Saturday 16th January

What a great title for a song, or for a book for that matter.  But it is a song and one of my very favourite ones at that.  Written as so many were in the very early seventies, but this was almost a one-hit wonder.  Gordon Lightfoot, a Canadian singer songwriter was already over 30 and had had minor hits and a couple of folk infused albums in the sixties.  He was probably most famous for his song ‘In the early morning rain’ which was a huge hit for Peter Paul and Mary and has been recorded by hundred of artists including Dylan.  But his solo reputation strangely lies almost entirely with this one song which was not a great hit when it was first released but slowly grew and by April 1971 had sold over a million copies.  He has made many records and years ago I did buy a few, but for me at any rate, nothing ever came close to this song or the album it was on.

I just love the sentiment, and Gordon’s fairly straightforward rendition of the song is just perfect.  “If you could read my mind love, what a tale my thoughts would 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.”  Like many great song the lyrics are almost unintelligible but make perfect sense when sung.  This song too has been covered by many artists including Johnny Mathis, Johnny cash and Don McLean – but I still prefer Gordon’s low-key version.  I can’t help it but this is one of those songs I just can’t stop myself from singing along to.