Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Ghost you cannot see -emotional disconnection

spocksbrain · 11-13-2008, 10:27 AM

Hi,
If You Could Read My Mind, or IYCRMM as it is known for short around here, is one of Lightfoot's greatest commercial and artistic achievements. I don't believe anyone has ever gotten bored discussing the tune on this forum.

I'm glad you have discovered the wonderful world of music that Gordon has spent 50 years in the buisness writing and recording. He is an amazing songwriter, with an incredible ability to stir all kinds of feelings.

IYCRMM was written during the period of Gordon's first divorce, so I'd say your interpretation is pretty much dead on. There have been others who have interpreted the song in different ways, such as Art Bell (talk show host) who felt it might have literally been about the ghost of the persona's dead wife. But, in general, most people feel it is about lost love, a break-up.

As far as Edmund Fitzgerald, there was the ship that Gordon wrote about that was launched in 1958 and went down near White Fish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. Then there was the executive she was named after, Mr. Edmund Fitzgerald. I cannot recall exactly who he was or why the ship was named after him, but somewhere in the back of my mind I want to say he was a big shot in the insurance industry.

There are many good lightfoot resources on the internet. One is operated by Valerie Magee. It is www.gordonlightfoot.com . Another is operated by Wayne Francis. It has an extensive synopsis of Lightfoot's career and work. It is www.lightfoot.ca . I hope you find what you are looking for here. This is a great community. Lightfoot fans are generally level-headed, thinking people, who enjoy the art of good music (not to say I have not had some differences with some, but we all share that common love for the man's work). Good reading!

11-13-2008, 10:27 AM	#3
spocksbrain Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Jackson, MS Posts: 80	Re: Ghost you cannot see -emotional disconnection Hi, If You Could Read My Mind, or IYCRMM as it is known for short around here, is one of Lightfoot's greatest commercial and artistic achievements. I don't believe anyone has ever gotten bored discussing the tune on this forum. I'm glad you have discovered the wonderful world of music that Gordon has spent 50 years in the buisness writing and recording. He is an amazing songwriter, with an incredible ability to stir all kinds of feelings. IYCRMM was written during the period of Gordon's first divorce, so I'd say your interpretation is pretty much dead on. There have been others who have interpreted the song in different ways, such as Art Bell (talk show host) who felt it might have literally been about the ghost of the persona's dead wife. But, in general, most people feel it is about lost love, a break-up. As far as Edmund Fitzgerald, there was the ship that Gordon wrote about that was launched in 1958 and went down near White Fish Point in Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975. Then there was the executive she was named after, Mr. Edmund Fitzgerald. I cannot recall exactly who he was or why the ship was named after him, but somewhere in the back of my mind I want to say he was a big shot in the insurance industry. There are many good lightfoot resources on the internet. One is operated by Valerie Magee. It is www.gordonlightfoot.com . Another is operated by Wayne Francis. It has an extensive synopsis of Lightfoot's career and work. It is www.lightfoot.ca . I hope you find what you are looking for here. This is a great community. Lightfoot fans are generally level-headed, thinking people, who enjoy the art of good music (not to say I have not had some differences with some, but we all share that common love for the man's work). Good reading! __________________ Christopher Davis- It's like a song, knowing the watchman's gone.