Lonely
11 September 2006
Last Updated on 12 September 2006
Written by MazAlien
ave you ever walked on a street and felt yourself alone? And “alone” not defined as “lonely”? Today I did. The coincidence was that there was a street musician playing “The streets of London” from Gordon Lightfoot who performed this song a lot of years ago. When I passed by the street artist today one part of the lyrics touched me and I realized at that moment that I had forgotten that song since a long time. The phrase is: So how can you tell me, you’re lonely and say for you the sun won’t shine? Let me take you by the hand, and lead you through the streets of London I’ll show you something, to make you change your mind. And it is true I have a good life, and I know, because I saw grinding poverty in Latin America in Cuszco, in Namibia in the township of Swakopmund an this year in Tibet. They are as poor as church mice. So today I want to share with you the pondering of the day: ….. SO HOW CAN YOU TELL ME YOU ARE LONELY?….and say for you the sun won’t shine? Let me take you by the hand, and lead you trouhgh the streets of Cuzco, Swakopmund and Xiahe (Tibet)…………. and I’ll show you something to make you change your mind. If you could read my mind, if you only could read my mind……..
ordon Lightfoot, born in 1938, Canadian singer-songwriter whose pensive, folk-influenced ballads made him an international star in the early 1970s. Born in Orillia, Ontario, Lightfoot began performing as a child, singing at local Kiwanis and women’s club events. By the late 1950s he was singing commercial jingles in Toronto, Ontario. Intrigued by the folk music of the time, Lightfoot began singing professionally and accompanying himself on the guitar in 1961. He then made television appearances in Canada and England. In 1965 American folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary had hits with the Lightfoot compositions “Early Mornin’ Rain” and “For Lovin’ Me.” The same year, country singer Marty Robbins reached number one on the American country music charts with Lightfoot’s “Ribbon of Darkness.” Lightfoot’s own recording career was established with Lightfoot! (1966), his first solo full-length album. Garnering critical success and a small but devoted following, Lightfoot continued to record throughout the 1960s. In 1970, backed by blues guitarist Ry Cooder, singer John Sebastian, keyboardist Randy Newman, and arranger Van Dyke Parks, Lightfoot released Sit Down Young Stranger, his breakthrough record. “If You Could Read My Mind,” an introspective ballad from that album, reached number five on the Billboard pop chart in the United States. Lightfoot’s popularity peaked in 1974 when his album Sundown and the single of the same title both topped the U.S. pop charts. Other major hits from that period include “Rainy Day People,” also from Sundown, and “Carefree Highway,” from Cold on the Shoulder (1975). Lightfoot is best remembered for his 1976 song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a dour electrified ballad dramatizing a 1975 Lake Superior shipping disaster. Built around crisp rock-guitar sounds and Lightfoot’s plaintive baritone, the song found a home on both pop and adult contemporary radio formats. Although Lightfoot’s popularity declined in the late 1970s, along with a general decline of public interest in folk music, he continued to write and record music through the 1980s and 1990s.
Have you seen the old man, in the closed-down market
kicking up the papers, with his worn-out shoes?
In his eyes you see no pride, hands held loosely by his side
yesterday’s papers, telling yesterday’s news
So how can you tell me, you’re lonely
and say for you the sun won’t shine?
Let me take you by the hand,
and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something, to make you change your mind
Have you seen the old girl, who walks the streets of London
dirt in her hair, and her clothes in rags?
She’s no time for talking, she just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home, in two carrier bags
So how can you tell me, you’re lonely
and say for you the sun won’t shine?
Let me take you by the hand,
and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something, to make you change your mind
In the all-night cafe, at a quarter past eleven
same old man sitting there, on his own
Looking at the world, over the rim of his tea-cup
Each day lasts an hour, then he wanders home alone
I’ll show you something, to make you change your mind
Watch the township tour Swakopmund, Namibia summer 2003 :
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Comments
beautifully touching! very few people have got their hearts in the right place. it’s really comforting that someone i know is one of them. nice thought…nice realization.