Reaction To Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Railroad Trilogy (Canadian Music)
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- čas přidán 4. 06. 2024
- Reaction To Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Railroad Trilogy (Canadian Music)
This is my reaction to Gordon Lightfoot - Canadian Railroad Trilogy
In this video I react to Canadian music from legendary Canadian rock music singer Gordon Lightfoot and his beautiful song about Canadian history, in particular the construction of Canadian railroad.
Original Video - • Canadian Railroad Trilogy
There is a reason Gordon Lighfoot is a Canadian Legend. He wasn't just a musician, he was a troubador, a story teller, and a fine man.
Well,,,he did break his mistresses cheekbone after punching her in the face...so I wouldn't go so9 far as calling him a "Fine" man....
Pushy willows cat tails might even be better😂
@@michaelhamm6805 There is no place for disrespect to a man who was one of Canada's finest entertainers. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes whether we want to admit it or not. Gordon is not here to tell us why he did this nor is he here to defend his actions but you just told the world that we better all damn well hate his guts for having done such a thing.
He admitted to being an alcoholic for decades and a poor husband. A far better singer than a good man.
@@michaelhamm6805 I'm curious. Aside from a Wikipedia page and other vague comments in Billboard, is there proof of this occurrence? Were charges laid and was Mr. Lightfoot found guilty? Did Mr. Lightfoot admit to this accusation? Ms Cathy Smith - in her own word admits "I killed John Belushi. I didn't mean to, but I am responsible." Would like some clarification.
As impressive as "Edmund Fitzgerald" is I have always felt that this was Gordon's best work. You can feel the train crossing the country then slowing down once it hits the Rockies then building to a climax in coastal British Columbia as the tempo goes within this song. We are so lucky in Canada to have such a songwriter who could translate this into words! We lost a great man and Canadian when Gordon died, I listen to his music every day because he is one man who could translate to all of us what it meant to be "Canadian"!
You have to listen to Black day in July with the video and photos of the Detroit riots - drums like cannon roar.
He also mentions how many lives were unnecessarily lost
Agree completely.
I know Michigan adopted Gordo as their own! This Canadian has seen nothing but love from that State in places I know they wouldn't have be so kind to their own! Proud to have them as siblings! People in the D kinder to me than Torontards have ever been!
Canada and Canadians are all about the land. Gordon was commissioned to write a song to commemorate our 100th birthday in 1967. He wrote the song overnight and it instantly become a hit "Across This Mighty Land".
Miss ya Gordie!
It actually took Gordon Lightfoot three days to write the song, which is still phenomenal considering the intricacies of this masterpiece.
I belong to an adult choir and we sang this song at our concert when we celebrated Canada's 150th birthday. This one of my favourite songs. Gordon Lightfoot was an amazing artist and musician! RIP....
@@karenschneberger2655 I have never heard this song sung by a choir but I imagine it would sound phenomenal. It is one of my favourite songs as well - but I love all of Gordon Lightfoot's music. It's been a year this month since he passed so it is lovely to remember him this way. RIP
on
Still makes me weep with pride, every time I hear it - and I’m 66!
Peace - from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
Kamloops, here. We are pretty lucky to have Canada and Gordon.
@@MaryHemmings Kamloops too! Howdy neighbour!
Barrie, Ont. here - 1\2 from his hometown. I was so very lucky to see him six times in concert, once in the front row, at Massey Hall in Toronto, which has internationally known “best acoustics”. This song should almost be a national anthem.
Ditto from the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail in BC... and I'm 72! My first ever concert was Gordon at the then state-of-the-art Place des Arts in Montreal in 1969. He sang his controversial Black Day in July, among many other hits.
@@patakel my brother is in Angus! All the best from Langley, BC ❤️🇨🇦
I think this is the greatest Canadian song ever. PERIOD
I feel lucky growing up listening to Gordon lightfoot
In 1967 an unexpected assembly was called. Out onto the stage stepped Gordon Lightfoot. He performed to us bunch of teenagers for an hour. He could have chosen to sing at Fredericton High or Oromocto Senior High School but he chose to travel 25 miles from Fredericton to perform at Sunbury West Senior High School. I will never forget his performance. At nearly 71, it is still one of the highlights in my life. Gordon, I know you are up there in heaven still performing for all of us.
