Complete List Of Gordon Lightfoot Songs From A to Z

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Gordon Lightfoot carried Orillia, Ontario, into songs that traveled far beyond Canada, building a career around plainspoken detail, melodic discipline, and the kind of storytelling that made trains, highways, shipwrecks, rivers, and broken relationships feel like lived history. He was born Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. on November 17, 1938, in Orillia, Ontario, and his musical path began early. His mother recognized his talent when he was a child, and by grade four he was already performing publicly. He sang in the choir at St. Paul’s United Church in Orillia, performed in local operettas and oratorios, appeared on local radio, and gained experience through Kiwanis music festivals. At 12, he won a boys’ singing competition and made his first appearance at Massey Hall in Toronto, a venue he would return to more than 170 times over the course of his career.

Lightfoot’s professional development took shape through both formal study and hard work. As a teenager, he learned piano, taught himself drums and percussion, and later taught himself folk guitar. In 1958, he moved to Los Angeles to study jazz composition and orchestration at Westlake College of Music. While in California, he supported himself by singing on demonstration records and writing, arranging, and producing commercial jingles. He returned to Toronto in 1960 and became active in Canadian music, performing with the Singin’ Swingin’ Eight on CBC’s Country Hoedown and later working the folk-oriented coffeehouse circuit. His earliest singles, recorded at RCA in Nashville and produced by Louis Innis and Art Snider, gave him regional success, including “(Remember Me) I’m the One,” which reached number 3 on CHUM radio in Toronto in 1962.

Lightfoot first became widely known as a songwriter before his own recordings brought him international recognition. Ian and Sylvia recorded “Early Mornin’ Rain” and “For Lovin’ Me,” and both songs were later recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. His material also reached major artists such as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Richie Havens, the Kingston Trio, Marty Robbins, and the Grateful Dead. Robbins took “Ribbon of Darkness” to number 1 on the United States country chart, helping establish Lightfoot as a writer whose songs could live in folk, country, and pop settings. In 1965, Lightfoot signed with manager Albert Grossman and United Artists, and appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and New York’s Town Hall expanded his audience.

The release of Lightfoot! in 1966 gave Gordon Lightfoot a defining introduction as both singer and songwriter. The album included “For Lovin’ Me,” “Early Mornin’ Rain,” “Steel Rail Blues,” and “Ribbon of Darkness,” songs that helped establish the foundation of his catalog. Between 1966 and 1969, he released The Way I Feel, Did She Mention My Name?, Back Here on Earth, and Sunday Concert. During this period, he also wrote “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” for a CBC broadcast marking Canada’s Centennial year on January 1, 1967. That commission became one of the songs most closely associated with his ability to turn Canadian history and geography into music that still worked as popular songwriting.

His breakthrough as an international recording artist arrived with “If You Could Read My Mind,” originally released on the 1970 album Sit Down Young Stranger, which was later reissued under the title If You Could Read My Mind. The single sold more than a million copies, earned a gold record, and became the turning point in his career outside Canada. Over the next several years, Lightfoot released a remarkable run of albums, including Summer Side of Life, Don Quixote, Old Dan’s Records, Sundown, Cold on the Shoulder, Summertime Dream, and Endless Wire. His biggest hits included “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway,” “Rainy Day People,” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” “Sundown” reached number 1 in both the United States and Canada in 1974, while “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” reached number 2 on the United States Billboard chart and number 1 in Canada.

Lightfoot released 20 studio albums across his career, beginning with Lightfoot! in 1966 and ending with Solo in 2020. His sound centered on his baritone voice, folk-based twelve-string acoustic guitar, and a steady group of musicians who helped shape his recordings and live performances. Red Shea was a key lead guitarist from 1965 to 1970, with Paul Wideman and John Stockfish on bass during that early period. Rick Haynes joined on bass in 1968, Terry Clements became his lead guitarist three years later, Pee Wee Charles added pedal steel guitar in 1975, Barry Keane joined on drums that same year, and Mike Heffernan completed the band on keyboards in 1981. Haynes, Keane, and Heffernan continued touring and recording with him for decades, giving Lightfoot a rare level of musical continuity.

