“Ten Degrees,” more fully “Ten Degrees and Getting Colder,” was written by the Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who recorded it for his 1971 album “Summer Side of Life.”
The song follows a young hitchhiker, a down-on-his-luck musician trying to make his way home in bitter cold. The title’s falling temperature sets the tone — a portrait of hard travel, near-empty pockets, and the long road back.
The song was taken up by a range of bluegrass and folk performers.
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