Lightfoot, Gordon - Changes Lyrics






Sit by my side come as close as the air
Sharin' a memory of grey
And wander in my words
And dream about the pictures that I play
Of changes
Green leaves of summer turn red in the fall
To brown and to yellow they fade
And then they have to die
Trapped within the circle time parade
Of changes

Moments of magic will glow in the night
All fears of the forest are gone
For when the morning breaks
They're swept away by golden drops of dawn
Of changes

Passions will part to a warm melody
As fires will sometimes turn cold
Like petals in the wind
We're puppets to the silver strings of souls
Of changes

Your tears will be trembling now we're somewhere else
One last cup of wine we will pour
I'll kiss you one more time
And leave you on the rolling river shore
Of changes





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Lightfoot, Gordon Changes Comments
  1. a.... ....

    Y'know, Gordon wrote a lot of good stuff, but maybe nothing quite as good as this. Canadian Railroad Trilogy comes close.

  2. D.... R....

    Does anyone have an explanation of what Phil was driving at, perhaps with the line “share in a memory of gray”? Why gray? There’s something odd, perhaps disjointed about that line to me.... a slightly jarring metaphor.... but about what? It’s just THERE....something intermediary between black & white, but with an infinity of gradations from one to the other.....

  3. s.... ....

    I still get chills from this, and guess I always will. Melody, lyric, performance, all timeless.

  4. J.... J....

    Great song, and a great singer covering it!

  5. D.... K....

    How is this the first time in hearing this!?

  6. P.... R....

    I first heard thus song by the Pozo Seco singers in 1966 and have loved it since. Phil was a master songwriter.

  7. D.... S....

    Gord has been my favourite forever, and this is a beautiful cover, but the yearning in Phil Och's voice still does it for me.

  8. P.... L....

    Sure there's Phil Ochs ,Bob Dylan etc.etc. But no one comes close to Gordon Lightfoot .

  9. T.... M....

    Gordon only sings about four verses yet Phils is the exquisite at blending one verse to the other seven.

  10. D.... C....

    I love the work of Gordon Lightfoot. With this song ,may I also suggest you also listen to the Pozo Seco Singers.

  11. S.... G....

    Such a beautiful and lilting melody for such a melancholy song. Brings tears to my eyes.

  12. R.... B....

    I agrre that Gordon's version seems rushed, especially for a contemplative song .Otherwise tracks Ochs-inflection etc.

  13. P.... D....

    Neil Young does a good rendition on you tube at the 2013 Farm aid.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9gyHnWegb4

    perhaps too much reliance on the prompter but hard to memorize all those words. ( seems the auto prompt was giving trouble) Despite that glitch, Neil with his familiarly rich guitar sound carried it off well

  14. K.... C....

    I just love the music this man makes!

  15. m.... ....

    Hearing Phil's version first, this seems rushed. The words are so good, a slower tempo lets the listener savour the beautiful sounds.

    m.... ....

    I am going to anger everybody and say that, for me, the ideal tempo would be somewhere between the two.

  16. K.... P....

    Lightfoot's rendition is the best.  His voice is flawless.

  17. S.... W....

    Wonderful.

  18. K.... C....

    ...and Yes, thank you Phil. Beautiful lyrics. Wish GL had sung ALL the verses.

  19. K.... C....

    Me too. Sorry Phil.

  20. T.... T....

    Gordon is a genius.

  21. C.... B....

    Great song. I don't care Phil or Gordon. Both I agree, from France.

    C.... B....

    Comparisons are unnecessary and odious.

  22. E.... M....

    How can anyone argue about his version of anything. This man has the touch of genius that cannot be duplicated by anyone. He can sing the phonebook and I'm there.

  23. B.... M....

    No one does it better than Lightfoot!

  24. G.... V....

    Amazing rendition, frequently brought me to tears.

    G.... V....

    have to agree Gerhard, the tears flow easily here....poetry is amazing and emotionally charged, Gordon does a superb job

  25. g.... ....

    I'm not one to lift up covers over the original, usually preferring the original, but I think this version is far superior to Phil Ochs original. There is just something about Gordie and Red Shea's dual guitar work on here that just grabs me. I am playing this for Canada Day on stage tomorrow. Love Gordie's 1960s material!

    g.... ....

