Hi all,

I am new here but I have been a Lightfoot fan for decades. Hmmmm, guess that shows I am no youngn'.

I have a question about the song Shadows. Does anyone know the basis for the song, meaning, etc? I will check back on the board later and thanks in advance for all who answer.
regards,
Marley

Hi all,

I am new here but I have been a Lightfoot fan for decades. Hmmmm, guess that shows I am no youngn'.

I have a question about the song Shadows. Does anyone know the basis for the song, meaning, etc? I will check back on the board later and thanks in advance for all who answer.
regards,
Marley

Hiya,Marley! :) Welcome to the "Gord Board". Looks like you'll be last (but not least) to join us this year. On behalf of Florian and Charlene (the board moderators) we hope you'll "set a spell" here for awhile. I'm just Borderstone,"the guy with the
most posts" (messages).

Anyhow,in answer to your Question,I read the lyrics here on the site and it simply seems to not just be about Gordon's shadow knocking on the door of this woman he loves but also about shadows of the past or the shadows we see in the day or the night. All of which are uniquley combined in this very romantic song.

Simply said,it's about a love you can't forget and sometimes revisit (like folks who break up & reunite.) Or,revisit in your mind. ;) Hope that's a good answer,that's just how I read it. Catch-ya later! :cool:

I heard him say in concert, that he wrote this song while he was on a camping trip and getting over a lost love. It sure is a gem of a song!

I heard him say in concert, that he wrote this song while he was on a camping trip and getting over a lost love. It sure is a gem of a song!

Gord is very reticent aboot this song in the songbook booklet see :
http://www.rhino.com/features/liners/75802lin5.html
or:-
http://iycrmm.notlong.com
"I was running back the lyrics in my head, and I decided I don't really have anything more to say about it than is there in the song. Sorry"
Those who were lucky enough to attend a Lightfoot concert this year will no doubt have been impressed by his current spoken intro to the song....how he was playing around with the various ways of playing the "C" chord and "Shadows" sort of of wrote itself (or words to that effect IIRC)
John Fowles
It has certainly risen higher in my personal favo(u)rites of late

Gord is very reticent aboot this song in the songbook booklet see :
http://www.rhino.com/features/liners/75802lin5.html
or:-
http://iycrmm.notlong.com
"I was running back the lyrics in my head, and I decided I don't really have anything more to say about it than is there in the song. Sorry"
Those who were lucky enough to attend a Lightfoot concert this year will no doubt have been impressed by his current spoken intro to the song....how he was playing around with the various ways of playing the "C" chord and "Shadows" sort of of wrote itself (or words to that effect IIRC)
John Fowles
It has certainly risen higher in my personal favo(u)rites of late

It seems to me to be a song that is so intensely personal that it really CAN'T be explained. You know how sometimes, a songwriter or poet will write something that is very autobiographical, and he knows it, and you know it, and, in a sense, that IS the explanation for the song?

That's my take on things. It's one of a small number of songs that you can just tell is not hiding in the images. It's the only way I can explain it.

Thanks everyone for the replies and to Borderstone for the warm welcome and to johnfowles for the great links. I am going to bookmark the second site for future reference.

I guess what puzzled me about the song was the very loving verses and then the chorus which was to tme the opposite in feelings. It is one of my favorites and whatever the meaning for the lyrics to each his own I guess. That way you can use your imagination! Thanks again everyone and the best to all.

Marley

Thanks everyone for the replies and to Borderstone for the warm welcome and to johnfowles for the great links. I am going to bookmark the second site for future reference.

I guess what puzzled me about the song was the very loving verses and then the chorus which was to tme the opposite in feelings. It is one of my favorites and whatever the meaning for the lyrics to each his own I guess. That way you can use your imagination! Thanks again everyone and the best to all.

Marley

I think,since he "can't" explain it and the lyrics contrary to each-other...maybe it's something he just wishes to keep to himself. :)

Just one of many that fall under,"What does it mean to You?,that's what it's all about".