The first version of this song that I heard was by Peter Paul & Mary, and I still love their version. I've heard Ian & Sylvia's version too, but Gordon's is the best of all.
While I really like Gordon, the finest performance of this song has to be Ian & Sylvia's. If you were ever lucky enough to hear them in a small venue, like the old Cellar Door in D.C., the ungodly power of Ian Tyson's voice will haunt you forever.
I was in this mess 20years ago, "with no place to go" "as drunk as drunk can be" in the early morning is the worst place to be,please god i'm never going back there.
Gordon the Great....incredible songwriter & singer. Saw him so many times in the late 70's early 80's and found my way back about 3 years ago at Town Hall in NYC & who knew got to meet him coming out and what a decent, nice guy as well. When I look back no matter what he's always the best, so many memories...the best!!!
...ok so anybody know the song" mother of a miner's child"?..was on "old dan's records"...i loved that song, loved that album...i can find covers but none of gordon singing it....
most of us have been here at some point...this song sucks out the lonely in you and reminds you that you are not alone...and everything will eventually be alright...beautiful
There are some songs,some performances,some artists that when you just hear them you 're happy,you feel complete,besoign de rien.Pure example this piece...
I have been a huge Gord fan since I was about 10 years old and always loved this song in particular. My love of Lightfoot was something I couldn't really share with my buddies while I was in the Army though until I found that at some point someone had turned this song into a marching cadence. Proudest day as a Drill Sergeant was getting the kids marching to this song.
Hey, I am doing better. I posted a while ago about really tough times. They are still tough, life is not good if you have very little. Especially when you had a great life a short while ago. As he sings about in this wonderful song. Everytime I see the a jet overhead I wish I was in it, no matter where it is going. I wish you all love and friendship because money...well it comes and it goes.
@TheQueposfan - so glad to read your latest posting and hear that things are looking a bit up. Hang in there buddy and be ready to grab every opportunity offered. I pray things get better and better for you real soon.
I am 10,000 miles away from home with no hope of getting the bucks to fly home to my wife and 2 kids so I connect with this song totally! Just like TheQuestion, lost my house here in the States, no car, no job, no money but still have faith in myself!
ok so i wasn't born yet when this song came out (i'm 30). but i'm guessing that if you liked gordon lightfoot, or peter, paul, and mary....you maybe didn't like the grateful dead. but i love the grateful dead and i just wanted to let people who like this song know that in my opionion they do a great version of this song. It's found on the 12 CD box set "The Golden Road: 1965-1972" on the ' Birth of the Dead' disc 1 CD contained within that set. Check it out if you like this song!
We would see that Freedom Bird fly over us and just wish we were on it. If you don't know what a Freedom Bird is then you haven't earned the right to read this post.
I had lost my house and everything I knew, my gas tank kept flashing empty, and this song came on. I just pulled off and cried. But looking back at it, it was the most beautiful song I have ever heard......with a dollar in my hand, and no where to go.
@TheQueposfan Sorry to hear about your plight sir. Hope you pulled through & wishing you a better life. This song makes me want to cry for different reasons related to my late Dad who was a big GL fan.
So many covers! Means only one thing....this is a great song. Saw Gordon twice during the '70's, at Lincoln Center/Alice Tully Hall, which has perfect acoustics; the first time was like listening to a studio version, the second time, Gord looked like he was drunk...."I'd like to introduce the band" and then proceeded to introduce the members of the band to one another....it's no wonder Dan Fogelberg, RIP, learned so much from him.
i was prolly 13 or 13 when my dad popped a Gordon Lightfoot tape in the radio on our way to go fishing. Im 24 now still love his music and i will pass it on to my son who is about to turn 2.
@ericynot lifes differant in canada than in the states , I lived there many years , more emphasis on art , music , culture , they are the family of man up there ,
Love this song. The first time I heard it, I was stuck there on the ground, cold and drunk as I could be. Late 60s, I think. I'll get to see Gordon again at a concert in September.
son named christian,,,song was playing as I flew away in 1967, he was born 5-11-68, I loved you then and now. I come to your concerts in virginia but leave without making myself known
I play this song (and a lot of lightfoot, for that matter...Carefree Highway, anybody?) While driving from my home in the Greater Toronto Area up to the cottage in northern Ontario
I read an article recently about him and his earlier health struggles this past 10 years and you'd think he would be dead by now by those reports. Anyways, apparently by the grace of god he overcame these obstacles and is on a tour and is playing in Ottawa, Ontario Canada tonight, May 20, 2010. Well guess it shows we change our minds all the time. Glad Gordon got over his chip on his shoulder he had with the oscars and grammy awards years back and said "to hell with it" Best songwriter ever!
Neither Gordon Lightfoot nor Leonard Cohen truly got their due here in the US. Both excellent songwriters, and are a dying breed. Both in their 70's and still performing...
