Gordon Lightfoot

As I mentioned in my previous email, my husband and I visited Orillia Ontario today. One of the best bits of trivia about Orillia is that it is the home town of Gordon Lightfoot. In his early days, Lightfoot was called "the Orillia Oriole."

 

There is a lovely walking trail along Lake Couchiching called the "Lightfoot Trail" and the highlight is a new statue erected in 2015. It shows Gord Lightfoot seated cross-legged with his guitar, and above his head are many maple leaves arranged in a circle. Each leaf contains a different scene carved in bronze, each representing a famous song of Gord's - "In the Early Morning Rain," "If You Could Read My Mind," and many more. My particular favourites are the top three leaves at the very top, which represent the three sections of the fantastic song "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" which describes the history of Canada as it grew from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the construction of railroads. 

 

The plaque describes the history of the statue and identifies each of the songs that are represented in the leaves. Each leaf is fascinating!