May 2, 20232 yr He's on that carefree highway to heaven. Carefree highwayLet me slip away on youCarefree highwayYou've seen better daysThe morning after bluesFrom my head down to my shoesCarefree highwayLet me slip away, slip away on you
May 2, 20232 yr Oof. I liked him as a kid becoming aware of music and then kind of decided he was a 70s cheeseball, then came to appreciate him again. 84 is a pretty good run, didn't realize he was that old. RIP.
May 2, 20232 yr Damn. My dad was a USN man but had a lot of respect for civilian seafarers. He would play WOTEF as often as possible every Nov. 10. His baritone is not heard much anymore and the storytelling is uniquely pure and tragic. Godspeed. Edited May 2, 20232 yr by Jackson P. Neighbors
May 2, 20232 yr From an oft overlooked gem of his. If you find me feedin' daisies Please turn my face up to the sky And leave me be Watchin' the moon roll by Whatever I was You know it was all because I've been on the town Washin' the bullshit down
May 2, 20232 yr Canadia just became a lot less relevant. If you could read my mind, love - what a tale my thoughts could tell…
May 2, 20232 yr Oof. I liked him as a kid becoming aware of music and then kind of decided he was a 70s cheeseball, then came to appreciate him again. 84 is a pretty good run, didn't realize he was that old. RIP.Sounds like me. I didn’t come to appreciate him until I got to UT in the early 90s. Edmund Fitzgerald was the hook. I stayed on because of Sundown, Carefree Highway, If You Could Read my Mind, etc. So much great music to chill too. RIP you richly baritoned Canuck.
May 2, 20232 yr Fell in love with his music with this song on the old Kirk Wilson KAZZ-FM show in the late '60s, early 70's. So great, Edmund Fitzgerald, Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Sundown, too many great songs over the years. RIP Gord.
May 3, 20232 yr Bob Dylan summed Gordo up pretty good when he said something like "when I hear a song by Lightfoot I wish it could go on forever."
May 3, 20232 yr I can see you lying back in your satin dress, in the room where you do what you don’t confess…Dude could turn a phrase
May 4, 20232 yr A Song For A Winters Night is one of my favorites and has been on our holiday playlist for years. Look at these lyrics. The lamp is burnin' low upon my table topThe snow is softly fallingThe air is still in the silence of my roomI hear your voice softly calling If I could only have you nearTo breathe a sigh or twoI would be happy just to hold the hands I loveOn this winter night with you The smoke is rising in the shadows overheadMy glass is almost emptyI read again between the lines upon each pageThe words of love you sent me If I could know within my heartThat you were lonely tooI would be happy just to hold the hands I loveOn this winter night with you The fire is dyingNow my lamp is growing dimThe shades of night are liftingThe morning light steals across my window paneWhere webs of snow are drifting If I could only have you nearTo breathe a sigh or twoI would be happy just to hold the hands I loveOn this winter night with youAnd to be once again with you
May 25, 20232 yr Life-long Lightfoot fan. But up until a few weeks ago I had no idea about Cathy Smith's (of injected-Belushi-with-a-speedball-that-stopped-his-heart fame) connection to Gordon, nor that she was the subject of Sundown. The videography about him (on either netflix or prime, I can't recall) was extremely fascinating.
October 1Oct 1 Great story about Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/gordon-lightfoot-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald-story-1235436830/
October 1Oct 1 12 hours ago, TwiceHorn said: Great story about Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/gordon-lightfoot-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald-story-1235436830/ Heard an interview with the author. It was fascinating.
October 2Oct 2 19 hours ago, Vanilla Strange Gato said: Heard an interview with the author. It was fascinating. Looking forward to the book. I love that kind of stuff. The story has been told several times, but I think this one is in the style of The Perfect Storm, which is a damn good book.
November 10Nov 10 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. Will have a drink at 7 pm for the boys.
November 10Nov 10 Looking forward to the book. I love that kind of stuff. The story has been told several times, but I think this one is in the style of The Perfect Storm, which is a damn good book.He does a great job explaining the history of the Fitz, the importance of the Great Lakes shipping channel, the engineering behind the Soo locks...hell, he even finds a way to make taconite interesting.Data & safety wonks will appreciate the explanation of the Plimsoll line & freeboard limits--and how frequently these critical safety limits were tested, skirted & broken for the almighty dollar--and how dangerous those waters were given the technology of the time.Obviously it's the stories of the sailors & the families that pull us in. Captain McSorley making his final sail ever before retiring, and using the extra bonus money from another record haul to help cover his chronically ill wife's medical expenses. The officers & mates he'd spent decades sailing with who were also going to retire. And the youngsters, waiting to finish the season & take their hot rod on a cross country trip before the responsibilities of an unexpected pregnancy truly set in.
November 12Nov 12 Haunting lyrics in a song chock full of sadness: Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
November 12Nov 12 Watched this one today. Done by Fox Milwaukee. It was worth my time. One interesting fact they mentioned is that throughout the history of Lake Superior shipping, there have been 44 wrecks that have occurred on November 10th .
November 12Nov 12 NPR did a great story on the wreck and Lightfoot's song. I found this fascinating: Quote "From 1875 to 1975, there were at least 6,000 commercial shipwrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes," Bacon told NPR. "So that is one shipwreck a week every week for a century. That is one casualty every day for a century." . . . Ultimately, said author John U. Bacon, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald helped change safety standards. There has not been a single major commercial shipwreck on the Great Lakes, he says, for the past 50 years. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5518215/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck
November 12Nov 12 Damn. That’s a lot of shipwrecks. Im sure it’s been talked about up thread but I love the story of how they recorded this song on the first take with no practice.
November 12Nov 12 1 hour ago, South Austin said: NPR did a great story on the wreck and Lightfoot's song. I found this fascinating: https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5518215/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck Crazy fact from this pod. The EF had to be narrow enough to fit through locks. How narrow? It was only 75 feet wide. Shorter than the distance from home to 1st base
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.