Very few songs reach me like this one does. I think the reason is that hearing it takes me back to the most innocent and youngest days when romance and love was real to me.
I remember being fourteen years old walking down a a dirt path crossing my creek leading back home... "I never thought I could feel this way and I got to say I just don't get it... I don't know where we went wrong but the feelings gone and I just can't get it back."
I'd imagine the singer (Gordon Lightfoot) talking to that woman he loved so dearly but somehow everything they ever felt had somehow vanished. It seemed impossible to me because the way he sang.. He was still so in love. There was so much passion and honesty in his voice... and there was also... utter loneliness. You get overwhelmed by the isolation he projects. I remember once the day someone took the fun out of being alone. I remember finally understanding loneliness and not just being alone.
At the age of 14 who hasn't felt that feeling. Now.. older.... married and divorced... I sometimes notice while skating in the park. I'm that boy singing those words. Every verse now ..."And I will never be set free as long as I'm a ghost that you can't see" I catch myself and remember where I'm at. Private moments where private feelings give you away are something you have to rope in quickly. It's good to know that some songs can still capture your heart and feelings. For me this is one of them. I enjoy being that ghost and hero. Most of all I enjoy knowing that some songs project such imagery that they can take you back in time to a better place ... more »