The later chapters of Lightfoot’s career showed both endurance and discipline. During the 1980s and 1990s, he released Dream Street Rose, Shadows, Salute, East of Midnight, Waiting for You, and A Painter Passing Through. “Baby Step Back” became his last United States top 50 single, while “Anything for Love” reached the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and also appeared on the pop and country charts. He continued touring heavily, playing between 50 and 75 concerts a year during the 1990s. In 2002, a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm nearly ended his life, leading to emergency vascular surgery, a six-week coma, a tracheotomy, and four surgeries. He returned with Harmony in 2004, performed benefit shows in Hamilton, appeared on Canadian Idol, and resumed touring with the Better Late Than Never Tour in 2005. In 2020, he released Solo, an unaccompanied album issued 54 years after his debut.

Lightfoot received 16 Juno Awards, ASCAP songwriting awards in 1971, 1974, 1976, and 1977, and five Grammy Award nominations. He was named Canadian male recording artist of the decade in 1980 for his work during the 1970s. He was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, became a Companion of the Order of Canada, received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2014, SOCAN presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. His hometown of Orillia honored him with the bronze sculpture Golden Leaves, A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, and in 2025, the City of Pickering commissioned Gordon’s Guitar, an interactive twelve-string guitar sculpture installed in Ernie Stroud Park as a permanent memorial.

Outside of his recording career, Lightfoot remained connected to public events, Canadian institutions, and charitable performances. He performed with Ian Tyson at the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, appeared at the Canadian Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario, in 2005, and performed “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” at the 100th Grey Cup in 2012. He also appeared at several 25th anniversary memorial services for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and stayed in contact with family members of the men who died. In 2004, he gave a five-song solo set in Peterborough, Ontario, at a flood relief benefit. He was also a lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan and was named honorary captain of the team for the 1991 to 1992 season.

Gordon Lightfoot died of natural causes at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto on May 1, 2023, at 84. His final concert had taken place on October 30, 2022, in Winnipeg. After his death, the Mariners’ Church in Detroit rang its bell 30 times, 29 times for the crew members lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald and once for Lightfoot. Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior also shone its light in his honor. His legacy rests on a catalog filled with songs that other artists recorded, audiences returned to, and Canada embraced as part of its own cultural memory. Bob Dylan said he could not think of a Gordon Lightfoot song he did not like, and Robbie Robertson called him a national treasure. Those comments explain part of why Lightfoot remained so loved, but the deeper answer is in the work itself, songs written with care, sung with restraint, and built to last.

