Carefree highway

by chuckofish

Well, now we have the sad news that the great Gordon Lightfoot has died at 84. Rolling Stone called him “a genius-level Canadian singer-songwriter whose most enduring works include “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway,” “Early Morning Rain,” and “Rainy Day People”.” Indeed, his songs have been covered by everyone from Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash to the Grateful Dead, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, and the Replacements.

This article gives a good overview of his career (with videos).

My DP was a huge fan of Gordon in the 1970s and she and her best friend Laurie obsessed over him in typical middle school fashion. Laurie’s parents were also big fans and so they went to a lot of concerts. Truthfully, our mother also liked Gordon and so did I. We wiled away many an hour listening to his albums on our record player in the dining room. My DP and I even had a dance routine worked out for his tour de force Canadian Railroad Trilogy.

We may have been induced to perform this at her wedding reception. Do I remember that correctly? Well, if not, we should have.

So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the muskeg and into the rain
Up the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspé
Swingin’ our hammers and drawin’ our pay

Into paradise may the angels lead thee, Gordon, and at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.

Here in flyover country we also noted the passing of Mike Shannon, who having played third base/right field for ten years with the Cardinals, then spent 50 years in the broadcast booth calling games alongside Jack Buck and numerous others. He retired in 2021. This news caused a wave of nostalgia and over-drinking in this town, as you can imagine.

Fun fact: Mike hit the final home run in Sportsman’s Park and the first Cardinal home run in Busch Stadium. How about that?

Well, adios, amigos. Here’s Bob covering “In the Early Morning Rain”.

In the early mornin’ rain

With a dollar in my hand

And an achin’ in my heart

And my pockets full of sand