Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Encyclopedia
The "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" is a song by Gordon Lightfoot
that describes the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
.
This song was commissioned by the CBC
for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967, to start Canada's Centennial
year. It appeared on Lightfoot's The Way I Feel
album later in the same year along with the song "Crossroads," a shorter song of similar theme. The structure of the song, with a slow tempo
section in the middle and faster paced sections at the beginning and end, was patterned more or less opposite to Gibson & Camp's "Civil War Trilogy" (famously recorded by The Limeliters
on the 1963 live album Our Men In San Francisco). In the first section, the song picks up speed like a locomotive
building up a head of steam.
While Lightfoot's song echoes the optimism of the railroad age, it also chronicles the cost in sweat and blood of building "an iron road runnin' from the sea to the sea." The slow middle section of the song is especially poignant, vividly describing the efforts and sorrows of the nameless and forgotten navvies
whose manual labour actually built the railway.
Session personnel for the 1967 recording were: Gordon Lightfoot (12-string), Red Shea (Lead acoustic guitar), John Stockfish (Fender Bass), and Charlie McCoy (Harmonica).
Lightfoot re-recorded the track on his 1975 compilation album, Gord's Gold
, with full orchestration (arranged by Lee Holdridge
). A live version also appears on his 1969 album Sunday Concert
.
According to Lightfoot, Pierre Berton
said to him, "You know, Gord, you said as much in that song as I said in my book." Berton was referring to his two books about the building of the railway across Canada, The National Dream
and The Last Spike
.
In 2001, Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" was honoured as one of the Canadian MasterWorks by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
.
The song has been covered by John Mellencamp
and George Hamilton IV
, among others. James Keelaghan
performed the song on the Lightfoot tribute album, Beautiful
. In the summer of 2004, the song was performed by that year's Canadian Idol
Top 6.
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
that describes the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
.
This song was commissioned by the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967, to start Canada's Centennial
Canadian Centennial
The Canadian Centennial was a year long celebration held in 1967 when Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Celebrations occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. 1967 coins were different from previous years' issues, with animals on each...
year. It appeared on Lightfoot's The Way I Feel
The Way I Feel (Gordon Lightfoot album)
The Way I Feel is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, originally released in 1967 on the United Artists label.-Reception:...
album later in the same year along with the song "Crossroads," a shorter song of similar theme. The structure of the song, with a slow tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
section in the middle and faster paced sections at the beginning and end, was patterned more or less opposite to Gibson & Camp's "Civil War Trilogy" (famously recorded by The Limeliters
The Limeliters
The Limeliters are an American folk music group, formed in July 1959 by Lou Gottlieb , Alex Hassilev , and Glenn Yarbrough . The group was active from 1959 until 1965, when they disbanded. After a hiatus of sixteen years Yarbrough, Hassilev, and Gottlieb reunited and began performing as...
on the 1963 live album Our Men In San Francisco). In the first section, the song picks up speed like a locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
building up a head of steam.
While Lightfoot's song echoes the optimism of the railroad age, it also chronicles the cost in sweat and blood of building "an iron road runnin' from the sea to the sea." The slow middle section of the song is especially poignant, vividly describing the efforts and sorrows of the nameless and forgotten navvies
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
whose manual labour actually built the railway.
Session personnel for the 1967 recording were: Gordon Lightfoot (12-string), Red Shea (Lead acoustic guitar), John Stockfish (Fender Bass), and Charlie McCoy (Harmonica).
Lightfoot re-recorded the track on his 1975 compilation album, Gord's Gold
Gord's Gold
Gord's Gold is a compilation album released by Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot in 1975.It was the first Lightfoot compilation to feature music from his Warner Bros. Records. The album was originally released as a two-record album featuring re-recordings of his United Artists hits...
, with full orchestration (arranged by Lee Holdridge
Lee Holdridge
Lee Holdridge is a Haitian-born American television composer and orchestrator.-Biography:He was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, of a Puerto-Rican mother and an American father, the botanist an climatologist Leslie Holdridge...
). A live version also appears on his 1969 album Sunday Concert
Sunday Concert
Sunday Concert is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's fifth album, released in 1969 on the United Artists label. It was Lightfoot's first live album and until the release of a live DVD in 2002, remained Lightfoot's only officially released live recording...
.
According to Lightfoot, Pierre Berton
Pierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist....
said to him, "You know, Gord, you said as much in that song as I said in my book." Berton was referring to his two books about the building of the railway across Canada, The National Dream
The National Dream (book)
The National Dream is a 1970 Canadian non-fiction book by Pierre Berton describing the planning and commencement of the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1871 and 1881....
and The Last Spike
The Last Spike (book)
The Last Spike is a 1971 Canadian non-fiction book by Pierre Berton describing the construction and completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1881 and 1885. It is a sequel to Berton's 1970 book The National Dream...
.
In 2001, Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" was honoured as one of the Canadian MasterWorks by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada
The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada was a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the preservation of Canada’s audio-visual heritage, and to facilitating access to regional and national collections through partnerships with members of Canada's audio-visual community...
.
The song has been covered by John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
and George Hamilton IV
George Hamilton IV
George Hege Hamilton IV is an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to country music in the early 1960s.-Biography:Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
, among others. James Keelaghan
James Keelaghan
James Keelaghan is a Juno award-winning Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Born in Calgary, Alberta and now based in Winnipeg, many of his songs, such as "Kiri's Piano", about the internment of Japanese Canadians, and "October 70", about the FLQ crisis, are inspired by events and figures in Canadian...
performed the song on the Lightfoot tribute album, Beautiful
Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot
Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot is a tribute album to Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, released in 2003 on Borealis Records.-Track listing:# Cowboy Junkies, "The Way I Feel"# Jesse Winchester, "Sundown"# Ron Sexsmith, "Drifters"...
. In the summer of 2004, the song was performed by that year's Canadian Idol
Canadian Idol
Canadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
Top 6.