Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Love Gordon Lightfoot and his wonderful songs, but to this date I think I've tried only one of his songs (Sundown). This was a big hit for him in 1971.
An interesting factoid about this song from Wikipedia: In 1987 Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against the writer of "The Greatest Love of All", alleging plagiarism of 24 bars of "If You Could Read My Mind". Lightfoot has stated that he dropped the lawsuit when he felt it was having a negative effect on the singer Whitney Houston, as the lawsuit was about the writer and not her.
Intro: G G9 G G9
[G] If you could read my mind, love
[G9] what a tale my thoughts could tell
[G] just like an old time movie
[G9] ‘bout a ghost from a wishing well
[G] in a castle [G9] dark or a [C] fortress strong
with [D] chains upon my [Em] feet
you [C] know that ghost is [G] me
‘n [C] I will never [G] be set free
as [Am7] long as I’m a [D] ghost that you can’t [G] see
[G] If I could read your mind, love
[G9] what a tale your thoughts could tell
[G] just like a paperback novel
[G9] the kind that drugstores sell
[G] when you reach the [G9] part
where the [C] heartaches come
the [D] hero would be [Em] me
but [C] heroes often [G] fail
and [C] you won’t read that [G] book again
be[Am7]cause the ending’s [D] just too hard to [G] take
[G] I’d walk a[G9]way like a [C] movie star
who gets [D] burned in a three-way [Em] script
[C] enter number [G] two
a [C] movie queen to [G] play the scene
of [Am7] bringing all the [D] good things out in [Em] me
but for [C] now love let’s be [G] real
I [C] never thought I could [G] act this way
and I’ve [Am7] got to say that I [D] just don’t get it
[C] I don’t know where [G] we went wrong
but the [Am7] feeling’s gone
and I [D] just can’t get it [G] back
[G] If you could read my mind, love
[G9] what a tale my thoughts could tell
[G] just like an old time movie
[G9] ‘bout a ghost from a wishing well
[G] in a castle [G9] dark or a [C] fortress strong
with [D] chains upon my [Em] feet
but [C] stories always [G] end
and [C] if you read be[G]tween the lines
you’d [Am7] know that I’m just
[D] tryin’ to under[Em]stand
the [C] feelings that you [G] lack
I [C] never thought I could [G] feel this way
and I’ve [Am7] got to say that I [D] just don’t get it
[C] I don’t know where [G] we went wrong
But the [Am7] feeling’s gone and I [D] just can’t get it [G] back
Love Gordon Lightfoot and his wonderful songs, but to this date I think I've tried only one of his songs (Sundown). This was a big hit for him in 1971.
An interesting factoid about this song from Wikipedia: In 1987 Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against the writer of "The Greatest Love of All", alleging plagiarism of 24 bars of "If You Could Read My Mind". Lightfoot has stated that he dropped the lawsuit when he felt it was having a negative effect on the singer Whitney Houston, as the lawsuit was about the writer and not her.
Intro: G G9 G G9
[G] If you could read my mind, love
[G9] what a tale my thoughts could tell
[G] just like an old time movie
[G9] ‘bout a ghost from a wishing well
[G] in a castle [G9] dark or a [C] fortress strong
with [D] chains upon my [Em] feet
you [C] know that ghost is [G] me
‘n [C] I will never [G] be set free
as [Am7] long as I’m a [D] ghost that you can’t [G] see
[G] If I could read your mind, love
[G9] what a tale your thoughts could tell
[G] just like a paperback novel
[G9] the kind that drugstores sell
[G] when you reach the [G9] part
where the [C] heartaches come
the [D] hero would be [Em] me
but [C] heroes often [G] fail
and [C] you won’t read that [G] book again
be[Am7]cause the ending’s [D] just too hard to [G] take
[G] I’d walk a[G9]way like a [C] movie star
who gets [D] burned in a three-way [Em] script
[C] enter number [G] two
a [C] movie queen to [G] play the scene
of [Am7] bringing all the [D] good things out in [Em] me
but for [C] now love let’s be [G] real
I [C] never thought I could [G] act this way
and I’ve [Am7] got to say that I [D] just don’t get it
[C] I don’t know where [G] we went wrong
but the [Am7] feeling’s gone
and I [D] just can’t get it [G] back
[G] If you could read my mind, love
[G9] what a tale my thoughts could tell
[G] just like an old time movie
[G9] ‘bout a ghost from a wishing well
[G] in a castle [G9] dark or a [C] fortress strong
with [D] chains upon my [Em] feet
but [C] stories always [G] end
and [C] if you read be[G]tween the lines
you’d [Am7] know that I’m just
[D] tryin’ to under[Em]stand
the [C] feelings that you [G] lack
I [C] never thought I could [G] feel this way
and I’ve [Am7] got to say that I [D] just don’t get it
[C] I don’t know where [G] we went wrong
But the [Am7] feeling’s gone and I [D] just can’t get it [G] back
