This is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. "The hero would be me. But heroes often fail. But you won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take." "S" tier for me. You'll get there in about 20 years.
Exactly. I was in high school when this came out. It was a good song, but nothing else. Now I can't listen to it without tearing up. Andy and Alex are still young enough that, on some level, they believe that they will always be the hero that will not fail. Right now, the "ghost that can't be seen" is the layered and devastating nuance of the lyrics. A & A "don't get it". But they're not supposed to at this point. They need to accumulate some scar tissue. They should listen to this song every 5 years. There are so many incisive insights into the human condition in this 3 minute song that it could have been written by Shakespeare.
The line “with chains upon my my feet” is the most profound, to me. So, even as a ghost, who could theoretically go anywhere, he’s still held back by the weight of the loss.
I agree that this song doesn't really hit you until you get into your late 30's/early 40's. I know when I first heard this song, I was probably about 15 and I liked it but I didn't really appreciate it until I was about 40..
Always loved this song. But I can barely get through listening today. 25 yrs ago Was head over heels in love & he chose someone over me & there was nothing I could do. I’ve tried but never been able to feel that way again.
@@Mike-ky9jz Well, to be fair, a lot of young guys their age didn't "get it" back when it came out, either. Some songs just don't resonate as much when you're young and still have most of your life ahead of you; it's only when you start reaching the point where you're becoming aware that you have more life behind you than ahead of you that you understand what the song is really saying.
I’m 64. I remember the first time I heard this song was when it was first released back in 1971. My father was transferred to China Lake Naval weapons station in the Mohave desert. My family and I were driving to China Lake, from the bay area, crossing the desert at night. This song came on the radio. It was so beautiful. I rolled down the car window and looked up at the night sky. there were millions of bright stars against the pitch black sky. The song fit so beautifully with the star filled desert night. Its been a favorite of mine ever since.
One of my favorite things about hearing this song now is the way GL has preserved that vanishing accent and speaking style. It's haunting in its own right.
Great song! It has one of my favorite lyrics.. "and I will never be set free as long as I'm a ghost you can't see" Who hasn't felt invisible at some time in a relationship?
The line “I don’t know where we went wrong, but the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back” kills every time. How anyone can hear that line and not tear up.
Professor of Rock recently did a deep dive into the background to, and lyrics from this song…as they related directly to Gordon’s breakup. Rick Beato has also done two superb deep dives into the music/instrumentation. It’s a masterpiece…you will really understand the rest of the lyrics if you watch PoR’s lyric breakdown! ua-cam.com/video/WVb8njr_Djw/v-deo.html
I loved Rick's reverential synopsis of Gordon and this song, along with Edmund Fitzgerald. It's nice to contrast his experienced ear with A&A's sometimes hyper-critical "I don't quite get it yet, but I will in later years" first time experience.
I think that, like others have said, A and A need to live a bit longer and had their hearts really shattered at least once before they really “get” how sad a song this really is.
@brettk153 I know it’s hard to see into the future, but it will get better. I promise! 21 years together were traded for an 18 year old employee, who left him 3 months after our divorce had been finalized. It was a blessing in disguise…
S tier for me because "yes" it got me through some pretty tough breakups. His soothing voice and lyrics just lets you cry it out!!. Still on my playlist like an old friend..
Bob Dylans favourite singer/songwriter was Gordon Lightfoot and he also inducted Gord into the Canadian songwriter hall of fame. Gord was a legend in the music industry. Thanks for sharing this great song.
I think the "prisoner in chains" analogy is apt because a loveless relationship can feel like a prison, but sometimes one party in the relationship doesn't recognize that there's anything wrong, so the other person's suffering becomes invisible.
Bob Dylan didn't bother showing up to claim his *Nobel Prize* but he showed up for Gordon Lightfoot to induct Gordon into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Dylan once said, "I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever." So...yeah. That's Gordon Lightfoot.
S tier 🤩 - and about as great a lyric as there is about heartbreak. Alex, don’t be so quick to judge a lyric that you maybe don’t understand the first time thru 😘
S-tier for me too. I'm 61, and this is one of the best songs i've ever heard, or reacted to. Even decades after first hearing this incredible song, I still well up with tears....
If this isn't an S tier, then there's no point in having the S category. One of the best songs ever. There is literally no one in our age group that doesn't know every word, every pause, every note of this song.
Rick Beato says this is the song that started it all for him. I can say that in 1973 Gordon Lightfoot was my hero and the reason I learned to sing, play guitar and write songs. S+ all the way.
It's a sad break up song. In one line he said he walks away "like a movie star who gets burned in a three way script...enter number two" One of the Best written songs of ALL Time. The lyrics are so deep and moving on all levels. A masterpiece.
The ghost. Have you never loved someone who didn't return that emotion? To them you may as well be a ghost but you are chained to that person by your strong emotions.