@@8moody1 Since you were at Sunbury West at the same time, we should have at least known of each other if we didn't know each other directly. My maiden name was Pattullo.
@@8moody1 I remember Harvey and Jocelyn Beck. Are you Jocelyn?
@@8moody1 So tell me your first name, please. I have been out here in Edmonton, I've forgotten so many people. Seems to me there was a Gwendolyn Beck but I could be mistaken. How are Jocelyn and Ronnie doing? I know Doris was really giving them a hard time about being together, understanding Catholic that she is. I did visit them when I was home for the 40th high school reunion in 2012 for OHS. I stayed with Shara Golden and we went down to visit them. Hadn't seen either of them in at least 20 years.
I met him once in downtown Toronto near Caggage Town, a great guy and very easy to talk to
A lot of men died during the building of that railroad. They had some pretty tough terrain to go through! Great Canadian history!
My grandfather worked on building tunnels for the RR in the Rockies in the early 1900's. Before you ask, yes I'm old and he died before I was born.
@@susieq9801ditto. My grandpa, Scottish immigrant early 1900s, was “cookee’ in N Ontario, I think. My Son, in 1970s rail crew across the west. Brother in 1980s RR across and through the Rockies. The bunkhouses, the food, the backbreaking work. The mosquitoes and the black flies. Oh yeah, this song is central to our Canadian mythology. We are connected to this vast and prosperous land in our collective unconscious. We are defined by the RR. Thanks to the foresight of our forefathers. This is my narrative. Nice analysis,from presenter Mert Can.
I was aged ten when invited to a girl's 16th birthday two cottages away. = Two high school kids were singing there. = My first time talking and meeting Gordie. = Me, now age 79. with 60 years living in Orillia. = Many memories, meet and greets and passing with a great imperfect loved libretto writer.
he was a legend , hurt my heart to see his dog keeping vigil at his coffin , RIP Gordon ❤
Broke my heart
Grew up listening to Gordon Lightfoot. Not every song was a hit song but he wrote no bad songs. He had a way of making the mundane poetic. I consider him one of the greatest songwriters of the past 100 years.
I totally agree!!!
I was lucky enough to see him in concert back in the early years of his career... first time in the Sixties at the River Queen on David Street (IIRC) in Vancouver. He was standing no more than 6 feet from me!!! Blew my mind!!! Still so clear in my mind. Took my Dad to see him twice. RIP Gordie Lightfoot.
I heard somewhere that when Gordon Lightfoot met Queen Elizabeth, she told him that she "just loved" this song.
Gordon was asked to write a song about Canada by the Expo '67 organizers to celebrate Canada's 100th birthday. This was the result.
I didn't know that! Thanks for sharing!
And a fitting song, to ride along with the Centennial Train!
We saw it in Victoria BC! 1967💕🇨🇦💕
@@57Jimmy Chilliwack for me. I always credit that train for igniting my interest in Canadian history.
One of the things I love is that you can hear the "beat" of rail travel in the music, something you can't miss if you've travelled often by rail. I have always loved Canadian trains.
Agreed. You hear the beat of rail travel the same way you hear the waves rolling in The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Gordon Lightfoot was a multidimensional musical genius.
Credit to the Chinese immigrants to have come from an impoverished land for the opportunity to earn some money.
Many died along the way of this dangerous job and might be the only ones who came to be buried here. I hope their people who now live here have come to appreciate them, even as we must. Canada's first Prime Minister was Scottish! Tough, but a fierce trailblazer himself.
Thanks Mert.
I've been to the Cumberland Chinese graveyard on Vancouver Island. It's a provincial heritage site, with descriptive plaques informing on the sacrifice of the Chinese workers and the danger pay incentives to place explosives. They sent the bulk of their wages back home. For their families. I hope most made it back home. Too many didn't.
Gordon Lighfoot is a song writer legend and is respected and admired.
Another folk legend is Stompin Tom Connors.
Yes, the building of the railway unified Canada as a nation, physically and collectively as Canadians. It was the way Gord used the acceleration and deceleration of the music to imitate the rhythm of the building of railway, as well as its use in transporting people and goods. His reverence, respect and gratitude to those who worked so hard, sacrificed much, especially those whose lives were lost. An incredible song! ❤🇨🇦
Lightfoot was asked to write a song for the Centennial in 1967, and he produced this, blowing everyone away. The song was premiered on the CBC, if I remember correctly. It became an instant classic, and is taught in various music classes. My sister sang it with her school choir. It makes me cry when I hear it.