@13fenderbender I have always loved his music! I remember the last time I saw him concert some time in the 70's (don't remember the exact date....good drugs bad memory) and then again in the 80's...damn I didn't recognize the old gut that came on stage. This was one of my favorite songs. I should have gone to the concert with you as my luck with my ex ended with a big lawyer bill.
i can't believe no ones mentioned the cornball version elvis did in his '73 special. lightfoot actually changed some of the lyrics in future performances to match what elvis sang. gords version is by far the best tho...
Can someone please help me with a GL title? Starts out "Come on Pearl, come on Betty, if you're feelin' fine. Down around the bend in the water, bring you're fishin' line".
Said to say many Canadians don't appreciate the musical talent Canadians have contributed to the contemporary music scene until they make it big in the US stage- case in point- Gordon Lightfoot
While it is difficult to reconcile that our favorite musicians and entertainers are aging, we can only feel blessed for the decades of beautiful, meaningful music they have given us; knowing that through their artistry they will live on forever...timeless...ageless.....immortal, captured in the beauty of all the moments we've shared with them over the years.
Over the years I have seen Gordon Lightfoot in concert over 20 times and loved every one of them. He is older now and his beautiful voice has lost a few octaves but the many songs he has written are as beautiful as ever. He is one of the greatest folk singer/songwriters to have ever lived.
Paul Smith sings and plays the best version of this wonderful song by a long long way, he tips his hat to the original with a great soulful voice and plays a fantastic fingerstyle version on a 12 string guitar,check it out and I promise it will blow you away!
I can picture and feel this soulful song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's- folk music told a story and some were fairytale-like (stays with you)
I can picture and feel this soulful song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's- folk music told a story and some were fairytale-like (stays with a child)
I can picture and feel this soulful song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's- folk music told a story and sometimes fairytale-like.
Great song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's-folk music told a story, & sometimes fariytale-like.
Amazing how a song can be interpreted so differently by Three different artists: I've never heard of this song before , I just found a video of a young lady singing it on you tube then Eva Cassidy 's version, Paul Weller's and now this one. Extraordinary..... What a song!
@PollenJesus His name is Richard Haynes. For years Lightfoot performed as a 3 piece ensemble (2 guitars and bass). Haynes broke every "rule" of bass playing and made the bass part a critical component of the Lightfoot Sound. He is truly one of the greatest of all time (and he's still playing with Lightfoot!)
listening to CKLW 80 AM from Windsor,canada,me in Detroit,across the river,we heard Motown and the best of Canada,I wouldn't want to grow up anywhere else
I like the stories about him as a songwriter selling his songs in the early days. Then of course he had the ability and talent to make it as a performer! Great recording. There is another one of If You Could Read My Mind from the show "Midnight Special" that is great. Saw G.L. play in concerts about a dozen times, all great shows. There's a recent posting of him in 2009 in Georgia where he does this great also. I love singing this song and what it captures lyrically. God Bless G.L.!
Truly this man is one of the greatest lyricists of the past half century. I just love picking up a guitar and playing his songs. Helps me pull everything into perspective.
@Marcus06357 There is something really special about the way his songs feel when you play them and only a guitar player would understand that. I always feel a sense of accomplishment each time I figure out one of his songs because he is not as easy as he sounds.
Traveling the world I met many musicians in exactly the situation he paints. Stuck far away from home, lonely, drunk and ashamed. Such beautiful imagery for such a sad subject. Everything that he is not is up, high, flying, and everything he is is down on the ground.
Rumors have it that Gordon wrote Early Morning Rain while on layover at Halifax Airport has anyone else heard this would be nice to know the story tks
CAN YOU JUMP A JET PLANE? NO. CAN YOU JUMP A FREIGHT TRAIN? YES. THUS, "YOU CAN'T JUMP A JET PLANE THE WAY YOU CAN A FREIGHT TRAIN." SOME PEOPLE ON HERE ON REALLY DENSE. NO NEED TO CHANGE BEAUTIFUL LYRICS EVEN FOR THE INANELY DENSE.
@Baskerville22 Because a guy bumming the country uses the vernacular as Gordon did in his song here. If you're bumming you never board a train, or go aboard one, you jump them, unlike a plane.
Great!! Gordon sings and writes sooooo beautyfully. It's just too bad that the young folks have lost touch with their creative side and do not write or sing like 60's, 70's and 80,s
@jimbyrne528 Huh? What does that mean? You really don't think that there is any creativity out there nowadays? Or is it just that you prefer the music from that era?
@jimbyrne528 I always wonder if in 20-30 years we think that the music from 00 and 2010 were great stuff and the new stuff is horrible.
