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When the skies of Nov. turn gloomy

One of his lines always pops up in my head on long drives, from "The Mountains and Maryann," one of his great but obscure album-filler compositions:

"And the prairie towns go sailing by,
Saskatchewan, there's mud in your eye."

The Rhino compilation has the song list and Lightfoot commenting on each
In Alberta Bound, there's a verse
"Oh the skyline of Toronto is something you'll get on to but they say you have to live there for a while
"And if you got the money you can get yourself a honey with a written guarantee to make you smile."
In the note he said he changed the line in concert because: "Well, I don't do that."
Left unsaid is he never had to
 
My then-16-year-old grandfather rode the train with two of his friends in 1905 to help build houses in boomtown Calgary. When he came back to the farm in Ontario, his mother had him wash off in the cattle trough with lye before she'd let him in the house. Or so went the story from his youngest sister.

I always think of "Four Strong Winds" by Ian and Sylvia when I remember that story.
 
My then-16-year-old grandfather rode the train with two of his friends in 1905 to help build houses in boomtown Calgary. When he came back to the farm in Ontario, his mother had him wash off in the cattle trough with lye before she'd let him in the house. Or so went the story from his youngest sister.

I always think of "Four Strong Winds" by Ian and Sylvia when I remember that story.

The iconic Canadian song, imo.
 

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