"Bitter Green" is a song by

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

, first released in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

on his album '' Back Here on Earth''. The single reached #44 in Canada. Lightfoot also included the song on his 1969 live album ''

Sunday Concert ''Sunday Concert'' is Canadians, Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's first solo live album, released in 1969 on the United Artists Records, United Artists label. Lightfoot's last recording for United Artists, it was also his first live album and un ...

'', and recorded a second studio version for his 1975 compilation album '' Gord's Gold''. A cover version by

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American rock and roll singer, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

reached #36 in 1970.

The Idle Race The Idle Race were a British rock group from Birmingham who in the late 1960s and early 1970s had a cult following but never enjoyed mass commercial success. In addition to being the springboard for Jeff Lynne, the band holds a place of signif ...

recorded a version of the song on their 1971 album '' Time Is''.

Content

The song is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

about a woman who roams the hillsides above the town for years waiting for her lover to come home:

"Waiting for her master to kiss away her tears"

No one knows the identity or fate of her lover, but the woman is well known and loved. Years later, on one cold autumn day, a stranger walks into town and weeps at the churchyard where his beloved lies buried. Townspeople speculate as to who the mystery man is:

"Some say he was a sailor who died away at sea
Some say he was a prisoner who never was set free
Lost upon the ocean, he died there in the mist
Dreaming of her kiss"

Her lover finally returns, too late, as the woman has died:

"But now the bitter green is gone, the hills have turned to rust
There comes a weary stranger, his tears fall in the dust
Kneeling by the churchyard in the autumn mist
Dreaming of her kiss"

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Gordon Lightfoot songs 1968 songs 1960s ballads Songs written by Gordon Lightfoot 1968 singles United Artists Records singles Song recordings produced by Elliot Mazer Folk ballads