I personally don't like any of the new stuff. But I think it might be because I'm getting old. None the less, I wouldn't trade A Whiter Shade of pale with any of the new songs I hear on the the radio, except maybe 'I got five on it' But that's old already too.
Wow!!! Is the original version?? All the other artists that have covered this Elvis, Peter Paul Marry, etc etc,,, do a slightly different version. This one sounds so much better!! Really keeps ya tapping your foot !!
It's a traveling song; he's singing about how free the plane is when it's up in the sky, where it's sunny. And he is on the ground where it's raining. IT's a song about longing to be somewhere, anywhere else, than where you are. Cheers.
When I was a kid my parents took us on a road trip through the Rocky Mountains and we listened to Gordon Lightfoot the whole way. This is such a great song to listen to as you're driving through the snowy mountains. This song will always remind me of that trip!
@Bexv this is one of the great things about music, how it instantly transports you to a time and place where you connected to life with a soundtrack that enhanced your experience. Gordon Lightfoot is the perfect person to be in your music/memory rolodex for that purpose.
@Syzygy60 He is at an airport longing to be home, he maybe doesn't have the money for a plane ticket and/or just too drunk the make the plane "but I'm stuck here in the grass, cold and drunk as I can be". And of course the great line, "you can't jump a jet plane, like you can a frieght train".
A great song . . .is a great song! this is a great song sang with great feeling. We all have a preference that means a lot to us all. So I guess that every version is the best!!! Does that sound weird?
@akki6041 No it doesn't sound weird. There are a handful of very beautifully written songs that a person wants to hear all the ways it can be handled..."Somewhere Over the Rainbow" comes to mind, "What a Wonderful World", "Unchained Melody", "I Will Always Love You", for me, the gospel song "I'll Fly Away", some Christmas songs such as "White Christmas" and "Silver Bells", Ray Charles song "Georgia", country western song "Faded Love"...gee, this is fun! :-) Early Morning Rain, YES!
Personally, I prefer Tony Rice's version on his album "Me and My Guitar". But then, I suppose we always have to look to the original songwriters version as the source. That's probably why so many people prefer Dylan's versions of his own songs to interpretations by others. What do you think?
we need more singer songwriters like Gordon, he is a great talent..
MOSKII58 1 day ago
Gordon's version is way better then Elvis.
janny445 2 weeks ago
great song
Radio2Folk 2 weeks ago
John Arthur Stockfish
theodoresmithsr 3 weeks ago
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I remember when this song came out. How could we have known it would stand the test of time so well?
ThePhotobug561 3 weeks ago
this is real music reaches ur soul uu can relate..makes me feel at ease..calm an remminesant..dont get better than that!
stardej2000 3 weeks ago
paul wellers versions better
Nesgamer1991 1 month ago
The first version of this song that I heard was by Peter Paul & Mary, and I still love their version. I've heard Ian & Sylvia's version too, but Gordon's is the best of all.
Lostchord1000 1 month ago
While I really like Gordon, the finest performance of this song has to be Ian & Sylvia's. If you were ever lucky enough to hear them in a small venue, like the old Cellar Door in D.C., the ungodly power of Ian Tyson's voice will haunt you forever.
BlazingFerret 1 month ago
I was in this mess 20years ago, "with no place to go" "as drunk as drunk can be" in the early morning is the worst place to be,please god i'm never going back there.
chrishelenrose 1 month ago
Gordon the Great....incredible songwriter & singer. Saw him so many times in the late 70's early 80's and found my way back about 3 years ago at Town Hall in NYC & who knew got to meet him coming out and what a decent, nice guy as well. When I look back no matter what he's always the best, so many memories...the best!!!
326kjk 1 month ago
daniel brou
TheCzc011235813 2 months ago
Never really realized that he wrote this song and how good he is. Listened to Tony Rice's and Tim O'Brien's version of this song.Tthey're all good.
popoaggie 2 months ago
Gordon Lightfoot-my favorite Canadian, musician,song writer!
zzhamstring 2 months ago in playlist Favorite videos
This song always brings a sadness with it, good for those rainy day blues...
Icouldntgetacoolname 2 months ago
this is either country, rock, or folk....but Gordon...classic
vongibson1968 2 months ago
I saw this man in Belfast many times in the dark days of the troubles, He came when many many others were scared.
He gave a first class show every time
june4783 2 months ago
wow ! i love this and i love this man!
breffnipark 2 months ago
Not too keen on this version, prefer the guitar & vocal version
MACHAWK123 3 months ago
Love this song, love this man. People find that odd for a 28-year-old, but heck, Gordon makes magic.
ButtonMuncher 3 months ago
Lightfoot's "No time for Praying" is also an outstanding recording by him.. 1970's Martha's Vineyard ..........
