Char , I am very glad to see that you've elevated
Spocksbrain's thought on the spiritual thread potential into reality.
By coincidence, I had prepared a reply in the Dylan thread where he mentioned it, tacitly speaking of some quasi-religous and spiritual discussion we have had over time that I remembered back before my medical and bereavement leave from the forum for so long.
I encouraged him to defer to you as the moderator to give the idea legs, and also bolster the noble desire of Spocks that such an important aspect of Gordons be addressed.
Were he to have opened the thread without testing the waters as he wisely, and discretely did, it could have taken the wild waters trip it has at times in the past, where less tolerant members, who I notice are not posting since I have been back in black as Geo point5.
Wild or controversial thread waters are not intrinsically bad imho, I think they represent the finest opportunity for kind and tasteful fans, in a stimulating; if not intellectual subject of such importance - call it intellectual and all too quickly someone will cry foul as it being stuffshirt,longhair, or bemoan the perceived attempts to establish the "hoi-poloi versus the proletariate" motive assumptions - which is hogwash.
To venture into this thinking persons' rosegarden of a thread theme is not at all imho an attempt to segregate by comment the artifice of "plebians" from "The Rennaisance People" - which I do not believe the members in this forum, or Lightfoot's music ideate.. And I am VERY happy this is the case.
I really have wanted to elaborate on this theme for along time, but did not wish to risk roiled waters - no risk, no gain. And....we ARE all adults here..
I think it is a compliment that we are considered capable of considerate exchange where lesser minds and hearts would be volatile and on the attack. But its a different breed in here, in corfid. I am so glad we can take up such an enjoyable facet to appreciate of the Man and his music.
I say this before we've even really begun; with the hopes of imploring of all these fine people I see that comprise corfid now to avoid the pratfalls inherant in posting back and forth to one another on an: a- volatile subject ; b- one of the three subjects we were always taught as young adults would break up a dinner table LOL ; and c- politically incorrect - to encourage bringing up subjects that test our tolerance and respect for dissimilar thoughts warranting merit as being worthy of open-minded consideration - as much as our own - at a minimum as spoken of in the constituion as one of the rights of pursuit.....
I got a lot of these thoughts and more down on keyboard earlier, really boiling down to - yeah Char - lets really encourage such a great topic again - and not let just one person feel dangling out there from the bowsprit alone, subject to possible bashing, no matter how artfuly worded LOL... and JUST AS I GOT THE POST FINISHED - AND WAS SPELL-CHECKING ETC... DAM*** IF i DIDN'T HIT THE MYSTERY KEY BY ACCIDENT THAT BLOWS AWAY ALL MY WORK IN WINDOWS - and I don't even know which it is. I know how to purposefully delete all my blabberty, but which key is that pesky launch into cyberspace I hit by accident so much ? dang it......
Well, I got the chance to rethink and rewrite after a trip down to Denver today after the loss, and now i come back to find this most excellent thread allready begun - good idea Spocksbrain, and thank you Char for adding your stamp of worthiness of the subject, and I stand beside you and Spock, bursting with ideas in this area, and thank you both for the brave thread.
ON-THREAD OFFERINGS OF SONGS WITH SPIRITUAL ESSENCE:
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Mister Rock of Ages - without question in my mind, openly spiritual, and melodically superior as well - very "hummable" , and one of my favourite.
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Make Way For the Lady - "shake hands with the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost...the impoosible believer, and the Heavenly Host" - man I love that song, and I still maintain it is one of Gord's rare forays into a small bite of Jazz , e.g. Oh Linda on Lightfoot! being another. I figured Gord as a closet jazz fan for years, unrealized, and then what do I read but the additional info on his education at Westlake College of Music, where among other things - music theory, composition, arrangements and orchestration, Piano, AND - JAZZ ! as an initial area of varied interests. I knew it !
And to this day, I read recently, he still enjoys listening to some Jazz among varied interests. His song is not tradtional jazz at all, granted, and so many types geographically branded it seems - Chicago Jazz, West Coast Jazz, L.A. Jazz etc. Gord imho produced a barely discernable jazz form - with that bongos and hi-hat Vegas hipster beat - the kind we envision Ole' Blue Eyes, and Sammy Davis Jr. swingin' too the beat on - martini in one hand, cigarette danglin', snapping their fingers and"diggin" it.
There is a hint of that in the stepped-up second half of this song - Make Way for the Lady, where the lyrics i mentioned begin; that coolbeat subtly in the background. Listen in headphones - it'll blow you away.
Oh - AND its great spiritual advice too, imho
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Forgive me Lord - unquestionably if thats possible
There are so many, many more, nd so many extremely subtle, sometimes just one line, one riff, sometimes only inferred. I believe Gord is/was a religous man, and didn't one article quote him as saying he was raised in a .. was it Presbyterian Church ? In Orillia, where he still attends at times. - and was a choir boy with a great mentor there. Not that this matters for our validation of him or his music in any way, his work stands on its own, spiritual or not.... its just interesting to take a fresnel lens and look close, and I believe one CAN see it. I want to cite so many more - but that would rob others of the enjoyment some....
Thanks Char and Spocksbrain
~geo steve