If You Could Read My Mind | acoustic
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An acoustic guitar lesson on "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot from his Sit Down Young Stranger album released in 1971.
I wanted to make this video a while back after I'd heard of Gordon Lightfoot's passing but I've had some health issues and wasn't able to get to it until now. I grew up listening to Gordon's Lightfoot's music which was all over the radio in the seventies. Songs like The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Bitter Green, Daylight Katie, Black Day In July, Beautiful, Rainy Day People, Sundown and of course, If You Could Read My mind. Of all of his great songs, I think this one is his best. It was also his most successful single. Gordon was a real artist who wrote about his experiences and didn't hold anything back. This song is about his divorce. It doesn't get much more personal than that and he came up with a perfect and poignant lyric. Although known as a singer/songwriter, he was also an excellent fingerpicking guitar player and his part in this song is a testament to that. What really makes this song for me though, are the awesome guitar fills played by Red Shea, a legendary Canadian guitarist who played with Gordon from 1965 to 1975. Red was as important in creating Gordon's sound as Maury Muehleisen was to Jim Croce's music in my opinion. I go over every one of those fills in detail in the lesson. Even if you don't plan on playing this song in a duo anytime soon, it's worth it to learn these fills as it's a masterclass in how to play guitar. I really enjoyed learning this song. Gordon's fingerpicking is beautifully crafted and Red Shea's fills are just the best. I hope you enjoy the video and that it helps you to learn this great song. Thanks to Gordon Lightfoot for all of his beautiful music. Cheers Andy |
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