"Song for a Winter's Night" is a song written by Gordon Lightfoot, and first recorded for his album The Way I Feel (1967). Lightfoot recorded another version of the song for Gord's Gold (1975), a greatest hits compilation on which other re-recordings also appeared.
Background
The song was written on a hot summer night in Cleveland while Lightfoot was performing there. He was missing his wife of the time, Brita Ingegerd Olaisson, and his thoughts turned to winter.[1]
Other artists who have covered the song include The Raftsmen (who retitled it "The Hands I Love"), on their 1967 album On Target; Harry Belafonte, on his 1967 album "Belafonte on Campus" (under the title "The Hands I Love"); Kenny Rankin, on his 1967 album Mind-Dusters; Catherine McKinnon, on her 1969 album Everybody's Talkin' ; Nana Mouskouri in French on her 1968 album Je Me Souviens and English on the 1969 album The Exquisite; Tony Rice, on his 1986 album Me & My Guitar; Schooner Fare, on their 1987 album Home for the Holidays; Quartette, on their 2003 album Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot; Tommy Fleming, on his 2009 album Song for a Winter's Night; Reid Jamieson, on his 2012 album Songs for a Winter's Night; Sanna Nielsen on her 2013 Christmas album Min jul.;[2]Blue Rodeo, on their 2014 album A Merrie Christmas to You;Goodnight, Sunrise as a standalone 2018 single; and Glass Tiger on their 2020 album "Songs For A Winter's Night". In December 2023, Folk Country artist Bedford Bells released his version of the song as a single.
