Interpret:

Gordon Lightfoot

Album:

Songbook (DISC 1)

When first I did appear upon this native soil
All up and down this country at labor I did toil
I slumbered in the moonlight 
And I rose with the sun
I rambled through the canyons 
Where the cold rivers run 


When first I did come down 
Where the land meets the sea
The people said who are you 
And what would your name be
I said I have no home and I am no man's son 
'Twas inland I was born and from inland that I come 


In the good land I was young and I was strong
No one dared to call me son
Happy just to see my day's work done
See my day's work done 


So I swung an axe as a timberjack 
And I worked the Quebec mines
And on the golden prairie I rode the big combines
I sailed the maritime waters of many a seaport town
Built the highways and the byways 
To the western salmon grounds 


I've gazed upon the good times
I've seen the bad times too
Felt many a cold and bitter wind 
And many a mornin' dew
I've watched the country growin' 
Like a fair and mighty thing
And on the still of a summer night 
I've heard the mountains ring 


In the good land I was young and I was strong
No one dared to call me son
Happy just to see my day's work done
See my day's work done 


But now the seeds are planted 
And the gates are open wide
The old ways are forgotten 
There's no place left to hide
And the legacy I'm leavin' you 
Is not very hard to find
You'll see it all around you 
At this crossroads of time
In the sweet soil it's a-growin' 
At the crossroads of time