This is an S tier song all day long in my opinion. This song is about Gord’s divorce from his first wife and the part you don’t understand about the ghost and castle and chains is explained quite well here in this analysis from SongMeaning. FROM SONG MEANING: This song makes me cry when I hear it. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and couldn't understand it. And now that I'm older and have lived this song, it resonates so much with me. There's so much in this song that it's hard to break down. But here's how I see it. "If you could read my mind, love What a tale my thoughts could tell Just like an old time movie 'Bout a ghost from a wishing well In a castle dark, or a fortress strong With chains upon my feet, you know that ghost is me And I will never be set free As long as I'm a ghost that you can't see." This verse describes what is going on in the man’s mind, feeling trapped and invisible, not sure how to mend the relationship or make his feelings known. The figurative chains on his feet keep him from both expressing his feelings and from leaving … he feels powerless. He wishes she could read his mind -- hence the song title -- because that would be the only way for her to really see how he feels. The second verse, "If I could read your mind, love, what a tale your thoughts could tell Just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstores sell When you reach the part where the heartaches come The hero would be me, but heroes often fail And you won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take." describes the woman's mind, like a romance novel or a fairy tale - dreaming of the knight in shining armor she hopes for her love to be. He realizes that she wanted for him to be the hero, the knight in shining armor … but he failed. And now she won’t come back to him because it is too painful and she already knows how it will turn out. "I'd walk away like a movie star who gets burned in a three way script, Enter number two A movie queen to play the scene Of bringing all the good things out in me But for now, love, let's be real I never thought I could act this way And I've got to say that I just don't get it I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone And I just can't get it back." Here, he describes the end of the paperback novel and what was simultaneously occurring in his mind. His pride (as the movie star) makes him want to walk away rather than compromise or communicate. He thinks that there's some other woman out there who will bring out all the good things in him, and he won't have to work on the relationship or deal with arguments. In "escaping" from the relationship and the chains upon his feet, he is expecting to find the perfect relationship to take its place, but realizes this is unrealistic and can’t figure out why he thinks this way. The last verse, "If you could read my mind, love, what a tale my thoughts could tell Just like an old time movie, 'bout a ghost from a wishing well In a castle dark or a fortress strong with chains upon my feet But stories always end And if you read between the lines, you'll know that I'm just trying to understand The feelings that you lack I never thought I could feel this way and I've got to say that I just don't get it I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back." Relationships, like stories, come to an end. He uses an interesting tactic to show the abrupt end - unlike the first verse where he finishes the thought, he interrupts the verse to say “but stories always end.” He can’t understand how she doesn’t care anymore, in the powerful line, " And if you read between the lines, you'll know that I'm just trying to understand the feelings that you lack." This is oh so representative of the lack of clear communication in so many relationships. We sit there, feeling so many things that we just can't express. And we wish that the other person could just read our mind and understand us. But our pride gets in the way. And we are silent. Then those feelings gradually fade and we can't understand where they went or how our relationship went wrong.
I always took the ghost in chains to mean he felt stuck in his misery and unseen by his loved one. That’s a miserable feeling. Thanks for listening guys!
I agree with your analogy of that phrase he’s a ghost his lover doesn’t see him the chains are on feet even though he’s a ghost and totally slip away he can’t because of the feelings but any questions the feelings that both of them lack he wants to get back into the relationship where it was in the beginning but he just doesn’t know how to get there it’s such a beautiful song..
What about its melodic qualities and the guitar playing? They have a hauntingly sad essence that his voice just matches to perfection. I think this song goes beyond rational understanding, to the soul of an emotional loss. I think it's an s
To me, his use of long phrasing and cadence in the chorus brings forth the feeling of when you're unloading something that's been bothering you for a very long time. It's too late, the dam has broken, and it all comes flooding out at once, with barely time to breathe.
S tier guys. I'll be 70 Friday. Saw him do it live. The best, most intimate concert I've ever been to. Alex, aren't goose bumps A+ or S? I wanted to be him. The beautiful voice & guitar. Lyrics as well. A? Guess you had to be there to appreciate his place in music history.
A ghost haunts. It’s trapped in time without even being aware of it. It can’t move on. He feels like he haunts their relationship, is trapped and can’t move on. That’s how I interpret it anyway.
My Dad, also Gordon, had several records by this great Canadian, so when I grew up in the the 1970's, the songs of Lightfoot were part of life. My Dad and I did see G'Gl. at a local theatre in our local Ohio, in 2017. Lightfoot still had a good voice, yet he was more physically frail, like my Dad was,...a fine concert. I really wanted for G.L. to get into the Rock Hall, in his lifetime, he was such a fine musician, and very respected. My Dad, Gordon has Dementia, now, and when Lightfoot died. a few months ago, my Dad cried.
As so many have pointed out here, this is definitely an S tier song for me and many others. There are more than a couple of lines that get me in the heart every time and probably always will because of past relationships.
This song was 'covered' by over a one hundred well known artists. A popular song for decades. Mystery, romance, spiritual and more. Our Canadian treasure R I P
C'mon, guys, don't downgrade a song just because you don't understand lyrics or because they don't resonate with you. That's YOUR problem, not the songwriter's.