In his last concert in Montreal a few years ago, he had difficulty finishing this song. So we in the crowd helped him. In a predominantly French province, we all sang in English. May he rest in peace.
I first saw him Montreal, Place des Arts… with my BFF…. 70’s….. I dodged Good Friday.
I saw him live in Winnipeg at the concert hall. He stood and sang for about 2 hours with a break. He had to arrange his songs to accommodate his older vocal chords, but the magic was still there. It was a great feeling to have him make tangible money for the joy he'd brought us through the decades. Mom bought his "Summertime Dream" album, I think that was the name. Such a genius.
The original performance was televised on national TV (CBC) on January 1st, 1967 and is available to view also on CZcams. This version was done live on a set with actors playing the part of the railroad workers and Gord walking around playing his guitar and singing. Worth checking out if you like his music.
I agree, the greatest Canadian song ever written. I had the great pleasure to see Gord play numerous times and he always closed the show with the Trilogy, and brought the house down every time. I don’t know how many Lightfoot songs I can sing along with and not miss a word. I also play guitar and love to play and sing his songs. Gordon Lightfoot was and is a Canadian national treasure . And missed by his huge legion of fans. A once in a generation talent.
This song was Gord's Canadian Centennial project. The country, having been founded in 1867, was 100 years old and everybody was involved in efforts to commemorate that. The US had just finished its civil war (1865) and was turning its attention to possibly taking over its neighbor to the north, so Canada knew it had to get unified and that a railway would do the trick. I was fortunate enough to meet our greatest troubador/minstel/singer and I thank him for his gift of reflecting Canadians back to themselves.
I am proud to be a Canadian and equally honored to have known him. I am truly blessed. We are diminished by his passing but he left an unsurpassed legacy.
This song was commissioned for the 100th birthday of Canada (1967), and hence is very patriotic. On the one hand, the building of the railroad brought British Columbia into confederation, or else it may have become part of the U.S. It was quite a feat to build, especially through the rocky mountains. On the other hand, the Indigenous and Métis people of the plains saw their lands being taken away to make way for the railroad and there definitely was an exploitation of the Chinese railroad workers. There is a good documentary of the "dark" side of the railway being built and of Gordon's song: czcams.com/video/hh7xNDcA6f4/video.html
Gordon Lightfoot is an icon in Canada! He was an amazing singer-songwriter and his music defines Canada! Thanks for showcasing this amazing man!
CANADIAN RAILROAD TRILOGY! Almost everyone puts this as their No 1 of his songs, even over The Wreck........which is itself an amazing song. The Cdn RR Trilogy makes me weep (not just cry, actually weep), as it does many Canadians. It tells a story, an important part of Canada's history and the sacrifice of so many men to build a railroad to cross this huge and amazing country, as only Gord Lightfoot could tell it. I'm in my 70s now, I grew up listening to Gord's records during my adolescence and beyond. I saw him live in Ottawa in a tiny coffee shop venue when I was only 14, so close to the little stage because the place was so small. Unforgettable! RIP Gord, we miss you! What a blessing you were to us all.
Queen Elizabeth 2 stated how much she loved this song which was actually commissioned for Canada's 100th birthday... one of my favourites as CV a Canadian.
1974, I was 22 and leaving Vancouver Island for Toronto, Ontario. What a trip! I had just read "The Last Spike" by Pierre Berton and every mile we drove resounded in my head with the Canadian Railroad Trilogy. I found this to be particularly true through the Fraser Canyon. When you come to Canada, please allow yourself lots of time to visit and relive our heritage. And think of this Trilogy. I loved your reaction!
Yes. Passed through Craigalache to let my dog have a pee. I was blown away by where I live to think how unified Canada became.
I have heard Gordon Lightfoot over 40 times on stage live in my life. Back to the late 1960s. As a singer songwriter myself , he was my absolute hero. The Canadian Railroad Trilogy and “If you can read my mind “ which you have also featured are two of the most powerful songs I’ve ever heard.
Love your content
Cheers from Canada
Bob
If you could read my mind….. got me right there!
