"the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

I finally found the lyrics to Wayne's wonderful personal composition/tip of the cap to Gord


Not only does Wayne maintain a great website (www.lightfoot.ca) but he's a versatile musician, composer and has got quite a way with words too...now working on his 3rd album



Title: Weaver Of The Moonlight


By Wayne Francis


In he strolls with his whiskered chin, he's out of another time
His old guitar looks battered and well used
But the strings still have a ring to them, as they dance to every rhyme
And capture every ear that is tuned in to someone's mind
The table that he sits before is like any stage I've seen
There sits his hat and weathered gear
And there is no one around this room who'd trade away tonight
As they listen to the stories about everywhere he's been

His foot taps on the floor below and his fingers find the notes
His face lights up when something moves his heart
And he sings of many legends, from old minstrels he does quote
And I can't believe the reverence that greets each new tale he starts
He seems the surest remedy for when you're feeling down
Uplifted by the honesty you see
And by the words he brings to you, you'll find your way around
He's been the fool and wise man and yet through it all he's free

So stranger tell us secrets that are locked behind your eyes
Though some are painful thoughts you must recall
And tell us of the world you've known, in sunshine or disguise
The transparency of fortunes and how little love it buys
Oh weaver of the moonlight, is it true your magic ends
With the first dim rays that beckon morning light
And is it true you'll travel far with just your songs to lend
To anyone who feels the need to smile or call you friend

In he strolls with his whiskered chin, he's out of another time
His old guitar looks battered and well used
But the strings still have a ring to them, as they dance to every rhyme
And capture every ear that is tuned in to someone's mind

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

Extremely talented. I have listened to some of his work, and the only problem I have is that it seems to ooze with the Lightfoot influence. That's not a bad thing......but it's not all that original either. I can hear snippets of different Lightfoot tunes interwoven into his songs. So far, I haven't seen any signs of Canary Yellow Canoe......and "that's a pretty good start".

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

interesting, rm...i remember in one Gord interview, he responded to the question of 'how do you come up with all these songs?' saying something like 'you take everything you've ever listened to and scramble it all up in your head and after processing it, out comes some parts that you just start expanding on' ...that was refreshing to hear as I'm not one who believes that 'original' songs just grow on trees...imo, the folk/pop genre has limited possibilites when trying to create somethign you call 'call your own' ...but one can take a blend of existing works and by 'bending' the components of the songs, come up with something fairly 'fresh' ...i find Wayne's lyrics quite non-bland, very East coast rooted, and his voice is quite unique...i first noticed this when i heard his versions of Fading away, Knotty Pine and especially Let it Ride on the internet newsgroup's collection of GL cover CDs back mid 90's (btw, rm, imo, you are gifted with also having that stamp of a unique vocal tone/delivery...many like i, envy that)

btw, if you click on the "i" icon to the right of the playlist box, it will display lyrics to each song...poetic stuff full of maritime imagery...Wayne did a stint living on the west coast also so he really has some wonderfully extreme influences to draw upon (same can be said for our ron jones)...it would be terrific to meet and chat with Wayne some day...he's typically too busy for the Massey get togethers but maybe one day downt he road

anyhow i hear you to some degree...i really like the fairly 'unbusy/open' arrangement of the last tune in his songlist player called Let the River Run Free...and yeah, it does have the watchman's gone 'influence'...that sits fine with me

http://www.reverbnation.com/waynefrancis#tab=rich_text


in a US radio interview Wayne talked of how he first got online in the early 90s and could find tons of Dylan info out there but struggled to find anything on Gord so off he went on his quest to contact the right folks and begin the website creation...if one wants a kick they should search the newsgroup archives for all the tidbits of info exchanged over the years amongst many of early 'internet Gord fan' membership...for eg) Richard Harrison offers terrific, first hand anecdotes ..check it out one day (you may need a month or two actually)

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

That's fair and square. I just find the melody lines eerily like Lightfoot up until the point he, as you say, 'bends' it. It's just weird.

Like John Prine, I too was in the Newbury Home For The Criminally Insane.