Beck9476 3 months ago
There's Sweet Terry! I miss him! :(
CloudClimber7 3 months ago in playlist Gordon Lightfoot
Nobody ever says this, or at least I've never heard anyone say it, so here goes...
What a great bass line! :)
BasementEngineer 3 months ago 6
...ok so anybody know the song" mother of a miner's child"?..was on "old dan's records"...i loved that song, loved that album...i can find covers but none of gordon singing it....
96camel1 3 months ago
As always, I love you Gordon Lightfoot. And, rest in peace dear Terry Clements. The collaboration of you guys will never be surpassed.
bill713b 4 months ago
hmm i didnt kow there even was 9 deaf people on youtube
SiCkScOpEs101 4 months ago
Great song , Great song writer and a Great singer.
madmike180250 4 months ago
9 Dislikes? There are 9 people out there in desperate need of psychiatric help!
greywolf852 4 months ago
most of us have been here at some point...this song sucks out the lonely in you and reminds you that you are not alone...and everything will eventually be alright...beautiful
Tamarama1969 4 months ago in playlist YouTube Mix for Gordon Lightfoot
There are some songs,some performances,some artists that when you just hear them you 're happy,you feel complete,besoign de rien.Pure example this piece...
Dramacidal1 4 months ago
I have been a huge Gord fan since I was about 10 years old and always loved this song in particular. My love of Lightfoot was something I couldn't really share with my buddies while I was in the Army though until I found that at some point someone had turned this song into a marching cadence. Proudest day as a Drill Sergeant was getting the kids marching to this song.
twothreebravo 5 months ago
Hey, I am doing better. I posted a while ago about really tough times. They are still tough, life is not good if you have very little. Especially when you had a great life a short while ago. As he sings about in this wonderful song. Everytime I see the a jet overhead I wish I was in it, no matter where it is going. I wish you all love and friendship because money...well it comes and it goes.
TheQueposfan 5 months ago
@TheQueposfan - so glad to read your latest posting and hear that things are looking a bit up. Hang in there buddy and be ready to grab every opportunity offered. I pray things get better and better for you real soon.
quadro95 4 months ago
I am 10,000 miles away from home with no hope of getting the bucks to fly home to my wife and 2 kids so I connect with this song totally! Just like TheQuestion, lost my house here in the States, no car, no job, no money but still have faith in myself!
Solarshoji 5 months ago
Lightfoot's music is so complex yet so simple and appealing.
ladyflashf 5 months ago
Congrats to the guy that proposed after being there to hear this....
Good Story
Superjudge007 5 months ago
try to find it on here too if you want. think i will right now
bonechina90 5 months ago
ok so i wasn't born yet when this song came out (i'm 30). but i'm guessing that if you liked gordon lightfoot, or peter, paul, and mary....you maybe didn't like the grateful dead. but i love the grateful dead and i just wanted to let people who like this song know that in my opionion they do a great version of this song. It's found on the 12 CD box set "The Golden Road: 1965-1972" on the ' Birth of the Dead' disc 1 CD contained within that set. Check it out if you like this song!
bonechina90 5 months ago
We would see that Freedom Bird fly over us and just wish we were on it. If you don't know what a Freedom Bird is then you haven't earned the right to read this post.
jimtraner 5 months ago
Gordon makes magic out of such simple chords.
anomalousclouds 6 months ago
Rediscovering an old friend who has seen me through many life events. Hello!
aaalo5169 6 months ago
I really like this record along with his others...
zeitgeist52 6 months ago
I had lost my house and everything I knew, my gas tank kept flashing empty, and this song came on. I just pulled off and cried. But looking back at it, it was the most beautiful song I have ever heard......with a dollar in my hand, and no where to go.
TheQueposfan 6 months ago 53
@TheQueposfan Hey, buster, I hope things have worked. what else can I can say. Good luck. It'll work out.
lgcrooks 5 months ago
@TheQueposfan I've been there.It's all about accepting ourselves!
goldbroker 3 months ago
@TheQueposfan that's a beautiful story..
jazzy19001 2 months ago
@TheQueposfan Its funny how the writing of a song can bring out a circumstance...and vice versa... ;-)
mccloud55 2 months ago
@TheQueposfan Sorry to hear about your plight sir. Hope you pulled through & wishing you a better life. This song makes me want to cry for different reasons related to my late Dad who was a big GL fan.
billybeau83 2 months ago
@TheQueposfan Your story almost made me cry buckets
juzu4me 1 month ago
@TheQueposfan I pray that God has helped you find what you need.
furorregnet 1 month ago
@TheQueposfan That is so beautiful! ...Perhaps not your situation at the time, but what you 'made of it' --> You are a DEAR SOUL!
Zen0Z 3 weeks ago
@TheQueposfan I hope things have gotton better for you?
