1.

(# 9 country hit)

Early Morning Rain

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand
I'm a long ways from home and I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain with no place to go

Out on runway number 9 big 707 set to go
But I'm standin' on the grass where the cold winds blow
Well the liquor tasted good and the women all were fast
There she goes my friend she's a rolling now at last

Hear the mighty engines roar see the silver bird on high
She's away and westward bound far above the clouds she'll fly
Where the morning rain don't fall and the sun always shine
She'll be flying o'er my home in about three hours time

This old airport's got me down it's no earthly good to me
Cause I'm stuck here on the ground as cold and drunk as I can be
You can't jump a big jet plane like you can an old freight train
So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain
So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain

**********

2.

(# 15 country hit)

Steel Rail Blues

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

Well I got my mail late last night
A letter from a gal who found the time to write
To her lonesome boy somewhere's in the night
She sent me a railroad ticket too to take me to her lovin' arms
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love

Uh huh oooh ooh oooh oooh
Oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh

Well I been uptight most every night
Walkin' around the streets of this old town
Not a friend around to tell my troubles to
My good old car she done broke down cause I drove it into the ground
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love

Well I look over yonder across that plain
The big drive wheels a poundin' along the ground
Gonna get on board and I'll be homeward bound
I ain't had a home cooked meal Lord I need one now
And the big steel rail gonna carry me home to the one I love

Uh huh oooh ooh oooh oooh...

Well here I am with my hat in my hand
Standin' on a broad highway would you give a ride
To a lonesome boy who missed the train last night
I went in town for one last round I gambled my ticket away
And the big steel rail won't carry me home to the one I love

Uh huh oooh ooh oooh oooh...

**********

3.

Go Go Around

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

Alone upon the sidewalks of despair twas there she wandered
With her suitcase in her hand her fate she pondered
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
She met him on a night so rare when her friends were there and the band was groovin'
When he gave a glance that said how much he would like to meet her
How was she to know at the time he would mistreat her

In her cage she danced for him although a hundred eyes were turned her way
And before the set was through he knew she would be his loved one
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
Only twenty-one she was a young girl just in from somewhere
[ instrumental ]
He's playin' up in Michigan in a group they call The Intended
With a kiss and a promise he was gone the song was ended
But as she walks she waits for him the pavement is a shoulder for her tears
But in her heart she knows there is no way she can hope to change him
Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
Only twenty-one she was a young girl just in from somewhere

Only a go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
A go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care
A go-go girl in love with someone who didn't care

**********

4.

Ballad Of The Yarmouth Castle

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

Well it's four o'clock in the afternoon the anchors have been weighed
From Miami to Nassau she's abound across the waves
She's headin' south to Biscayne Bay into the open sea
Yarmouth Castle she's a dyin' don't know it

Oh the many years she's been to sea ahe's seen the better times
She gives a groan of protest as they cast away her lines
And the grumble of her engines and the rust along her spine
Tells the Castle she's too old to be sailin'

But the sands run out within her heart a tiny spark glows red
And smolders through the evening there's laughter overhead
Well the dinner's served and the cards are dealt and the drinks are passed around
From deep within the fire starts a burnin'

It's midnight on the open sea the moon is a shinin' bright
Some people join the party and the others say goodnight
There's many who are sleeping now it's been such a busy day
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a risin'

Oh Lord she groans I'm burnin' let someone understand
But her silent plea is wasted in the playin' of the band
Everybody's dancin' on her deck and they're havin' such a time
And a voice says shut up and deal I'm losin'

Deep within the Yarmouth Castle the fire begins to glow
It leaps into the hallways and climbs and twists and grows
The paint she wore to keep her young oh Lord how well it burns
And soon that old fire is a ragin'

Beneath the bridge it's climbin' now the captain stands aloft
He calls up to the boatswain says boatswain we are lost
Them ragged hoses in the racks no pressure do they hold
And the people down below are dyin'

Well amidships oh she's blazin' now it's spreadin' fore and aft
The people are a scramblin' as the fire blocks their path
An evil smoke surrounds them and they're fallin' in their tracks
And the captain in his lifeboat is a leavin'

Oh then the ship Bahama Star comes steamin' through the night
She sees the Castle a blazin' and it is a terrible sight
Jump down jump down the captain cries we'll save you if we can
And the paint on his funnels is a fryin'

God help the ones who sleep below and cannot find their way
Thank God for those we rescue upon this terrible day
Oh the heroes they are many and the times are growin' slim
For now from stern to bow she's a blazin'

Oh the Yarmouth Castle's moanin' she's a cryin' like a child
You can hear her if you listen above the roar so wild
Is she cryin' for the ones who lie within her molten sides
Or cryin' for herself I'm a wonderin'

And soon they all were rescued the ones who lived to tell
And from the Star they watched her as she died there in the swells
Like a toy ship on a mill pond she burned all through the night
Then slipped neath the waves in the mornin'

**********

5.

Song For A Winter's Night

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

The lamp is burning low upon my table top the snow is softly falling
The air is still in the silence of my room I hear your voice softly calling
If I could only have you near to breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love on this winter night with you
[ instrumental ]
The smoke is risin' in the shadows overhead my glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon the page the words of love you sent me
If I could know within my heart that you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love on this winter night with you
[ instrumental ]
The fire is dying now my lamp is growing dim the shades of night are lifting
The morning light steals across my window pane where webs of snow are drifting
If I could only have you near to breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love and to be once again with you
On this winter's night with you

**********

6.

Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real

But time has no beginnings and the hist'ry has no bounds
As to this verdant country they came from all around
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forest tall
Built the mines mills and factories for the good of us all

And when the young man's fancy was a turnin' to the spring
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
Their minds were overflowin' with the visions of their day
And many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to pay

For they looked in the future and what did they see
They saw an iron road running from the sea to the sea
Bringin' the goods to the young growin' land
All up from the seaports and into their hands
So bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open her heart and let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way cause we're movin' too slow
Get on our way cause we're movin' too slow

Behind the blue rockies the sun is declinin'
The stars they come stealing at the close of the day
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie a sleepin'
Beyond the dark forest in a place far away

We are the poor boys who work upon the railway
Swinging our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Livin' on that stew and a drinking bad whiskey
Layin' down at tracks till the long days are done
Yeah bendin' our backs till the railroad is done

We are the navies who work upon the railway
We are the navies who work upon the railway
Swinging our hammers in the bright blazing sun
Laying down track and building the bridges
Bending our backs till the railroad is done

Bout the song bout the future has been sung
All the battles have been won
On the mountain tops we stand all the world at our command
We have opened up the soil with our teardrops and our toil

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run...

When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
And many are the dead men too silent to be real

**********

7.

Home From The Forest

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

Oh the neon lights were flashin' and the icy winds did blow
Water seeped into his shoes and the drizzle turned to snow
His eyes were red his hopes were dead and the wine was runnin' low
And the old man came home from the forest

His tears fell on the sidewalk as he stumbled in the street
A dozen faces stopped to stare but no one stopped to speak
For his castle was a hallway and the bottle his only friend
And the old man stumbled in from the forest
[ instrumental ]
Up a dark and dingy staircase the old man made his way
His ragged coat around him as upon his cot he lay
And he wondered how it happened that it all turned out this way
Getting lost like a fool in the forest

And as he lay there sleepin' a vision did appear
Upon his mantle shinin' the face of one so dear
Who'd loved him in the springtime of a long forgotten year
When the wildflowers did bloom in the forest

Oh she touched his grizzled fingers and she called him by his name
Then he heard the joyful sound of children at their games
In an old house on a hillside in some forgotten town
Where the river runs down from the forest

With a mighty roar them big jets soar above the canyon streets
The con men con but life goes on before the city sleeps
For an old forgotten soldier the dawn will come no more
For the old man's come home from the forest

**********

8.

I'm Not Sayin'

Gordon Lightfoot

© Witmark And Sons, ASCAP

I'm not sayin' that I love you
I'm not sayin' that I'll care if you love me
I'm not sayin' that I'll care
I'm not sayin' that I'll be there when you want me

I can't give my heart to you
Oh tell me that I'll sing you name up to the sky
I can't lay the promise out
But I'll always be around when you need me

I may not be alone each time you see me
Along the street or in a small cafe
But still I won't deny you or mistreat you
Baby if you let me have my way

Well I'm not sayin' I'll be sorry
For all the things that I might say that make you cry
I can't say I always do the things you want me to
I'm not sayin' I'll be true but I'll try
[ instrumental ]
Now I may not be alone each time you see me
Or show up when I promised that I would
But still I won't deny you or mistreat you
Baby if you love me like you should

I'm not sayin' I'll be sorry...

I can't say I always do the things you want me to
I'm not sayin' I'll be true but I'll try

**********

9.

Did She Mention My Name

Gordon Lightfoot

© Seven Arts Music, ASCAP

It's so nice to meet an old friend and pass the time of day
And talk about the hometown a million miles away
Is the ice still in the river are the old folks still the same
And by the way did she mention my name

Did she mention my name just in passing
And when the morning came do you remember if she dropped a name or two
Is the home team still on fire do they still win all their games
And by the way did she mention my name
[ instrumental ]
Is the landlord still a loser do his signs hang in the hall
Are the young girls still as pretty in the city in the Fall
Does the laughter on their faces still put the sun to shame
And by the way did she mention my name

Did she mention my name just in passing
And when the talk ran high did the look in her eyes seem far away
Is the old roof still leaking when the late snow turns to rain
And by the way did she mention my name
[ instrumental ]
Did she mention my name just in passing
And looking at the rain do you remember if she dropped a name or two
Won't you say hello from someone there'll be no need to explain
And by the way did she mention my name
And by the way did she mention my name

**********

10.

Long Thin Dawn

Gordon Lightfoot

© Callee Music, ASCAP

I've seen the hills of Frisco the streets of Montreal
In every town I've been to I've had someone to call
From Winnipeg to Edmonton Vancouver to St Paul
I've had so many good friends I could not miss them all
In that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn is comin' on again

Last night I came to Calgary beneath the snow-capped ridge
Thought about my darlin' as I stood beneath the bridge
There were times I made her cry but I guess by now she's learned
Any time I've wandered I always have returned
In that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn is comin' on again

Right now I'm on a highway just east of Omaha
Riding shotgun on the biggest rig you ever saw
With forty tons of pig iron and a trucker known as Bill
All the way to Windsor we've got some miles to kill
And that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn is comin' on again

While climbin' up a hillside Bill drops 'er down a gear
And the engine sings so sweetly tis music to my ear
I tell him that I'd love to be just like him if I can
Drivin' like the restless wind across this precious land
In that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn is comin' on again

Says Bill the air is clean at night as he puffs a big cigar
And if this rig keeps rollin' my boy you'll travel far
But when you are a trucker you'll come to realize
The only thing a man can do is watch the world roll by
In that long thin dawn
That long thin dawn is comin' on again

**********