Minstrel of the Dawn

Gordon Lightfoot is the best ever.
You may not like folk. That's fine. You may not like Canadians. That's also fine. You may not like acoustic guitar in general, or awesome voices. That's fine, too, but we may have to have a discussion later about your taste, and I may seriously question your ability to discern true lyrical, if not musical, genius.

So: Go buy Gord's music. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way about his work - entire Youtube forums have been written about it, and I am sure many more such posts are in progress as I write.

His songs evoke feelings in me that words can't explain: a feeling of overwhelming sentimentality, remembering times I was listening to his songs, remembering what I was thinking about, remembering long car rides. Sometimes it's an overwhelming sadness, thinking through the lyrics, knowing how many sad things happen to people every day, and how dreary the world must seem to people who don't have a strong safety circle of people who love them, like I do. Sometimes his songs make me think about all the good people in the world who seem to try really hard and never 'get anywhere.' Or people who love unrequitedly, unconditionally, for long periods of time, and the love in their hearts eventually shrivels up and dies because they could only love one person. Or how happy I am to be on the road, moving toward people and things that I love. Or how grateful I am to be alive, with the wind in my hair and watching the sunset's colors changing, humming a Gord's Gold song in my head.

I love his music. End of story. So to sum up: his music is stunning in its simplicity, and sincere in its emotions. Kind of how I want my entire life to be.

If you have not had the pleasure of hearing Gord's stuff, let me know and I'll give you my list of personal favorites.