Soundtrack Friday - Anniversary Edition

Tomorrow I celebrate 17 years of marriage. I usually joke that it's been 17 long, hard years, but the truth is it's mostly been good. Even through the lean years marriage has been good to me. To us.

Last year I took the husband to see one of our favorite bands, Rush. They were on top of their game with their Time Machine tour and are always the band to see for great music and amazing entertainment, like this video that was played at the end of the concert. Ah, good times.

I was at a loss at what would top last year's Rush concert and the delayed but amazing U2 concert back in July when I realized bigger isn't always better and sometimes small and intimate is the best.

One of our favorite blues artists is Susan Tedeschi. We saw her at a jazz/blues fest up in Saskatchewan before she cut her first studio album and have been following her musical career ever since. Several years ago we were lucky enough to see her perform at the Minnesota Zoo. The amphitheater isn't a huge venue and if it rains there is no shelter. But there are no bad seats and you feel like you and the band are close enough to have a chat over cocktails. Aside from Rush, it is this concert at this small venue we talk about most often.

When I heard Susan and her husband Derek Trucks were going to be performing once again at the zoo, and the evening before our wedding anniversary no less, I knew I had the perfect gift. So tonight the husband and i will be heading to the zoo to hang with Susan. Happy Anniversary, husband. I love you.

Soundtrack Friday

I bring my iPod to work and listen to various random songs during my work day. I do this in part because it amuses me and because I have so many songs between my music and Husband's music if I didn't have the music on a random rotation there would be entire albums I would never listen to.

This week Evanescence has come up on the random rotation so often I almost thought my iPod was malfunctioning.  The group makes up such a small portion of my music library that the songs don't come up on rotation often. Taking this as some sort of sign, I started listening to the emotion in the music and the imagery in the lyrics. As I would listen I could tangibly see or feel things from my current story. This doesn't happen often. I'm not that writer who gets sucked into the world of the story so deeply it's like I've become a part of that world, so when it does happen I try to take notice.

I started playing just Evanescence whenever I opened up my manuscript and sure enough a song would play that fit the scene I was working on in some way. I guess in addition to some of the other songs that have made their way to my WIP soundtrack I'll be adding quite a few Evanescence titles. I just hope I don't hate the music by the time I'm finished.

Here is one song that haunts my writing at the moment. I have three characters who don't feel they are good enough for something. All three have different reasons for why they feel the way they do, and while many people in life feel this way, all three think they are alone and unique in feeling, well, not good enough. Self-absorbed much? Yes, they are, but they are also on journeys that will hopefully lead most of them to some lightening bolt realizations about who they really are.

Good Enough by Evanescence plays beautifully some of the emotion and beliefs my characters cling to as they navigate their world. It's haunting and hopeful and terribly sad at the same time. I play it and I can tap into something in the story I couldn't before.

Soundtrack Friday

Jason is having a conflict of faith. Oh wait, you don't know who Jason is, do you. Let me back up.

In my current story there is a character who is a priest. Episcopal or Anglican. Maybe Catholic. He hasn't told me yet and like a good little writer I'm leaving that ambiguous in this first draft. Anyway, Jason is a man of the cloth. He became a priest because the good people of the town that took him in as a child expected it of him. It was also a way to channel his emotions regarding Mallory into something he felt was valuable and autruistic. I think he also did as atonement. From what, I'm not yet sure. I'm not even sure he knows this was part of his motivation.

So, Jason has been a priest for about 8 years. Long enough to know the collar doesn't fit him but too long for him to easily turn his back on his vows and his people. He doesn't question that God exists. With all he has experienced in his life that there is a higher power is a given. His conflict stems from a growing unrest. An unrest that has increased since Mallory quietly returned to town.

The first time I got into Jason's point of view this song was playing on the radio. It doesn't quite have the same depth of anguish Jason was feeling at the time but it is almost his anthem. Jason is quite frankly a character who is questioning where he belongs and if he will ever find that love and acceptance he's been searching for all his life.

When I think of Jason in the beginning of his journey, I think of Collective Soul and their chart topper Shine. I especially like the remastered version on their website (see the link to the website) and can't wait until it's available on iTunes. The beat, the lyrics, everything about the song helps me to get deeper into Jason's head.

