On a musical tour of the Western United States, Gordon Lightfoot discovered a highway sign that read, “Carefree Highway.” The words on the sign led Gordon to write a song about a carefree lifestyle and a lost love.
Lightfoot put the lyrics away in the glove compartment of his car. Eight months later, Gordon wrote the music for “Carefree Highway” after almost forgetting about the song. Wouldn’t you know that the song became one of Lightfoot’s biggest hits?
Here’s my cover.
Heart Banter by David Gittlin 
2 replies on “The Story Behind Carefree Highway by Gordon Lightfoot”
Hi David, I enjoyed the backstory to ‘Carefree Highway’ and your cover. It’s so nice to be able to actually hear the lyrics which adds to the pleasure. So, you’ve been doing a lot of covers lately.Have you considered doing your own rendition of a song? Give it more of your spin, your voice.I’ve thought of posing this to you before but it really hit me on this song at the juncture of close to 39 seconds when your voice momentarily became more guttural, more you, and with unpretentious passion. Rod Stewart was/is a great example. If you listen to Cat Steven’s own song ‘First Cut Is the Deepest’ and then Rod doing his rendition, well it’s quite amazing. Could be a lot of fun. Isn’t it nice to have a guitar companion you on this great adventure of Life, and the Greek god Apollo on your side. Wishing you a great day, always Mike
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Thanks for your comments, stupendous. I’ve done several covers using my own composition on the guitar. In fact, on Carefree Highway, I just did it from memory without listening to the original. I’m just having fun with the music. And when I do learn a song the way the artist plays it, then that improves my overall technique. I get original when I write my books. That’s hard enough. Thanks again for checking in.
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