This is lyrically one of the most beautiful breakup songs I've ever heard. I love how the narrator really can't describe his feeling, tries using movies, novels, all these types of fiction that he knows to get there, but they all fall short of the real thing. To be honest, I was thinking A&A had heard it. I voted for something else, but I'm glad you had this reaction and am looking forward to Chicago!!!
In interviews he gave in recent years, including for a full length documentary, Lightfoot expressed regret for the way he acted during his first marriage, explaining how he had been too intense and emotional - and therefore unpredictable. He wrote this song in the wake of the failure of this first marriage. PS - Next, try Care Free Highway.
The last time we saw as much in the way of public tributes and mourning in Canada for a musical artist was back in January 2020, when Neil Peart passed. Here's a clip from one of the news pieces that came out after Lightfoot's death at the start of May of this year: 'Dylan said that his fellow singer died “without ever having made a bad song,' and every time he listened to one of them, he 'wished it would last forever.' When the ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ singer recorded his album ‘John Wesley Harding’, he tried to emulate the sound of Lightfoot - without success, as he himself acknowledged to Rolling Stone in 1969. 'I thought if he could get that sound, I could. But we couldn’t get it,' Dylan lamented at the time. Lightfoot’s music has also been covered by Neil Young, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Grateful Dead, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton - to name a few, and The Band great Robbie Robertson has called Lightfoot 'a cultural treasure of the Canadian nation.'"
Andy and Alex are too young to have enough experiences that would make this song an S tier for them. When they revisit it years from now it will be S for both of them. It’s an absolute masterpiece
I've been familiar with this song since I was a kid in the 70's. My mom had Gord's Gold on vinyl. Only after I grew up and had failed relationships did I finally really understand this awesome song. I consider it on par with Sundown as far as Gordon's songwriting and lyrics go.
Lightfoot wrote this song after his divorce from his first wife of several years. Expressed his sense of loss. He was formally musically trained from childhood though post high school.
S Tier for sure. His haunting, deep words will hit you with future listenings and reflection. His epic true tale, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, should be your next song by Gordon then Carefree Highway and The Circle is Small.
For me, this has always been one of the most beautiful tunes of this era, so melodic, excellently composed musically, also so melancholy. I consider it on par with S&G "The Boxer", "Homeward Bound", "Scarborough Fair", Don McClean's masterpiece "Vincent", and even some of Bob Dylan's tunes.
Lightfoot wrote this with several years left in the marriage to his first wife, Brita Ingegerd Olaisson, a marriage doomed by Gordon's habitual cheating with other women while he was touring, something he later talked about. When he wrote the song, alone in a home in Toronto because his wife didn't want to be with him, he was speaking from a place of pain but also a place that obscured him from the truth: he blamed her for their struggling marriage even though he had been the serial cheater. So he felt invisible to her -- that is why he refers to himself as a ghost, and one that is chained because their dying relationship would linger another couple of years before their divorce. He only gained insight on the truth years later and at the urging of their daughter. He then, at her request, changed a key lyric when he performed: "And if you read between the lines, You'd know that I'm just tryin' to understand. The feelin's that YOU lack." Gordon changed that to "The feelin's that WE lack."
Alex, a wishing well is where you toss coins and make wishes for the future, so a ghost from a wishing well would be those wishes, those hopes and dreams, half-remembered, never to be fully realized. Loved your analogy about water in a coffee cup of sand. Lovely!
Great reaction guys. This is about as easy an 'S' tier as any...the music, lyrics, composition, sound...it's all there, and it's perfection. From Gordon's pain at a failed relationship came such beauty!! I've long understood why this is one of his most popular songs. I think it's time for Carefree Highway, or Canadian Railroad Trilogy. Cheers from Canada gents. Thanks for giving one of our insanely talented national treasures such attention.
The fact that this song is semi-autobiographical, and written while Gordon was in the death-throes of his first marriage ending, make this all the more poignant.
"Ghost in a tower", in this song he's talking about a divorce. About living in the same house with someone that doesn't seem "to see" you anymore, it's super sad and it happens.
The Ghost allegory describes the anguish of enduring the agony of being imprisoned by the overwhelming longing for a lost love to whom you are invisible. Like many, this song became more beautiful and evocative to me many years after it came out. It is one of the most covered tunes, and I couldn't even begin to venture how many times, but countless big name artists covered this. I also know that it was #1 in Canada....I can see the A rating, but let's talk after a few more listens. If You Could Read My Mind is S tier for me now.
What a group of sensitive, articulate listeners in the comment section today! I agree with all. This is one of my all time favorite songs. Rest in Peace dear Gordon💔
My partner introduced me to this song, and I thought it was beautiful but sad. Now that he's an ex, it pulls my heart right out of my chest. "..but the feeling's gone, and I just can't get it back" absolutely breaks me, every time.
