Wes Steele
06-21-2010, 07:52 PM
My family and I and two friends waited for Gord after the Akron concert this past Saturday.
There was quite a few people waiting for him.
I had three goals on this night....
1) Take a bunch of pics....
2) introduce Gord to our two family friends (one of them is 14 years old and loves Gord's music)..
3) Ask Gord what does "Stemming Gold" mean.
Now if you do a search here at Corfid, a number of you went into great investigations and details on what "stemming gold" means.... and they were great and interesting posts. I enjoyed them all. i myself, questioned for many years, what "stemming gold" meant.
From some of those old posts, it seems like there was/is a reluctance among us, to ask Gord what it means.
Years ago, after a number of concerts, I would wait around for Gord and maybe say hello. He was a bit more "under the gun" back then, and he needed his space. Two years ago in West Virginia, we spent about twenty minutes with him and he was quite relaxed. I did not see him as a Folk Icon...A world known singer/songwriter... or someone whose music will last as long as this earth spins.
I saw him then... and I see him now.... as a friend. This gentleman, through his music, has made my life better.... he has gotten me through some very bad emotional times with relationships and even deaths. His music has literally changed my life. He is a personal friend of mine, though he doesn't know it... Gord wouldn't remember me if he saw me today. But through his music, his writings, I feel like I know him. Even this last Saturday night, when I approached him, I said "hello my friend".... So, I am not "afraid" of him or intimidated (not that I don't respect him)... this Gordon Lightfoot is my best buddy... he helped me get through many bad times in my life. When I meet him, it's like seeing or meeting someone you have talked on the phone with many times.... or emailed... or sent letters to over the years. It is a very nice, relaxing feeling I have with him.
While we were taking pics this last Saturday night, I asked him...
I spouted off the line "...see the drunkard in the tavern, stemming gold to make ends meet.. Gord, what does stemming gold mean?"
In a split second he responded... "begging for gold".... I must have had a puzzled look on my face (like, Thats All?) and I asked... "is this a British word...a British background?"
Gord said "No, didn't you ever hear of someone "stemming cigarettes"?...meaning begging for cigarettes. It's a western word" (Now did Gord mean west as in North America, or west as in western Canada?)
Now two names came up... He mentioned Red Shea and he mentioned another name who Gord said was a guitar player who I never heard of...it may have been someone he had known many years ago....not someone who played in the band... I would have recognized if it was someone who Gord played with before... but whoever it was, I did not recognize the name. Gord said they used the phrase all the time... Gord's exact words were..."He was stemming cigarettes all day"... "He likes to stem cigarettes..." Gord said it was like a slang word. A slang word "to beg".
So thats it.... something very simple. I did searches but I could not find anything relating stem to beg, but thats what the man told me and I have to believe him.
If you ever have the opportunity to stick around after the show, by all means. Gord is a treat to be around.
Someone special.
A special friend.
There was quite a few people waiting for him.
I had three goals on this night....
1) Take a bunch of pics....
2) introduce Gord to our two family friends (one of them is 14 years old and loves Gord's music)..
3) Ask Gord what does "Stemming Gold" mean.
Now if you do a search here at Corfid, a number of you went into great investigations and details on what "stemming gold" means.... and they were great and interesting posts. I enjoyed them all. i myself, questioned for many years, what "stemming gold" meant.
From some of those old posts, it seems like there was/is a reluctance among us, to ask Gord what it means.
Years ago, after a number of concerts, I would wait around for Gord and maybe say hello. He was a bit more "under the gun" back then, and he needed his space. Two years ago in West Virginia, we spent about twenty minutes with him and he was quite relaxed. I did not see him as a Folk Icon...A world known singer/songwriter... or someone whose music will last as long as this earth spins.
I saw him then... and I see him now.... as a friend. This gentleman, through his music, has made my life better.... he has gotten me through some very bad emotional times with relationships and even deaths. His music has literally changed my life. He is a personal friend of mine, though he doesn't know it... Gord wouldn't remember me if he saw me today. But through his music, his writings, I feel like I know him. Even this last Saturday night, when I approached him, I said "hello my friend".... So, I am not "afraid" of him or intimidated (not that I don't respect him)... this Gordon Lightfoot is my best buddy... he helped me get through many bad times in my life. When I meet him, it's like seeing or meeting someone you have talked on the phone with many times.... or emailed... or sent letters to over the years. It is a very nice, relaxing feeling I have with him.
While we were taking pics this last Saturday night, I asked him...
I spouted off the line "...see the drunkard in the tavern, stemming gold to make ends meet.. Gord, what does stemming gold mean?"
In a split second he responded... "begging for gold".... I must have had a puzzled look on my face (like, Thats All?) and I asked... "is this a British word...a British background?"
Gord said "No, didn't you ever hear of someone "stemming cigarettes"?...meaning begging for cigarettes. It's a western word" (Now did Gord mean west as in North America, or west as in western Canada?)
Now two names came up... He mentioned Red Shea and he mentioned another name who Gord said was a guitar player who I never heard of...it may have been someone he had known many years ago....not someone who played in the band... I would have recognized if it was someone who Gord played with before... but whoever it was, I did not recognize the name. Gord said they used the phrase all the time... Gord's exact words were..."He was stemming cigarettes all day"... "He likes to stem cigarettes..." Gord said it was like a slang word. A slang word "to beg".
So thats it.... something very simple. I did searches but I could not find anything relating stem to beg, but thats what the man told me and I have to believe him.
If you ever have the opportunity to stick around after the show, by all means. Gord is a treat to be around.
Someone special.
A special friend.