Irishfanism 2 weeks ago
So many covers! Means only one thing....this is a great song. Saw Gordon twice during the '70's, at Lincoln Center/Alice Tully Hall, which has perfect acoustics; the first time was like listening to a studio version, the second time, Gord looked like he was drunk...."I'd like to introduce the band" and then proceeded to introduce the members of the band to one another....it's no wonder Dan Fogelberg, RIP, learned so much from him.
pjameson51 7 months ago
i was prolly 13 or 13 when my dad popped a Gordon Lightfoot tape in the radio on our way to go fishing. Im 24 now still love his music and i will pass it on to my son who is about to turn 2.
jmmurray1 7 months ago
I was 5 yrs old when this song was sang in Chicago, 1979.
wlcanady0408 7 months ago
Thank you, Canada, for Gordon, Joanie, Neil, Burton, Jeff Healey, and Robbie Robertson. I can't imagine life without their music.
ericynot 7 months ago
@ericynot lifes differant in canada than in the states , I lived there many years , more emphasis on art , music , culture , they are the family of man up there ,
hammeron39 6 months ago 2
this is the best thing evar.
redcabbagedude 7 months ago
pity he wont come back to ireland!
SuperPanthony 7 months ago
Love this song. The first time I heard it, I was stuck there on the ground, cold and drunk as I could be. Late 60s, I think. I'll get to see Gordon again at a concert in September.
TheBluesDixonary 7 months ago
son named christian,,,song was playing as I flew away in 1967, he was born 5-11-68, I loved you then and now. I come to your concerts in virginia but leave without making myself known
jeanofvirginia 7 months ago
Too many fond memories for this to be so short a song. I think you have to play it over and over and, etc, just the way I used to do.
tapaculo3 7 months ago
I play this song (and a lot of lightfoot, for that matter...Carefree Highway, anybody?) While driving from my home in the Greater Toronto Area up to the cottage in northern Ontario
onlyrock1 7 months ago
@onlyrock1
I listened to number of his songs while driving from wpg-calgary last summer, and plan to do the same this summer. I'm 17 :)
Kerixx3 7 months ago
@onlyrock1
I listened to number of his songs while driving from wpg-calgary last summer, and plan to do the same this summer. I'm 17 :)
Kerixx3 7 months ago 3
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oldlostone 8 months ago
He is still one of the best I've ever seen in concert. I feel lucky I had the chance
oldlostone 8 months ago
a very moving song,but Paul Wellers cover has so much more feeling.
ritchiemif 8 months ago
I read an article recently about him and his earlier health struggles this past 10 years and you'd think he would be dead by now by those reports. Anyways, apparently by the grace of god he overcame these obstacles and is on a tour and is playing in Ottawa, Ontario Canada tonight, May 20, 2010. Well guess it shows we change our minds all the time. Glad Gordon got over his chip on his shoulder he had with the oscars and grammy awards years back and said "to hell with it" Best songwriter ever!
funky2249 8 months ago
Canadian Icon...how can you be a Canadian and not know about Gordon Lightfoot!!!!!!!
dwambo 8 months ago
Great songs can be sung by such differrent people as PPM KT Bob Dylan etc and still remain a great song .Thanks a lot!
3Pitous 8 months ago
Gordon Lightfoot always seems to tell a Story as he sings...Great..
Aromaticduck 8 months ago
Still remember the joy that this song brought to a young mans mind.
liamys 8 months ago
written by his and our friend the oneand only, Mr. Bob Dylan / bravo
sh10131957 8 months ago
This is Gordon's song ... even if PPM recorded it for a hit.
jmacleve 9 months ago
@jmacleve I couldn't agree more! I love PPM,but there's something about Gord that just grabs you!!
rbrander100 8 months ago
Neither Gordon Lightfoot nor Leonard Cohen truly got their due here in the US. Both excellent songwriters, and are a dying breed. Both in their 70's and still performing...
lothartheterrible 9 months ago
@lothartheterrible I would sure like to know the schedule!
rbrander100 8 months ago
PLEASE CAN SOMEONE UPLOAD 'BLUENOSE'
Englishhegemony 9 months ago
Nobody does his song better than Gordon.
TheBluesDixonary 9 months ago
@TheBluesDixonary I was in the audience with my girlfriend. 2 days later I proposed. And we are still together. Thanks Gordy !!
13fenderbender 9 months ago 47
@13fenderbender My Mom and Dad had me go to a babysitter for this.
bumpynuks 6 months ago
@bumpynuks Are you bitchin' or proud of mom and dad?
superbird1953 3 months ago
@superbird1953 Both! Oh, I forgot my sister was there as well.
marcleach75 2 months ago
@13fenderbender I have always loved his music! I remember the last time I saw him concert some time in the 70's (don't remember the exact date....good drugs bad memory) and then again in the 80's...damn I didn't recognize the old gut that came on stage. This was one of my favorite songs. I should have gone to the concert with you as my luck with my ex ended with a big lawyer bill.
nutuvocare 4 months ago
@13fenderbender OMG that's awesome !! Gordon is great:):)
corinnabambina 3 months ago
@13fenderbender Good for you.....
