Summer Side Of Life

Gordon Lightfoot Summer Side Of Life Lyrics
1.10 Degrees And Getting Colder

He was standin' by the highway
With a sign that just said 'mother'
When he heard a driver comin'
'bout a half a mile away
Then he held the sign up higher
Where no decent soul could miss it
It was ten degrees or colder
Down by bolder dam that day
He was raised up in milwaukee
Though he never was that famous
He was just a road musician
To the taverns he would go
Singin' songs about the ramblin'
The lovin' girls and gamblin'
How the world fell on his shoulders
Back in boulder i don't know

It was out in arizona
That he heard the lady listenin'
To each word that he was sayin'
To each line that he would write
So he sat down by her table and
They talked about the weather
Ninety-eight point six and risin'
Down by boulder dam that day

And she told him she would take him
For a ride in the mornin' sun
Back in boulder he had told her
'i don't know when i had a better friend'

Now he's traded off his martin
But his troubles are not over
For his feet are almost frozen
And the sun is sinkin' low
Won't you listen to me brother
If you ever loved your mother
Please pull off on the shoulder
If you're goin' milwaukee way
It's ten degrees and getting colder
Down by boulder dam today


2.Miguel

Never had much to say
He traveled alone with no friends
Like a shadowy ghost
At dawn he came and he went
Through the woodland swiftly gliding
To the young maid he came gliding
Where she'd run to meet him
By the garden wall
Oh my sweet miguel
I will never tell
No one will ever know
What i know too well
And he'd smile and lay his head on her breast
And he'd say i have no fear
They're waiting for me to cross the border, to swim the river
But i've done that before
To see my true love's smiling face
A hundred times or more
Oh my sweet miguel she cried
I'll love you till i die
He was born to the south
In mexico they say
The child of a man
Who had soon gone away
But his mother loved him dearly
And she would take him yearly
To the great cathedral in st. augustine
Oh my young miguel
Listen to the bell
Of my poverty
You must never tell
And he cried himself to sleep in the night
And he vowed to make things right
So he took the gun down from the wall and he paid a call
He knew she'd understand
A lawman came to capture him
The gun jumped in his hand
Oh miguel the mother cried
You must run son or you'll die

So the story is told
Of his true love 'cross the line
As strong as the oak
And as sweet as the vine
And the child she bore him
Came on that fateful mornin'
When they sent him to his final rest
Oh my sweet miguel
Listen to the bell
No one will ever know
What i know too well
And she'd smile and lay the child on her breast
And she'd say i have no fear
I'm waiting for you to cross the border, to swim the river
'cause you've done that before
To see your true love's smiling face
A hundred times or more
Oh my sweet miguel she cried
I'll love you till i die


3.Go My Way

Go my way and i'll be good to you
Go my way and your dreams will all come true
In the sunset the wild waves are callin'
My shadow is followin' you
Go my way and i'll take you by the hand
Believe in me and i'll do the best i can
I can't be anything but just what i am
I can't help it if i'm in love with you
Why must i sail my ship alone without a friend
My thoughts are on you
I dare not ask again

Go my way it's the only way to go
If things aren't workin' out you'll be the first to know
Come on along and together we'll go
Please love me and say that you'll be mine

Why must i sail my ship alone without a friend
My thoughts are on you
I dare not ask again

Go my way it's the only way to go
If things aren't workin' out you'll be the first to know
Come on along and together we'll go
Please love me and say that you'll be mine


4.Summer Side Of Life

He came down throught fields of green
On the summer side of life
His love was ripe
There were no illusions
On the summer side of life
Only tenderness
And if you saw him now
You'd wonder why he would cry
The whole day long

There were young girls everywhere
On the summer side of life
The talked all night
To the young men that they knew
On the summer side of life
Goin' off to fight

And if you saw them now
You'd wonder why they would cry
The whole day long

He came down through field of green
On the summer side of life
He prayed all night
Then he walked into a house
Where love had been misplaced
His chance to waste

And if you saw him now
You'd wonder why he would cry
The whole day long


5.Cotton Jenny

There's a house on a hill
By a worn down weathered old mill
In the valley below where the river winds
There's no such thing as bad times
And a soft southern flame
Oh cotton jenny's her name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round
Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for cotton jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round

When the new day begins
I go down to the cotton gin
And i make my time worth while to them
Then i climb back up again
And she waits by the door
Oh cotton jenny i'm sore
And she rubs my feet while the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round

Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for cotton jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round

