"Tattoo"

[Rich Man Spiritual]

The album/CD "Salute" is a little more rock oriented and is not my favorite but it has two songs that I really like and one in particular that I can listen to over and over and over. "Biscuit City" isn't that song but it is one of the two that I really like. It is a song that I find plays over and over in my head. Don't know why, but it just does. "Tattoo" the other is such a beautiful and sentimental song. It should have been a major hit IMHO and would have, had it been during the time that Gord was at the height of his popularity. To me it is a song that can be multi-thematic! When I am in a certain frame of mind I can play that song over and over. Anyway, my two-cents fwiw!


"TATTOO"
Gordon Lightfoot


Whatever you think of me
I'm still your friend
So other than nothin' what's new
The water 's still flowin'
Through the rose on my skin
This here tattoo is for you
The boys at the parlor downtown
Didn't waste anytime puttin' it down
Time has been wastin' away I can see it
Go sailin' on by as it slips through my fingers
The bow and the wave never wait for tomorrow
They just keep on rollin' as straight as an arrow
Good night
Girl of my dreams
You get better each day
I wish I could see you somehow
Girls that I love is there no other way
This here tattoo is for now
I'd been out drinkin' all day
I got carried away at the parlor last night
This summer rose is for you it's no wonder
I bothered to wander back into the parlor
It's red and in bloom and it's more than one color
It lives on forever for just a few dollars
Good night
Whatever you think of me
I'm still your friend
So baby whatever you do
Now that it's taken it's permanent home
This here tattoo is for you
The boys at the parlor downtown
Didn't waste any time puttin' it down
Time has been wastin' away, you know time doesn't
Wait for nobody to find what they're after
It just keeps on rolling on down the deep canyons
And through the green meadows into the broad ocean
Good night
Whatever you think of me
I'm still your friend
So other than nothin' what's new
The water's still flowing
Through the rose on my skin
This here tattoo is for you
The water's still flowin
Through the rose on my skin
This here tattoo is for you

[KHester]

I agree that along with Whispers of the North those are my favorites from Salute

[Kelly Davis]

'Salute' is still my favorite G.L. album !!! It's the first thing I had Gordon sign when I met him the first time. (told myself if I ever met him, that would be the one to have him autograph - took me 18 years, but I did it - still remember the date October 15, 1999)

'Tattoo' is probably my favorite Gordon Lightfoot song. It has such a persistent heartbreak to it all. Going on every day without the love of his life, wondering how life is going for her, etc. I picture the man sitting at a bar, smoking a cigarette, the rose tattoo on his left arm, staring in contemplation while the noise and action around him bounces right off.

I asked Gordon after a St. Louis show once why he doesn't sing 'Tattoo' in concert. (I sort of knew the answer, but still wanted to ask out of respect.) Said he doesn't have the breath (diaphragm) for it anymore.

There is not a G.L. album that I don't like ( I'm sure most Corfidians can say that), but 'Salute' is still tops with me.

Kelly Davis

[Jim Nasium]

Please don't ignore "Someone To Believe In" and "Romance" 2 great songs on an outstanding album

[charlene]

I remember painting my downstairs family room prior to the big "Net People" get together in May 2001. I had a broken foot and a cast on but still painted for days, up and down a ladder and I played TATTOO over and over and over... love that song. Now when Ilook at my own red maple leaf tattoo I think of that song too...

[Dan O'Malley]

One of my favorites. So unique and extraordinarily beautiful! Only Gord could have written this.

[Auburn Annie]

Gordon Lightfoot - Tattoo.wmv - YouTube

Listening now.....

[Lisa J]

That is a hauntingly beautiful song. I haven't heard it in years, for some odd reason, but playing it just now I realized I knew all the words. Thanks for bringing it back into my mind.