Lyrics to
Protocol

This version of Protocol was released by Gordon Lightfoot in 1976.

Our About Gordon Lightfoot page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Protocol from 1976 as well as all of the other lyrics from Gordon Lightfoot that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Gordon Lightfoot or about the 1970s in general.

Who are these ones who would lead us now
To the sound of a thousand guns
Storm the gates of hell itself
To the tune of a single drum
Where are the girls of the neighborhood bars
Whose loves were lost at sea
In the hills of France and on German soil
From Saigon to Wounded Knee
Who come from long lines of soldiers
Whose duty was fulfilled
In the words of a warrior’s will
And protocol

Where are the boys in their coats of blue
Who flew when their eyes were blind
Was God in town for the Roman games
Was he there when the deals were signed
Who are the kings in their coats of mail
Who rode by the cross to die
Did they all go down into worthiness
Is it wrong for a king to cry
And who are these ones who would have us now
Whose presence is concealed
Whose nature is revealed
In a time bomb

And last of all you old seadogs
Who travel after whale
You’d storm the gates of hell itself
For the taste of a mermaid’s tail
Who come from long lines of skippers
Whose duty was fulfilled
In the words of a warrior’s will
And protocol

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Want more lyrics and songs by Gordon Lightfoot?

Gordon Lightfoot has released many songs over the years besides Protocol. Gordon Lightfoot released songs from 1966 to 2004 spanning across albums like Lightfoot!, The Way I Feel, Back Here On Earth, Did She Mention My Name, Sunday Concert, Sit Down Young Stranger / If You Could Read My Mind, Summer Side Of Life, Don Quixote, Old Dan's Records, Sundown, Cold On The Shoulder, Summertime Dream, Endless Wire, Dream Street Rose, Shadows, Salute, East Of Midnight, Waiting For You, A Painter Passing Through, and Harmony. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Gordon Lightfoot.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1976 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Protocol by Gordon Lightfoot

The lyrics for Protocol are made up of the words, verses and background chorus for the popular 1976 song by Gordon Lightfoot. Like a lot of songs, the lyrics to Protocol have both direct meanings and metaphorical context hidden within the song's words. All of the meanings are only truly known by the creators of the lyrics for Protocol - Gordon Lightfoot and any of the writers who worked with them on the song.

If you have an interest in the structure of words and phrases, you can dissect the lyrics to Protocol by Gordon Lightfoot in multiple ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Protocol" means the words set to the music of Protocol, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Gordon Lightfoot. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Protocol and the lyrics to Protocol are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Gordon Lightfoot who came here looking just for the lyrics to Protocol, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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