In the hot, sickly south
When they say we'll shut my mouth
I can never be free from the cotton grind
But i know i got what's mine
She's a soft southern flame
Oh cotton jenny's her name
She wakes me up when the sun goes down
And the wheels of love go 'round

Wheels of love go 'round
Love go 'round, love go 'round
A joyful sound
I ain't got a penny for cotton jenny to spend
But then the wheels go 'round


6.Talking In Your Sleep

I heard you talking in your sleep
Is there anything that i can do
I don't believe we've had a word all day
'bout anything at all
I heard you talking in the night
That's right, yes i heard ya call
Though i could hardly hear the name you spoke
It's a name i don't recall
I heard you softly whisper
I reached out to hold you near me
Then from your lips there came that secret
I was not supposed to know

I heard you talking in your sleep
Is there anything that i can say
I don't believe we've had a word all day
'bout anything at all
I heard you talking in the night
That's right, yes i heard ya call
Though i could hardly hear the name you spoke
It's a name i don't recall

I heard you talking in your sleep
Is there anything that i can do
I don't believe we've had a word all day
'bout anything at all


7.Nous Vivons Ensemble

We've got to stay together
We've got to find each other now
That is how we can learn all about the other man's song
On the plains of abraham
When they sent the lamb to die
You and i were asleep in the rock of ages
Remember the unborn children still to come
If you need me and i need you
There's nothin' else needs sayin'
Understand it
I'm not too deaf to hear the song you're playin'

Nous vivons ensemble
Nous nous connaissons maintenant
Voici comment nous pouvons decouvrir une autre humanite
Sur les plaines d'abraham
Lors du dernier sacrifice
Toi et moi nous dormions tres loin dans le temp
Souviens toi des enfants qui attendent encore

Si tu me veux je serai la c'est tout ce que j'ai a dire
Car comprend moi
Je ne suis pas sourd a la musique que tu joues


8.Same Old Loverman

I'm not some long lost someone
Just dropped in to say hello
It's that same old lover man
Baby you lost so long ago
'cause i was born to believe
I never could deceive
Believe me
I hear no children's voices
Have they gone back to school
And that same old lover man
Is still acting like a fool
I guess i was born to bring you grief
Though i never was a thief
Believe me

It's cold outside your window
Please let me in, the night is wild
It's that same old lover man
Not some lonesome winsome child
An' i was born to believe
I never could deceive


9.Redwood Hill

I climbed the redwood hill
Twas on a rainy day
To rise above the throng
And talk with mother nature for a while

She told me of her love
For the children in her trust
And of her grave concern
For the likes of you and me and us

Crying thought she was
She did speak these tender words
The things that i am
I could not change for any man

I tried to comfort her
Ah but she would not be still
And how the rain did fall
As i found my way back down the redwood hill

Crying though she was
She did speak these tender words
The things that i am
I would not change for any man

I tried to compfort her
Ah but she would not be still
I'll not forget that day
When mother nature cried on redwood hill
I'll not forget that day
When mother nature cried on redwood hill.


10.Love And Maple Syrup

Love and maple syrup goes together
Like the sticky winds of winter when they meet
When lonely lovers come to rest
Beneath the trees they do their best
But still they can't be free
Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood

If you go into the forest, gaze up through the leaves
And see the sky that's almost wild
You must learn to understand
What makes the forest greet the man
Like a mother's only child

In the north when when winter's claw
Relaxes now to keep the laws of nature in control
People come and stand in line
To rob the forest of her wine
But they don't feel the cold

Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood

Love and maple syrup goes together
Like the sticky winds of winter when they meet
When lonely lovers come to rest
Beneath the trees they do their best
But still they can't be free

Love and maple syrup shine like
Embers warm, like thoughts divine
They tell us it is spring
Love and maple syrup stir
The thoughts of people into words
Of songs that they can sing

Looking for the world to be
Anything but what they see
Longing to be understood
By the heart that shapes the wood


11.Cabaret

All i can see is the sea and the sky
And the sky is blue and the sea is green
Yesterday's a cabaret
Gowns of satin on ladies gay
Yesterday's a cabaret
Sounds of laughter on faces grey
Yesterday's a carousel
Catch the ring and all will be well
From the coast of california
Up to the oregon border
I've thumbed a thousand miles i guess
Sitting in a roadside diner
The big trucks rollin' by
I don't seem to know at times what's best

And still i'd like to tell her
That i miss her so
In north ontario

If you're drivin' east to reno
Or north to mendecino
I hope you find your rainbow's end
This highway is my rainbow
And though i might regret it
I'm so glad i said it way back when

And still i'd like to tell her
That i miss her so
In north ontario