Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023)
Filed under the name Gordon · June 30, 2026
Never was much for folk music growing up in the mill towns around here, but Gordon Lightfoot's the kind of songwriter even a steelworker can respect, because a song like "If You Could Read My Mind" isn't built on flash, it's built on somebody who actually sat down and did the work of getting the words right. Being called one of Canada's greatest musical exports isn't a small thing either — that's a whole country claiming you as one of their best, which means the man wasn't just popular for a season, he mattered to people over the long haul. Donna's had his records longer than I've known her, and I'll admit after 46 years of marriage I've come around to actually liking a few of them, which took me longer than it probably should have. There's something to be said for a career built on craft instead of noise, same as there's something to be said for a man who shows up and does honest work day after day instead of chasing whatever's loud that week. Lightfoot strikes me as exactly that kind of steady.