Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Ghost you cannot see -emotional disconnection

jelliott43 · 11-13-2008, 10:05 AM

Hi Everyone,
I can hear the collective groan as predictably a Newby brings up the subject of "If you could read my Mind".
Please do not be too hard on me as that song brought me to this site. Now as a result I know that GL wrote this song which I
have listened to most of my life. I did not know that a month ago.
Also I have listened to many more of GL's songs since I registered especially Sundown,Beatiful,Early Morning
Rain,Wreck of the Edmund FitzGerald (PS - Does anyone know who Edmund FitzGerald was ??). Also I found a site which
discusses the meaning of lyrics (there are 213 GL titles on there at http://www.songmeanings.net/. So I will have future fun
going through the titles.
I retired a few months ago and as my son has grown up and gone out to work, I now get to play videos/songs
on YouTube without shouts of 'Get off my Computer" and "stop playing that old sad music"
Anyhow I was listening to "If you could read my Mind" a few weeks ago when the possible meaning of the
lyrics crossed my mind.
If a really strong and important emotional link between 2 people weakens for one of them like a mobile phone
signal fading, then the other party becomes like a "ghost" that they cannot see. The physical person is still there but the
emotional insight has gone, And that person becomes isolated (a prisoner) emotionally until the other person reconnects to
them again.
Anyone else got the same take on the Lyrics ? Did GL ever reveal if there was a personal tradedy behind the
lyrics. I remember reading the Leonards Cohens "Famous Blue Raincoat" was written after his wife has an affair. Strangely
this song always had a similar emotional impact on me as "If you could read my Mind".

11-13-2008, 10:05 AM	#1
jelliott43 Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1	Ghost you cannot see -emotional disconnection Hi Everyone, I can hear the collective groan as predictably a Newby brings up the subject of "If you could read my Mind". Please do not be too hard on me as that song brought me to this site. Now as a result I know that GL wrote this song which I have listened to most of my life. I did not know that a month ago. Also I have listened to many more of GL's songs since I registered especially Sundown,Beatiful,Early Morning Rain,Wreck of the Edmund FitzGerald (PS - Does anyone know who Edmund FitzGerald was ??). Also I found a site which discusses the meaning of lyrics (there are 213 GL titles on there at http://www.songmeanings.net/. So I will have future fun going through the titles. I retired a few months ago and as my son has grown up and gone out to work, I now get to play videos/songs on YouTube without shouts of 'Get off my Computer" and "stop playing that old sad music" Anyhow I was listening to "If you could read my Mind" a few weeks ago when the possible meaning of the lyrics crossed my mind. If a really strong and important emotional link between 2 people weakens for one of them like a mobile phone signal fading, then the other party becomes like a "ghost" that they cannot see. The physical person is still there but the emotional insight has gone, And that person becomes isolated (a prisoner) emotionally until the other person reconnects to them again. Anyone else got the same take on the Lyrics ? Did GL ever reveal if there was a personal tradedy behind the lyrics. I remember reading the Leonards Cohens "Famous Blue Raincoat" was written after his wife has an affair. Strangely this song always had a similar emotional impact on me as "If you could read my Mind".