"Bitter Green" is a song by Gordon Lightfoot, first released in 1968 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, and recorded a second studio version for his 1975 compilation album Gord's Gold. A cover version by Ronnie Hawkins reached #36 in 1970. The Idle Race recorded a version of the song on their 1971 album Time Is.
The song is a ballad about a woman who roams the hillsides above the town for years waiting for her lover to come home:
<blockquote> "Waiting for her master to kiss away her tears" </blockquote>
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:
<blockquote>"Some say he was a sailor who died away at sea<br> Some say he was a prisoner who never was set free<br> Lost upon the ocean, he died there in the mist<br> Dreaming of her kiss"<br> </blockquote>
Her lover finally returns, too late, as the woman has died:
<blockquote> "But now the bitter green is gone, the hills have turned to rust<br> There comes a weary stranger, his tears fall in the dust<br> Kneeling by the churchyard in the autumn mist<br> Dreaming of her kiss"<br> </blockquote>