Early Morning Rain is Lightfoot's first great song usually available in a 70's re-recording, a masterpiece about being hungover, exhausted and no place to go.
Gordon Lightfoot and Drake lived on the same street in the Bridle Path in Toronto, and heard on the radio shortly after Gordon’s passing that he was the first one to visit Drake after building his mansion. Many generations apart but music brought them together
The lyrics convey so clearly and poetically how deeply he understands what he nonetheless does not really understand. The song is a profound expression of that paradox.
Gordon is my most favorite singer, songwriter, and guitar player. My favorite of his songs are not the commercial radio hits. Songs like "Circle of Steel", "Marie Christine" and "Summertime of Life". Live he was amazing. That's where his guitar was most amazing especially when he played his Gibson 12-string. All his songs are classics to me. Great reaction.
This is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. "The hero would be me. But heroes often fail. But you won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take." "S" tier for me. You'll get there in about 20 years.
That line is a knife to the heart. But in the best way
Yeah, that line gets to me every time.
S+ for me...
Exactly. I was in high school when this came out. It was a good song, but nothing else. Now I can't listen to it without tearing up. Andy and Alex are still young enough that, on some level, they believe that they will always be the hero that will not fail. Right now, the "ghost that can't be seen" is the layered and devastating nuance of the lyrics. A & A "don't get it". But they're not supposed to at this point. They need to accumulate some scar tissue. They should listen to this song every 5 years. There are so many incisive insights into the human condition in this 3 minute song that it could have been written by Shakespeare.
Couldn't have articulated it better.
The line “with chains upon my my feet” is the most profound, to me. So, even as a ghost, who could theoretically go anywhere, he’s still held back by the weight of the loss.
This was a respectful reaction, but I think this song is S tier. I don't think you really have lived with it long enough. It's a masterpiece.
I agree that this song doesn't really hit you until you get into your late 30's/early 40's. I know when I first heard this song, I was probably about 15 and I liked it but I didn't really appreciate it until I was about 40..
Exactly an easy S-tier but you're probably right maturity and/or listening with the lyrics would help.
Always loved this song. But I can barely get through listening today. 25 yrs ago Was head over heels in love & he chose someone over me & there was nothing I could do. I’ve tried but never been able to feel that way again.
You can't always expect these young guys to know greatness when they hear it...🤷🤷
@@Mike-ky9jz Well, to be fair, a lot of young guys their age didn't "get it" back when it came out, either. Some songs just don't resonate as much when you're young and still have most of your life ahead of you; it's only when you start reaching the point where you're becoming aware that you have more life behind you than ahead of you that you understand what the song is really saying.
One of the greatest songs ever written, sung and produced. Timeless. I’m 65 and I still get chills when I hear it.
Same
I’m 64. I remember the first time I heard this song was when it was first released back in 1971. My father was transferred to China Lake Naval weapons station in the Mohave desert.
My family and I were driving to China Lake, from the bay area, crossing the desert at night. This song came on the radio. It was so beautiful. I rolled down the car window and looked up at the night sky. there were millions of bright stars against the pitch black sky. The song fit so beautifully with the star filled desert night. Its been a favorite of mine ever since.
One of my favorite things about hearing this song now is the way GL has preserved that vanishing accent and speaking style. It's haunting in its own right.
I’m 70 and it still brings me to tears.
There is no denying that melody. Savage lyrics as well. Genius level stuff by Mr. Lightfoot.
Well said
...and when the bass line comes in and ascends through the chord changes, while the story deepens...!
Bob Dylan said Gordon Lightfoot never wrote a bad song.
Bob Dylan is right.
That is so true. His music is timeless!
Great song! It has one of my favorite lyrics.. "and I will never be set free as long as I'm a ghost you can't see" Who hasn't felt invisible at some time in a relationship?
If this isn’t an S tier song, idk what is. Absolute masterpiece of songwriting and just a great arrangement and vocal delivery on top of it
@thevoicesofrickwilkerson8612 So did Suck my Kiss...
Absolute S tier song: Timeless, beautifully written, perfectly interpreted, impeccably sung. Masterpiece.
Absolutely agree
i think as they get older they will agree
@@frankmerris8821or in multiple listens. To me this song gets better everytime I hear it.
Totally agree. Multiple listens reveal layers, I believe. A true masterpiece.
@@billherman7294 absolutely agree
Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian treasure. RIP.
Oh sure, you want to keep Gordon Lightfoot, but you’re perfectly happy sending us Justin Bieber.
@@ontheroad5317 Canadian's aren't stupid.
@@The.Fake.Adam.Lulich sneaky smart
He certainly is!!! Canada shines a little less brightly now. He stole our hearts many years ago and there he will always remain.💕
He’s loved down here too. I was a youngster in the 70s when Gordon was played a lot on the radio. He is literally part of the soundtrack of my life.
This is one of those songs that just hits harder the older you get and the more heartache you've experienced.
exactly
Preach
The line “I don’t know where we went wrong, but the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back” kills every time. How anyone can hear that line and not tear up.
