Released in 1971 "Light. Loving work, going to the mill, get home to the family, have supper, and, if it happens, get lucky. If not, fine - wait till next week." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Released in 1968 "Most definitely a very idyllic spot, very close to the town where I grew up. It was a classic: a river, a pond, and a dam, a stream down below. Not much in the way of fish. That song takes me back to my hometown in Orillia." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook

Released in 1968 "Written in a noisy diesel taxicab on the way in (to London) from Heathrow. My wife adopted that as her song after our divorce. I went over to London to write the album, to jog my mind into a writing space." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook). We chose this image to represent Bitter Green based on the 2nd verse of the song.

Released in 1999 "I actually had a canary-yellow canoe, a Royalex. I wrapped it around a rock. It was there about 14 hours, and we never could free it. In the song I listed a whole bunch of places I have been canoeing but there may be one or two I haven't been yet." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Released in 1968 "It takes place in New York City, right around 1968 or so, when I started to play at places like the Bitter End in New York and the Cellar Door in Washington". (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Released in 1968 A powerful and poignant recounting of the events of the Detroit riot. Over seven verses Lightfoot captures the violence and destruction of the unrest, as well as the sense of shock and despair that many people felt in the aftermath of the violence. He also sings about the hope for a better future and the need for understanding and compassion between people of all races.

Released in 1986 "This is one of my personal favorites. I remember working down in Florida; I used to go out sailing in Biscayne Bay with singer/songwriter Fred Neil. All of the activity takes place in the corridor between Toronto and Miami". (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Released in 1975 "It's about the person waiting in the wings for a relationship to subside, so he can move in". (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Massey Hall, also known as the "House of Gord". Lightfoot often referred to Massey Hall as his second home, having sung on its stage more than 170 times (more than any other artist in the Hall's 130-year history). Gordon Lightfoot was the last artist to perform before Massey Hall closed for renovations in 2018 and the first to appear after the re-opening in 2021.

Released in 1970 "A poignant exploration of love, loss and longing. The song delves into the complexities of a failing relationship, where the protagonist wishes their partner could understand their unspoken thoughts and emotions. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce.

He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter, having several gold and multi-platinum albums and songs covered by some of the world's most renowned musical artists. (from Wikipedia)

Released in 1980 "Damon Runyon wrote a short story about a poor lady in New York City, and I took its title and built the song around it." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Released in 1974 This song represents infidelity. In interviews Lightfoot indicated that he wrote the song while on a songwriting roll while Smith was out at a bar with friends, and he was wondering what she was up to. "As a matter of fact, it was written just around sundown, just as the sun was setting, behind the farm I had rented to use as a place to write the album" Lightfoot said in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" interview. Recorded in Toronto, it was Lightfoot's biggest hit.

Released in 1976 "The inspiration was a Newsweek article about the wreck. These sorts of things have happened on the Great Lakes for many years, and I thought I had another shipwreck song in me after having done "Marie Christine" years before. I'm proud it's been written. It's been a very educational and interesting experience, for sure." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

Released in 1967 "The song was written on a hot summer night in Cleveland while Lightfoot was performing there. He was missing his wife of the time, Brita Ingegerd Olaisson, and his thoughts turned to winter". This image was chosen based on several references within the lyrics, lamp growing dim, a nearly empty glass, etc.

In 1961 Gordon Lightfoot and Terry Whelan were turned down from playing the inaugural Mariposa Folk Festival. “We were hometown boys,” he stated, “but they said we sounded too much like the Everly Brothers! We actually took that as a compliment.” The next year, Gordon was hired as a solo act. Lightfoot, Orillia and the Mariposa Folk Festival will forever be linked.

Released in 1972 I'm on my second cup of coffee and I still can't face the day I'm thinking of the lady who got lost along the way And if I don't stop this trembling hand from reaching for the phone I'll be reachin' for the bottle, Lord, before this day is done

Released in 1966 "Right back to the beginning of marriage, back in Toronto from Britain. It was a very rare evening of writing. It's an imaginary song about traveling, but it was a situation I could relate to." (excerpt from gordonlightfoot.com songbook)

These 6 pieces relate to the title of our collage, taken from Carefree Highway, "Picking Up the Pieces". We strategically placed them around the canvas "If You Could Read My Mind".