I'm not ashamed to say that I've loved you well.
I'm not ashamed to let you know
I'm just a name, that's all, scratched upon your wall.
You've used it well, but what the hell, that's what walls are for.
I'm not ashamed to listen to the fast-falling rain
In the mornin' upon my window.
I'm not afraid to cry, I'm not ashamed to try
To be your friend once again, 'cause that's what friends are for.
Friends are for sorting out the hang-ups that we hide.
Walls are for shutting out the love we feel inside.
I'm not ashamed, no, to talk it over once again,
To rearrange my vocabulary.
But I can't seem to find any words to change your mind,
Because I left them all behind, and that's what words are for.
Words are for explaining the mistakes we might have made.
Names are for calling when there's nothing left to say.
I'm not ashamed, no, to say I've loved you well.
I'm not ashamed, and yet I know
I'm just a name, that's all, scratched upon your wall.
You've used it well, but what the hell, that's what walls are for.
I'm not ashamed of wearin' out my old grey socks
Chasin' you around the backwoods.
I'm not ashamed to darn nor too proud to find some yarn
To sew them up once again, now that's what socks are for.
I created this transcription myself by listening to the song on the CD in my collection. Transcriptions I find online invariably contain errors and they completely lack punctuation. I end up spending the same amount of time, in the end, as I would if I just did it myself. So this time, I just did it myself.
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The CD is from a German label named Bear Family Records, BCD 15576. Near as I can tell, the CD was released in 1991. It consists of both of Lightfoot's first two albums, "Lightfoot!" and "The Way I Feel," the former released in January 1966, the latter in early 1967, both of which vinyl records I still own, although I have no idea if they are even playable any more. This song is from the latter album.
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I'll say it over and over. Gordon Lightfoot is a national treasure in Canada. It is impossible to be a bigger star than he is. And that's been true for 50 or so years. He's pretty much on the same level as Maurice Richard.
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Here's the link to his biography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Lightfoot and the link to an article about the album http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_I_Feel_%28Gordon_Lightfoot_album%29.