IF I COULD 
Gordon Lightfoot
1968


If I could sing like the poets and kings of this world
If I could rise like the wind o'er the tides of the see
I would sing you to sleep my love with sweet melody
And let you dream away till the morning light returned again
To take you away from me.

If I could speak with the tongues of the masters of old
If I could tame all the fleeting perceptions I hold
Would I stand in the marketplace before you
To be shouted down without any warning at all, to be stood by the wall
And shot by the man in blue.

If I could run with the grace of a sun colored stallion
If I could fly like the great silver jets in the morning
If I caused the wind to change with one wave of my hand
And if I could play the final symphony and set it free
Would it mean anything to you.

If I could stand like the rusty old man in his armour
If I could ride the steed that he rode in his time
I would turn his head away to the river
And let him wander through the meadow grass, wild and free
For everyone to see.

If I could sing like the poets and kings of this world
If I could fly like the wind o'er the tides of the see 
I would sing you to sleep my love with sweet melody
And let you dream away till the morning light returned again
To take you away from me.



(Transcribed by David Story - February 2013)