Avid fans get to choose...
 

Maybe this question is new ...its new for me. I am just sitting here in Southern Ontario..drinking wine...strumming a few chords of Gordie tunes ..from the Corfid lyrics pages.. When it dawned on me.

What is the worst GL song?

The one you don't like to hear.

The one you don't like to play (cause Gordie taught alot of us to think we could play guitar..so we strumb away).

I have to think about it for awhile...but until I review it in my mind ..I think mine is Uncle Toad Said.

Re: Avid fans get to choose...
 

oh my..that's not a fave of mine either..not keen on Endless Wire..
there's been a couple of threads in the past about this but some new folks might have some thoughts.
hmmm...
seems wrong to even contemplate a least fave Lightfoot tune...lol

Re: Avid fans get to choose...
 

Ohhh.......this is an easy one........

"Canary Yellow Canoe"

For me, it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

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it's a good geography lesson/travelogue!!
;)

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Ma'am,

That may be true, but when a message is so painful to listen to, I tend to block it out. I've pulled a few withered muscles grasping for the remote to 'skip' that tune.

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Sorry, my thread...my rules... Yellow Canoe wasn't on an official 'album'. Songbook doesn't count. See, even GL and the 'team' new something was wrong with the 'Yellow Canoe' tune.

So song has to be on one of the 'official ' twenty.

But Yellow Canoe is totally not anywhere near the top of my list of favorites. Below the half way point for sure.

Re: Avid fans get to choose...
 

you didn't state that rule in the first post tho..
;)
so i think CYC should count..
after all Ron has suffered grievous bodily harm in trying to NOT listen to it.
lol

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pussywillows cat tails
the last time i saw her
may i
first time ever i saw her face
beautiful....................... (runs and hides!)

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Lest anyone forget "Ringneck Loon"...
But "Uncle Toad Said" is definitely right up there.

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Does Gord have a worst song????
I suppose I could pass on 'Ode To Big Blue' and 'Couchiching'
hey? what's wrong with canary yellow canoes???

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Hands down, "May I". Nothing comes even close to that one for me.

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Interesting...OK..If you had a top 5 bad ones.
BAD
Uncle Toad Said
Couchiching - I agree
Boathouse
My Little Love
On Yonge Street

..comments
May I - don't agree..not my favorite..but its acceptable
Pussy Willows - don't agree. .used to like it more..Paul Bartlett loves it
Beautifull - no way ...this is great ..one of the first ones i learned to play
The First Time ever I Saw... no way ..good song
Ode To Big Blue - i think its good. great whale story.. good bass lines

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oh missed one..

Ringneck Loon... not my favorite ..but its far from the worst

Re: Avid fans get to choose...
 

You know, this is a curious thread. With this group, whenever someone mentions a "least favorite" Gord tune, someone else reading the thread gets stung because it's a sentimental favorite of theirs.

The song "Beautiful" was mentioned above as a "least fave." This one was played at my wedding 27 years ago and my wife and I still love it when Gord plays this one in concert. "Pussywillows, Cattails" was also mentioned as a "least fav." For me, this song will always evoke memories of 16 years ago driving to the hospital in the middle of the night with my wife in labor with our first child. On the way to the hospital I hit "Play" on the tape player (it was before the era of CD players in cars) and the strains of "Pussywillows, Cattails" came flowing out. To this day, my wife affirms that this song calmed her a great deal during the trip to the hospital. Less than one hour after we arrived at the hospital, our son was born. He has since grown up to be an avid GL fan.

So, I'm not going to venture out and slam a GL song that most likely has special meaning to someone else out there. Thanks for listening.

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You are right Tim...but...

I am willing to bet a gazillion dollars that absolutely no one out there likes Uncle Toad Said. or should i say has a special moment in their hearts and past special memories that the song brings.

What do you think. ??

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oh and Char...what are you thinking..Endless Wire.

I can understand it not being a favorite.

I've heard some diss it for those two crazy rythyms ... and that it sounded like it should have been two different songs.

But for me it still hangs together for me.

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Fair enough John. Lets put it to the group. Is there anyone out there who has a special affection for "Uncle Toad?"

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And silence was cast upon the earth.......

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I don`t really care if someone doesn`t like a song that I like - it`s not gong to change my view or reasons for liking it..and hopefully it won`t be troublesome to someone that a song I may not like is one they do.
To each his or her own as long it`s put forth respectfully.

But come on!! NOT liking BEAUTIFUL! wattsamattaforyou!
sheesh!!!!!!!!!!
lol

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RM,
You gave a total of 23 minutes before declaring silence being cast upon the earth. You may be right, but give it some more time.

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Fair enough....sorry about that....it was a "rush to judgment" on my part.

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I have lots of favorites but I would be hard pressed to think of a Gordon Lightfoot song I really don't like. He even does a great job on picking songs from others to cover (i.e. Changes (Phil Ochs) and Ring Them Bells (Bob Dylan)). "Beautiful" was played at my wedding too and there must have been some power behind those lyrics. 30 years this September so maybe I will have to spring for some lemon lilies as in Whisper My Name.

Ode to Big Blue is a great story song and and the high string lead guitar is fantastic. I was just listening to it in the car today.

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So far no takers on Uncle Toad.

I think we found one.

A stinker that is.

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wrong!. i like Uncle Toad Said

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I don't mind Uncle Toad Said. It doesn't have any special memories for me, but I don't skip it or anything.

