Gordon Lightfoot

Originally from Canada, Gordon Lightfoot was one of the premier lyricists and songwriters of the 1970’s. Here’s an example of his lyrics from 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 wishing 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 the drugstores sell.
Then you reached 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 feel 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 feeling’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 wishing 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’d 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 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!

Gordon’s best LP effort may have been Sundown, which included the title song hit plus Carefree Highway and other notable songs like Somewhere USA, High and Dry, Circle of Steel, Seven Island Suite, and a personal favorite, Too Late For Prayin’.

On November 10, 1975 the ore carrier ship named Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. Gordon’s tribute to the men who lost their lives in this tragic nautical event ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ (lyrics) became one of his most popular songs. It was a perfect match of haunting melody to a description of the event. The original version of this song can be found on the album Summertime Dream which contains some other great tunes like Race Among the Ruins, I’m Not Supposed to Care, and Never Too Close.