You might be ready for Stompin' Tom Connors. Stompin' Tom was Canadian music for a Saturday night at the bar. Fun songs about miners, fishermen, truck drivers, and bugs. All with a Down East voice and a bootheel stomping a hole in a piece of plywood. Simpler stuff than Gord, but essential to the Canadian experience.
Dear Mert. I had the pleasure of hearing and seeing Gordon Lightfoot sing this song in person, in concert back in 1967 (the very year of it's release). POW!!
That happened at the Yates Center in Lethbridge, Alberta. He was very handsome and charismatic in those days. All I can say is that was an absolutely beautiful experience. I followed Gordon's music for the next 40 years and was never disappointed by any of it. What an incredible storyteller he was. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your interest in Canadian history, my own history (as a descendant of Ireland) 🙏
A great guy
I knew him well
May he RIP
I have so many thoughts on this song, which is by all means a masterpiece and one of my favourite songs not just of Gord's but of all time. As someone with a background in history, I will say that it's important to remember that this song was very much a product of its time in terms of Canadian historiography: it paints an extremely romanticised picture of the transcontinental railway's construction and of the westward expansion of Canadian settlers, and completely ignores the unspeakable horrors and violence the government used to acquire the land for the railway to run on. These uncomfortable aspects would most certainly be taught in a modern history of Canadian railways, but not in the 1960s when the romantic notion of the frontier myth was alive and well. That being said though, the song is by all means a classic, and I love that Gord never fails to sing about the lives of average everyday working people even when covering monumental historical events like this. It keeps the story grounded and gets the listener really invested in listening and learning more. Add on top of the phenomenal writing his flawless musical talent and you get a truly amazing piece of art.
Some songs age like fine wine or whisky. This is one of them and it is almost 60 years old. My goodness how time flies. I'm 66 and don't even remember the first time I ever heard this one, but I keep coming back to it and it remains my favourite by Gordon Lightfoot. 👌👀🎸💖🤠
I had a chance to see him sing this live. So lucky. He is Canada’s pride and joy.
I was already a fan of Gordon's music, but it was several years before I discovered Canadian Railroad Trilogy. I was utterly lost for words. The brilliance of the music, the changing musical themes and 3 distinct parts perfectly convey the magnitude of the story. It is not only musically and technically brilliant, it is beautiful poetry and a love song to our country. To this day this song moves me in different ways I cannot describe, but always leaves me with a heart bursting with pride for my country.
A historical note-- this piece was commissioned by the CBC to celebrate Canada's Centennial in 1967, and Lightfoot was a brilliant choice to tell the story; no one could have done it better. My one great regret is that the one time I had tickets to his show I was too ill to attend.
Greetings from the Canadian Rockies! I'm glad you are enjoying Gordon Lightfoot, he was salt of the earth. Building the railroads cost many men their lives, I know the Spiral Tunnel in BC claimed many lives alone. It is also important to remember that we imported workers from China to aid construction, which is why every small railroad town seems to have a Chinese restaurant. Another musical suggestion: Stompin' Tom Connors.
I am a proud Canadian and so lucky to have Gordon as a fellow proud Canadian
WOW! Super good song telling the real story
The first time I heard this, I thought it should be our national anthem. Reminds us all that this beautiful country came at a cost
"Black Day In July" was written about the 67 riots in Detroit. It has a darker tone, similar to "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald."
Black day in July - so immensely powerful based on truth!
It was banned in the states
one of the greatest songs ever written by one of THE greatest poet storyteller musicians to ever exist. miss you gordon
The CBC commissioned a song from Gprdie to celebrate Canada's 100 th anniversary . This was what he wrote. Has "Black Day in July" been done? Another of my favourites .
Fantastic suggestion! Definitely essential Lightfoot listening.
I’m from Canada and the vary first time I heard this tune. I love his music
Pierre Berton, a noted journalist/writer in his day , wrote the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway in a thousand page book called The Last Spike. At a party he is reputed to have remarked to Lightfoot, “Gordon in your song you have told the story better that I did in 1,000 pages!” High praise but so very true. RIP Gordon and Peter, you were both great Canadians!
In concert, he was amazing. Audiences were so spellbound,you could hear a pin drop.
