIsMyReligion]

14. I hate "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Terrible, boring GL song. :puke:

But I love some of his others, especially "If You Could Read My Mind." :D :D :D

[zone]

17. It gives me the gitcheegoomees.

[DanCa]

27. Great. :D Now Creole Lady Marmalade is in my head.

You know gitchie gitchie yah yah yah :D

[kedrys]

44. That song is actually longer than the time it took

for the freakin' ship to sink, I swear to bog.

[Blue-Jay]

16. He and Bryan Adams are both Canucks.

coincidence?

[zone]

19. Joni, Neil, Leonard Cohen...

Anyone heard K.D. Langs Songs of the 49th Parallel (or "from" or whatever?)

[Blue-Jay]

20. Anne Murray.

Seriously, the bad outweighs the good.

[JVS]

22. Don't trust anyone's story until you compare it with the explanation...

that you get from HEyHEY. He's an expert on Gordon Lightfoot.

[HEyHEY]

24. Great songwriter

He is from Orillia, Ontario. He went to the US to become a songwriter, which is all he actually wanted to do. He studied music in L.A. in the 50s. Then as he sang in coffee houses and what not he became more popular, especially in Canada, where he then moved back to in order to further his career. He started in a dou called the "Two tones" but then struck out on his own.
He didn't make it big in the US until he kind of commercialized a bit with songs like Sundown and Summer side of life.
But his older stuff, like "Did she mention my name" just smacks of Canada.
I'm a big gord fan.

[greatauntoftriplets]

26. So am I....

And I am delighted that he has younger fans like you. I well remember hearing "If You Could Read My Mind" on radio back in 1971. It is a great song.

My favorite of his is probably "Christian Island".

[HEyHEY]

28. My favourite is his first hit - "Early morning rain"

Good and basic, just guitar, really good.

EDIT: put wrong song up

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. Another great one....

Hell, most of his music is great.

[greatauntoftriplets]

33. Another one that has a personal resonance for me....

Because I know a woman who was a passenger on the Bahama Star that night. On her honeymoon...age age 21. Her husband was hopelessly seasick, but she was fine. Assisted in the rescue efforts. Today she is an EMT in the rural Virginia area where she lives.

Well, it’s four o’clock in the afternoon
And the anchors have been weighed
From miami to nassau,
She’s bound across the waves

She’ll be headin’ south through biscayne bay
Into the open sea
Yarmouth castle, she’s a-dyin’ and don’t know it

Now the many years she’s been to sea
She’s seen the better times
She gives a groan of protest
As they cast away her lines

And the grumble of her engines
And the rust along her spine
Tells the castle she’s too old to be sailin’

But the sands run out within her heart
A tiny spark glows red
It smoulders through the evening
There’s laughter overhead

Now the men are served, and the cards are dealt
And the drinks are passed around
Deep within the fire starts a-burnin’

Now it’s midnight on the open sea
And the moon is shining bright
Some people join the party
And others say good-night

There’s many who are sleeping now
It’s been a busy day
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin’

Oh lord, she groans, I’m burning!
Let someone understand!
But her silent plea is wasted
In the playin’ of the band

Everybody’s dancin’ on her deck
And they’re havin’ such a time
Then a voice says
Shut up and deal, I’m losin’

Deep within the yarmouth castle
The fire begins to glow
It leaps into the hallways
And climbs and twists and grows

And the paint she wore to keep her young
Oh lord, how well it burns
And soon that old fire is a-ragin’

Up beneath the bridge it’s climbin’ fast
The captain stands aloft
He calls up to the boatswain, ’n’ says
Boatswain, we are lost

For the ragged hoses in the racks
No pressure do they hold
And the people down below
Will soon be dyin’

All amidships, oh she’s blazin’ now
It’s spreadin’ fore and aft
The people are a-scramblin’
As the fire blocks their path

The evil smoke surrounds them,
And they’re fallin’ in their tracks
And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin’

Oh then the ship, bahama star
Comes steamin’ through the night
She sees the castle blazin’
And ’tis a terrible sight

Jump down, jump down! the captain cries
We’ll save you if we can!
Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin’

God help the ones who sleep below
And cannot find the way!
Thank God for those we’ve rescued
Upon this awful day.

