11 Great Canadian Songs

With the most important federal election in my lifetime taking place in six days — an election that has divided this nation and left almost everyone fearing for one outcome or another — I thought it would be a good time to dust off a partially completed post that I drafted some time ago.

I love my country. I’m not so much a proud Canadian as a fortunate one — I’m more of a wish-there-were-no-borders-because-we’re-all-in-this-together kind of guy — but I do have a special place in my heart for most things Canadian.

Much of the music I love from my home and native land has not really “made it” elsewhere. So I thought I’d share the names of a few great Canadian songs (this is just a list… not a best of). Some of these are under-appreciated tunes from otherwise appreciated artists… nuggets that might lead you to the mother lode of Canadian content. Others are newer artists who are off to great starts. And a few… they’re just classics.

• Hey Rosetta! – Welcome
• Matt Mays – Take it on Faith
• Spirit of the West – Bone of Contention
• Rush – Closer to the Heart
• Half Moon Run – Full Circle
• The Tragically Hip – Country Day
• Ria Mae – Under Your Skin
• Blue Rodeo – Lost Together
• Joel Plaskett – Nowhere With You
• Leonard Cohen – So Long Marianne
• Danny Michel – Who’s Gonna Miss You?

I could easily write 111 more… but these ones came to me randomly, and I wrote them down. Sometimes I just feel like free-form blogging…