"Sundown" is a song by Canadian folk artist Gordon Lightfoot, from the titular album, released as a single in March 1974.
"Sundown" | ||||
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Single by Gordon Lightfoot | ||||
from the album Sundown | ||||
B-side | "Too Late for Prayin'" | |||
Released | March 25, 1974 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | Gordon Lightfoot | |||
Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker | |||
Gordon Lightfoot singles chronology | ||||
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"Sundown" reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and easy listening charts[2] and No. 13 on the Hot Country singles chart,[3] as well as No. 1 in Canada on RPM's national singles chart. It was Lightfoot's only single to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100.
The lyrics describe a troubled romantic relationship (often cited as Cathy Smith), with the narrator recounting an affair with a "hard-loving woman [who's] got me feeling mean".
In a 2008 interview, Lightfoot said:
I think my girlfriend was out with her friends one night at a bar while I was at home writing songs. I thought, 'I wonder what she’s doing with her friends at that bar!' It's that kind of a feeling. 'Where is my true love tonight? What is my true love doing?'[4]
Engineered by Lee Herschberg
Recorded at Eastern Sound Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
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"Sundown" is a pretty atypical piece of mid-'70s folk-rock.