Gordon Lightfoot was definitely the greatest Canadian writer , his music is fantastic. He told the stories of the common folk and most of the struggle of life
I grew up with Gordon Lighfoot’s music. When I was going to University I worked extra hours to be able to go to see him in person at his life theatre ..and saw his live performances a few times, in different years . He is truly my hero and a blessing for all Canadians. May he rest in peace. We love ❤️ his music. I’d never seen such a nice video like this. Thank you 😊
I'm a big Gordon fan and I saw him many times in concert. He was amazing. I don't think I could pick a "favorite" Lightfoot song, but I do think this song is definitely one of his very best. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" got much more play on the radio, actually I don't think I've ever heard "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" on the radio, but as an epic ballad I think it's better. RIP Gord, we miss you.
Not just the best Canadian song, but the best song ever! I swell with pride every time I hear it. Take a drive across Canada and have Gord on repeat. It’s magical.
We have lost so much of what this song represents (and it's not coming back), but this is beautiful song.
The first steam engine to make the historic cross country journey to Vancouver was eventually placed in the middle of a beach parking lot for us ‘70’s kids to climb on, even conquering the tall smoke stack if we were brave enough. A great time to be a Canadian kid listening to Gordon Lightfoot on the radio.
I'm Canadian I've loved his music all my life. I saw his Shadows concert in the early 80s. RIP
Thanks so much Mert, the people asked and you delivered. Canadian Railroad Trilogy is a monumental song detailing a very important part of our Canadian history. Lightfoot has a huge, extensive catalogue to delve into and I know you've reacted to some of his songs already but this one here stands at the very top of Canadian lore. For me it's an essential song if you want to know Gord's music and what he meant to us Canadians. Cheers from southern Ontario!
Well said! And I couldn't agree more
I walked by Engine 374 today, which was the first train to arrive in Vancouver after the railway was completed. It's now preserved at the old Roundhouse but it used to be set up at Kitsilano Beach when I was a kid and we all spent many hours climbing all over it and pretending to drive it and burning our feet on the hot, black metal. lol Having seen this reaction, it struck me how really important that old engine is. Thanks for that!
One of his best no question. Totally underrated. Probably too long for popular radio play back in the day.
My favourite of all Lightfoot. I believe it was written at the request of the Canadian Gov’t in 1967 for the Canadian Centennial.
Always lovely to know that those outside our country know and appreciate a Canadian treasure, our Gordon Lightfoot!🇨🇦❤️
He wrote this song for the 100th year anniversary of the building of our railroad, from the east coast to the west…almost 8 thousand kilometres. He said he wrote it in twenty minutes on a flight, bus or train he was travelling on at the time.
One of his hardest song to do a cover.....Trying to match his cadence throughout, along with the words is very hard. Love his music, been singing and playing it in Pubs and Buskers fairs for years now...
Absolutely his best song...my favorite... Our 4th grade teacher made us learn Gordon Lightfoot songs when she didn't feel like teaching us actual lessons. 😅 Been a fan since the mid 90s
He was the BEST of the best! A friend of mine years ago lived in the same building as he did. One day she ran into him as they both did laundry together. His comment to her was........... you can imagine all his fans around the world believing his clothes cleaned themselves? 'LOL' THAT's a Canadian!
Gordon Lightfoot a beloved Canadian Legend . A master story teller with song writing and musical gifts. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is truly a gem as well. He also sang The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, written by Ewan MacColl. He told so many stories through his beautiful artistry.
Mert , I was one of the people who recommended this to you. It’s one of our 🇨🇦 two alternate National Anthems, along with Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage”. Gord gives an amazing history lesson on how this young country (well, young to Europeans. Not so young to our Indigenous peoples) began to grow and mature through the construction of the CNR. I still get goose bumps when I listen to it. Thanks for sharing it. Rest in Power, Gord.
Hey Mert, as a 14 year old i traveled from Halifax to Montreal( OverNight) on the CN Alantic Train, switch trains to Toronto, for my big brother got married . 2100 miles (ruffly) Great way to see Canada!Took The DayLinner , like a sub-way on CN tracks, we walked down hill from home to the Cobequid Rd crossing, 45 min trip to CN train ,Halifax Station. Then on the alantic!
Love Gordon! He's one of our treasures in Canada
So very true!
