Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post

lighthead2toe · 09-08-2018, 01:42 PM

That song, inspired by it's richness in lyrical abundance in the title alone resonates in my mind each time a feeling becomes alerted by an occasion or a happening.

Clearly had something to do with seasonal change as I discovered last night when I stepped outside with my dog just before bedtime.

Until now Toronto temperatures have been very warm which kept giving us an extension on summer but after opening the back door, my sense of smell became acutely alive as a noticeable drop in temperature brought with it the very first scent of Autumn. It was like sweet perfume wafting through the gentle evening breeze.
I couldn't get enough of it to quell the emotional spasm it jolted in me resulting in pleasant tear being wiped away.
A really wonderful way to feel. Unlike non other.

Now here's another change.

On page 2 of the "Gordon Lightfoot The Way I Feel" songbook, referring to "The Way I Feel" there is a notation by Gord at the bottom of the page saying "This is not the key of C or A minor but an Indian Raga similar to the Occidental Dorian Mode ( D, E. F, G, A, B flat, C, D.) Totally out of my scope.
He uses the chords D5, C5 and G and plays it with the capo on the third fret in the drop D tuning.
At Westlake College Gord was educated in musical theory, jazz composition, orchestration, etc. so it stands to reason that he would apply that knowledge to his own compositions and "The Way I Feel" sure seems to be one where it's totally applied.

The reference "Indian Raga" is something I can relate to though as I recall once at a concert in Massey Hall by Ravi Shankar, he spoke about Indian Classical music and mentioned several of his compositions included Ragas.
I found this music to be spiritually elevating so I kept going back to hear Ravi perform at each opportunity.
Guess it's all about how we feel or felt about something that affects us. We always remember people by the way they made us feel.
Jory Nash and Angus Finnan coined it pretty well when they titled their yearly Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Concerts at Hugh's Room in Toronto "The Way We Feel."

09-08-2018, 01:42 PM	#1
lighthead2toe Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada Posts: 920	The Way I Feel That song, inspired by it's richness in lyrical abundance in the title alone resonates in my mind each time a feeling becomes alerted by an occasion or a happening. Clearly had something to do with seasonal change as I discovered last night when I stepped outside with my dog just before bedtime. Until now Toronto temperatures have been very warm which kept giving us an extension on summer but after opening the back door, my sense of smell became acutely alive as a noticeable drop in temperature brought with it the very first scent of Autumn. It was like sweet perfume wafting through the gentle evening breeze. I couldn't get enough of it to quell the emotional spasm it jolted in me resulting in pleasant tear being wiped away. A really wonderful way to feel. Unlike non other. Now here's another change. On page 2 of the "Gordon Lightfoot The Way I Feel" songbook, referring to "The Way I Feel" there is a notation by Gord at the bottom of the page saying "This is not the key of C or A minor but an Indian Raga similar to the Occidental Dorian Mode ( D, E. F, G, A, B flat, C, D.) Totally out of my scope. He uses the chords D5, C5 and G and plays it with the capo on the third fret in the drop D tuning. At Westlake College Gord was educated in musical theory, jazz composition, orchestration, etc. so it stands to reason that he would apply that knowledge to his own compositions and "The Way I Feel" sure seems to be one where it's totally applied. The reference "Indian Raga" is something I can relate to though as I recall once at a concert in Massey Hall by Ravi Shankar, he spoke about Indian Classical music and mentioned several of his compositions included Ragas. I found this music to be spiritually elevating so I kept going back to hear Ravi perform at each opportunity. Guess it's all about how we feel or felt about something that affects us. We always remember people by the way they made us feel. Jory Nash and Angus Finnan coined it pretty well when they titled their yearly Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Concerts at Hugh's Room in Toronto "The Way We Feel." Last edited by lighthead2toe; 09-08-2018 at 03:14 PM.