major G.L. fan at 21

Hi, I am 22 and I discovered GL when I was around 17 or so and living out west, they played it on the radio. I have gotten some strange looks when people see my GL CDs and tapes in my car or at home. One man, my fathers friend raised an eyebrow and said "Gordon Lightfoot, that's from our generation," he was genuinely puzzled if not alarmed. Hilarious. My boyfriend, after listening to Gord's Gold one night a few times confided to me when we were alone that "Actually, I like this kind of music. But don't ever tell anyone." and he sort of grinned. Well that's our little secret, so he can protest to his friends but he would have to like it or lump it because, baby, GL is always going to be part of my music collection!

My mother and father took my car down to Lunenburg a few months ago for a day trip and 60 minutes of Gordon Lightfoot was in the tape deck. My mom told me they listened to it all the way down (Dad is an old fan) and she and Dad tried to figure out why I like it so much and then they decided it was because I miss my guitar. I thought about that when she told me and she might be partly right. I don't enjoy his newer music as much because it has lost its folk edge, like it was played in someone's living room. From the age of 11 years old I have had a guitar and Farewell to Nova Scotia was one of the first handful of songs that I learned to play. In junior high school every weekend and some week nights myself and a group of older men and sometimes I would bring my friend or my sister and we would get together and play and drink Keiths. Neil Young was a favorite, I could play all the tablature for Cinnamon Girl and that was fine, and Let the Circle Be Unbroken, Fox on the Run, their guitars were nicer than mine and Audley even had an electric tuner, which was a big thing, my dad would tune my guitar by ear. One man, Tony, who was 36 at the time, in particular was my favorite partner for guitar and he didn't sing a whole lot but we used to practice the Johnny Cash/June Carter rendition of "If I was a carpenter", which I had on an old record (I have a lot of old records) and some Porter Wagner and Dolly Parton ones off another record. One of my favorites from the Dolly record was "Love Isn't Free", that song always used to give me goosebumps. Just before my grandfather died of lung cancer I remember he had a country collection tape and one song stood out, County Bumpkin. He used to lay on the old couch in the parlor, when he could have enough strength he would sometimes read Louis L'amour novels and I would try to sing along and hold his hand. I was nine years old and I have a picture of us at his birthday that year and I am on his lap I am smiling but my eyes are shining with tears because when he held me I felt how thin and hollow he was, like the husk of a corn with no life in it, just a few breaths left. Around that time too I remember going into the downstairs bedroom where he slept and putting a picture of a horse I drew under his pillow and when I lifted the pillow I found a brown handled gleaming metal handgun, no trigger lock or anything. I quickly replaced the pillow and put the picture on his dresser. It was like he was no longer a man, he had to depend on a gun for protection for his wife and in his youth he was like me, a scrapper. He could drink a litre of Kelly's between the dam and the driveway on the way home from work and he pulled out all his own teeth before he was 21. My grandmother made alot of baked beans and mashed potatoes and meatloaf and salt cod and everything had to be mashed. He was a lobster fisherman in season and a carpenter and boatbuilder in the offseasons. He died shortly afterward in the hospital in Halifax and he wanted to die at home, that was a sin. When I got playing the guitar I looked for and found a copy of that song (Country Bumpkin by Cal Ripkin), but it was hard to find and I didn't actually find it until I was living in Calgary and I walked down to Music Stop on the corner of 14 Street and 17 Avenue SW and found it in a songbook and got it and went home and learned to play it on guitar. It was amazing that I could still remember the tune and rhythym after so long, but it had left a strong mark on me to search all those years. I know that if I still hung around with the Pineos (we lost touch. when I moved to Calgary I lived there for 4 years, and then back here and then to Halifax for a year) we would be playing the GL tunes, and it would be grand.

I get all my friends to listen to GL and even my sister. My daughter loves to be put to sleep with Gord's Gold, in the car or at home, it takes less than one or two songs and she often requests it. She is so cute when she tries to remember the words to Sundown or Cotton Ginny.

Hopefully she will continue to enjoy the GL tradition because his music is a valuable part of our heritage as Canadians and his respect for nature and people is to important to let go. Let us never forget.

Hi, I am 22 and I discovered GL when I was around 17 or so and living out west, they played it on the radio. I have gotten some strange looks when people see my GL CDs and tapes in my car or at home. One man, my fathers friend raised an eyebrow and said "Gordon Lightfoot, that's from our generation," he was genuinely puzzled if not alarmed. Hilarious. My boyfriend, after listening to Gord's Gold one night a few times confided to me when we were alone that "Actually, I like this kind of music. But don't ever tell anyone." and he sort of grinned. Well that's our little secret, so he can protest to his friends but he would have to like it or lump it because, baby, GL is always going to be part of my music collection!