I have loved Gordon Lightfoot since the late sixties. His songs continue to move me at the ripe age of 73, and I have several of Lightfoot’s vinyl albums from back in the day. However, I really want to put in the hugest possible plug for the voice and songs of the utterly unparalled Stan Rogers. His song ‘Northwest Passage’ even by itself, puts him in the small category of Canadian musical giants. Stan was an astounding talent, who like Gordon, told our stories with deep poetic honesty. His rich, warm baritone and stories of ordinary working Canadians can summon pride, despair, hope, and tears. Stan is famous here in Canada, and especially in Atlantic Canada, but not as famous as Gordon Lightfoot, and that is an enormous loss to young people in Canada and to the world. ❤🎶🇨🇦
This song was written for the 100th anniversary of Canada celebration ceremony on July 1, 1967 to celebrate how far our beautiful nation had come and the sacrifices our people have made. Hopefully the next 100 years will be even more prosperous. Queen Elizabeth II admitted that this was her favourite song as well!
"we have opened up the soil, with our tear drops and our toil"...truth. 🇨🇦
Superb singer, song writer that may never have an equal in Canada
This and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald are two of the best songs to show his story-telling ability. Another is Black Day in July about the events of the July 23-28, 1967 Detroit Riots. The song wasn't released until 6 months later in January of 1968 and some believe it didn't do as well as the later "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" because of the delay with people moving on and the events weren't as relevant anymore. The Tragically Hip do a great version of "Black Day in July" on a 2003 tribute album, Gord Downie's voice was perfect for the song.
He performed this at the 100th Grey Cup (CFL Championship) halftime show on November 25, 2012. The halftime show started with Justin Bieber, who performed to a chorus of boos from the audience, Carly Rae Jepsen followed with a better response, but when Gordon came on there were loud cheers, people joined in. As a note, the typical Grey Cup crowd are Country music or Classic Rock fans (Stones, Guess Who, BTO, etc) so it was odd to see Bieber and Jepsen on stage.
Great song. It was so important for Sir John A Macdonald to build the railway, to bind the country together. You have no idea how big this country is. I've taken the train from Vancouver to Toronto which is a little over half way across the country and it take 4 days. Amazing man, amazing song, amazing country ❤ 😂🇨🇦
No, all Macdonald ever saw the West of Canada as being was a colony of Ontario and Quebec. He even wrote that himself. You are swallowed up in the overly romantic version of Canada. It never was this glowing dream of unity. It was exploitation from the word go. But I still love my country. Too bad it isn't worthy of such heart felt amazement.
Canadian Pacific Railway built it's transcontinental rail, plus a string of Grand railway Hotels, hired Swiss Mountaineers to introduce alpine climbing and skiing to Canadians to promote Banff National Park, and built two steamship lines on the Atlantic & Pacific, to make it easier to travel from the UK to Hong Kong & Malaysia, before the Panama Canal made it easy to avoid a trip around Cape Horn.
It was probably the largest transportation system in the world, but German uBoats and modern air travel ended much of that.
Can’t you just feel and see the imagery of a train chugging along a steep hill, when the tempo changes at 2:05. He nailed it
This song was written for our 100th birthday of being a country in 1967. The song was Gordon Lightfoot’s commemoration to Canada’s rich but sometimes controversial history.
I first heard Gordon Lightfoot as a teenager ,I have his first album and of course many more after that ,he was one of the best song writers and story tellers of our time .
Commissioned by the CBC for Canada's centennial in 1967. I cry every time I hear this.
It's been printed in school textbooks. I was at a concert at Massey Hall when a well-oiled hoser way up in the third balcony used the hall's legendary acoustics from there to loudly rewust: "Heeeey, Gordie! Pleay de raeilroowd song!" to universal laughter, including from Gordie, who said: Yes, I intend to play the Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
It has been a while since I last heard this song. Thank you for the replay. By the way, if it still exists, watch the mini-television series on the building of the trans-Canada railroad that was constructed in the early 1880s - possibly produced in the 1980s by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
As a Canadian, I appreciate him more now verses when I was young. He was/is an Icon.
There was a famous Canadian historian who wrote a lot about 19th century Canada and in particular the importance of the railroad to Canada. When he heard this song commented that Gord was able to tell in one song what it took him to tell in a 1000 page book. We still miss Gord.
