# Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. CC O.Ont (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer and songwriter who had achieved international success in the genres of folk and country music. Lightfoot had received sixteen Juno Awards and five Grammy Award nominations. He had also been inducted to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1986), the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame (2001) and Canada's Walk of Fame (1998).

## Sourced

* Hail hero, hail hero, child of the sun All covered with flowers still having your fun
** Theme song of Hail, Hero! (1969), co-written with Jerome Moross
* Hail hero, hail hero, child of your fate Come into the kitchen don't stand by the gate And show us your wisdom before it's too late
** Theme song of Hail Hero! (1969), co-written with Jerome Moross
* Hail hero, hail hero, let me see you smile You been gone for so damn long, I wish you'd stay awhile
** Theme song of Hail Hero! (1969), co-written with Jerome Moross

### Lightfoot! (1966)

* The liquor tasted good and here the women all were fast... You can't jump a jet plane Like you can a freight train So I'll best be on my way In the early morning rain
** Early Morning Rain, Track 7, UAS-6487 The Song That Changed Everything

### The Way I Feel (1967)

* But now the seeds are planted and the gates are opened wide The old ways are forgotten there is no place left to hide And the legacy I'm leaving you is not very hard to find You'll see it all around you at this crossroads of time In the sweet soil its a growing at the crossroads of time
** Crossroads, Track 4, United Artists
* If I could only have you near To breathe a sigh or two I would be happy just to hold the hands I love On this winters night with you
** Song For A Winter's Night, Track 10, United Artists A hauntingly beautiful version
* There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run And the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun Long before the white man and long before the wheel When the green dark forest was too silent to be real... Oh! The song of the future has been sung All the battles have been won On the mountain tops we stand All the world at our command We have opened up the soil with our teardrops and our toil
** Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Track 11, United Artists Watch it Here

### Did She Mention My Name? (1968)

* And the body of a dead youth Lies stretched upon the ground Upon the filthy pavements No reason can be found Black day in July
** Black Day In July, Track 3, (mono 45 edit), UNITED ARTISTS 50281, March 1968
* Satin rays and coloured days Stark blue horizons Naked limbs and wheat bins, hazy afternoons Voicing, rejoicing the wine cups do bring Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
** Pussywillows, Cat-Tails, Track 8, UNITED ARTISTS

### Back Here On Earth (1968)

* Some say he was a sailor who died away at sea Some say he was a prisoner who never was set free Lost upon the ocean he died there in the mist Dreaming of a kiss Bitter Green they called her walking in the sun Loving everyone that she met Bitter Green they called her waiting in the sun Waiting for someone to take her home
** Bitter Green, Track 4, UNITED ARTISTS

### Sit Down Young Stranger (1970)
#### 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.
* 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 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.

### Sundown (1974)

* I can see her lookin fast in her faded jeans She's a hard lovin woman got me feelin mean Sometimes I think its a shame when I get feelin better when I'm feelin no pain Sundown you better take care if I find you been creepin round my back stairs Sundown you better take care if I find you been creepin round my back stairs
** Sundown, Track 7, Reprise
* Searching through the fragments of my dream shattered sleep I wonder if the years have closed her mind I guess it must be wanderlust or trying to get free From the good old faithful feeling we once knew Carefree highway, let me slip away on you Carefree highway you seen better days..
** Carefree Highway, Track 8, Reprise

### Summertime Dream (1976)

* When supper time came the old cook came on deck saying "Fellas its too rough to feed ya" When at 7:00 pm the main hatch way caved in he said "Fellas its been good to know ya" The captain wired in, he had water coming in and the big ship and crew was in peril When latter that night when her lights went outta sight came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?... And all that remains is the faces and names of the wives and the sons and the daughters...
** The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Track 2, Reprise Get the kleenex now

## External links

* "Gordon Lightfoot" at Canadian Encyclopedia
* "Gordon Lightfoot" at canadianbands.com
* CBC Digital Archives: Gordon Lightfoot: Canada's Folk Laureate
* Gordon Lightfoot on IMDb
* Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Communications Foundation
* Interview with Gordon Lightfoot in International Songwriters Association's "Songwriter Magazine"
* Gordon Lightfoot quotes at the Internet Movie Database 2019 documentary about Gordon and his career