Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", "Ribbon of Darkness"—a number one hit on the U.S. country chart with Marty Robbins's cover in 1965—and "Black Day in July," about the 1967 Detroit riot, brought him wide recognition in the 1960s. Canadian chart success with his own recordings began in 1962 with the No. 3 hit "(Remember Me) I'm the One", followed by recognition and charting abroad in the 1970s. He topped the US Hot 100 or AC chart with the hits "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974); "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), and had many other hits that appeared in the top 40.
Several of Lightfoot's albums achieved gold and multi-platinum status internationally. His songs have been recorded by renowned artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., The Kingston Trio, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Herb Alpert, Harry Belafonte, Sarah McLachlan, Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Peter, Paul and Mary, Glen Campbell, The Grateful Dead, Nico, and Olivia Newton-John.
Robbie Robertson of the Band described Lightfoot as "a national treasure". Bob Dylan, also a Lightfoot fan, called him one of his favorite songwriters and, in an often-quoted tribute, Dylan observed that when he heard a Lightfoot song he wished "it would last forever". Lightfoot was a featured musical performer at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Trent University in Spring 1979 and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in May 2003. In November 1997, the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, was bestowed on Lightfoot. On February 6, 2012, Lightfoot was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. June of that year saw his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On June 6, 2015, Lightfoot received an honorary doctorate of music in his hometown of Orillia from Lakehead University.
As an individual, apart from various awards associated with his albums and singles, Gordon Lightfoot has received sixteen Juno Awards—for top folk singer in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969,[67] 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977, for top male vocalist in 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973, and as composer of the year in 1972 and 1976. He has received ASCAP awards for songwriting in 1971, 1974, 1976, and 1977, and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. In 1974 Lightfoot's song "Sundown" was named pop record of the year by the Music Operators of America. In 1980 he was named Canadian male recording artist of the decade, for his work in the 1970s.
Lightfoot was chosen as the celebrity captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the NHL's 75th anniversary season in 1991–1992.
Lightfoot was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. He was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998. In May 2003 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour. Lightfoot is a member of the Order of Ontario, the highest honour in the province of Ontario. In 1977, he received the Vanier Award from the Canadian Jaycees. In 2007 Canada Post honoured Lightfoot and three other Canadian music artists (Anne Murray, Paul Anka, and Joni Mitchell) with postage stamps highlighting their names and images. On June 24, 2012, Lightfoot was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a New York City ceremony, along with Bob Seger.
Between 1986 and 1988, Lightfoot's friend Ken Danby (1940–2007), the realist painter, worked on a large (60 × 48 inches) portrait of Lightfoot dressed in the white suit he wore on the cover of the album East of Midnight. The picture was backlit by the sun, creating a visually iconic image of the singer.
On June 16, 2014, Lightfoot was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by SOCAN at the 2014 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.
On October 23, 2015, Lightfoot was honoured with a 4-metre tall bronze sculpture in his hometown of Orillia, Ontario. The sculpture, called Golden Leaves—A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, features Lightfoot sitting cross-legged, playing an acoustic guitar underneath an arch of golden maple leaves. Many of the leaves depict scenes from Lightfoot's 1975 greatest hits album, Gord's Gold.
In 2017, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
He was the subject of Martha Kehoe and Joan Tosoni's 2019 documentary film Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind.
Gordon passed away on May 1st, 2023 at the age of 84.
Salute
Gordon Lightfoot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope all the mistakes you made were a lot like mine
Lovin' girls too much sometimes they made you cry
Maybe we've got more livin' to do with a lot less pain
Here, let's drink to you
These are the words I knew would break the ice
I held my hand out and he shook it twice
Deja vu, familiar voice
And the salute of my choice
Salute gentlemen of days gone by
Ladies of leisure and of flashing eye
May some romantic fool turn on your light
As for me I'm in between
All that I can do is dream
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
When you make it through the night with no end in sight
And the dawn peeks through
You got a lot more livin' to do
Salute nightingales upon the tide
Brothers of the cloth tonight who must be tried
May all of your martinis be forever dry
As for me I'm in between
All that I can do is dream
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
When you make it through the night with no end in sight
And the dawn peeks through
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
You got a lot more livin' to do
And a lot more lovin' too
The song "Salute" by Gordon Lightfoot is a nostalgic and reflective song about the experiences of love and life. It speaks to the idea that mistakes made in love and life are inevitable, but also a learning experience. The singer of the song, possibly Lightfoot himself, acknowledges that he has made mistakes, but hopes that the mistakes made were similar to those of the person he is addressing. The line "lovin' girls too much sometimes they made you cry" is an example of the universal nature of love and how it can be both joyful and painful. The singer is trying to establish a connection and banter with the person he is addressing and "break the ice" with the words "Here, let's drink to you". It seems as though the singer is reminiscing a previous encounter with this person or someone who reminds him of the person he is addressing, hence the "Deja vu" and "familiar voice" lines.
The song goes on to speak about the "days gone by" and the "brothers of the cloth tonight who must be tried" which could possibly refer to priests or other religious figures. The line "May all of your martinis be forever dry" could be seen as a humorous line referring to the common use of martinis to cope with stress. The song ends on a hopeful note with the line "You got a lot more livin' to do, and a lot more lovin' too" which reinforces the idea that life is full of experiences and lessons to be learned.
Line by Line Meaning
Listen mister I won't waste your time
I won't bore you with words that have no impact
I hope all the mistakes you made were a lot like mine
I hope you learn from the mistakes you made, just like I did
Lovin' girls too much sometimes they made you cry
Sometimes, excessive love can bring forth tears
Maybe we've got more livin' to do with a lot less pain
We should live life happily, without much anguish
Here, let's drink to you
Let's raise a toast to you
These are the words I knew would break the ice
I'm saying the words that can break down barriers and initiate conversation
I held my hand out and he shook it twice
We shared a gesture of friendship by shaking hands
It seemed to me like I'd been here before
I had a feeling of familiarity with the situation
Deja vu, familiar voice
I had a sense of experiencing this situation before
And the salute of my choice
I pay homage to those who have passed away, in my own way
Salute gentlemen of days gone by
I pay tribute to the men of the past
Ladies of leisure and of flashing eye
I salute women of leisure and physical beauty
May some romantic fool turn on your light
May someone come into your life and brighten it up with romance
As for me I'm in between
I'm not sure where I belong in this situation
All that I can do is dream
I'm only capable of imagining things
You got a lot more livin' to do
You have a lot more life to live
And a lot more lovin' too
And there's more love to be experienced in life
When you make it through the night with no end in sight
When you overcome challenges night-long without any hope in sight
And the dawn peeks through
And the first light of dawn begins to appear
Salute nightingales upon the tide
I pay tribute to songbirds singing in the evening sea
Brothers of the cloth tonight who must be tried
I pay tribute to the clergymen who are being tested tonight
May all of your martinis be forever dry
May you always abstain from drinking alcohol
You got a lot more livin' to do
You have a lot more life to live
And a lot more lovin' too
And there's more love to be experienced in life
And a lot more lovin' too
And there's still more love to be experienced in life
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GORDON LIGHTFOOT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ben - Moderator
on Is There Anyone Home
We have now corrected this above
Glenn
on Is There Anyone Home
The note state that this song ("Is there anyone home?") was released in 1998 on the album "A Painter Passing Through". That is not correct, the song doesn't even appear on that album at all. The original release date was 1974 on "Sundown" album. Easily verified on Wikipedia or a hundred other websites.