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.
Song For A Winter's Night
Gordon Lightfoot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The snow is softly falling
The air is still in the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon each page
The words of love you sent me
If I could know within my heart
That you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you
The fire is dying
Now my lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are lifting
The morning light steals across my window pane
Where webs of snow are drifting
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you
And to be once again with you
The first stanza sets the scene for the song - it's winter, the lamp is flickering on the table, and snow is falling outside. The air is still and quiet, and the singer hears the voice of someone he loves calling out to him. He yearns for this person to be with him, to hold their hand and breathe a sigh together on this peaceful winter night.
In the second stanza, the singer is alone in his room, with only the rising smoke and an almost-empty glass keeping him company. He re-reads a letter from his lover, carefully parsing each line for words of love; it seems like he's trying to find comfort in their words. He wonders if she's feeling as lonely as he is, and says he'd be content just to hold her hand on this winter night.
The final stanza describes the end of the night, as the fire dies down and the morning light slowly starts to creep in. The singer wishes his lover were there to share the moment with him, to breathe a sigh and hold hands as the snow drifts outside. Overall, the song is a poignant expression of longing and the comfort we find in our loved ones during the quiet moments of winter.
Line by Line Meaning
The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The light on my table is almost out
The snow is softly falling
The snow outside is gently coming down
The air is still in the silence of my room
My room is quiet and peaceful
I hear your voice softly calling
I can hear your voice in my mind
If I could only have you near
If only I could be with you
To breathe a sigh or two
To share a soft breath or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Being able to hold your hands would make me so happy
On this winter night with you
Spending a winter evening with you
The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
Smoke is wafting up in the dark shadows above me
My glass is almost empty
I'm almost finished my drink
I read again between the lines upon each page
I'm reading the words you wrote me over and over
The words of love you sent me
Those words you wrote me expressing your love
If I could know within my heart
If only I could feel it in my heart
That you were lonely too
That you're feeling lonely too
The fire is dying
The fire is slowly going out
Now my lamp is growing dim
The light on my table is getting even dimmer
The shades of night are lifting
The darkness is slowly starting to fade
The morning light steals across my window pane
The first rays of sunshine are peeking through my window
Where webs of snow are drifting
I can see the snow drifts outside my window
And to be once again with you
I long to be with you again
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.