For this week's Soundtrack Friday, I bring you Shine. Enjoy!



Collective Soul - Shine [Video] by AtlanticRecords


Collective Soul Hits by collectivesoul

Soundtrack Friday

 I've been remiss with my blog again. Sorry! If I have any readers left I'll be amazed, lol! I have no excuse except it's spring and right now this spring has felt more like an extension of winter so my creative self took a cue from Punxsutawney Phil, looked outside, did not see it's shadow and went back into hibernation for a few more weeks.

Not quite true, but true enough. The weather has been very cool and grey for April and I need me some sunshine to start shake off the winter doldrums. Winter has been hanging on by her talons this year - it snowed just last week and it tried to snow this week. My poor creative self has been suffering, and when my creative self suffers, I get lazy.

So, in honor of the sun finally shining and my creative self deciding to get off her ass and grab herself some motivation, I give you Bruno Mars and his light and fun, if not self-absorbed, Lazy Song. If you're a fan of the official music video, you can find that here.

I'm not a huge fan of the video, so I did a websearch for a more acoustic version. *gasp* I did something that was actually not lazy! I guess that means spring truly is here. LOL!

So here's to lazy days, and to the shining sun and to a weekend where I will be so busy I will wish I could take a day where I'm not doing anything. Enjoy!

Soundtrack Friday

I have no story for this week's song. It's haunting. It tells a story in and of its self that needs no additional words from me. And I love Susan Tedeschi. Have since I first saw her at Saskatoon's Jazz Festival back in 1999. In fact, the husband and I try to see her in concert every chance we get. Susan solidified my husband's love affair with blues, for which I am eternally thankful. :)

Enjoy Susan's live rendition of Angel from Montgomery. And some day when you're reading something I've written, I hope the words on the page convey the same honest truth that Susan's music brings.

Soundtrack Friday

 I've been listening to a lot of interesting music lately. Mostly because the characters in my head keep telling me they listen to this music or because it fits with story flow and emotion.

As I'm writing Mallory's story I'm also working on what I thought was going to be a nice easy contemp romance. HA! It seems the characters in my head don't like easy. And since plotting doesn't work for me at this time I go with with they tell me. Sorry all you plotters out there. I've tried everything and all I end up doing is screwing up the story. This is why it takes me so. freaking. long. to. write. If you have a way to plot that works and is doable for a dyed-in-the-wool pantser, please share!

Lana, who is the heroine of my nice and easy contemp that isn't, puts on music while she works on renovation projects in her house. She listens to Matchbox 20, Death Cab for Cutie, Florence and the Machine, Bruno Mars, and when things are really intense or screwed up she listens to heavier music. Dark music. Music I don't own and while I hear the driving beat in my head I couldn't tell you who performs any of it. If you know of any really dark heavy music that isn't your traditional hair band or 80's metal group, please let me know. I need to down load something to the iPod to appease her.

The more I get to know Lana the more I know she's been kicked around in life but has come up optimistic. Her favorite movie is the motion picture Ever After. Which is kind of fun because it's also one of my favorite movies. In this movie we have a Cinderella story where Cinderalla needs to know she is loved but doesn't need someone to save her. In fact, she does a lot of the saving herself. I love stories like that. Apparently, so does Lana.

In honor of Lana, and the fact I'm writing again, on this week's Soundtrack Friday I bring you Texas and their song from Ever After - Put Your Arms Around Me. Enjoy!


Texas Put Your Arms Around Me
Uploaded by magik-man2. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Soundtrack Friday

My husband turns 40 today. We've been together for 18 of those 40 years - not quite half his life. I love my husband. He's a wonderful man with many strengths. He can also be infuriating. Can't we all?

Today's Soundtrack Friday isn't about me. It's about him. My husband is complex yet simple. He has a hilarious sense of humor. He can think deeply and can also step back and see things from a broader perspective. He doesn't always have the best taste in clothes, movies or TV but I admire his willingness to try new things and to take my recommendations seriously.

