Remembering legacy of Gordon Lightfoot

DEAR EDITOR:

Three comments from musicians who were interviewed about their memories of Gordon Lightfoot (CBC-TV, May 3):

Damhnait Doyle: “He had a way with words in that he wasn’t just writing songs, he was painting Canada.”

Jim Cuddy: “His voice... always gave a shade of melancholy to everything he sang. As much as he would try to do songs that were super happy, they always had, you always were wondering like, 'What’s behind all this?'...”

Tom Wilson: “Every time you drop a needle on one of his songs, one of his records, his voice is going to unleash a joy in your heart that you maybe forgot was there.”

Bob Dylan once said of Lightfoot, “I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever ... Lightfoot became a mentor for a long time. I think he probably still is to this day.”

Dylan inducted Lightfoot into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 1986 Juno Awards, and described Lightfoot as “somebody of rare talent.”

Dylan covered Lightfoot’s Shadows at his Edmonton concert in 2012.

One year ago, the Bob Dylan Center officially opened in Tulsa. It is also the home of the Bob Dylan Archive — a treasure trove of items Dylan and others have collected. Is it possible that one day the Gordon Lightfoot Centre and Gordon Lightfoot Archive will open in Orillia, the University of Toronto, or at another Ontario location?

There is an excellent documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind that was released in 2019. But what is needed now is a series of one-hour made-for-television episodes about his life and music, similar to the long-form style of filmmaker Ken Burns (PBS).

Nicholas Jennings’ definitive biography of Lightfoot was published in 2017. He also wrote the liner notes for Gordon Lightfoot: Songbook (2016): 88 songs covering Lightfoot’s entire career, including 18 that are rare or previously unreleased. One of them is Forgive Me Lord.

The lyrics include:

“Make my world a better place to be Remove these chains and set me free Give my face a different point of view Forgive us Lord if we run to you”

Three interviews Lightfoot did with host George Stroumboulopoulos can be viewed on YouTube. Here’s an excerpt from the 2015 interview

Stroumboulopoulos: “Are you a reflective man? Do you think about the life you’ve led?”

Lightfoot: “Do I ever! Yeah, I do. I regret some things. I've been in a state of repentance for a long time now.” Stroumboulopoulos: “How’s that feel?” Lightfoot: “It feels good. It’s felt better, sometimes it hasn't. At other times... but right now it feels pretty good. It's been better, but right now it's pretty good.”

Race Among the Ruins is the opening track on Lightfoot’s 1976 album, Summertime Dream.

He ran with endurance the race marked out for him, and finished well.

Rest in peace, Gordon Lightfoot.

David Buckna Kelowna