The Circle is Small

[Tyler]

I was listening to my "The United Artists Years" cd's today and one of my favorites The Circle is Small is on there, the line I can see what you believe in when his name is mentioned, is different. Does anyone know when this was changed and why? I really like the orchestrated version better.

[brink]

I was listening to my "The United Artists Years" cd's today and one of my favorites The Circle is Small is on there, the line I can see what you believe in when his name is mentioned, is different. Does anyone know when this was changed and why? I really like the orchestrated version better.

[Borderstone]

Well brink,as you know the original was from his 1968 LP,"Back Here On Earth". He re-made the song during 1977 recording sessions for "Endless Wire". I believe he changed it (if I recall the liner notes of "Songbook" correctly) because he was not all that excited about the original. If any lyrics were changed later either he just wanted them to sound more up to date or maybe the line about his name being mentioned sounds a bit self-centered. Sometime ago,Gordon realized a few of the songs he had done early in his career were quite male chauvenistic. You know.."I'm the man so I'm better and stronger than the woman" kind of songs. Back then the music world was filled with male singers who wrote songs that way. Yuck! It's been Borderstone,outta here and Alberta Bound!

I'm completely off topic here, but how many songs have had the lyrics changed in their re-recording?
2 spring to mind.

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

That good/big ship and true was a bone to be chewed
And the good/big ship and crew was in paril
The wind in the wires/wire made a tattle tale sound

"Shadows"

Let me reach out love and touch you/Would you reach out love and touch me
Where the/thy river runs away
As/When the morning stars grow dim

Also, "All the Lovely Ladies was cut short for some reason, I wish the re-recording was as long as the original, but Lightfoot took some of the verses away for some reason

I'm completely off topic here, but how many songs have had the lyrics changed in their re-recording?
2 spring to mind.

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

That good/big ship and true was a bone to be chewed
And the good/big ship and crew was in paril
The wind in the wires/wire made a tattle tale sound

"Shadows"

Let me reach out love and touch you/Would you reach out love and touch me
Where the/thy river runs away
As/When the morning stars grow dim

Also, "All the Lovely Ladies was cut short for some reason, I wish the re-recording was as long as the original, but Lightfoot took some of the verses away for some reason

[Wingdrops]

In "Hangdog Hotel Room" the line "rubbin' the wrong girl right" of Endless Wire became "treatin' the wrong girl right" in the GG2 version. The revision is far inferior to the original -- the original contained a humorous pun that was lost in the revision.

There are minor changes in IYCRMM ("the drugstore sells" is now "any drugstore would sell" and "the feelings that you lack" became "we lack" at his daughter's request). There are a few others -- for example, when singing ODR in concert, the day of the week is changed from "Saturday night" to the night of the concert.

I think Gord never really finishes a song and is always willing to tighten up or adjust a lyric here or there.



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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by."

[2Much2Lose]

In "Hangdog Hotel Room" the line "rubbin' the wrong girl right" of Endless Wire became "treatin' the wrong girl right" in the GG2 version. The revision is far inferior to the original -- the original contained a humorous pun that was lost in the revision.

There are minor changes in IYCRMM ("the drugstore sells" is now "any drugstore would sell" and "the feelings that you lack" became "we lack" at his daughter's request). There are a few others -- for example, when singing ODR in concert, the day of the week is changed from "Saturday night" to the night of the concert.

I think Gord never really finishes a song and is always willing to tighten up or adjust a lyric here or there.



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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by."