Early Mornin' Rain by Gordon Lightfoot (cover)

[Glennwillow]

This is my cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Mornin' Rain."

I originally learned this song from Peter, Paul & Mary back in 1965 from their album, "See What Tomorrow Brings." P,P&M changed the chord structure considerably from Gordon Lightfoot's original version from his first album, "Lightfoot," published in 1966 and which I heard later in my life. So I got used to the way P,P&M played this and the way Paul Stookey sang it, and so Gordon Lightfoot's version really sounded like a different song in some ways. Lightfoot's version is all major chords, (D) (G) (A) (G) (D) (G) (D) while P,P&M's version is (D) (F#m) (Em) (A) (D). Lightfoot strums the song in a big way on his Gibson 12-string while Peter, Paul and Mary finger pick the song and sing 3-part harmony.

I have been playing this song since I was in high school, back in 1965, but after more than 50 years, I have taken quite a few liberties from P,P&M's version in the way I play this song today. Still, I hope you enjoy this great song! The guitar is my Sheppard GA Ave Maria in standard tuning, capo 2.

Thanks for listening!

- Glenn

[flatbaroque]

Super Glenn.Liked those chord voicings up the neck.All round great listen.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by flatbaroque

Super Glenn.Liked those chord voicings up the neck.All round great listen.

Thank you very much FB! I appreciate your listening and your commenting here! Glad you like this!

- Glenn

[Owen David]

Brilliant Glenn, very enjoyable. Your voice is very good - perfect complement for the guitar picking. Sounds like you have really honed this over the years. Do you play it to audiences much?

I once met Gordon Lightfoot when I and a friend were hawking songs around publishers and record companies in Soho in London (probably in 1970) - he was in the A&R guy's office...he was quite complimentary about the song I played. Not surprisingly as it was a bit Gordon Lightfootish! lol He's still with us I see from Wikipedia, coming up to 80 this year.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Owen David

Brilliant Glenn, very enjoyable. Your voice is very good - perfect complement for the guitar picking. Sounds like you have really honed this over the years. Do you play it to audiences much?

I once met Gordon Lightfoot when I and a friend were hawking songs around publishers and record companies in Soho in London (probably in 1970) - he was in the A&R guy's office...he was quite complimentary about the song I played. Not surprisingly as it was a bit Gordon Lightfootish! lol He's still with us I see from Wikipedia, coming up to 80 this year.

Hi Owen,

Thank you for listening and commenting here!

The only audiences I play for anymore are on YouTube and here on the AGF. I haven't played live for money since about 1992, so it has been a while.

What a great memory for you to have met Gordon Lightfoot. He has always had a reputation for being a gentleman, a nice guy.

Thanks again, Owen!

- Glenn

[Owen David]

Yes, he did seem very gentlemanly...perhaps he was just being kind!

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Hi Owen,

Thank you for listening and commenting here!

The only audiences I play for anymore are on YouTube and here on the AGF. I haven't played live for money since about 1992, so it has been a while.

What a great memory for you to have met Gordon Lightfoot. He has always had a reputation for being a gentleman, a nice guy.

Thanks again, Owen!

- Glenn

[Kerbie]

Hey Glenn,

That was really wonderful! I also thought those chord voicings were great. Very interesting...

Sometimes I'm not fond of covers that are quite different from the original, but I like this very much. Excellent!

[larryjoh814]

Glen, I always immediately click on your offerings here, ever since you did Lightfoot’s ‘If You Could Read My Mind.”
Wonderful recording. I couldn’t help but notice your chord voicings are the ones I use on the intro to Neil Young’s “I Am a Child.”
Really enjoy the tone of that guitar, also. I’m so glad you are back to playing form, and have been for some time.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Hey Glenn,

That was really wonderful! I also thought those chord voicings were great. Very interesting...

Sometimes I'm not fond of covers that are quite different from the original, but I like this very much. Excellent!

Hi Kerbie!

Thank you for listening and commenting! I'm very glad you like this version! And it's nice, I think, when a song can tell a good story, and we can get comfortable being the story teller.

Just for fun, this is Peter, Paul and Mary playing their version of Lightfoot's "Early Mornin' Rain." It's interesting to see how different this is from Gordon Lightfoot's version...



And this is Gordon Lightfoot:



- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by larryjoh814

Glen, I always immediately click on your offerings here, ever since you did Lightfoot’s ‘If You Could Read My Mind.”
Wonderful recording. I couldn’t help but notice your chord voicings are the ones I use on the intro to Neil Young’s “I Am a Child.”
Really enjoy the tone of that guitar, also. I’m so glad you are back to playing form, and have been for some time.

Hi Larry,

Thank you and thank you for listening all this time, even when I didn't know you were there!

I am glad to be back recording again, too, though that will not last very long because I am scheduled for another hip surgery -- the other side -- in just 11 more days. So I am trying to get a few things recorded now before I am knocked out of commission again!

I am also glad to read that you like the sound of the Sheppard guitar, too. I, also, really like the sound of this guitar! I feel very fortunate to have this guitar!

And how interesting that you use the same voicings that I used in the video on a Neil Young song. I am guessing that you are referring to that Dm shape, that when moved up two frets makes an Em chord and when moved up 4 frets makes an F#m chord. I really like discovering variations of chords like that!

Thank you very much for commenting here! It's very encouraging to hear from you!

- Glenn

[Dru Edwards]

Glenn, I said this before and I'll say it again - You have an amazing voice! So much so that your great guitar skills get nearly unnoticed (which shouldn't happen on a guitar forum).

I can't believe that this song is over 50 year old. Thanks for bringing it back to life. I can't help but think that Gordon will one day be gone and we need people to keep his music alive.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Glenn, I said this before and I'll say it again - You have an amazing voice! So much so that your great guitar skills get nearly unnoticed (which shouldn't happen on a guitar forum).

I can't believe that this song is over 50 year old. Thanks for bringing it back to life. I can't help but think that Gordon will one day be gone and we need people to keep his music alive.

Hi Dru,

What generous comments! Thank you so very much!

It is hard to believe that this song is more than 50 years old, and I agree with you that we need to be keeping his music alive. I feel really honored to be playing such a great song and to have anyone noticing my efforts at all!

Thank you so much Dru!

- Glenn

[Bill Kraus]

Yes, nice version of a great song. Works great with the fingerpicking.

[SalFromChatham]

Perhaps my favorite GL song. I could never pick and sing that at the same time. You make it seem fluid, and your voice man...

Splendid. What a great treat to start the evening here.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Bill Kraus

Yes, nice version of a great song. Works great with the fingerpicking.

Thank you Bill!

I'm glad you feel that this song works out okay! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment here!

Regarding finger picking the song, I stole that idea from Peter, Paul and Mary!

- Glenn