Like Carole King's "It's Too Late".
It’s about his divorce
Just did...and I'm happily married😢
😢😢😢😢😢... his command of lyrics on this song ... is second to none
Professor of Rock recently did a deep dive into the background to, and lyrics from this song…as they related directly to Gordon’s breakup. Rick Beato has also done two superb deep dives into the music/instrumentation. It’s a masterpiece…you will really understand the rest of the lyrics if you watch PoR’s lyric breakdown!
ua-cam.com/video/WVb8njr_Djw/v-deo.html
One listen won't do it.
I loved Rick's reverential synopsis of Gordon and this song, along with Edmund Fitzgerald. It's nice to contrast his experienced ear with A&A's sometimes hyper-critical "I don't quite get it yet, but I will in later years" first time experience.
Thanks for the link and the suggestion. It was a great episode.
I'm Canadian, heard this song all my life. Now after the end of a 33 year marriage it takes on a whole new meaning. Now it breaks me...
I think that, like others have said, A and A need to live a bit longer and had their hearts really shattered at least once before they really “get” how sad a song this really is.
@brettk153 I know it’s hard to see into the future, but it will get better. I promise!
21 years together were traded for an 18 year old employee, who left him 3 months after our divorce had been finalized. It was a blessing in disguise…
Now you're the ghost with chains around your feet. I've been there and my heart goes out to you
The James Taylor song "Used to be Her Town" still gets to me as it reminds me so much of my marriage ending. I totally get you.
So sorry Brett for your personal heartache. Try not to listen to this song too often. It gives me a lump in my throat everytime I hear it. Take care.
S tier for me because "yes" it got me through some pretty tough breakups. His soothing voice and lyrics just lets you cry it out!!. Still on my playlist like an old friend..
Memories
Bob Dylans favourite singer/songwriter was Gordon Lightfoot and he also inducted Gord into the Canadian songwriter hall of fame. Gord was a legend in the music industry. Thanks for sharing this great song.
I wish the two had collaborated on an album together. That would have been epic!
This song STILL gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes .. its just SO amazing
Same here. I remember learning to sing this song around the house through my mother and his album as a little girl.
It's just as impactful today. 💖
Same. 🥲
I think the "prisoner in chains" analogy is apt because a loveless relationship can feel like a prison, but sometimes one party in the relationship doesn't recognize that there's anything wrong, so the other person's suffering becomes invisible.
Very perceptive and well put. Heck of a position to be in too.
Great way to put that!
Well said. Excellent point.
This.
Bob Dylan didn't bother showing up to claim his *Nobel Prize* but he showed up for Gordon Lightfoot to induct Gordon into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. Dylan once said, "I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever." So...yeah. That's Gordon Lightfoot.
S tier 🤩 - and about as great a lyric as there is about heartbreak. Alex, don’t be so quick to judge a lyric that you maybe don’t understand the first time thru 😘
Well said. These youngster's haven't lived yet!
S-tier for me too. I'm 61, and this is one of the best songs i've ever heard, or reacted to. Even decades after first hearing this incredible song, I still well up with tears....
If this isn't an S tier, then there's no point in having the S category. One of the best songs ever. There is literally no one in our age group that doesn't know every word, every pause, every note of this song.
Well said.
I don't use their vernacular, but this is the best if the best of this genre of music. It's one of the best songs of that decade.
Rick Beato says this is the song that started it all for him. I can say that in 1973 Gordon Lightfoot was my hero and the reason I learned to sing, play guitar and write songs. S+ all the way.
What a great song ❗️
(( I’m 62 years old - love your channel.📻😁))
Me, too! We grew up at the right time to hear some fabulous music.
Me too...I'm 68 and have loved this guy for 50 years. He was a genius.
It's a sad break up song. In one line he said he walks away "like a movie star who gets burned in a three way script...enter number two" One of the Best written songs of ALL Time. The lyrics are so deep and moving on all levels. A masterpiece.
He didn't get burned, he had the affair.
@@chezwarden659 touche'
The ghost. Have you never loved someone who didn't return that emotion? To them you may as well be a ghost but you are chained to that person by your strong emotions.
You nailed it.
My favorite of Gordon Lightfoot’s incredible catalog of hits!
He was a phenomenal storyteller. And that soothing voice was so unique. Thank you for playing this.
Yes, his storytelling is best represented in "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
S tier. Hard to imagine a more perfect song. Emotional, phenomenal lyrics, beautiful strings in sync with the guitar and Gordon's soaring vocals.
His entire catalogue is phenomenal. Amazing lyricist and storyteller.
Catoluoge is very good
This is an S tier song all day long in my opinion. This song is about Gord’s divorce from his first wife and the part you don’t understand about the ghost and castle and chains is explained quite well here in this analysis from SongMeaning.
FROM SONG MEANING:
This song makes me cry when I hear it. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and couldn't understand it. And now that I'm older and have lived this song, it resonates so much with me.