We fell in love over a mutual admiration for Canadian prog rock group Rush. In some ways, Rush is the soundtrack of our life together. You name the song, I can tell you how it fits into our relationship. Scary, huh?

So, to my wonderful husband, today's Soundtrack Friday is all about Rush. I give you their hit single, a staple of concerts everywhere, Freewill. Babe, this one is for you!

Soundtrack Friday

 I've never been a huge Hallowe'en girl. Growing up where I did it was pretty much guaranteed there would be snow on the ground. Or at the very least very cold making costumes unnecessary under the winter coats, wool scarves, toques (hats), and mittens. Getting free candy was always fun. Unless I happened to get candy I did like. Or my brother decided my stash was much more interesting than his.

What I did love about Hallowe'en were the cartoons. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Bugs Bunny's Howl-Oween Special. The Devil and Daniel Mouse. Any of the Scooby Doo Hallowe'en themed episodes. Young Frankenstien - while not a cartoon, a damn fine movie that I pull out every year about this time.

These I loved more than Christmas specials. Even as a child I loved being a little bit scared. Just a little bit. I wasn't into the slasher movies of the 80s. But I was into reading great creepy books like Lois Duncan's Stranger With My Face and Down a Dark Hall. The Twilight: Where Darkness Begins series, especially Fatal Attraction (not to be confused with the movie by the same name).

I also enjoyed the camp that came with the Hallowe'en themed cartoons and specials. They were often very hilarious and even ridiculous but that made me love them all the more.

Today, two days before Hallowe'en 2010, I give you The Monster Mash done up in one of the campiest ways I have ever seen. Not even a little bit scary, but that's okay. I like it anyway. :)

Soundtrack Friday

This year a lot of my friends are turning 40. We all grew up in the 80s. Went through the disaster that was the 80s style, 80s hair, 80s slang. Not everything was horrible. Most of us became adults in the 80s. We learned a lot about who we were and several of us vowed never to wear shoulder pads that made us look like linebackers ever again. That was a very good thing to come from the 80s.

In a lot of ways, the 80s gave birth to the music video, the techno movement, bubble gum pop and some of the most unlikely one hit wonders ever.

The 80s was also a time of fertile imagination. And camp. Great, fantastic camp. Like this video for this song by 80s power group Duran Duran. I listened to this group a lot in the 80s. Even followed them when they temporarily split into Power Station (with Robert Palmer) and Arcadia. To date, my favorite Duran Duran title is A View To A Kill, which is also the only Bond theme song to hit #1 on the charts.

Back to campy songs. Hungry like the Wolf is fun. The lyrics are possessive, the music is catchy, and the video is cheesy, but does have some great bare chested moments. It's one of those songs that earworms its way into your brain. But it is a song I remember fondly from my youth. So to all my friends who are children of the 80s, this Soundtrack Friday is for you!

Duran Duran - New Music - More Music Videos

Soundtrack Friday

 We were off to Canada for the first week in July, hence the lack of posts on the blog. That and I think Blogger hates me, but we're working it out.I think we are mending our rift and becoming friends again. The bad news, all my July posts never posted. The good news, I have a lot to share in August.

It was a good trip, visiting family and getting to know some very interesting people who have become a part of my family's lives. The weather could have been warmer, but I'm not going to complain because it wasn't humid like it is here at home. Ick!

While we were gone we set up the DVR to record reruns of The Office. There are quite a few episodes I haven't seen so it was great to come home and finally be able to see Jim and Pam's wedding. Yes, we're behind the times.

In honor of Jim and Pam of The Office, today's Soundtrack Friday is Chris Brown's song Forever. But because I'm not really a Chris Brown fan I'm posting two wonderful videos for you to watch instead. First up, Jim and Pam. You may be tired of them, but hey, I only caught this episode last week! So cut me some slack and enjoy the beginning of happily ever after. You'll have to click on the link to get to Hulu. Apparently they don't think it's okay to embed a video to one's own website. Go figure. :)

The Office - Jim & Pam's Wedding

Now, the inspiration for it all, and another video gone viral that you've likely seen before. How can you not help but smile at the joy in the faces of the wedding party. Or laugh at the wacky self expression. Either way, it's all good. Enjoy!

