Sundown (Gordon Lightfoot song)

"Sundown" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and easy listening charts^[1] and number thirteen on the Hot Country singles chart,^[2] as well as number one in Canada on RPM's national singles chart.^[3] It was Lightfoot's only single to reach number one on the Hot 100.

Content

The song's lyrics seem to describe a troubled romantic relationship, with the narrator recounting an affair with a "hard-loving woman [who's] got me feeling mean".

There are rumours that "Sundown" was inspired by Lightfoot's then girlfriend, Cathy Smith, later more infamously known for her involvement in the 1982 drug-related death of actor John Belushi. Lightfoot has commented in interviews that Smith was "the one woman in my life who most hurt me".

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Australian KMR ^[4]	4
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	2
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	4
German Singles Chart	30
Irish Singles Chart	14
Netherlands ^[5]	16
UK Singles Chart	33
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	13

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)	Rank
Australian KMR	35
Canadian RPM Top Singles	3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	27
U.S. Cashbox Top 100	32

Preceded by "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney & Wings	*Canadian RPM 100* number-one single** June 15, 1974 – June 29, 1974 (three weeks)	Succeeded by "Billy Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods
Preceded by "Billy Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods	*US Billboard* Hot 100 number-one single** June 29, 1974 (one week)	Succeeded by "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation

Other versions

The musical project/collaboration of singer-songwriters Elwood covered the song in 2000. This version peaked (July 8, 2000) at #33 on Billboard's "Modern Rock Tracks' chart.^[6]
American country music singer Deryl Dodd's version of the song peaked at #59 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1999. It was later included on his album, Pearl Snaps (2002).
American-Canadian country artist Jesse Winchester covered this on Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot (2003)
Country singer Toby Keith included a live cover version on the deluxe edition of his album Bullets in the Gun (2010).
Canadian rock musician Luke Doucet covered it on the album Steel City Trawler (2010).
French singing duo Marie-Ève Janvier and Jean-François Breau covered the song in French as "L'amour c'est comme l'été", on the compilation album Quand le country dit bonjour... (2012).
Ed Kuepper covered the song, including it on his greatest hits album

Personnel

Engineered by Lee Herschberg
Recorded at Eastern Sound Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Gordon Lightfoot: Vocal, 12-string guitar
John Stockfish: Bass
Red Shea: Lead electric guitar
Terry Clements: Lead acoustic guitar
Jim Gordon: Drums

In other media

"Sundown" is the ending song of The Blacklist season 1, episode 13: "The Cyprus Agency (No. 64)" (January 27, 2014).^[7]
The song entered the Amazon UK chart at number 97 on 18 March 2014, after The Blacklist episode, "The Cypress Agency (No. 64)" was shown on UK television.
"Sundown" is featured after the opening credits of Supernatural Season 10, Episode 5 "Fan Fiction" (November 11, 2014).

References

↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 368.
↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 201.
↑ List of number-one singles of 1974 (Canada)
↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
↑ http://www.top40.nl/search.aspx?keyword=Gordon%20Lightfoot&jaar=2011&maand=7&week=27
↑ Billboard (selected) Artist Chart History for Elwood
↑ "Soundtrack". IMDb.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Gordon Lightfoot

Band musicians	Rick Haynes Barry Keane Mike Heffernan Carter Lancaster

Former members	Red Shea John Stockfish Terry Clements Pee Wee Charles

Albums	Lightfoot! (1966) The Way I Feel (1967) Did She Mention My Name? (1968) Back Here on Earth (1968) Sunday Concert (live) (1969) Sit Down Young Stranger (1970) Summer Side of Life (1971) Don Quixote (1972) Old Dan's Records (1972) Sundown (1974) Cold on the Shoulder (1975) Summertime Dream (1976) Endless Wire (1978) Dream Street Rose (1980) Shadows (1982) Salute (1983) East of Midnight (1986) Waiting for You (1993) A Painter Passing Through (1998) Harmony (2004) All Live (live) (2012)

Compilations	Early Lightfoot (1969) The Best of Gordon Lightfoot (1970) Classic Lightfoot (1971) The Very Best of Gordon Lightfoot (1974) The Very Best of Gordon Lightfoot, Vol. 2 (1975) Gord's Gold (1975) Early Morning Rain (1976) Songbook (1985) Gord's Gold Volume 2 (1988) The Best of Gordon Lightfoot (1989) The Original Lightfoot (1992) The United Artists Collection (1993) Songbook (1999) Complete Greatest Hits (2002)

Singles	"(Remember Me) I'm the One" (1962) "It's Too Late, He Wins/Negotiations" (1962) "Adios, Adios" (1962) "Day Before Yesterday" (1963) "I'm Not Sayin'" (1965) "Ribbon of Darkness" (1965) "Spin Spin" (1966) "Go Go Round" (1966) "The Way I Feel" (1967) "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" (1967) "Black Day in July" (1968) "Bitter Green" (1968) "Me and Bobby McGee" (1970) "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970) "If I Could" (1971) "Talking in Your Sleep" (1971) "Summer Side of Life" (1971) "Beautiful" (1972) "Alberta Bound" (1972) "You Are What I Am" (1972) "The Same Old Obsession" (1972) "Can't Depend on Love" (1973) "It's Worth Believin'" (1973) "Sundown" (1974) "Carefree Highway" (1974) "Rainy Day People" (1975) "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976) "Race Among the Ruins" (1976) "The Circle Is Small (I Can See It in Your Eyes)" (1977) "Daylight Katy" (1978) "Dreamland" (1978) "Dream Street Rose" (1980) "If You Need Me" (1980) "Baby Step Back" (1981) "Blackberry Wine" (1982) "In My Fashion" (1982) "Salute (A Lot More Livin' to Do)" (1983) "Without You" (1983) "Anything for Love" (1986) "Stay Loose" (1986) "East of Midnight" (1987) "Ecstasy Made Easy" (1987) "I'll Prove My Love" (1993) "Waiting for You" (1993) "A Painter Passing Through" (1998) "Inspiration Lady" (2004)

Related articles	Discography Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot

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