Absolutely one of the best songs ever from a totally incomparable artist.
This song always haunted me. The story and the imagery makes me feel great pride in being part of this land. It makes me miss a time that I was never a part of and has me longing to see this country from sea to sea.
I've always felt the pace of the song, especially parts of it has the cadence of a train. I think that was genius. Love this song.
Agreed. Towards the end, it really sound like a train slowly trudging up a mountain then picks up speed as it's coming down the other side - to the coast and success. I love that about this song.
Gordon what a talent that moves me everytime, no matter what song he sings. I LOVE HIM
The whole arrangement of this song evokes the movement of the train. It's perfect.
And also the process of getting this railway built (politically and physically). "We're moving too slow" reflects the delays and the urgency of getting it done. That's when Van Horne was brought in and construction really picked up pace, just like the song. It's perfect.
"This song was commissioned from Lightfoot by the CBC for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967, to start Canada's Centennial year. Writing and composing it took him three days.[1]" From Wikipedia.
I've heard Lightfoot tell the story of the song. After agreeing to write the it, he asked when they needed it done; their reply was something like "We air live this Friday."
Gordon Lightfoot was and is a treasure.
Always loved Gordon Lightfoot since I saw him live in concert in the 70s. I cried when he died. A true Canadian icon. So beloved.
This song should be our national anthem. It still brings a sense of pride to me as a Canadian 🇨🇦
I remember seeing and listening to him almost 60 years ago, in a small basement venue when he was just starting, it was magical. We in Canada were blessed with another great story teller in song who died far too young called Stan Rogers see if you can find him and have a listen, you won't be disappointed.
It's so nice for you to realize the brilliance of Gordon Lightfoot. Better late than never! I've been fortunate to listen to him for over 50 years. Had the pleasure of meeting him twice while Gord was performing at the NAC here in Ottawa. We love you Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. RIP
The song is the history of Canada coast to coast. He is a national treasure in our country.
Bob Dylan said that listening to a Lightfoot song he wished they'd never end. Gordo is a complete original musical giant.
As a French Canadian I have heard these songs all my youth. But I never understood the language and did not know what they were about. Now that I see the words written and understand their poetry, I regret immensely that my youth was not lifted by that singer in the manner that it could have been. Learning a second language opens doors to a world of discoveries.
very few were/are at his level of story telling--a great great musician
Gordon Lightfoot was commissioned to write a patriotic song for our 1967 Centennial here in Canada; and he outdid himself on this one. I weep lovingly every time I hear this, thinking of my ancestry and all they they have done and others of course as well. Thanks for paying homage to this Mert Can. Much appreciated and may God bless. Amen.
Try Sundown! Gordie wrote such wide variety of music. I love all his songs. I grew up listening to his music and unlike other Canadian musicians he stayed in Canada. There are wonderful interviews with him almost right up to the day he died. He was singing concerts almost till he died too. He loved to entertain and Canadians loved him. RIP Gordie!
“Long before the white man”….I live un-ceded native territory (Secwepmunk, Tk’unmlu’ps) Canada British Columbia. Gordon’s tribute to how we blended native and colonial. Thank you!
My grandfather was a railway agent who arrived with the railway and established our town of Barrhead Alberta in 1927. When he retired in the 1960's he was reemployed as a temp across northern Alberta allowing other agents to have a holiday or retire themselves. I lived with my grandparents while they did the cooks tour of the Peace River region sitting in the cabooses or riding with engine drivers. Such a great experience for a young wide-eyed boy. Beautiful song, great memories!
And 'Song for a Winter's Night' is my all time personal favorite. It reminds me of my parents looking out from their cabin over a frozen Thunder Lake with the snow falling and a female Moose and it's calf checking out an ice hut we'd built that day.
Attended many of his concerts over the years. Always felt incredible after them. I cried when he passed. It was like a part of my Canadian sole died too. This is an iconic Canadian piece. You can’t go wrong with anything by this troubadour. Try Christian Island, another place in Canada. Also, Song for a Winter’s Night and Black Day in July, about race riots in Detroit in July 1967. A Painter Passing Through, though is voice was not the same as it once was, it’s his story.
I have Gord’s Gold (the album shown) on vinyl and it’s sounds so good, the man is a national treasure.