"If You Could Read My Mind" was released in December 1970. It is a singe both written and perfomed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.
It is a beautiful mix of Folk Rock and Soft Rock musical genres, which spans over 3 minutes and 48 seconds. The song was produced by Joseph Wissert and Lenny Waronker and published with help from Reprise record label.
Gordon Lightfoot recorded the song in 1969, one year before releasing it.
"If You Could Read My Mind" had a huge success in Canada, topping the first place of the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970.
In 1971, the song was released internationally. It managed to reach top positions in countries around the world.
Divorce is the main inspiration behind Lightfoot’s song, as seen from the following lyrics:
When you reach the part where the heartaches
Come the hero would be me
Heroes often fail
And you won't read that book again
Because the ending's just too hard to take
At his daughter’s request, Lightfood performs the song wityh a slight change. The following verse:
"I'm just trying to understand the feelings that you lack"
Became
"I'm just trying to understand the feelings that we lack."
During an interview, Lightfood stated:
the difficulty with writing songs inspired by personal stories is that there is not always the emotional distance and clarity to make lyrical improvements such as the one his daughter suggested
The song was released on the Sit Down Young Stranger album. This was Lightfoot's sixth album and also his most successful one.
Grab the free If You Could Read My Mind piano sheet music by Gordon Lightfoot and play it on your beloved piano. Stay tuned for more quality material.