Ringneck Loon and Canary Yellow Canoe are two of my least favorite. Allow me to add My Pony Won't Go from ODR - can't get into that one.

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I'll go with CYC and MPWG. I generally skip them
Ring-neck loon I kinda like. I even used it for my ringtone for a former co-worker...
Add Boathouse to the skip list for me.

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unbelievable...joveski!!

Well thats it then. Uncle Toad Said is liked.

Anyone else or is joveski the only one??

But I gotta ask.... is it really liked or are you just saying that.?? It certainly isn't your favorite ...is it?

Your list of disliked GL tunes is remarkably shocking. IMHO. But that's OK.

As far as My Pony Won't Go... - I am in agreement...not my cup of tea either.

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He's just being ornery..lol
;)

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some funny selections have arisen
I have always loved Gord's fantastic interpretation of Ewan McColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" the second recording by Gord (after the too neglected Spin Spin")that I heard on Montreal radio station CHFM in 1966.And Couchiching?I can understand some finding it annoying but to see Gord sing it live with such relish is magical in my book.
I was very disappointed last year however when of all the great songs he never performs nowadays he elected to add "My Little Love" to the 2008 rotation (at least for the earlier concerts),as that has to be my most unfavourite song on the Sit Down Young Stranger album

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my list was completely true!. uncle toad isnt a favourite of mine but i always listen to it.
not a fan of My pony wont go either

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Sorry, I like Uncle Toad just fine. Boathouse and Yonge Street can be skipped every time I play PPT. May I is a song that is not great, but has a slightly cute premise and some playful lyrics. Just going down the list, it's amazing there aren't more songs on the negative list, but almost every one has some redeeming quality.
DQ

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I remember a post reviewing a Gord concert from a few years back - around the time of the release of the "A Painter Passing Through" album. (not sure if it was here, or on the other Lightfoot newsgroup) The post included an amusing event, where a fan set a large ceramic toad on the stage in anticipation of Gord singing "Uncle Toad Said."

Does anyone else remember that?

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I'll go along with Jenney on "May I" and add "Blackberry Wine". CYC and "Flyin Blind" are torture to listen too,

At first I didn't like Couchiching but it grew on me after I realized it could have been his final number there.

I have a special liking for Ring Neck Loon and Uncle Toad is just fine. Perhaps because the first time I met Gord (and Jenney) was at the APPT signing at Sam's in May of 1998 and later the same year in San Diego when the boxed set deal was first presented to Gord by Thane.

I don't care much for Welcome to Try and I almost always skip MPWG.

Of all of them, the one I'd be embarrassed to let a friend know Gordon Lightfoot wrote it would have to be May I

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the whole of APPT through touches me because i bought just as my granfather died and every song reminds me of him.

Welcome to try is another that never grabbed me - it seems unfinishedd

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If I knew how to do the Poll thing ..I'd start a Poll for what is thought to be the least..but alas I don't...

APPT...seems to have a number of least favorites... maybe this is the least favorite album...don't know. (..but I respect joveski's remark about APPT)

Does anyone have the # copies sold of each album. .. ??

Summertime Dream or Sundown were his most sales ...weren't they??

Had a grin when i read about grabbing the remote to "skip" a song. I do that too..of course.
Doing the 'skip' play as your listening to an album is certainly a clue to how you much you like the song...
But depending on my mood ...I'll even skip songs like Beautiful ..
so its not a defining moment just a 'sign post' for me.

I have heard its said by pundits and critics that GL's best work was his first album. So many hits.

I used to think many years ago that GL had a formula for putting his albums together.. You know.. 2 soft guitar ballads.. one long repetitive sounding story song. ..A lite melodic one. That kind of thing. Then there were these ones I couldn't categorize... like Uncle Toad Said...Yonge St. They were always the ones I liked least.

Re: Avid fans get to choose...
 

The poll thing is fairly simple. Start a new thread, scroll down below the text box and select the "poll option", and then submit the 'new thread'. At this point, you will be able to specify the number of choices and what they are, along with the number of days you wish to leave to leave the poll open.

I have one going in the Small Talk forum : song vs song competition :

http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=19375

It's an effort to limit the 'final' poll to no more than 10 choices. Right now, there are far more suggested songs than that.

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Well i do recall this being a topic but it was years ago.

In my own case it's the more "serious" ones that I've tried to get into but just cannot.

"Cold Hands From New York"
"Protocol"
"Black Day In July" (like it a bit more than before)
"Brave Mountaineers"

Then there's the one's that just don't click with me (sorry in advance) :biggrin: :

Biscuit City
Blackberry Wine
Someone To Believe In ( Got someone's ire up last time I said that).
Race Among The Ruins
May I
The Gypsy (Diddle-dee-dum,diddle dee dee!) :rolleyes:

A few more but can;t think right now.

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since i can list 50 i really love and another 150 i really like, i don't feel too bad listing several he must have laid down after consuming a few bad cookies

anything for love

may i

fading away

songs the minstrel sang

sweet guinevere

stationmaster

cobwebs and dust

baby step back

somethign very special

all i'm after

no hotel

no others

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My remarks under the Poll thread about the top least favorite songs should have been posted here. Sorry all....BM

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Oh yeah, I forgot all about "Blackberry Wine"...lol. Not on my favorite list. I feel the same way about "Cobwebs and Dust".