Factnotfictionpeople 2 months ago
With Pee Wee Charles on pedal steel, Rick Haynes on bass, Barry Keane on drums and Terry Clements on guitar great band!
reso747 9 months ago
Ahhh! nothing compares to original artists!
jonasjar 10 months ago
fab stuff !! thanks .
breffnipark 10 months ago
r.i.p. terry clements....you can never be replaced you were great to see .....
64chrisnickey 10 months ago
This has always been Gordon's song in my mind - first version I heard was his and I was a big PPM fan.
Steel Rail Blues still a bit above.
rdvqc 10 months ago
i can't believe no ones mentioned the cornball version elvis did in his '73 special. lightfoot actually changed some of the lyrics in future performances to match what elvis sang. gords version is by far the best tho...
mccallos 10 months ago
Can someone please help me with a GL title? Starts out "Come on Pearl, come on Betty, if you're feelin' fine. Down around the bend in the water, bring you're fishin' line".
Or something like that.
THB79 10 months ago
@THB79 The song is titled Bend in the Water, its one of Gords many songs that everyone can love regardless of age.
MajorPatMcClelland 10 months ago
@THB79 Bend in the water from Cold on the Shoulder Album
JoeM25 9 months ago
He has a voice that is like no one else's. It's marvelous . . . the kind that comes along once in a great while.
Trudeau7900 10 months ago
The fantastic Gordon Lightfoot to end this damp, dreary day. Enjoy the song, and everyone be safe tonight!
jimmyb227 10 months ago
3 yrs before sobriety.
just4tunes 10 months ago
Now that's hobo music.
primoknoxville 10 months ago
One of the best songs of all time
Gordon at his best those guitars are superb.
PDSJohn 11 months ago
Said to say many Canadians don't appreciate the musical talent Canadians have contributed to the contemporary music scene until they make it big in the US stage- case in point- Gordon Lightfoot
Heismorethanable 11 months ago
While it is difficult to reconcile that our favorite musicians and entertainers are aging, we can only feel blessed for the decades of beautiful, meaningful music they have given us; knowing that through their artistry they will live on forever...timeless...ageless.....immortal, captured in the beauty of all the moments we've shared with them over the years.
mobrules29 11 months ago 2
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gordbard 11 months ago
Over the years I have seen Gordon Lightfoot in concert over 20 times and loved every one of them. He is older now and his beautiful voice has lost a few octaves but the many songs he has written are as beautiful as ever. He is one of the greatest folk singer/songwriters to have ever lived.
kbrown2225 11 months ago
seamless, inspiring. What a tremendous artist, and band. Thank you Gordon Lightfoot for beautiful music.
dustynote 11 months ago
Paul Smith sings and plays the best version of this wonderful song by a long long way, he tips his hat to the original with a great soulful voice and plays a fantastic fingerstyle version on a 12 string guitar,check it out and I promise it will blow you away!
trampster64 11 months ago
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I can picture and feel this soulful song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's- folk music told a story and some were fairytale-like (stays with you)
marlist1 11 months ago
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I can picture and feel this soulful song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's- folk music told a story and some were fairytale-like (stays with a child)
marlist1 11 months ago
I can picture and feel this soulful song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's- folk music told a story and sometimes fairytale-like.
marlist1 11 months ago
Great song. What talent ! Both Lightfoot and PeterPaul&Mary do this perfect. As a child in the 60's-folk music told a story, & sometimes fariytale-like.
marlist1 11 months ago
Paul weller really makes a good fist of this song
macgiver351 11 months ago
it was honor to see him in san diego....love this song
MrZeus169 11 months ago
Amazing how a song can be interpreted so differently by Three different artists: I've never heard of this song before , I just found a video of a young lady singing it on you tube then Eva Cassidy 's version, Paul Weller's and now this one. Extraordinary..... What a song!
28Zeppelin 11 months ago
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Gord's bass player is totally awesome. He has amazing talent and is very entertaining to watch live.
PollenJesus 11 months ago
Gord's bass player is totally awesome. He has amazing talent and is very entertaining to watch live.
PollenJesus 11 months ago
@PollenJesus His name is Richard Haynes. For years Lightfoot performed as a 3 piece ensemble (2 guitars and bass). Haynes broke every "rule" of bass playing and made the bass part a critical component of the Lightfoot Sound. He is truly one of the greatest of all time (and he's still playing with Lightfoot!)
bangwhistle69 11 months ago
Gord's bass player is totally awesome. He has amazing talent and is very entertaining to watch live.