There's so much in this song that it's hard to break down. But here's how I see it.
"If you could read my mind, love What a tale my thoughts could tell Just like an old time movie 'Bout a ghost from a wishing well In a castle dark, or a fortress strong With chains upon my feet, you know that ghost is me And I will never be set free As long as I'm a ghost that you can't see."
This verse describes what is going on in the man’s mind, feeling trapped and invisible, not sure how to mend the relationship or make his feelings known. The figurative chains on his feet keep him from both expressing his feelings and from leaving … he feels powerless. He wishes she could read his mind -- hence the song title -- because that would be the only way for her to really see how he feels.
The second verse, "If I could read your mind, love, what a tale your thoughts could tell Just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstores sell When you reach the part where the heartaches come The hero would be me, but heroes often fail And you won't read that book again because the ending's just too hard to take."
describes the woman's mind, like a romance novel or a fairy tale - dreaming of the knight in shining armor she hopes for her love to be. He realizes that she wanted for him to be the hero, the knight in shining armor … but he failed. And now she won’t come back to him because it is too painful and she already knows how it will turn out.
"I'd walk away like a movie star who gets burned in a three way script, Enter number two A movie queen to play the scene Of bringing all the good things out in me But for now, love, let's be real I never thought I could act this way And I've got to say that I just don't get it I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone And I just can't get it back."
Here, he describes the end of the paperback novel and what was simultaneously occurring in his mind. His pride (as the movie star) makes him want to walk away rather than compromise or communicate. He thinks that there's some other woman out there who will bring out all the good things in him, and he won't have to work on the relationship or deal with arguments. In "escaping" from the relationship and the chains upon his feet, he is expecting to find the perfect relationship to take its place, but realizes this is unrealistic and can’t figure out why he thinks this way.
The last verse,
"If you could read my mind, love, what a tale my thoughts could tell Just like an old time movie, 'bout a ghost from a wishing well In a castle dark or a fortress strong with chains upon my feet But stories always end And if you read between the lines, you'll know that I'm just trying to understand The feelings that you lack I never thought I could feel this way and I've got to say that I just don't get it I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back."
Relationships, like stories, come to an end. He uses an interesting tactic to show the abrupt end - unlike the first verse where he finishes the thought, he interrupts the verse to say “but stories always end.” He can’t understand how she doesn’t care anymore, in the powerful line, " And if you read between the lines, you'll know that I'm just trying to understand the feelings that you lack."
This is oh so representative of the lack of clear communication in so many relationships. We sit there, feeling so many things that we just can't express. And we wish that the other person could just read our mind and understand us. But our pride gets in the way. And we are silent. Then those feelings gradually fade and we can't understand where they went or how our relationship went wrong.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this song in such detail.
Thank you as well, that was very enlightening. It helped me to understand the lyrics in a new way.
Epic analysis
S tier for me. Haunting,powerful lyrics and performance RIP
I always took the ghost in chains to mean he felt stuck in his misery and unseen by his loved one. That’s a miserable feeling. Thanks for listening guys!
I agree with your analogy of that phrase he’s a ghost his lover doesn’t see him the chains are on feet even though he’s a ghost and totally slip away he can’t because of the feelings but any questions the feelings that both of them lack he wants to get back into the relationship where it was in the beginning but he just doesn’t know how to get there it’s such a beautiful song..
S Tier 70s classic. So many of his lyrics are poetry by themselves. To have these with music takes it to a whole another level.
"Because the ending's just took hard to take." - Gordon Lightfoot
It's one of those lyrics those resonates over and over again.
i can't listen to this song that often because of that exact line, makes me well up every time
Gordon Lightfoot...one of the greatest songwriters of our time. Period.
RIP Gordon, such a beautiful voice and vibe.
The 60’s and 70’s produced the best songwriters! Great music with lyrics that paint a picture!
Its a forgottem art like cursive writting.
“You know that ghost is me” wow! He’s trapped with chains in a dungeon. He’s trapped in a relationship. So incredibly well done! Masterpiece for sure!
What about its melodic qualities and the guitar playing? They have a hauntingly sad essence that his voice just matches to perfection. I think this song goes beyond rational understanding, to the soul of an emotional loss. I think it's an s
To me, his use of long phrasing and cadence in the chorus brings forth the feeling of when you're unloading something that's been bothering you for a very long time. It's too late, the dam has broken, and it all comes flooding out at once, with barely time to breathe.
I’d recommend reading the lyrics and going back to it again. It’s S tier for me but I’m also 49. I wonder if this one may deepen over time for you.
Good advice - it’s flawless imho
Such a touching song. So many childhood memories.
Carefree Highway is one of my absolute faves. ❤️✌🏻
S tier guys. I'll be 70 Friday. Saw him do it live. The best, most intimate concert I've ever been to. Alex, aren't goose bumps A+ or S? I wanted to be him. The beautiful voice & guitar. Lyrics as well. A? Guess you had to be there to appreciate his place in music history.
