Gordon Lightfoot: Gord's Gold

From his first top ten hit in 1970 to his 2007 North American tour, Gordon Lightfoot has been one of Canada's most successful singer/songwriters. His 1974 #1 hit, "Sundown," was part of a decade of top-selling folk/rock albums, and he is still relevant today, as the subject of a theme week on Canadian Idol in 2004 and as the star of a Canada Post stamp in 2007.

Gord has received four Grammy nominations, 27 Juno Award nominations, and 11 Juno Award wins, as well as countless other awards, recognitions, and Hall of Fame inductions.

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

I can see her lying back in her satin dress
In a room where you do what you don't confess
Sundown, you'd better take care
If I find you've been creeping 'round my back stairs

I can picture every move that a man can make
Getting lost in her loving is your first mistake
Sundown, you'd better take care
If I find you've been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sometimes I think it's a sin
When I feel like I'm winning when I'm losing again

"Sundown"

Pickin' up the pieces of my sweet, shattered dream
I wonder how the old folks are tonight
Her name was Ann and I'll be damned if I recall her face
She left me not knowin' what to do

Carefree highway, let me slip away on you
Carefree highway, you seen better days
The mornin' after blues from my head down to my shoes
Carefree highway, let me slip away
Slip away on you

"Carefree Highway"

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
And 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
And 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 feeling's gone
And I just can't get it back

"If You Could Read My Mind"