My mother and father took my car down to Lunenburg a few months ago for a day trip and 60 minutes of Gordon Lightfoot was in the tape deck. My mom told me they listened to it all the way down (Dad is an old fan) and she and Dad tried to figure out why I like it so much and then they decided it was because I miss my guitar. I thought about that when she told me and she might be partly right. I don't enjoy his newer music as much because it has lost its folk edge, like it was played in someone's living room. From the age of 11 years old I have had a guitar and Farewell to Nova Scotia was one of the first handful of songs that I learned to play. In junior high school every weekend and some week nights myself and a group of older men and sometimes I would bring my friend or my sister and we would get together and play and drink Keiths. Neil Young was a favorite, I could play all the tablature for Cinnamon Girl and that was fine, and Let the Circle Be Unbroken, Fox on the Run, their guitars were nicer than mine and Audley even had an electric tuner, which was a big thing, my dad would tune my guitar by ear. One man, Tony, who was 36 at the time, in particular was my favorite partner for guitar and he didn't sing a whole lot but we used to practice the Johnny Cash/June Carter rendition of "If I was a carpenter", which I had on an old record (I have a lot of old records) and some Porter Wagner and Dolly Parton ones off another record. One of my favorites from the Dolly record was "Love Isn't Free", that song always used to give me goosebumps. Just before my grandfather died of lung cancer I remember he had a country collection tape and one song stood out, County Bumpkin. He used to lay on the old couch in the parlor, when he could have enough strength he would sometimes read Louis L'amour novels and I would try to sing along and hold his hand. I was nine years old and I have a picture of us at his birthday that year and I am on his lap I am smiling but my eyes are shining with tears because when he held me I felt how thin and hollow he was, like the husk of a corn with no life in it, just a few breaths left. Around that time too I remember going into the downstairs bedroom where he slept and putting a picture of a horse I drew under his pillow and when I lifted the pillow I found a brown handled gleaming metal handgun, no trigger lock or anything. I quickly replaced the pillow and put the picture on his dresser. It was like he was no longer a man, he had to depend on a gun for protection for his wife and in his youth he was like me, a scrapper. He could drink a litre of Kelly's between the dam and the driveway on the way home from work and he pulled out all his own teeth before he was 21. My grandmother made alot of baked beans and mashed potatoes and meatloaf and salt cod and everything had to be mashed. He was a lobster fisherman in season and a carpenter and boatbuilder in the offseasons. He died shortly afterward in the hospital in Halifax and he wanted to die at home, that was a sin. When I got playing the guitar I looked for and found a copy of that song (Country Bumpkin by Cal Ripkin), but it was hard to find and I didn't actually find it until I was living in Calgary and I walked down to Music Stop on the corner of 14 Street and 17 Avenue SW and found it in a songbook and got it and went home and learned to play it on guitar. It was amazing that I could still remember the tune and rhythym after so long, but it had left a strong mark on me to search all those years. I know that if I still hung around with the Pineos (we lost touch. when I moved to Calgary I lived there for 4 years, and then back here and then to Halifax for a year) we would be playing the GL tunes, and it would be grand.

I get all my friends to listen to GL and even my sister. My daughter loves to be put to sleep with Gord's Gold, in the car or at home, it takes less than one or two songs and she often requests it. She is so cute when she tries to remember the words to Sundown or Cotton Ginny.

Hopefully she will continue to enjoy the GL tradition because his music is a valuable part of our heritage as Canadians and his respect for nature and people is to important to let go. Let us never forget.

[johnfowles]

I just found this and thinking that there now seem to be quite a number of young Lightheads around I thought I would resurrect it , Nice that this topic was not purged by Florian!!
John Fowles
Sit down young stranger I do not understand

Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams

Make an old man groan, a young
man pain!" All the day, sit and spin, Spin

Bringing the goods to a young growing land

and especially for Brian/"iron"

And your young brother Ernie's up in Pittsburgh, PA.
She loves a young man and he lives in the town

[ January 11, 2006, 16:43: Message edited by: johnfowles ]

[johnfowles]

I just found this and thinking that there now seem to be quite a number of young Lightheads around I thought I would resurrect it , Nice that this topic was not purged by Florian!!
John Fowles
Sit down young stranger I do not understand

Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams

Make an old man groan, a young
man pain!" All the day, sit and spin, Spin

Bringing the goods to a young growing land

and especially for Brian/"iron"

And your young brother Ernie's up in Pittsburgh, PA.
She loves a young man and he lives in the town

[ January 11, 2006, 16:43: Message edited by: johnfowles ]

[Borderstone]

Gee,our 21 year old Lightfoot fan will be 27 this year!
Boy, time sure goes "tweet,tweet,tweet"!

I became a fan at 33 and this August will be 5 years of GL. (Hmmm..."33rd of August??!" Ah,hA!!!!

[Iron]

This is pretty cool.I had no idea there were so many GL fans in my age group.I just turned 21 last week,and I also like to diddle with the guitfiddle,especially Gord stuff. Cool...