Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot brings us today’s classic song of the day. The song is called “Beautiful” and it first appeared on Mr. Lightfoot’s 1972 album, Don Quixote. Released as a single in May of 1972, it peaked at just #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #30 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It did much better in his native Canada, going all the way to #13 on the RPM Top Singles chart and #1 on RPM’s Adult Contemporary chart.
“Beautiful” is, put simply, a love song. The lyrics are pure poetry and the music is gentle and, dare I say, quite beautiful. The lyrics are worth quoting in full:
At times I just don’t know
How you could be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you and you were made for me
And I know that I will never change
‘Cause we’ve been friends through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
Laughing eyes and smiling face, it seems so lucky just to have the right
Of telling you with all my might, you’re beautiful tonight
And I know that you will never stray
‘Cause you been that way, from day to day
For such a long, long time
And when you hold me tight, how could life be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you and you were made for me
And I know that I will never change
‘Cause we’ve been friends through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
Well I must say it means so much to me, to be the one
Who’s telling you, I’m telling you, that you’re beautiful
Does it get any better than that?
Musically, Gordon moves effortlessly from major to minor chords throughout. The verse goes BMaj7 – Bm7 – EMaj7 – Em7 – BMaj7 – Bm7. The chorus is similar: EMaj7 – Em7 – BMaj7 – GMaj7. It’s unusual but unusually effective.
Mr. Lightfoot once said that he came up with the chord structure of a song first, then the melody, then the lyrics. If that’s the case, this chord structure led him to a very beautiful melody and correspondingly touching lyrics.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s Gordon Lightfoot performing “Beautiful” live sometime in the ’70s. This is one song that doesn’t need a fancy arrangement to get its point across. It is, simply, beautiful.