Soundtrack Friday

There's something about summer, isn't there? June 21st heralded in the beginning of summer and so far I've seen rain, rain and more rain. It's time for the sunshine! 


Today, in an attempt to get the sun to shine, I bring you Weezer and their single Island in the Sun. Because I enjoy the obscure, the video in today's Soundtrack Friday post is the little played Mexican wedding version. Enjoy!

Soundtrack Friday

I finally watched the season finale of Glee. It's been sitting on my DVR for a few weeks because I didn't want to admit the show was over until fall. I'm glad I waited. I would have bawled even worse than I did last night if I had seen the show when it aired. And discussed it with friends who had seen it themselves.

Sure, the show is campy and sometimes tries too hard to make the plot fit the music. But it's fun and I can so relate to some of the kids who were not in with the in crowd.

In the finale, the kids of the New Directions show choir sing a tribute to their mentor and teacher, Will Schuester. That's when I completely lost it. The song they chose is from the 1967 breakout movie "To Sir With Love" and if you haven't seen that movie, stop reading this blog, log onto Netflix and rent it! The song is a moving tribute to a man who worked hard and tirelessly to help his students grow and succeed. The road was rough and strewn with obstacles, but at the end he brought people together. This is what Will Schuester did for the kids of New Directions. Before they begin to sing, each member of the show choir tell Will what they were before glee club. I almost lost it when Phin shared his part of the speech. And again as Will tears up. A third time when the love-to-hate Sue Sylvester walks in the shadows of the auditorium and even she has a tear in her eye. Yes, it was a weepfest.

Today I bring you Glee and To Sir with Love. I also bring you the original song from the movie. Both are worth your time.

G1 @ Yahoo! Video

Soundtrack Friday

It's my friend April's birthday today. Which makes today's Soundtrack Friday very easy indeed. One of April's favorite groups is Matchbox 20. I happen to really enjoy this group as well, though I will admit to not being quite as obsessed as April. For example, I haven't purchased the usb wrist bands from concerts that allow you to listen to the concernts...yet.

While I'm fairly certain April has told me her favorite MB20 songs, I have failed completely as a friend as I do not remember them. However, because today is all about April, and because she is a dear friend, here are several MB20 videos for your enjoyment.

April - I hope you enjoy your day! And I apologize the videos aren't completely clear. It was hard to find ones I could actually post. :)

Real World

Matchbox Twenty lyrics

Matchbox Twenty - Real World Video - Matchbox Twenty Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

How Far We've Come

D12 How Come lyrics

'How Far We've Come' Video - D12 How Come Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

Soundtrack Friday

I made a turning point in my story and in some decisions I've been hesitating to make in my writing life. I took a course this last winter by Bob Mayer called Warrior Writer. I didn't follow through on the course. I sort of stalled out. I find that for online courses I need to be extra diligent about getting the lectures and doing the work. Especially if the course is free because I won a scholarship. Anyway, I'm taking it again because the course is about pushing forward, taking chances and building a plan for success. I need this. You have no idea how much! It's like deep coaching for my writer soul.

With the story, Mallory's story to be exact, I made a turning point in determining who Mallory is. I've been living with this character for about 4 years, writing off and on. More off than on until this year. I always knew there was something different about her, something that edged her story into the world of paranormal fiction. And in the last two months I've discovered just what that is. I'm not sharing too much about it here because the story is still being written and as far as I know there's nothing quite like it out there. I need to be very private with the story right now so I can work it out in my head and on the page.

As I've discovered more about Mallory, I've had a song in my head that fits Mallory at a certain point in the story. There's no video for the song that I've been able to find, sorry! It's Seen Enough by Dryer. I don't know much about this group and this is the only song of their's I have heard, or so I believe. There's something wonderfully aching about this song and it really fits. Oh, I wish I could share the scene that meshes with this song. When (knock on wood) this story is finished and published I certainly will!

Without further ado, on this long weekend Soundtrack Friday, I give you Dryer and Seen Enough. Enjoy!

