Lightfoot – Planet Laurel

My first musical love was folk music, and nobody told its stories better than our own Gordon Lightfoot.

Gordon Lightfoot's "Sit Down Young Stranger" album cover via Record Cellar https://recordcellar.ca/product/gordon-lightfoot-sit-down-young-stranger/ — _{Cover Art: The album was originally titled Sit Down Young Stranger, but when If You Could Read My Mind became a monster hit, they added the little pink sticker until the next pressing when they could rename the album.}

As a young pup one of my first forays into the wider world was the bus trip I took to Toronto to see my musical idol, Gordon Lightfoot, live in concert at Massey Hall. And it was fabulous. I’ll always remember Gord’s introduction of one of my favorite songs, “Second Cup of Coffee,” self deprecatingly pointing out his folly in pairing the lyrics of despair with such an upbeat tune. The audience laughed good naturedly, but it was clear we would continue to love the song anyway.

Whether they were songs were about love or heartbreak, ballads about building the railway or laying in wet grass watching a 707 fly home, or maybe a chance to hear Don Quixote rail against injustice at an unsympathetic ocean or agonize as the Yarmouth Castle dies beneath its waves, Lightfoot’s music doesn’t just tell us his stories, he pulls us into them.

It wasn’t only the lyrical words he wove together, it was the sometimes acoustically simple, others orchestrally complex but often breathtakingly beautiful music that swept his lyrics into our minds. And very often our hearts.

_{Take note of the fingerpicking as Gordon Lightfoot performs his timeless classic, “If You Could Read My Mind.”}

Gordon Lightfoot became the soul of the Canadian folk era, but he didn’t just fade away when folk music was relegated to the back pages of the music world. Instead he spread his creativity and passion into whatever genre was appropriate to the work, continuing to craft meticulous lyrics and wrap them in unforgettable melodies.

In the end he forged a musical legacy that became an integral part of the shared culture underpinning the Canadian Identity.

Thank you for sharing your gifts with us, Gordon Lightfoot. Rest well, dear minstrel. You’ve earned it.

Remembering Gordon Lightfoot Collage [Text] Gordon Lightfoot November 17, 1938 - May 1, 2023 [Photo] Gordon Lightfoot at Interlochen [Pictured] Album Covers • Lightfoot! (1966) • Two Tones at the Village Corner (1962) • The Way I Feel (1967) • Did She Mention My Name? (1968) • Back Here on Earth (1968) • Sunday Concert (1969) • Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) • Summer Side of Life (1971) • Don Quixote (1972) • Old Dan's Records (1972) • Sundown (1974) • Cold On The Shoulder (1975) • Gord's Gold (compilation 1975) • Summertime Dream (1976) • Endless Wire (1978) • Dream Street Rose (1980) • Shadows (1982) • Salute (1983) • Solo (2020) • All Live (2012) • Harmony (2004) • A Painter Passing Through (1998) • East of Midnight 1986) • Waiting For You (1993)

Art Credits

Cover Art: Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) © Reprise Records

Released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license (CC BY-SA), my Remembering Gordon Lightfoot Collage is incorporates:

Gordon Lightfoot at Interlochen
© by Arnielee – own work CC BY-SA
3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7589668

and Album covers (fair dealing)

Sit Down Young Stranger, Summer Side of Life, Don Quixote, Old Dan’s Records, Sundown, Cold On The Shoulder, Gord’s Gold, Summertime Dream © Reprise Records

Endless Wire, Dream Street Rose, Shadows, Salute, East of Midnight, Waiting For You, A Painter Passing Through © (1998) Warner Bros. Records

Category: Lightfoot

Canada’s Minstrel

Canada’s Minstrel