quote:Originally posted by talbot10:
I pretty much figured I was the only GL fan in NY state prior to the internet. The concerts in NY city would sell out but all year long I could not find another lightfoot fan around town. On some level though, it was much more exciting without knowing about every song before the album came out. The anticipation was part of the excitement. Now the songs get critiqued even before they are officially out. I can remember that the album Ä Painter Passing through - was panned well before it came out and by people who are "fans". It pissed me off because I loved the CD when I got it. In any event there is a lot of good that comes out of the internet including this forum and the now almost defunct newsgroup. That said, the clamore to be the "ones" who are closest to Gord's heart has ruined some friendships and that is sad. In the end, the music is great but individially we likely don't mean jack shit to gordon Lightfoot or anyone in his inner circle. Not that we should. We are just fans
Bill Hall
Bill,
First, just have to say that you sound so much like Gord, that if I hear your music and don't remember who I am listening to, at times have thought that it was Gord....so has my husband. (Oh, and our "heavy metal"
son.
, also.)
In respect to the fact that we indivdually
don't impact Gord's life a whole lot, is like you say, as it should be. We have lives and he has his. It's so difficult for celebrities in this age of mass media to have private lives. (And the word "fan"
derives from the word "fanatic". That doesn't sound too flattering when you really think about it.
Also, there are many thoughts, memories, experiences, and life lessons that I have learned from Gord, but some are so personal and precious that they are mine. I don't even share some of those. They are just a part of the fabric of my life, as I have listened to him for 34 years now, as has my husband. They are interwoven into our marriage of 39 years. It is a beautiful thing.
I only hope that Gord knows that he has, and IS a monumental gift to humanity, for THAT he certainly is.
Perhaps, some of this sounds contradictory, but there is a line between deeply appreciating someone, and trying to put oneself in that person's good graces, only for one's own pleasure, or sense of self-esteem.
Most of all I keep going back to a song that no one ususally mentions..."Stone Cold Sober", because there are a couple of lines in it that have come to be a theme for our marriage.
"I hope that we can see each other often,
That our points of view would blend into each
others,
Like the sea and the horizon.
And the sun will shine upon us,
As we live our lives together."
-GL
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'Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call; Rainy day people don't talk, they just listen, till they've heard it all.'- GL