DOWNLOAD THE SONGSHEET
If You Could Read My Mind (G)(WORD)
If You Could Read My Mind (G)(PDF)
If You Could Read My Mind (D)(WORD)
If You Could Read My Mind (D)(PDF)
If You Could Read My Mind (A)(WORD)
If You Could Read My Mind (A)(PDF)
YOU CAN PLAY ALONG IN GCEA TUNING IF YOU USE THE (G) SONGSHEET, AND PUT YOUR CAPO ON THE 2nd FRET! I've also added the songsheet in (D) for singers who may prefer it, and an (A) version at Chris Hill's request.
It reached number one on Canadian music charts and was his first recording to appear on the American music charts, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1971. Later in the year it reached number 30 in the UK. The song also reached number one for one week on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, and was the first of four Lightfoot releases to reach number one.
This song first appeared on Lightfoot's 1970 album Sit Down Young Stranger, which was later renamed If You Could Read My Mind following the song's success.
Lightfoot has cited his divorce for inspiring the lyrics, saying they came to him as he was sitting in a vacant Toronto house one summer. At the request of his daughter, Ingrid, he performs the lyrics with a slight change now: 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." He has 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.