Heart Banter by David Gittlin

In 1964, Gordon Lightfoot wrote one of his most memorable songs: Early Morning Rain. Lightfoot, a Canadian singer-songwriter, has become a folk legend. Along with his crystal clear singing voice and accomplished guitar playing, Lightfoot has written a library of outstanding folk songs depicting historical events and all manner of love relationships. To single out a smattering of Lightfoot's top hits is to do the man an injustice. "Early Morning Rain" appears on his 1966 debut album simply titled Lightfoot!  Before he released the song, another Canadian duo, Ian and recorded it in 1964. Many other folk singing notables including Peter, Paul, and Mary also adopted the song.

The genesis of "Early Morning Rain" can be traced to Gordon's 1960 stay in Westlake, Los Angeles. At the time, Lightfoot became homesick for his Canadian roots. He remembers going to the Los Angeles International Airport on rainy days to watch the aircraft take-off and land. The memories of the flights launching into the overcast skies stayed with him. In 1964, while caring for his 5-month-old son, Lightfoot remembers thinking, "I’ll put him over here in his crib, and I’ll write myself a tune." In that moment, "Early Morning Rain" was born.

The lyrics refer to someone down on his luck who stands at an airport fence to watch the thunderous takeoff of a Boeing 707 airliner. The theme of the song suggests a jet-age musical allegory to the by-gone days of hobos loitering at railroad yards to steal a train ride home. Lightfoot credits the popularity of the song to his improvement as a songwriter.

I've always loved this song. Lightfoot strums it. When I heard Eva Cassidy perform the song using a picking technique, I had to learn it her way. Unfortunately, there were no guitar tutorials available. Since Eva plays "Early Morning Rain" close to her version of "Kathy's Song" I was able to figure out how to play EMR three-quarters of the way she does.