    I hate to rank them, but see both as great -- and different -- renditions of a classic folk song.

    g.... ....

    Yes John, Both versions have much to offer. Both sung with such emotion. RIP Phil

    g.... ....

    guibox3 I agree. there is just something about Gordon's voice that grabs you. I like Phil's rendition in a different way but being that Mr Lightfoot is my favorite musician hands down it's tough for me to say anything is better than his music. absolutely awesome acoustic masterpiece.

    g.... ....

    I just wish with all of my heart that Gordon had sung ALL of Phil Ochs words. A much better story told. But I too prefer GL's version.

    g.... ....

    Red isn't playing on this cut. I think it's Bruce Langhorne. He and Bassist Bill Lee (Father of Spike Lee ) are working as Session Musicians on this, GL's first Album, simply called, "Lightfoot." This was recorded in New York while GL was still working as a Single. Red came along a bit later, along with GL's first Bassist, John Stockfish, who was replaced by Richard Haynes in 1968. Richard is approaching his 50th year of playing Bass for Lightfoot!

  26. b.... ....

    He had no problem doing covers of others' songs either.   Oh, and by the way, Gordon's version of Me and Bobby McGee is the best ever.  It's not a rock song, like Janis tried to make it.

  27. T.... ....

    I saw two errors in comments too old to reply to. Lightfoot did not start as a jazz pianist, but he did play drums in a jazz revue early on. Also, he did not record the first version of "Me and Bobby McGee." That distinction was earned by Roger Miller.

  28. M.... H....

    Lovely rendition by Gordon Lightfoot. Beautiful song by Phil Ochs, a most underrated singer/songwriter musician.

    M.... H....

    Could not agree more with you Mary!

  29. s.... ....

    I think this is the definitive cover of Phil Ochs classic, Gord really excelled on this. I also like Ian & Sylvia version, even George Hamilton IV had a nice cover on the country charts. Interesting to note that Phil Ochs, on Laura Weber's PBS Folk Guitar show in the mid 60's, commented that he did not like one cover of his song.

  30. d.... ....

    Sure do miss this guy. Saw him live in Toronto - incredible. Even if I miss him, I can always come here to YouTube and revisit my memories of remarkable Canadian musician.

  31. M.... V....

    ...marvelous song... ...I like this singer, really much...

  32. D.... ....

    But as I was saying before YT interrupted me, Phil's songs always make me feel Alive, Inspired and Empathetic to my fellow Man(and Woman).
    I must get around to reading Mark Elliot's book on Phil and you should too.
    I'm so glad we still have Gord with us!
    I am so THANKFUL for everybody's comments on this thread, even the ones I slightly disagree with. Btw, Gord is and always was a Genuine Folkie.
    Now I must check out Gene Clark's version as a commenter here suggested and Phil's Concert Version. Peace Y'all!

    D.... ....

    Lots ov versions here, including Gene Clark's: https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/532235/versions

  33. D.... ....

    Well I just read EVERY single comment on this thread and I appreciate them all.
    This is obviously one of the most Beautiful songs Ever.
    Although I agree Phil's reading is the Very Best and Gord's version is a little too fast
    I still like Gordon's version and appreciate he covered it and I'm sure Phil did too and Phil collected much needed Royalties as well, which didn't hurt. Considering this was Gord's first album I think some of you should cut him some slack about the tempo issue.
    I am a MAJOR Fan of Both Gord and Phil.
    And this song is a TRUE SONIC GEM.
    I was hanging around Greenwich Village a lot in. the mid to late 1970's and I wish I could have befriended Phil despite his downward turn.
    Maybe I could have helped him a little.
    But it's always coulda, shoulda woulda ain't it.
    I did befriend Tim Hardin for a while in those days but I wasn't even aware of his substance abuse so who knows but it really saddens me to this day, how it ended for Phil.
    But his songs always do

  34. R.... M....

    Listened to his songs all my childhood love him!!

  35. C.... ....

    check out Gene Clark's interpretation of this beautiful song

    C.... ....

    I will. Thanks I wasn't aware of it until now Thanks to you. Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!
    (11/26,27,28/15)

  36. C.... P....

    Great cover of one of Phil's songs. Be sure to check out the Celebrating Phil Ochs' 75th Birthday Facebook page and the Celebrating Phil Ochs website.