Complete List Of Gordon Lightfoot Songs From A to Z

A Minor Ballad – The Way I Feel – 1967
Affair on 8th Avenue – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Alberta Bound – Don Quixote – 1972
All I’m After – Shadows – 1982
All the Lovely Ladies – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Anything for Love – East of Midnight – 1986
Apology – Sunday Concert – 1969
Approaching Lavender – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
The Auctioneer – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Baby It’s Alright – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Baby Step Back – Shadows – 1982
Ballad of Yarmouth Castle – Sunday Concert – 1969
Beautiful – Don Quixote – 1972
Bells of the Evening – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Bend in the Water – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Better Off – Solo – 2020
Betty Called Me In – Summertime Dream – 1976
Biscuit City – Salute – 1983
Bitter Green – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Bitter Green – Sunday Concert – 1969
Black Day in July – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Blackberry Wine – Shadows – 1982
Boathouse – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
Boss Man – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Boss Man – Sunday Concert – 1969
Brave Mountaineers – Don Quixote – 1972
Broken Dreams – Salute – 1983
Cabaret – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Canadian Railroad Trilogy – The Way I Feel – 1967
Canadian Railroad Trilogy – Sunday Concert – 1969
Can’t Depend on Love – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
Carefree Highway – Sundown – 1974
Changes – Lightfoot! – 1966
Cherokee Bend – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Christian Island (Georgian Bay) – Don Quixote – 1972
The Circle Is Small (I Can See It in Your Eyes) – Back Here on Earth – 1968
The Circle Is Small (I Can See It in Your Eyes) – Endless Wire – 1978
Circle of Steel – Sundown – 1974
Clouds of Loneliness – Harmony – 2004
Cobwebs & Dust – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Cold Hands from New York – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Cold on the Shoulder – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Cotton Jenny – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Couchiching – Harmony – 2004
Crossroads – The Way I Feel – 1967
Daylight Katy – Endless Wire – 1978
Did She Mention My Name? – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Does Your Mother Know – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Don Quixote – Don Quixote – 1972
Don’t Beat Me Down – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Do You Walk, Do You Talk – Solo – 2020
Dream Street Rose – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Dreamdrift – Solo – 2020
Dreamland – Endless Wire – 1978
Drink Yer Glasses Empty – Waiting for You – 1993
Drifters – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
Early Morning Rain – Lightfoot! – 1966
East of Midnight – East of Midnight – 1986
Easy Flo – Solo – 2020
Ecstasy Made Easy – East of Midnight – 1986
E-Motion – Solo – 2020
End of All Time – Harmony – 2004
Endless Wire – Endless Wire – 1978
Fading Away – Waiting for You – 1993
Farewell to Annabel – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
Fine as Fine Can Be – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Flyin’ Blind – Harmony – 2004
For Lovin’ Me – Lightfoot! – 1966
Ghosts of Cape Horn – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Go My Way – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Go-Go Round – The Way I Feel – 1967
Gotta Get Away – Salute – 1983
The Gypsy – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Hangdog Hotel Room – Endless Wire – 1978
Harmony – Harmony – 2004
Heaven Help the Devil – Shadows – 1982
Hey You – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Hi’way Songs – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
High and Dry – Sundown – 1974
Home from the Forest – The Way I Feel – 1967
The House You Live In – Summertime Dream – 1976
I Used to Be a Country Singer – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
I Want to Hear It From You – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
I’d Do It Again – Summertime Dream – 1976
I’d Rather Press On – Waiting for You – 1993
I’ll Be Alright – The Way I Feel – 1967
I’ll Do Anything – Shadows – 1982
I’ll Prove My Love – Waiting for You – 1993
I’ll Tag Along – East of Midnight – 1986
I’m Not Sayin’ – Lightfoot! – 1966
I’m Not Sayin’/Ribbon of Darkness – Sunday Concert – 1969
I’m Not Supposed to Care – Summertime Dream – 1976
If Children Had Wings – Endless Wire – 1978
If I Could – Back Here on Earth – 1968
If There’s a Reason – Endless Wire – 1978
If You Could Read My Mind – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
If You Got It – The Way I Feel – 1967
If You Need Me – Dream Street Rose – 1980
In a Windowpane – Sunday Concert – 1969
In My Fashion – Shadows – 1982
Inspiration Lady – Harmony – 2004
Is There Anyone Home – Sundown – 1974
It’s Worth Believin’ – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
Just a Little Bit – Solo – 2020
14 Karat Gold – Shadows – 1982
Knotty Pine – Salute – 1983
The Laughter We Seek – Solo – 2020
Lazy Mornin’ – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
Leaves of Grass – Sunday Concert – 1969
A Lesson in Love – East of Midnight – 1986
Let it Ride – East of Midnight – 1986
The List – Sundown – 1974
Long River – Lightfoot! – 1966
Long Thin Dawn – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Long Way Back Home – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Looking at the Rain – Don Quixote – 1972
The Lost Children – Sunday Concert – 1969
Love and Maple Syrup – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Magnificent Outpouring – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Make Way for the Lady – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Marie Christine – Back Here on Earth – 1968
