The Voice of Canada

Gordon Lightfoot, who died this past May 1, had long been referred to as the Canadian Bob Dylan, but to Canadians he was much more than that.  He was the spokesman fro Canadian life, pride, and culture.  Go beyond his ballads and you'll find a wealth of songs celebrating the Great White North, from the serenity of sailing on Lake Huron in "Christian Island (Georgian Bay)," the majestic mountain ranges of "Alberta Bound," or  the epic building of the nation in "Canadian Railroad Trilogy."  Lightfoot's status as a Canadian also allowed him to look critically at the neighbor across the border, such as "Black Day In July," documenting the mayhem of the 1967 Detroit riot,  But even his best ballads, such as "Did She Mention My Name?", Beautiful," and "If You Could Read My Mind" betrayed a sense of modesty that was particularly Canadian in the understatement and lyrical honesty, and songs such as "Sundown" were just plain frank.  What American singer-songwriter would ever admit to times "when I feel like I'm winning when I'm losing again?"

And, truth be told, Gordon Lightfoot wasn't really the Canadian Bob Dylan.  But maybe Dylan was the American Gordon Lightfoot.  Consider this earlier assessment of Lightfoot from Dylan himself: "I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever. . .. Lightfoot became a mentor for a long time. I think he probably still is to this day."

RIP. 😢