A ghost haunts. It’s trapped in time without even being aware of it. It can’t move on. He feels like he haunts their relationship, is trapped and can’t move on. That’s how I interpret it anyway.
That's perfect.
My Dad, also Gordon, had several records by this great Canadian, so when I grew up in the the 1970's, the songs of Lightfoot were part of life. My Dad and I did see G'Gl. at a local theatre in our local Ohio, in 2017. Lightfoot still had a good voice, yet he was more physically frail, like my Dad was,...a fine concert. I really wanted for G.L. to get into the Rock Hall, in his lifetime, he was such a fine musician, and very respected. My Dad, Gordon has Dementia, now, and when Lightfoot died. a few months ago, my Dad cried.
Thanks for sharing that very touching story Jonathan. Music is magical.
S tier for me. Even the roughest man, if he had heartbreak, will tear up to this.
He builds this song up so well. Small crescendos and swells to match the emotions of the lyrics. Always loved this tune. What a legend! RIP Gordon.
Great observation.
This is an S for me all day long. It makes me cry every single time, it hits so hard.
This song gets better every time you hear it. I have probably heard it hundreds if not thousands of times over the years, and I have not tired of it.
As so many have pointed out here, this is definitely an S tier song for me and many others. There are more than a couple of lines that get me in the heart every time and probably always will because of past relationships.
"I don't know where we went wrong... but the feeling's gone... and I just can't get it back."
One of the greatest lines ever written.
This song was 'covered' by over a one hundred well known artists. A popular song for decades. Mystery, romance, spiritual and more. Our Canadian treasure R I P
C'mon, guys, don't downgrade a song just because you don't understand lyrics or because they don't resonate with you. That's YOUR problem, not the songwriter's.
As a rule, I'm not big on folk artists, but Gordon Lightfoot is profound to me.
This is lyrically one of the most beautiful breakup songs I've ever heard. I love how the narrator really can't describe his feeling, tries using movies, novels, all these types of fiction that he knows to get there, but they all fall short of the real thing. To be honest, I was thinking A&A had heard it. I voted for something else, but I'm glad you had this reaction and am looking forward to Chicago!!!
In interviews he gave in recent years, including for a full length documentary, Lightfoot expressed regret for the way he acted during his first marriage, explaining how he had been too intense and emotional - and therefore unpredictable.
He wrote this song in the wake of the failure of this first marriage.
PS - Next, try Care Free Highway.
The last time we saw as much in the way of public tributes and mourning in Canada for a musical artist was back in January 2020, when Neil Peart passed.
Here's a clip from one of the news pieces that came out after Lightfoot's death at the start of May of this year:
'Dylan said that his fellow singer died “without ever having made a bad song,' and every time he listened to one of them, he 'wished it would last forever.'
When the ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ singer recorded his album ‘John Wesley Harding’, he tried to emulate the sound of Lightfoot - without success, as he himself acknowledged to Rolling Stone in 1969.
'I thought if he could get that sound, I could. But we couldn’t get it,' Dylan lamented at the time.
Lightfoot’s music has also been covered by Neil Young, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Grateful Dead, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton - to name a few, and The Band great Robbie Robertson has called Lightfoot 'a cultural treasure of the Canadian nation.'"
Andy and Alex are too young to have enough experiences that would make this song an S tier for them. When they revisit it years from now it will be S for both of them. It’s an absolute masterpiece
If you haven't done it, yet, the next song would be "Carefree Highway."
Still brings me to tears every time I hear it.
Another great classic by Canada’s finest. Gordon was one of the greatest songwriters of all time!
Canada's finest was RUSH.
Okay Rush was a good band but lyrically couldn't hold a candle to Gorden Lightfoot!
Let's not forget about Justin Bieber 😁
@@alrivers2297, or William Shatner! He had an album.
@@lorneyoerger796 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I've been familiar with this song since I was a kid in the 70's. My mom had Gord's Gold on vinyl. Only after I grew up and had failed relationships did I finally really understand this awesome song. I consider it on par with Sundown as far as Gordon's songwriting and lyrics go.
The more you hear this song the more you really feel how beautiful and powerful it is. Musically and lyrically.
Lightfoot wrote this song after his divorce from his first wife of several years. Expressed his sense of loss. He was formally musically trained from childhood though post high school.
S Tier for sure. His haunting, deep words will hit you with future listenings and reflection. His epic true tale, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, should be your next song by Gordon then Carefree Highway and The Circle is Small.
The guitar, the strings, the lyrics, the melody... 10/10. One of my favorites.
Rick Beato does a great breakdown of this song. Well worth checking out. If there was an S+ tier, this would be in it.
Should be an S. This song is so iconic and without doubt his finest song. I think as you listen to this again, you might agree.
he was such an amazing songwriter/performer. One of those people that transcend musical boundary lines and brings in fans from all walks of life.
For me, this has always been one of the most beautiful tunes of this era, so melodic, excellently composed musically, also so melancholy. I consider it on par with S&G "The Boxer", "Homeward Bound", "Scarborough Fair", Don McClean's masterpiece "Vincent", and even some of Bob Dylan's tunes.
