Canadian Beats 2: Electric Bugaloo

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Seeing as Canada Day is coming up, I figured it would be a great idea to continue the tend of last year and look at songs by Canadians about Canada. The rules are simple: (1) the artist must be from Canada in form, either born in Canada or immigrated to Canada; (2) the song must refer to Canada in some form or in reference; (3) the song must be longer than one minute.

“Canada Day, Up Canada way” by Stompin' Tom Connors
As I said in last year's list, there is nothing more quintessentially Canadian than music from Stompin' Tom Connors. While there are numerous songs that celebrate the Canadian spirit, but in light of Canada day I feel that “Canada Day, Up Canada Way” would be a good choice for the the list. A song that celebrates the very day of Confederation of Canada with a chorus that combines two of Canada's anthems “O Canada” and “Maple Leaf Forever”.

“Log Driver's Waltz” by Wade Hemsworth
One of Canada's many stereotypes is the image of the lumberjack. This image is celebrated in the “Log Driver's Waltz” by Wade Hemsworth, author of the ditty “Black Flies”. Inspired from watching log drivers “dance” from log to log as they herded the timber to the mills, Hemswoth tells the story of a young lady's love for dancing with log drivers as they are the lightest on their feet when dancing because of their light foot work from driving logs on the river. The song's catchy music and memorable lyrics has allowed for it to be another successful tune by Hemsworth. This song, just like “Black Flies”, was given it's own video by the Canadian National Film Board.

“Northern Lights” by The Jerry Cans Canadian author Robertson Davies once famously said “I see Canada as a country torn between a very northern, rather extraordinary, mystical spirit which it fears and its desire to present itself to the world as a Scotch banker.” That northern mystical spirit can be easily seen in the song “Northern Lights” (or “Ukiuq” in Inuktitut) by Nunavummiuq band The Jerry Cans (Inuktitut: Pai Gaalaqautikkut) in their album Inuusiq/Life. Northern Canada my have it's problems like drug abuse and high food prices but much like Canada, it is a land full of mystery and beauty that should be appreciated just as much as the rest of the country. This beauty is exemplifies in The Jerry Cans use of catchy rhythm, imagery, and utilization of Inuktitut throat singing; these elements paint the picture of a world far off and distant yet somehow familiar with images of traversing through the cold north underneath the Northern Lights. As The Jerry Cans mostly write their music in Inuktitut, Northern Lights is released in both an English and Inuktitut!

“St. Lawrence River” by David Usher
The St. Lawrence River is a place is synonymous with Canada. It has been the gateway into this great country since the time of Cartier and still has ships delivering or collecting goods for Canada. So it is no surprise that Canadian artist David Usher would use this icon as the base for a song in his album Little Songs, Usher's first venture after the disbanding his band Moist. In his song “St. Lawrence River”, Usher paints the story (in my opinion) of a relationship slowly falling apart in the shadow of the St. Lawrence River. In the beginning the relationship is free and alive like the river in the summer and by the end of the song the relationship becomes dead and frozen like the river in winter.

“Highway of Heroes” by The Trews
Inspired from the death of Capt. Nichola Goddard, the first Canadian female soldier killed in Afghanistan and fellow classmate of the Trews. The song tells the story of an unknown soldier who has died, listeners are given parts of this soldiers life, their motivations and role in war. The Highway of Heroes that is refereed to in the song is the section of the Highway 401 of that name that streaches from Toronto, Ontario, and CFB Trenton, Ontario.

“Old Apartment” by The Barenaked Ladies
The Barenaked Ladies (or BNL) are a Canadian staple. With hit songs like if “I had a $1,000,000”, “Brian Wilson”, and more, it was hard to pick one, much less one that met the rules outlined above. Enter “Old Apartment”, a song that tells the story of a young man breaking into his and his partner's old apartment and remembering the old times they shared there. “But Joey,” You ask in my head, “what does this have to do with Canada?” Well, first off: get out of my head. Second, “Old Apartment” is set in Toronto (the narrator mentioning that they now live in an old old house on the Danforth). Themes in the song of change and nostalgia are things we can all relate to; we all have that moment of “back in my day life was better, worse, and you couldn't find parking,” and we will someday find our selves pining for those old places and familiars.

Bibliography

Robertson Davies Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2018. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/robertson_davies_392936, accessed July 1, 2018.