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

i believe Michael Masser used that verb in his defense, lol:

In April of 1987, Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against Michael Masser, alleging that Masser's song "The Greatest Love of All" (recorded by Whitney Houston) stole twenty-four bars from Lightfoot's 1969 hit "If You Could Read My Mind." According to Maclean's, Lightfoot commented, "It really rubbed me the wrong way. I don't want the present-day generation to think that I stole my song from him." Unlikely, though Lightfoot himself has always remained cautious and questioning about the industry. Said Toronto promoter Bernie Fiedler, "I don't think Gordon realizes that he has a tremendous talent. When intelligentsia of the music business courted him, he felt threatened. He's a cautious man who won't take chances."



for those who don't think it's obvious, for example, give a listen to the sections "No matter what they take from me they can't take away my dignity..." from Whitney's recording

then "And I will never be set free as long as I'm a ghost that you can't see..." from Gord


apologies, this doesn't belong in this thread really as we've been discussing 'influences of songwriting mentors' and not out right plageurism....chord progressions and melody aside, lyrically they even have the hard "ee" rhyme match

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

Plagiarism ? That's really a fine line. I remember George Harrison's defense in the trial of "He's So Fine" vs "My Sweet Lord"......'it was subconscious', he swore.

How would one know ?

I have experienced that myself. I'll think I just came up with a pretty cool melody, and then a day or two later I'll realize that it was a complete rip-off of a ,say, John Stewart song. It's terribly deflating.

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

i knew you'd know how to spell it properly....when in doubt we canucks just throw in random vowels, especially "u"s

i remember watching Partridge family episode at a young age...it was called This is MY Song and also the title of a very mellow, smooth, early Gord track (pretty clever, eh? i am keeping this Lightfoot-related, you see:) )

there were thin walls at the Partridge homestead and Keith's late night noodling came through them and into Danny's mind as he was sleeping...the next morn Danny basically "writes" that same tune...subliminal robbery:)

"When the Partridges' resident composer Keith (David Cassidy) suffers a creative dry spell, younger brother Danny (Danny Bonaduce) offers to write a few songs of his own. Unfortunately, Danny's tunes have a very familiar ring, leading Keith to accuse his brother of plagiarism. It turns out, however, that Danny is having a "George Harrison" moment, subliminally soaking up other people's compositions while he's supposed to be asleep!"

i've thought of that episode at times over the past four decades, agh

...something i did a fair bit of while supporting (in various ways) a few indy vocalists, was listening to countless demo tapes of songs as potential recording candidates...it was startling as to how many songs sounded the same and also similar to a few i was working on...as you say, even though unintentional and hard to trace their true "originals", very deflating when trying to be somewhat unique....some of the more successful folks i've known are the ones who dont worry about these things and just surge forward, good advice actually

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

jj,

Has anyone ever told you that you have the memory of an elephant ? I swear you never forget anything.

Perhaps I'll just take up "Rap" music. What could possibly go wrong ?

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

I've often that that about him and again when I read that exact same thing.. That's about as much as I remember..
;)

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

It really is spooky. I've seen him quote some of my blurbs that I posted in a previous reincarnation. At least I'm not alone in that observation.

Re: "the surest remedy for when you're feeling down"
 

it's really odd as to what sticks...the brain is a mind boggling organ....at times, i can recall details of many unimportant, non-revenue generating facts

whereas i am ruthlessly scolded on a daily basis for failing to remember blatantly obvious domestic and work related 'to do's...maybe that's more of a denial problem, or a conscious procrastination issue

i've tried and tried but i can't remember lyrics to more than a few short GL tunes (our fellow 'internet' Gord cover performers really amaze me) and i typically can only recall or anticipate chords about 0.5 seconds before being required to play them ...i wish teleprompters were affordable back when it mattered

well, anyhow, as i was saying, Wayne's a multi-talent and i like that remedy line...Gord's also a good remedy for when one is feeling too good...you know, a reality check

ps)
ok, if I'm in the spooky category, what does that make Sir John?;)