Lightfoot wrote this with several years left in the marriage to his first wife, Brita Ingegerd Olaisson, a marriage doomed by Gordon's habitual cheating with other women while he was touring, something he later talked about. When he wrote the song, alone in a home in Toronto because his wife didn't want to be with him, he was speaking from a place of pain but also a place that obscured him from the truth: he blamed her for their struggling marriage even though he had been the serial cheater. So he felt invisible to her -- that is why he refers to himself as a ghost, and one that is chained because their dying relationship would linger another couple of years before their divorce.
He only gained insight on the truth years later and at the urging of their daughter. He then, at her request, changed a key lyric when he performed: "And if you read between the lines,
You'd know that I'm just tryin' to understand. The feelin's that YOU lack." Gordon changed that to "The feelin's that WE lack."
I think the ghost is who he use to be, the man she fell in love with. That version of him is a ghost that she can't see.
Alex, a wishing well is where you toss coins and make wishes for the future, so a ghost from a wishing well would be those wishes, those hopes and dreams, half-remembered, never to be fully realized.
Loved your analogy about water in a coffee cup of sand. Lovely!
Great reaction guys. This is about as easy an 'S' tier as any...the music, lyrics, composition, sound...it's all there, and it's perfection. From Gordon's pain at a failed relationship came such beauty!! I've long understood why this is one of his most popular songs.
I think it's time for Carefree Highway, or Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
Cheers from Canada gents. Thanks for giving one of our insanely talented national treasures such attention.
Seconding Canadian Railroad Trilogy. It's a really great piece of music.
The fact that this song is semi-autobiographical, and written while Gordon was in the death-throes of his first marriage ending, make this all the more poignant.
Watch Rick Beato's analysis of the string arrangement on this song. The instrumentation is absolutely perfect.
"Ghost in a tower", in this song he's talking about a divorce. About living in the same house with someone that doesn't seem "to see" you anymore, it's super sad and it happens.
Another poetic song is "Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez. It's full of references to her one-time lover/friend/partner, Bob Dylan.
A gloriously beautiful song.
The Ghost allegory describes the anguish of enduring the agony of being imprisoned by the overwhelming longing for a lost love to whom you are invisible. Like many, this song became more beautiful and evocative to me many years after it came out. It is one of the most covered tunes, and I couldn't even begin to venture how many times, but countless big name artists covered this. I also know that it was #1 in Canada....I can see the A rating, but let's talk after a few more listens. If You Could Read My Mind is S tier for me now.
A&A, you'll love his "Carefree Highway" !!
One of the greatest songwriters/storytellers ever
One of the greatest ever written
What a group of sensitive, articulate listeners in the comment section today! I agree with all. This is one of my all time favorite songs. Rest in Peace dear Gordon💔
Such a beautiful and heartbreaking song. Gordon is the best at giving goosebumps.
My partner introduced me to this song, and I thought it was beautiful but sad. Now that he's an ex, it pulls my heart right out of my chest. "..but the feeling's gone, and I just can't get it back" absolutely breaks me, every time.
Peace and Love from Canada. please try The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Gordon is an excellent writer.
They have reacted to it. I swear they are so different from us, emotionally.
I get chills when I listen to or play this tune on my guitar. You need to hit his song "beautiful" next❤️👍🏼
This is like...S...all day...all eras. What almost all songwriters hope to achieve.
Early Morning Rain is Lightfoot's first great song usually available in a 70's re-recording, a masterpiece about being hungover, exhausted and no place to go.
One of the greatest songs of all time! Thats an S song
One of the most beautiful songs ever written....S-tier for me 💔💓💓💓
One of my top 10 for life. Gordon Lightfoot is one of the very best at expressing emotions in a song. Incredible writing & performance.
Gordon Lightfoot and Drake lived on the same street in the Bridle Path in Toronto, and heard on the radio shortly after Gordon’s passing that he was the first one to visit Drake after building his mansion. Many generations apart but music brought them together
Story for so many..."I don't know where we went wrong, but the feeling's gone...and I just can't get it back!"
I absolutely cannot listen to this song without shedding a few tears. The melody and GL’s incredible voice. 🥲
The lyrics convey so clearly and poetically how deeply he understands what he nonetheless does not really understand. The song is a profound expression of that paradox.
The strings still give me chills 35 years later !
Great song that resonates more as you go through life! One of the great breakup songs! An all timer!
Gordon is my most favorite singer, songwriter, and guitar player. My favorite of his songs are not the commercial radio hits. Songs like "Circle of Steel", "Marie Christine" and "Summertime of Life". Live he was amazing. That's where his guitar was most amazing especially when he played his Gibson 12-string. All his songs are classics to me. Great reaction.
"Circle of Steel" is casually devastating. I can hear it on replay over and over again.
@@dq405 Same here..
The emotions that the string evoke are palpable.