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1970: Gordon Lightfoot can already boast four studio albums, and what albums I must say, a masterpiece, a great record, and two excellent ones, but in that year something happens: the first album of unreleased songs released for Reprise Records marks the beginning of a long and hugely successful collaboration with producer Lenny Waronker; a stable core of musicians begins to form around Lightfoot, and the "acoustic" phase of his career comes to a definitive end. Thus begins a new cycle, six legendary years inaugurated by this album, originally titled "Sit Down Young Stranger," later renamed "If You Could Read My Mind" following the great success of the song of the same name.
"If You Could Read My Mind" is a turning point in the career of the Toronto singer-songwriter: the first major hit, which will make him an icon in his homeland and introduce him to neighboring USA (unfortunately elsewhere Gordon Lightfoot will never achieve the fame and recognition he deserved): it's a true instant classic, a ballad in which the traditional acoustic guitar is complemented by a suggestive string arrangement that gives the melody an emotional thrust worthy of an Oscar-winning soundtrack, but this song is not the most suitable to represent the album as a whole: the 60's roots have not been forgotten at all; this is an album with rather "low" tones, such as "Minstrel Of The Dawn" and "Your Love's Return (Song For Stephen Foster)," where the strings intervene more gently compared to the title track, creating soft and dreamy scenarios. In a more strictly acoustic vein fall the epic rendition of Kris Kristofferson's "Me And Bobby McGee," the light "Saturday Clothes," with a retro and elegantly almost indolent atmosphere, and "Cobwebs And Dust," a sparse and melancholic waltz where a man bids farewell to his homeland, while "Approaching Lavender" and especially the oriental-flavored "Baby It's Alright" experiment with a more troubled and almost dark sound, adding interesting shades to this wonderful album, where two jewels particularly shine, two of the greatest masterpieces of this singer-songwriter: the first is the dethroned title track, "Sit Down Young Stranger," the most essential, most instrumentally sparse song of the album, and above all the most moving: a guitar & voice ballad of rare beauty, a stream of consciousness, a gentle and emotional outburst, one of those that makes your throat tighten, and the second is "The Pony Man," which aside from the use of harmonica does not differ much from "Sit Down Young Stranger" in style and musicality, it is also very intimate and personal, but in an almost opposite way: it is a country story, an apparently ordinary situation, which to a child's enchanted eyes becomes a fantastic vision, a dream that comes to life, set to music by the adult Gordon Lightfoot to ensure this album a closing that won't be forgotten.
Technically and stylistically speaking, this record, whatever you want to call it, remains a work of transition; in the years to come, more vibrant, more electric, and if you want more modern and creative albums will follow, but it has extraordinary charm, it is Gordon Lightfoot's second great masterpiece, which finds its beauty in its mild and gentle character, in its perfect balance and in the succession of styles, sensations and atmospheres that chase each other in a harmonious round dance. It is a perfect manifesto for this artist and an ideal starting point to deepen his knowledge.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Minstrel of the Dawn (03:27)
The minstrel of the dawn is here
To make you laugh and bend your ear
Up the steps you'll hear him climb
All full of thoughts, all full of rhymes
Listen to the pictures flow
Across the room into your mind they go
Listen to the strings
They jangle and dangle
While the old guitar rings
The minstrel of the dawn is he
Not too wise but oh so free
He'll talk of life out on the street
He'll play it sad and say it sweet
Look into his shining face
Of lonelines you'll always find a trace
Just like me and you
He's tryin' to get into things
More happy than blue
A minstrel of the changin' tide
He'll ask for nothing but his pride
Just sit him down upon that chair
Go fetch some wine and set it there
Listen to the pictures flow
Across the room into your mind they go
Listen to the strings
They jangle and dangle
While the old guitar rings
A minstrel of the dawn is near
Just like a step 'n fetchit here
He's like an old time troubador
Just wanting life and nothing more
Look into his shining eyes
And if you see a ghost don't be surprised
Like me and you
He's tryin' to get into things
More happy than blue
The minstrel boy will understand
He holds a promise in his hand
He talks of better days ahead
And by his words your fortune's read
Listen to the pictures flow
Across the room into your mind they go
Listen to the strings
They jangle and dangle
While the old guitar rings
The minstrel of the dawn is gone
I hope he'll call before too long
And if you meet him you must be
The victim of his minstrelsy
He'll sing for you a song
The minstrel of the dawn
02 Me and Bobby McGee (03:46)
©1969 by Kris Kristofferson
Busted flat in Baton Rouge
Headin' for the train
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down
Just before it rained
Took us all away to New Orleans
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
And was blowin' sad while Bobby sang the blues
