Gordon Lightfoot RIP

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leadbelly

leadbelly

Member
Joined 2002
RIP

Don't think I agree that Lightfoot is getting more coverage than Downey, at least in national media, but Downey was in that unique situation of a younger man finding out he is terminally ill.

I think Lightfoot had a more profound influence in general. It's like the guy who wrote and performed the background music for "Canada" just passed away.
 
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system7

system7

Member
Joined 2008
I shall miss him:

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early 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 When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin' "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya" At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said "Fellas, it's been good to know ya" The captain wired in he had water comin' in And the good ship and crew was in peril And later that night when his lights went outta sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Does any one know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her They might have split up or they might have capsized They may have broke deep and took water And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the rooms of her ice-water mansion Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams The islands and bays are for sportsmen And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the gales of November remembered In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed In the maritime sailors' cathedral The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee Superior, they said, never gives up her dead When the gales of November come early Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Gordon Lightfoot

Maybe just me. :(
 
H

Halauhula

Member
Joined 2014
Since I am an old guy, I am biased to Gordon Lightfoot as a significant artist. As I have not heard Tragically Hip, I hesitate to compare and rank.

I will say that Lightfoot is, IMO, in the second rank of singer/songwriters from Canada, with Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Neil Young being in the first rank. That is no slight against Lightfoot, whom I return to time and time again when I need some lighter music and am in the mood for acoustic-driven pop.
 
Cal Weldon

Cal Weldon

Administrator
Joined 2004
calweldonconsulting.ca
Paid Member
I believe he is the most covered Canadian artist of all time.
Some musicians who have performed Lightfoot songs: Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Peter, Paul & Mary, Glen Campbell, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, Barbra Streisand, Ian & Sylvia, Richie Havens, Nana Mouskouri, George Hamilton IV.
Long live GML in our hearts and minds.
Truly one of the best. To rank him lower than top tier is just plain wrong.
 
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Cal Weldon

Cal Weldon

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Joined 2004
calweldonconsulting.ca
Paid Member
Let's try and stick with Gordon.

The latest docu I saw of him was the "If you could read my mind". It was great.
I turned up the volume a bit and told my wife to put the Honey-do list on hold, I was gonna be busy for the next couple hours.
She sat down beside me and we barely spoke a word, just sang along and smiled. Can't remember if I even had dinner that night. :)
 
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M

mhenschel

Member
Joined 2019
Back in 2018 Massey Hall closed for extensive renovations and they tipped Gordon to do the final concerts before they shut 'er down for a couple of years. He was the obvious choice having had a traditional week (or so) of concerts there every year for the longest time.
I expected that he'd be asked to re-open when it was done so my friend and I got tickets for the middle show.
It was pretty wonderful. Still a force in his 80s!
Then Covid hit and I wound up isolating with the Aged Ps so we missed his return to Massey.
And now he's gone.
Nuts.
Gordon... thanks ever so much for it all.
 
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