  37. C.... P....

    I'm not going to argue about whose version is better, I just appreciate the fact that people still cover Ochs' songs and there are groups like Celebrating Phil Ochs' 75th Birthday on Facebook around to keep his spirit alive.

  38. J.... M....

    Gordon does a beautiful cover of the Phil Ochs classic ! TY for posting this .

    J.... M....

    Phil Ochs's classic is performed well by Gordon. The song itself is a sensitive masterpiece but lacking somewhat because of the sad, forlorn picture of our human existence. Joni Mitchell's Circle game or Clouds even is  much more inspiring for me!!!

  39. L.... ....

    to a "warm" melody???? >:(

    L.... ....

    @LonelyAtTheTop79 it's called Poetry. :)

    L.... ....

    @John M. DiIonno the original line was "to a strange melody". This change to me is emblematic of Gordon Lightfoot's light pap approach to folk music that made him a huge success while Phil languished in obscurity

    L.... ....

    @LonelyAtTheTop79 I sense a bit of resentment in your reply. We can not compare apples and oranges. Phil was huge in his oeuvre as was Gordon. But honestly, to say that, "...Phil languished in obscurity." is an exaggeration at best; at the least, you underestimate his contribution as a Folk Icon and a Voice of his Generation. Fondly, John

    L.... ....

    "worn" melody

  40. S.... S....

    Love a beautiful baritone voice.Then on the flip side there is Neil Young.Loves both these men.Great musicians both of them.I have been playing Young's songs on my Guitar for 37 years now,Whew! where'd the time go??!! hahaha!. 

  41. S.... ....

    Yes, Phil Ochs is the originator of Changes, but Gord's rendition on his first album
    has the pure sound of his distinctive and unmistakeable  voice back in those days. 

    S.... ....

    To me , Gord's first album was his best work . Down to pure essence .

  42. D.... W....

    Personally, I like Phil Ochs' rendition the best.  Gordon is good too.  Neil Young's version is interesting - I like it too.  Ian and Sylvia - pretty good.

  43. H.... S....

    Glade to hear this, Ian & Sylvia, also done this song, but Lightfoot does it a lot better.

  44. A.... S....

    P H I L   O C H S  sings his song much better.

    A.... S....

    Lightfoot's version seems hurried to me, Phil's is much slower, was Lightfoot's released on a 45 and maybe he had to get it under 3 minutes ?

    A.... S....

    Antonio Serrano Phil is the Greatest of them all.

  45. J.... L....

    this is a long forgotten (in my memory) song I had heard when I was a teen (mid-sixties), that I just found by curiosity, thanks to youtube. Idon,t remember who sang it, at the time, probably Phil Ochs,that I didn,t know then, but to me, it was the perfect folk song.

  46. p.... ....

    This is a very different rendering of the song than Phil's. I prefer Phil; this is a pop rendering of an intensely passionate song. Or maybe you just had to be there.

  47. L.... ....

    Phil sings it much better

  48. t.... ....

    I don't understand why he changes some of the lyrics (did he think Phil chose them by accident?). From "strange melody" to "warm melody", and "fires will sometimes burn cold" to "turn cold" (all fires turn cold when they go out... please welcome Gord to Mastermind, his specialty the bleeding obvious). To me, this demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the meaning behind the words. This, along with the jaunty pace that he plays the song, tells me that he just didn't get it.

    t.... ....

    Who's sold more records, known WORLDWIDE, and still does 90 or so SOLD OUT Dates a year at age SEVENTY-NINE? You or Lightfoot???????? I'm rather certain that he has the talent and experience to "get" a song. . . . .

  49. M.... F....

    Different colors of the same light, boys!

  50. m.... ....

    LOVE this song :-). Gordon Lightfoot's voice was always so beautiful.

  51. R.... T....

    @11xzxzxz, I have to agree with you. It is truly a marvelous rendition. Gord doesn't perform vocally poorly too often.

  52. R.... T....

    Thankyou, well said. There is NOTHING wrong with this version. Someone says its too fast or whatever. Too each his own, but I say this version dances along nicely and gets the message across well. Gord is just so great.

  53. T.... B....

    Lightfoot does a wonderful job on this song, but he is more or less following in the style of his good friends Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker—but it's impossible to improve on their interpretation of the song, in my opinion.

  54. s.... ....

