The Crotchety household was saddened this week to hear that Gordon Lightfoot has died. The missus and I often listened to his 1981 compilation album, The Best of Gordon Lightfoot, in the early days of our relationship. For us, the Lightfoot name brings back memories of feelgood days and romantic evenings. ‘Gord’, as he was sometimes known, wrote genuinely timeless songs, some of them acquiring the status of a folk/pop classic as soon as they sprang from the radios and turntables of the listening public.

“I can’t think of any Gordon Lightfoot song I don’t like. Every time I hear a song of his, it’s like I wish it would last forever.”

Bob Dylan

Here, then, is a short selection of our favourite Gordon Lightfoot songs:

Although the Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist won dozens of accolades from the music business, he was never a celebrity in the modern sense of the word. He wasn’t at the centre of sensational stories, and he rarely captured the headlines. There is a dry biography of Gordon Lightfoot on Wikipedia and a run-of-the-mill obituary in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. Neither really do justice to his talents. For that, you need to listen to his songs with an open heart and tune in to the feelings in his lyrics.