Sundown

Album

Sundown

Label

Reprise Records

Genre

Folk rock

Composer(s)

Gordon Lightfoot

Entered Chart

Apr 13, 1974

Peak Date

Jun 29, 1974

Released

March 25, 1974

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Reprise 1194

B-Side

Too Late For Prayin'

The inspiration for this song came from Lightfoot worrying about his girlfriend, who was out at bars all day while he was at home writing songs. He recalled during a Reddit AMA: "I had this girlfriend one time, and I was at home working, at my desk, working at my songwriting which I had been doing all week since I was on a roll, and my girlfriend was somewhere drinking, drinking somewhere. So I was hoping that no one else would get their hands on her, because she was pretty good lookin'!" "As a matter of fact, it was written just around Sundown," he added, "just as the sun was setting, behind the farm I had rented to use as a place to write the album." In the documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind, Lightfoot reveals that the song is about his stormy relationship with Cathy Smith, who was later sent to prison for delivering a lethal dose of heroin to John Belushi. In the early '70s, with his marriage crumbling, Lightfoot moved in with Smith for about three years. "It was one of those relationships where you get a feeling of danger," he said. Smith is credited as a backup singer on the song "High And Dry" from the Sundown album. There's more than a hint of jealousy and paranoia in this song, as Lightfoot sings: Sundown ya better take care If I find you been creepin' 'round my back stairs Lightfoot was at a career peak but had divorced his first wife and was doing a lot of drinking. His personal life was a roller coaster - he got married three times and had six children. His struggles show up in his songs, but for the most part, he didn't name names. "Sundown" was a #1 hit in America on both the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It also went to #13 on the Country chart. The song came after a few down years; his last big hit was three years earlier with "If You Could Read My Mind." "Sundown" has been used in these TV shows: A Friend of the Family (2022) 13 Reasons Why ("Acceptance/Rejection" - 2020) Supernatural ("Fan Fiction" - 2014) And in these movies: Knives Out (2019) The Beach Bum (2019)

I can see her lying back in her satin dress
In a room where you do what you don't confess

Sundown, you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sundown, you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs

She's been looking like a queen in a sailor's dream
And she don't always say what she really means

Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain
Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain

I can picture every move that a man could make
Getting lost in her loving is your first mistake

Sundown, you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sometimes I think it's a sin
When I feel like I'm winning when I'm losing again

I can see her looking fast in her faded jeans
She's a hard loving woman, got me feeling mean

Sometimes I think it's a shame
When I get feeling better when I'm feeling no pain
Sundown, you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sundown, you better take care
If I find you been creeping 'round my back stairs
Sometimes I think it's a sin
When I feel like I'm winning when I'm losing again