RIP Gordon Lightfoot. Vocal ANALYSIS of "If You Could Read My Mind"

A master class in song writing. As Dylan said, Lightfoot's never written a bad song.

I met Gordon in 82 at a restaurant on Vancouver Island. He showed up unannounced and played a 2 hour set to 15 people. Sat down with my dad and I and had a drink. Then sang me wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I'll never forget it. Great singer songwriter and a gracious man. RIP Gordon!😘🔥

I always felt this was Gordon Lightfoot's attempt to gently kill us all using nothing more than lyrics to break our hearts. It simply conveys that much emotion - regret, sorrow, heartache, melancholy, longing.... all wrapped in the sublime beauty of his voice and guitar playing. I regret never having seen him perform in person. RIP, Mr. Lightfoot.

I'm 60 years old and I have listened to Gordon since I was a small boy. His music still brings tears to my eyes especially now that he's gone.

This performance is proof positive not all songs are meant to get belted out at top volume. He's like someone talking at a normal level in a large room which forces everyone to keep quiet and listen to him. By far one of my favorite songs.

Gordon Lightfoot's passing left a hole in my life. His music and voice are part of what it means to be Canadian. Thank you for paying tribute to him and hoping that everyone can appreciate this truly astonishing musician

As a Canadian, Gordon was always a presence in my life and in the fabric of our country. Canadian Railway Trilogy should be our National Anthem

As a Canadian, I gave my heart over to Gordon Lightfoot, I loved him as much as the Beatles, and for all that he's done for Canada, and all of us Canadians, he was an honest troubadour, with a big heart and a great poet, he inspired the best out of us and fame never went to his head, a real down to earth and deeply missed gentleman. The minute a new Lightfoot album came out, the money would leap out of my pocket to buy it immediately, I'd take it home and listen intently, that's how it was. I was fortunate to meet him a few times in the sixties, it's tough to lose someone you grew up with and appreciated so much. He performed for Queen Elizabeth and sang the Canadian Railroad Trilogy song to her, and he sang it perfectly too! A class act! He's a national treasure and always will be regarded as one. Wish there were more like him these days.

Being from Michigan, born and raised, Gordon Lightfoot’s song about the Edmund Fitzgerald is ingrained into you all your life. I think this goes for anyone who grew up in the Great Lakes region. He wrote beautiful songs and he paid great homage to those lives lost on the ship. He’s a true master level musician, no doubts about it. Michigan loves you and misses you, Gordon

A little-known fact about Gordon Lightfoot is that his hit song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" played a role in the recovery efforts of a sunken ship. In 1976, a Navy diver who was part of the team retrieving bodies from the wreck reported that he sang the song underwater to keep calm and focused during his dives. Lightfoot later met the diver and expressed his gratitude for the diver's courage and strength.

I met him in Peterborough at the festival of lights and he said I paid him one of the nicest compliments he has ever recieved. I told him ..I dont think there is another artist out there that can make the music feel what the lyrics are saying...like you do! Yes I love his voice too. R.I.P Gord your music will never leave this world.

I know why you prefer live performances, but the studio version of this is an all-time masterwork. Worth a separate listen.

“I never knew I could act this way, And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it. I don’t know where we went wrong, but the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back.” This phrase perfectly sums up the confusion and helplessness of two people falling out of love.

An interesting story about this song is in the lyric: "...the feelings that you lack", which he sings in this version. Years after the divorce and when his daughter got a little older (early teens), she chastised her father for that lyric, and told him that it wasn't just her mom that was lacking feelings, but that Gordon was also lacking the feelings (love and understanding) required to save the marriage. Gordon realized that his daughter was correct, and from then on he sang: "...the feelings that WE lack." This makes the song even more real and less of a victim song. I appreciate Gordon Lightfoot even more when I learned that he realized his own shortcomings, and took responsibility for what happened in front of his children.

A masterful songwriter/lyricist, Gordon Lightfoot was not just a "National Treasure"...but a "Worldwide Treasure".

His lyrics and voice had a haunting melancholy. Always loved his music. He and Jim Croce had a lot of similarities.

As a Canadian fan of yours, I’m so happy to see you react to this. Majority of us grew up with Gordon’s music in our lives through all different stages. He was an absolute treasure. ❤️

This live performance was immaculate. Complete silence in the mesmerized audience. Not one cough, chair squeal or other distraction. Just plain awesome.

One of the greatest singer-songwriters, and a part of the soundtrack of my youth. There was no one that sounded like Gordon.

Last song I sang to my late ex-wife before she died. Great artist.