PollenJesus 11 months ago
one of canadas great performers!!!
peterdenny69007 11 months ago
my fav line,"cold and drunk as I can be"
Syzygy60 11 months ago
watch his fingers
Syzygy60 11 months ago
guitar wise he blows even john denver away and I'm not slighting JD
Syzygy60 11 months ago
I'm a Gordon freak if there ever was one
Syzygy60 11 months ago
listening to CKLW 80 AM from Windsor,canada,me in Detroit,across the river,we heard Motown and the best of Canada,I wouldn't want to grow up anywhere else
Syzygy60 11 months ago
so love this and anything Gord wrote and/or recorded. he is an adornment to humanity. and one of Canada's finest, along with Joni Mitchell
writepaintsnap 11 months ago
The St. Lawrence River flows northward. So it should be "DOWN the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspe."
asbpab1966 11 months ago
I like the stories about him as a songwriter selling his songs in the early days. Then of course he had the ability and talent to make it as a performer! Great recording. There is another one of If You Could Read My Mind from the show "Midnight Special" that is great. Saw G.L. play in concerts about a dozen times, all great shows. There's a recent posting of him in 2009 in Georgia where he does this great also. I love singing this song and what it captures lyrically. God Bless G.L.!
TomAbdowConcerts 11 months ago
Truly this man is one of the greatest lyricists of the past half century. I just love picking up a guitar and playing his songs. Helps me pull everything into perspective.
Marcus06357 1 year ago
@Marcus06357 There is something really special about the way his songs feel when you play them and only a guitar player would understand that. I always feel a sense of accomplishment each time I figure out one of his songs because he is not as easy as he sounds.
mikecosgrove 1 year ago
Awesome. His songs are wonderful.
MrChickensoup 1 year ago
bob dylan said he only had two heros to look up to and lightfoot was one of them
rednecknber 1 year ago
@rednecknber Dylan also said that when he heard a Gordon Lightfoot song, he wished it would last forever. What a compliment.
41BobDylan 1 year ago 2
a legend in his own time :)
far from home, beat up and still half drunk from the night before...
been there, done that
MrBuckwilliam 1 year ago
Traveling the world I met many musicians in exactly the situation he paints. Stuck far away from home, lonely, drunk and ashamed. Such beautiful imagery for such a sad subject. Everything that he is not is up, high, flying, and everything he is is down on the ground.
tbriggs7 1 year ago
@tbriggs7 Clever words but they do not only apply to musicians.
DasHearach 1 year ago
@DasHearach You're right, english teachers too.
tbriggs7 1 year ago
I agree Gordon wrote it knows the real interpretation of it nuff said
DrakeGrad 1 year ago
Love PeeWee 's steel guitar contribution in this song!
leggs33 1 year ago
Gordon Lightfoot....you can feel the pain....true artist!
Lillian1225 1 year ago
Rumors have it that Gordon wrote Early Morning Rain while on layover at Halifax Airport has anyone else heard this would be nice to know the story tks
DAVEY500MUSIC 1 year ago
''My first real good song..." One of the besthe wrote, I find. This is a good live version too
faceeyeshands 1 year ago
Gordon seems to be able to read my mind,is it cos were both from northern climes?I dont know.
daveyo52 1 year ago
i like elvis,but how many songs like this did he write,luv ya Gord,thanks for posting.
daveyo52 1 year ago
CAN YOU JUMP A JET PLANE? NO. CAN YOU JUMP A FREIGHT TRAIN? YES. THUS, "YOU CAN'T JUMP A JET PLANE THE WAY YOU CAN A FREIGHT TRAIN." SOME PEOPLE ON HERE ON REALLY DENSE. NO NEED TO CHANGE BEAUTIFUL LYRICS EVEN FOR THE INANELY DENSE.
spanishsong1 1 year ago
The man did not have any equals. It doesn't get any better then this.
videovejjie 1 year ago
OUR GREAT CANNUCK LOVE YA GORDO
buffspringfield 1 year ago
"you can't jump a jet-plane the way you can a freight train" - a bit awkward.
Why not, "you can't jump ABOARD a plane, the way you can a freight-train"..
Baskerville22 1 year ago
@Baskerville22 Because a guy bumming the country uses the vernacular as Gordon did in his song here. If you're bumming you never board a train, or go aboard one, you jump them, unlike a plane.
lazurm 1 year ago
That voice!
Interesting The Byrds-like sound coming from the backup.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Lightfoot, and many happy returns!
