The Lightfoot Connection

One of the most evocative memories of our first cycling trip (across Skye with John and Norman at the end of the summer in 1981, just before the 6th Ashes Test of that incredible summer) was singing Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy as we cycled. John and I knew the song; Norman didn't but by the end of the holiday he had not only learned all the words and sung along but had dropped my Gord's Gold tape from his paniers in a rainstorm outside Tarbert on the way to the ferry. It was never the same again. He compensated for that in 1994 when, as a token of thanks for my being best man at his wedding, he gave me the CD.

It's the opening verse which is so powerful:

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real

The first two lines are particularly apt for Skye, though the latter two veer away from the directly applicable.

Here's the man himself singing it live on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjoU1Qkeizs

I love Gordon Lightfoot. Anyone else would call this a guilty pleasure. For me this is probably at the cooler end of the spectrum of my musical tastes...

This song represents the best of memories for me. Long sunny days on the bike, laughing and singing and joking with John and Norman, blissfully unaware that we would look back on these days as some of the best of our lives. Harris and test matches are a fantastic combination for me. I can tell you every test match which was going on when I have been in Harris for summer holidays since 1976. I understand what this says about me but frankly don't care. 1981 was particularly special and if you don't know why you weren't there.

Barry Norman once said that Keith Miller, the great Australian all rounder, introduced him to another as a cricket nut. It's a label that's easily applied to me as well, and indeed has been, frequently. This blog could be exclusively about cricket but that's not my intention. I simply want to convey how close for me is the connection between Gordon Lightfoot and Mike Brearley.

Cricket, cycling and Gordon Lightfoot. It's a start.