Now the heroes, they are many,
But the times are growin’ slim
And now from stern to bow
She’s a-blazin’

Oh the yarmouth castle’s moanin’
She’s cryin’ like a child.
You can hear her if you listen
Above the roar so wild

Is she cryin’ for the ones who lie
Within her molten sides?
Or cryin’ for herself, I’m a-wonderin’

But the livin’ soon were rescued
The ones who lived to tell
From the star they watched her
As she died there in the swells

Like a toy ship on a mill pond
She burned all through the night
Then slipped ’neath the waves
In the mornin’

[Zorro]

41. It's a very, very spooky song

very evocative and one of my personal favorites. It's a bit strange that the only recording of "Ballad of the Yarmouth Castle" is on his "Sunday Concert" live album.

Lightfoot is an exceptional talent, with virtually every song written from '65-'78 a masterpiece in lyrics and melody. Coupled with his exceptional supporting band members and his romantic baritone voice, he's a singer that's hard to resist appreciating.

For those that haven't heard anything more than "Sundown" or "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", you could really do yourself a favor by listening to his other music from that era. In later years his voice weakened, so it doesn't have the same appeal to me.

I hope he's recovering his health. He was hospitalized for months due to an abdominal aneuryism or something like that. But he really is a Canadian national treasure, and his music will endure for decades.

[WCGreen]

40. One of my all time Favorites......

You can't jump an airplane....
Like you can a frieght train....
So I best be on my way....
In the Early morning rain....

From memory, we sang that song in symphonic choir in high school... real good version....

[fishwax]

43. i love the dylan version of that song

on self portrait :D

I love gord's version too, though. It's just a great song.

[enigmatic]

31. "Canadian Railroad Trilogy"

To me, along w/ Ian Tyson's "4 Strong Winds" and The Tragically Hip's "50 Mission Cap" are the most Canadian songs in my mind.

Lightfoot's a National Treasure..

[HEyHEY]

32. YEah, he is

Canadian Railroad is awesome

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

35. I'm an American born and bred, but Canadian Railroad Trilogy

is my absolutely favorite Gordon Lightfoot song, followed closely by Early Morning Rain.

I fell in love with Gordon Lightfoot's music in 1970, If You Could Read My Mind first got my attention and I have loved him ever since.

I like to think of him as a North American treasure.

[Paladin]

46. First Heard "CRT" on a folk music station.....

...in Austin, TX back in the '60's (about the same time I was listening to Ian and Sylvia, Buffalo Springfield, etc. and trying to coax a few chords out of a Martin D-28, which I wish I still owned); it's been a favorite of mine ever since. Might have to buy the CD to listen to it again....

[GoddessOfGuinness]

36. He's been lookin' real fast

in his faded jeans.

[saltpoint]

37. Lightfoot is Canada's most renown singer-songwriter. He's written

500 or so songs. I have some early recordings of his on United Artist records, including the song "Canadian Railroad Trilogy," and then several more on Reprise/Warner Brothers. He seemed to be very well known among folk writers and singers but was not commercially successful in the U.S. until the album SIT DOWN YOUNG STRANGER, changed later to IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND, after its most popular track.

Bob Dylan once said of Gordon Lightfoot: "When you hear one of his songs, you want it to last forever."

Not a bad comliment for a song-writer.

[saltpoint]

38. If you're set up with iPod gear, pull down a few Lightfoot masterpieces:

"All the Lovely Ladies"
"Bitter Green"
"Song for a Winter's Night"
"Too Late for Prayin'"
"Approaching Lavender"
"Talkin' in Your Sleep"
"Ghosts of Cape Horn"

and many others.

an aside: Lightfoot is the increasinly rare modern soul who can sail by celestial navigation.