May I – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Me and Bobby McGee – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Miguel – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Minstrel of the Dawn – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Mister Rock of Ages – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Morning Glory – East of Midnight – 1986
Mother of a Miner’s Child – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
Much to My Surprise – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
My Little Love – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
My Pony Won’t Go – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
Never Too Close – Summertime Dream – 1976
The No Hotel – Harmony – 2004
No Mistake About It – Harmony – 2004
Now and Then – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Nous Vivons Ensemble – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Ode to Big Blue – Don Quixote – 1972
Oh, Linda – Lightfoot! – 1966
Oh So Sweet – Solo – 2020
Old Dan’s Records – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
On Susan’s Floor – Don Quixote – 1972
On the High Seas – Dream Street Rose – 1980
On Yonge Street – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
Only Love Would Know – Waiting for You – 1993
Ordinary Man – Don Quixote – 1972
A Painter Passing Through – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
A Passing Ship – East of Midnight – 1986
The Patriot’s Dream – Don Quixote – 1972
Peaceful Waters – Lightfoot! – 1966
Poor Little Allison – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Pride of Man – Lightfoot! – 1966
The Pony Man – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Protocol – Summertime Dream – 1976
Pussy Willows, Cat-Tails – Sunday Concert – 1969
Pussywillows, Cat-Tails – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Race Among the Ruins – Summertime Dream – 1976
Rainbow Trout – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Rainy Day People – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Red Velvet – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
Redwood Hill – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Restless – Waiting for You – 1993
Return into Dust – Solo – 2020
Ribbon of Darkness – Lightfoot! – 1966
Rich Man’s Spiritual – Lightfoot! – 1966
Ring Them Bells – Waiting for You – 1993
Ringneck Loon – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
River of Light – Harmony – 2004
Romance – Salute – 1983
Rosanna – The Way I Feel – 1967
Same Old Loverman – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Saturday Clothes – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Sea of Tranquility – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Second Cup of Coffee – Don Quixote – 1972
Salute (A Lot More Livin’ to Do) – Salute – 1983
Seven Island Suite – Sundown – 1974
Shadows – Shadows – 1982
She’s Not the Same – Shadows – 1982
Shellfish – Harmony – 2004
Sixteen Miles (To Seven Lakes) – Lightfoot! – 1966
Sit Down Young Stranger – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970
Slide on Over – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Softly – The Way I Feel – 1967
Softly – Sunday Concert – 1969
Something Very Special – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Sometimes I Don’t Mind – Endless Wire – 1978
Sometimes I Wish – Harmony – 2004
Someone to Believe In – Salute – 1983
Song for a Winter’s Night – The Way I Feel – 1967
Songs the Minstrel Sang – Endless Wire – 1978
Somewhere U.S.A. – Sundown – 1974
The Soul Is the Rock – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Spanish Moss – Summertime Dream – 1976
Stay Loose – East of Midnight – 1986
Steel Rail Blues – Lightfoot! – 1966
Summer Side of Life – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Summertime Dream – Summertime Dream – 1976
Sundown – Sundown – 1974
Sweet Guinevere – Endless Wire – 1978
Talking in Your Sleep – Summer Side of Life – 1971
Tattoo – Salute – 1983
Thank You For the Promises – Shadows – 1982
That Same Old Obsession – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
10 Degrees and Getting Colder – Summer Side of Life – 1971
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Lightfoot! – 1966
The Last Time I Saw Her – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
The Mountain and Maryann – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
The Way I Feel – The Way I Feel – 1967
The Way I Feel – Lightfoot! – 1966
The Watchman’s Gone – Sundown – 1974
Too Late for Prayin’ – Sundown – 1974
Too Many Clues in This Room – Summertime Dream – 1976
A Tree Too Weak to Stand – Cold on the Shoulder – 1975
Triangle – Shadows – 1982
Uncle Toad Said – A Painter Passing Through – 1998
Unsettled Ways – Back Here on Earth – 1968
Walls – The Way I Feel – 1967
Waiting for You – Waiting for You – 1993
Welcome to Try – Waiting for You – 1993
Wherefore and Why – Did She Mention My Name? – 1968
Whisper My Name – Dream Street Rose – 1980
Whispers of the North – Salute – 1983
Why Not Give It a Try – Solo – 2020
Wild Strawberries – Waiting for You – 1993
Without You – Salute – 1983
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – Summertime Dream – 1976
You Are What I Am – Old Dan’s Records – 1972
You Just Gotta Be – East of Midnight – 1986
Your Love’s Return (Song for Stephen Foster) – Sit Down Young Stranger – 1970

Albums

Lightfoot! (1966)

The Way I Feel (1967)

Did She Mention My Name? (1968)

Back Here on Earth (1968)

Did She Mention My Name/Back Here On Earth

Sunday Concert (1969)

Sit Down Young Stranger (aka If You Could Read My Mind) (1970)

Summer Side of Life (1971)

Don Quixote (1972)

Old Dan’s Records (1972)

Sundown (1974)

Cold on the Shoulder (1975)

Summertime Dream (1976)

Endless Wire (1978)

Dream Street Rose (1980)

Shadows (1982)

Salute (1983)

East of Midnight (1986)

Waiting for You (1993)

A Painter Passing Through (1998)

Harmony (2004)

Solo (2020)

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