With those windshield wipers slappin' time
And Bobby clappin' hands we finally
Sung up every song that driver knew
Freedom's just another word
For nothin' left to lose
Nothin' ain't worth nothin
But it's free
Feelin' good was easy Lord
When Bobby sang the blues
Feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee
From the coal mines of Kentucky
To the California sun
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Standin' right beside me Lord
Through every thing I done
Every night she kept me from the cold
Then somewhere near Salinas Lord
I let her slip away
Searchin' for the home
I heard she owned
And I'd give all my tomorrows
For a single yesterday
Holdin' Bobby's body close to mine
Freedom's just another word
For nothin' left to lose
Nothin' ain't worth nothin
But it's free
Feelin' good was easy Lord
When Bobby sang the blues
Feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee
05 Cobwebs & Dust (03:23)
Island goodbye, island goodbye
We been too long together, my island and I
'Cross the blue sea, cross the blue sea
We been too long together, my island and me
Cobwebs and dust, cobwebs and dust
I hate to leave you but leave you I must
Float through the sky, float through the sky
We been too long together, my cobwebs and I
Unlock the gate, unlock the gate
Lower the drawbridge the hour is late
Whom shall it be, whom shall it be
We been too long together, my drawbridge and me
Troubles goodbye, troubles goodbye
We been too long together, my troubles and I
'Cross the blue sea, cross the blue sea
We been too long together, my troubles and me
Cobwebs and dust, cobwebs and dust
I hate to leave you but leave you I must
Float through the sky, float through the sky
We been too long together, my cobwebs and I
Tear down the walls, tear down the walls
Gather my treasure and scatter it all
Whom shall it be, whom shall it be
We been too long together, my treasure and me
Kisses goodbye, Kisses goodbye
We been too long together, my kisses and I
'Cross the blue sea, cross the blue sea
We been too long together, her kisses and me
Cobwebs and dust, cobwebs and dust
I hate to leave you but leave you I must
Float through the sky, float through the sky
We been too long together, my cobwebs and I
Run to her side, run to her side
Run to my island and make her yer bride
Whom shall it be, whom shall it be
We been too long together, my island and me
07 Sit Down Young Stranger (03:26)
©1970 by Gordon Lightfoot
I'm standin' in the doorway
My head bowed in my hands
Not knowin' where to sit
Not knowin' where to stand
My father looms above me
For him there is no rest
My mother's arms enfold me
And hold me to her breast
They say you been out wandrin'
They say you travelled far
Sit down young stranger
And tell us who you are
The room has all gone misty,
my thoughts are all in spin
Sit down young stranger
And tell us where you been
Well, I've been up to the mountain
I've walked down by the sea
I never questioned no one
And no one questioned me
My love was given freely
And ofttimes was returned
I never came to borrow
I only came to learn
Sometimes it did get lonely
But it taught me how to cry
And laughter came too easy
For life to pass me by
I never had a dollar
That I didn't earn with pride
'Cause I had a million daydreams
To keep me satisfied
And will you gather daydreams
Or will you gather wealth
How can you find your fortune
When you cannot find yourself
My mother's eyes grow misty
There's a tremblin' in her hand
Sit down young stranger
I do not understand
And will you try to tell us
You been too long at school
That knowledge is not needed
That power does not rule
That war is not the answer
That young men should not die
Sit down young stranger
I wait for your reply
The answer is not easy
For souls are not reborn
To wear the crown of peace
You must wear the crown of thorns
If Jesus had a reason
I'm sure he would not tell
They treated him so badly
How could he wish us well
The parlor now is empty
There's nothin' left to say
My father has departed
My mother's gone to pray
There's rockets in the meadows
And ships out on the sea
The answer's in the forest
Carved upon a tree
John loves Mary
Does anyone love me
08 If You Could Read My Mind (03:51)
If you could read my mind, love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old-time movie
'Bout a ghost from a wishin' well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
You know that ghost is me
And I will never be set free
As long as I'm a ghost that you can't see
If I could read your mind, love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind that drugstores sell
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
But heroes often fail
And you won't read that book again
Because the ending's just too hard to take
I'd walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three-way script
Enter number two
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me
But for now love, let's be real
I never thought 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
If you could read my mind, love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old-time movie
'Bout a ghost from a wishin' well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
But stories always end
And if you read between the lines
You'll know that I'm just tryin' to understand
The feelings that you lack
I never thought I could feel 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
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