If You Could Read My Mind

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Template:Short description Template:For2 Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". "If You Could Read My Mind" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot wrote the lyrics while he was reflecting on his own divorce. It reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart on commercial release in 1970 and charted in several other countries on international release in 1971.[1]

Theme

Lightfoot cited his divorce for inspiring the lyrics,[2] which came to him as he was sitting in a vacant Toronto house one summer.[3] The song compares events in his relationship to a ghost movie and a paperback romance novel. The lyrics include the words: "I don't know where we went wrong. But the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back."

At the request of his daughter Ingrid, he performed the lyrics with a slight change: the line "I'm just trying to understand the feelings that you lack" is altered to "I'm just trying to understand the feelings that we lack." Lightfoot said in an interview that the difficulty with writing songs inspired by personal stories is that there is not always the emotional distance and clarity to make lyrical improvements such as the one his daughter suggested.[4]

Production

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Gordon Lightfoot (pictured in 2009) wrote and originally recorded the song.

The song was produced by Lenny Waronker and Joe Wissert at Sunwest Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California,[5] with strings arranged by Nick DeCaro.[6]

Composition

The song is in A major and uses the subtonic chord.[7] According to Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon, the chorus of their song "Save a Prayer" was based on "If You Could Read My Mind".

Format releases

This song first appeared on Lightfoot's 1970 album Sit Down Young Stranger, later renamed If You Could Read My Mind following the song's success.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Chart performance

On release, the song reached No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart and was his first recording to appear in the U.S., reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1971. Later in the year, it reached No. 27 on the Australian singles chart and No. 30 on the United Kingdom's singles chart. The song also reached No. 1 for one week on the Billboard Easy Listening chart,[1] and was the first of four Lightfoot releases to reach No. 1.

Rights infringement legal action

In 1987, Lightfoot filed a lawsuit against Michael Masser, the composer of George Benson's single "The Greatest Love of All", covered by Whitney Houston in 1985, alleging plagiarism of 24 bars of "If You Could Read My Mind"; the transitional section that begins "I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow" of the Masser song has the same melody as "I never thought I could act this way and I got to say that I just don't get it; I don't know where we went wrong but the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back" of Lightfoot's song.

Lightfoot stated that he dropped the lawsuit when he felt it was having a negative effect on the singer Houston because the lawsuit was about the writer and not her.[8] He also said that he did not want people to think that he had stolen his melody from Masser.[9] The case was settled out of court, and Masser issued a public apology.[10]

Charts

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Stars on 54 version

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House music collective Stars on 54—consisting of Amber, Jocelyn Enriquez, and Ultra Naté—recorded a version of the song for the 1998 film 54, reaching No. 3 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart and Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, as well as No. 6 in New Zealand and No. 10 in Spain. Australian music channel Max included this version of "If You Could Read My Mind" in its list of the "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012.[19]

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"Our favourite production during the '90s was the song "If You Could Read My Mind" by the group Stars on 54. (...) It featured Ultra Nate (to date, our favourite female singer), as well as Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez. Except for the short (but intense) "discussion" between the three performers about who would get the first verse, it was an amazing session. In the end, the film company Miramax re-shot the conclusion of the movie and had the group perform the track. That's how much they loved the song."

—Producers the Berman Brothers talking about the song.[20]

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Critical reception

Can't Stop the Pop called "If You Could Read My Mind" "one of the most mind-bogglingly brilliant cover versions of the ‘90s", adding that it "remains a deeply fabulous single" and "a proudly ‘90s homage to disco that is as uplifting and joyous as there could be – and can now be rightly enjoyed as a triumphant celebration of everything that 54 represents."[21]

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the single release. It pays homage to aspects of the disco-era presented through a 1990s lens. Amber and Ultra Naté perform in a room where every surface is covered in LED dancefloor tiles. Jocelyn Enriquez is swinging on a giant disco ball. In the end, the singers performs together on the stage in a night club, all three dressed in red outfits. In between these scenes, several clips from the movie 54 are shown.

Track listings

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Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 17
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[24] 11
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[25] 3
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[26] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[27] 83
France (SNEP)[28] 82
Germany (GfK)[29] 65
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[30] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 6
Scotland (OCC)[32] 25
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[34] 23
UK Dance (OCC)[35] 21
UK Indie (OCC)[36] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[37] 52
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[38] 3
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[39] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1998) Position
Australia (ARIA)[40] 24
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[41] 48
Canada Dance (RPM)[42] 1
US Dance Club Play (Billboard)[43] 19
US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[43] 16

Certifications

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Stars on 54 version 25th Anniversary re-release (2023)

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On July 14, 2023, Tommy Boy Records (Reservoir Media) issued the 16-track digital album "If You Could Read My Mind (25th Anniversary Edition)" by Stars on 54 to celebrate the quarter-century anniversary of the original single. This marked the first time that many of the versions were made available on digital platforms.

Track listings

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Other notable cover versions

American singer Barbra Streisand covered the song on her 1971 album, Stoney End. A 1980 cover by Viola Wills peaked at No. 2 for five weeks on the dance/disco charts with a dance version of the song[44] and at No. 80 in Australia.[45] Duane Steele reached No. 32 on the Canadian country charts with his version in 1998.[46] Johnny Cash also recorded a version of the song that was released posthumously on his 2006 album American V: A Hundred Highways, which topped the Billboard 200.[47] Olivia Newton-John included her cover of the song in both her "If Not for You" and "Let It Be Me" albums.

See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ "Gordon Lightfoot 'still out there'" Script error: No such module "webarchive". South Coast Today (Martin Griffith, Associated Press) December 4, 2000
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Production credit for the album 'Sit Down Young Stranger' (Reprise Records, 1969).
  6. ↑ Production credits on 'If You Could Read My Mind', single (Reprise Records 1970).
  7. ↑ Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis, p.92. Template:ISBN.
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  15. ↑ Template:Digits/7501/ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/ARK "Gordon Lightfoot Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  24. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7063." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 7065." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in French). Le classement de singles.
  29. ↑ "Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind". Top 40 Singles.
  32. ↑ Template:Digits/41/ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Script error: No such module "WLink".&titel=Script error: No such module "WLink".&cat=s Stars on 54 – If You Could Read My Mind" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  34. ↑ Template:Digits/7501/ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  35. ↑ Template:Digits/104/ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  36. ↑ Template:Digits/130/ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/HSI "Ultra Nate Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/DSI "Ultra Nate Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "WLink"./chart-history/DSA "Ultra Nate Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".

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External links

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