URLy2Rise 1 year ago
Great!! Gordon sings and writes sooooo beautyfully. It's just too bad that the young folks have lost touch with their creative side and do not write or sing like 60's, 70's and 80,s
jimbyrne528 1 year ago 11
@jimbyrne528
check out Leif Vollebek - he hasn't lost touch with anything.
r3 . ca / 04KW - check out this link without the spaces for his stuff on cbc radio 3
animalnation9000 9 months ago
@jimbyrne528 Huh? What does that mean? You really don't think that there is any creativity out there nowadays? Or is it just that you prefer the music from that era?
grahamHel 9 months ago
@jimbyrne528 I always wonder if in 20-30 years we think that the music from 00 and 2010 were great stuff and the new stuff is horrible.
I personally don't like any of the new stuff. But I think it might be because I'm getting old. None the less, I wouldn't trade A Whiter Shade of pale with any of the new songs I hear on the the radio, except maybe 'I got five on it' But that's old already too.
With greetings from Iran
saeidmomtahan 8 months ago
I've been lucky to see him live here in Ann Arbor @ the Michigan Theater. Thanks for this post...I, too, was spellbound at his performance...
seale1234 1 year ago
Always love this song.
takkcertu 1 year ago
Spellpinding.
riverdale999 1 year ago
Wow!!! Is the original version?? All the other artists that have covered this Elvis, Peter Paul Marry, etc etc,,, do a slightly different version. This one sounds so much better!! Really keeps ya tapping your foot !!
tecnolover2642 1 year ago 2
It's a traveling song; he's singing about how free the plane is when it's up in the sky, where it's sunny. And he is on the ground where it's raining. IT's a song about longing to be somewhere, anywhere else, than where you are. Cheers.
aterseraph 1 year ago
When I was a kid my parents took us on a road trip through the Rocky Mountains and we listened to Gordon Lightfoot the whole way. This is such a great song to listen to as you're driving through the snowy mountains. This song will always remind me of that trip!
Bexv 1 year ago
@Bexv this is one of the great things about music, how it instantly transports you to a time and place where you connected to life with a soundtrack that enhanced your experience. Gordon Lightfoot is the perfect person to be in your music/memory rolodex for that purpose.
drgrl 1 year ago
Best version!
zaaritha 1 year ago
what's early morning rain got to do with planes?
Syzygy60 1 year ago
@Syzygy60 i think the idea is-
she is in a plane, above the clouds where it doesn't rain and is always sunny.
He's stuck on the ground in the rain.
poostanky 1 year ago
@Syzygy60 hes at a airport and its raining out? Not sure though
suzuidude 1 year ago
@Syzygy60 He is at an airport longing to be home, he maybe doesn't have the money for a plane ticket and/or just too drunk the make the plane "but I'm stuck here in the grass, cold and drunk as I can be". And of course the great line, "you can't jump a jet plane, like you can a frieght train".
111oooo 1 year ago
if u cud read my mind- hands down best tune- will make u cry if u can feel it my friends
jayandelle1 1 year ago
if u cud read my mind- hands down best tune- will make u cry if u can feel it my friends
jayandelle1 1 year ago
Thankful I got to see him live in his prime, bout 20 years ago. Gord's songs are truly special.
111oooo 1 year ago
@111oooo Me, too!
damselinthisdress1 1 year ago
@damselinthisdress1 Love your name.
111oooo 1 year ago
@111oooo Thank you! I love your numbers! lol
damselinthisdress1 1 year ago
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anything and everything he does is fine with me
tessroyable 1 year ago
Wow.
joberstadt 1 year ago
A great song . . .is a great song! this is a great song sang with great feeling. We all have a preference that means a lot to us all. So I guess that every version is the best!!! Does that sound weird?
akki6041 1 year ago 24
@akki6041
Thats about right. I have heard versions ranging from GL's original through PPM and even in the 21st Century (Paul Weller one of the most recent).
Gordon's songs.... once heard, never forgotten.
Incudius 1 year ago
@akki6041 No it doesn't sound weird. There are a handful of very beautifully written songs that a person wants to hear all the ways it can be handled..."Somewhere Over the Rainbow" comes to mind, "What a Wonderful World", "Unchained Melody", "I Will Always Love You", for me, the gospel song "I'll Fly Away", some Christmas songs such as "White Christmas" and "Silver Bells", Ray Charles song "Georgia", country western song "Faded Love"...gee, this is fun! :-) Early Morning Rain, YES!
gurlsingerfan 1 year ago
@akki6041 Nope, sounds perfect!
Martin00028Guitar 1 year ago
@akki6041 no it makes sense, it bugs me when people bash others for not liking the version they think is best!
i prefer Ian tyson's version, but this version is fine too! great song either way
sh9683 11 months ago
@sh9683
Personally, I prefer Tony Rice's version on his album "Me and My Guitar". But then, I suppose we always have to look to the original songwriters version as the source. That's probably why so many people prefer Dylan's versions of his own songs to interpretations by others. What do you think?
srvgtr 11 months ago