    @11xzxzxz Yes, it's too fast. Any doubters should stop and listen to the opening lyrics: Sit by my side, come as close as the air. This is a SLOW song about a quiet moment. Think stillness of the air. Should not be played in a breezy style.

  55. L.... R....

    Only a numnut woud think this version is bad in any way. This is as good S IT GETS.

  56. c.... f....

    @11xzxzxz I like this version much better! He's a much better singer than!

  57. L.... S....

    @violetjm

    Wonderful. I appreciate your finetuning of my understanding. Thank you.

  58. V.... J....

    @lskarin - Nice comment. And you're right about Rick Haynes, who has been with Lightfoot from 1969 thru the present; excellent bass player. His work on the album "Summer Side of Life" is stunning.

  59. j.... ....

    I was at a concert in Vancouver in 67 where Gord played this song. He said that Phil was working on it when he came up to Toronto and played it for him.
    Phil's live version has 2 more verses that Gord left out. Both are terrific versions of a great song- period.
    Rest in Peace, Phil.

  60. A.... D....

    Lightfoot's version is beautiful plus he makes it feel like a Lightfoot song - his voice never sounded better!

  61. L.... S....

    I think it's a good rendition, and arguments about too fast or too slow reflect personal taste. Please don't forget that a performance is a collaboration among musicians, and his fellow musician(s) probably had a say in choosing a tempo.

    I think one of Gord's guitarists (and one he's stayed with for a long time) is named Rick Haynes. Wonderful, and I hope I didn't get his name wrong.

  62. R.... B....

    Wonderful...thank you for sharing this. Gordon Lightfoot's voice is PERFECT for this cover and a terrific tribute to the talents of Phil Ochs. Happy 70th birthday, Phil...December 19th, 2010.

  63. f.... ....

    This song always remined me of my mortality.

  64. c.... ....

    Beautiful melody and touching lyrics, thanks to Phil Ochs. Gordon Lightfoot is great!

  65. D.... U....

    My uncle sings this song pretty well, but I love Gordons version, as well.

  66. s.... ....

    One of the finest and most beautiful songs of its time- up there with anything Dylan, Simon, or Lennon/McCartney did. I don't feel this version is rushed- and we,and Gordon, owe a great debt of gratitude to the too-early departed Phil Ochs, who never got the credit he deserved. So he wasn't Dylan. No one else was, either, and no one else was Phil Ochs.

  67. c.... ....

    @Scout4Me1 Perhaps he sped it up because was trying to record it for release as a hit single for radio play. Back then, the stations wanted short songs.

  68. J.... H....

    @11xzxzxz hey if you havnt found it already. there is a full version of Changes title is phil ochs changes you can go through my profile to find it

  69. J.... M....

    @sancerre124 A mere pop song? That is simply not true.The arrangement to the Lightfoot version is decidedly pure folk, it was an "album cut" not a single, and truth be told, much better sung and produced than Och's version. Really, Lightfoot's version is by far the best version of this song, ain't even close.



  70. S.... ....

    Great Song

  71. A.... ....

    What a gem ......
    "The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions which have been hidden by the answers" - James Baldwin

  72. b.... ....

    From what I've read, I don't think he believed he had a choice. His politics weren't simply a hobby. He felt, the injustices of his country (which he always believed should be fair - weird, huh) so deeply that it drove him to tears (the depression didn't help). And he saw everything he fought for destroyed. His movements were shattered, a good friend tortured and killed in Chile, and even his voice was taken from him. He said he died in 1968, and even though he killed himself in 1976, I get it.

  73. J.... M....

    This is such a GREAT song!! You have to wonder if Phil Ochs life would have been different had he written more songs like this and "Chords of Fame" (another classic) instead of getting so bogged down in political stuff that only the most radical lefties could appreciate, just a thought.

  74. D.... ....

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY Phil Ochs!
    19 December 1940
    The Poet of Folk!
    I miss you!!

  75. R.... S....

    Brings back so many mixed memories.Thank you

  76. S.... B....

    when I first heard this song I totally missed the point. I thought it was about a guy diching his wife- then I read about Phil - he whote it to his wife - who was walking out on him- he didn't want her to leave - but knew he couldn't stop her and wrote this - Wow. A different perspective and its now touching instead of infuriating

  77. D.... P....

    This is such a wonderful song. One of my favorites from Gordon.