WORD LISTSGordon Lightfoot (1938–2023) Tribute ListMay 2, 2023
By Vocabulary.com (NY)
 Canadian singer-songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot, achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and helped define folk-pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. Several of his albums achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally, and his songs have been recorded by many notable artists. The following Lightfoot hits topped the U.S. Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary (AC) charts: "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" and "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976). Some of his many awards include 13 JUNO Awards, five Grammy Award nominations, 1986 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee, 1997 Governor General's Performing Arts Award (Canada's highest honor in the performing arts), and his 2012 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This tribute honors Lightfoot using lyrics and biographical articles.
  
tale
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 You Could Read My Mind
creep
Sundown you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs – Sundown
legend
The
legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee – The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
carefree
Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you
– Carefree Highway
wanderlust
I guess it must be
wanderlust or trying to get free
From the good old faithful feeling we once knew – Carefree Highway
sorrow
If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow they can't rise above – Rainy Day People
recall
Though I could hardly hear the name you spoke
It's a name I don't recall – Talking In Your Sleep
virtue
Just think about the fool
Who by his virtue can be found – Race Among The Ruins
aching
In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand I'm a long way from home, Lord, I miss my loved ones so In the early morning rain with no place to go – Early Morning Rain
cinder
Motor city madness has touched the countryside
And through the smoke and cinders, you can hear it far and wide – Black Day In July
majestic
There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains Stood alone against the sun – Canadian Railroad Trilogy
legacy
"Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music — and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his
legacy live on forever," Trudeau wrote.
– CNN
prestigious
Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986, Lightfoot garnered 13
prestigious JUNO awards — out of a total 29 nominations — presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
– CNN
baritone
His rich
baritone voice and songs like "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and "If You Could Read My Mind" made him one of the most popular artists of the 1970s.
– The New York Times
self-effacing
His personal style, reticent and
self-effacing — he avoided interviews and flinched when confronted with praise — also went down well.
– The New York Times
elegy
Many of Lightfoot's songs about Canadian wildlife, streets and weather doubled as cultural
elegies — like his 1976 hit "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," a dramatic retelling of a real-life maritime disaster.
– NPR
sterling
These songs ["If You Could Read My Mind," "Carefree Highway," and "Early Morning Rain"] earned him a
sterling reputation as a songwriter's songwriter, which you can see when you check the list of people who covered them: Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and countless others.
– Rolling Stone |
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