Soundtrack Friday

It's May. Which means in some countries it's considered summer. And given how hot the weather is getting, I think summer is no longer a hope in the far distant future.

Jason, the main male character in my current WIP, aka Mallory's story, is looking forward to summer as well. To Jason summer means the world is alive with second chances. True, the summer in Mallory's story is fraught with trauma, but Jason is a man who sees the possibilities and urges others to see the same. He's going to be pushing Mallory out of her comfort zone in ways that will shake that girl to the core, I just feel it! Oh, I'm itching to write more...but I need to focus on the day job right now. Must earn that paycheck. :)

This week's Soundtrack Friday is a song that I think of when I think of Jason and his optimism so today I bring you an oldie from Wilson Phillips. Enjoy Hold On and let the scenery in the video remind you that summer truly is just around the corner.

Wilson Phillips - Hold On @ Yahoo! Video

Soundtrack Friday

TGIF!

It's been a long week and we've earned some fun, some relaxation. What is more fun than this blast from the past? A girl singing about the ulitmate girl power. A tune that even had my dad's conservative toes tapping. A video that made my brother smile with Captain Lou Albano showing up in a cameo role.

Without further ado, I give you Cyndi Lauper and her hit video, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! Enjoy your weekend. Have a little fun on me.

Soundtrack Friday

I was cleaning out the office this week and came across several files of stories I had started writing in the 90s. Some of these were fun little short stories for friends. Others were chapters of books I had started and gotten lost in the plot development so put aside. I had a fun time reading through the bits and pieces of drabble when I stumbled on an outline for a story that sounds eerily close to Mallory's story. I didn't remember writing it, but it looks like Mallory has been with me for quite a while.

In the outline were snippets of themes and one theme had "Will You Be There" written beside it. I figured it must have been a reference to Heart's 1993 hit Will You Be There (In the Morning) from their album Desire Walks On. I love that album. It has some of my favorite angry music on it. I hopped over to my iTunes and played the song and sure enough, this song expresses in tone and chorus what Mallory fears. That everyone she loves will leave. It's a universal theme, something almost everyone I know has felt, if fleetingly, at one time or another. And the song got me into Mallory's head quickly so I added it to my Mallory soundtrack.

Today's Soundtrack Friday is Heart and Will You Be There (In the Morning).

Soundtrack Friday

Okay, I thought my blog was posting all the posts I created ahead of time properly. And silly me, I didn't check until a friend asked me if I was on vacation. *sigh* Technology is great, until it doesn't work.

I've been a fan of Mr. Mister and Richard Page for years. Since their first album. And not, Welcome To The Real World was not their first album. It was their best known, but not their first.

When I was searching out information on Richard Page in a lame attempt to see what my teen crush was up to these days, I stumbled on a YouTube video where his daughter, Aja Page, sings a cute, folksie song titled Firefly.

If you know me, you know I like fireflies. I am still bitter Fox pulled Joss Whedon's TV series Firefly. I enjoy Owl City's song Fireflies. Firefly Lane is one of my favorite books by author Kristin Hannah. And I think the actual insects are magical.

To find another song that uses fireflies as a metaphor, well, I had to get me some of that. So I bring you Aja Page and her sweet song, Firefly. If you like it, I know it's available at iTunes. Yes, I purchased it. Like I said, I like fireflies. *grin*

Soundtrack Friday

I've been dreaming about Mallory's story over the last couple of weeks. This is a good thing. It means the story is solidifying and the writing becomes much easier. Which is good because I could really use some good writing right now.

When I dream about the books I'm writing I often have snippets of songs going on in the background. It's like a CW TV show in my head, lol! This week I've been trying to figure out the name of a song that's been playing over and over and over in my head. I knew I had heard it before on the radio but sleep has a way of distorting music and making it almost unrecognizable to me. Finally, on the way to work this morning, I heard a snippet of the song on the talk radio program I listen to as I drive to the office.

Today's Soundtrack Friday is Kelly Clarkson and her single Already Gone. The song is haunting. Sad. It's about good-bye. Mallory's story is all about good-byes. It's also about the hope of finding out what's real when we are able to let go of the things haunting us. Not everything we say good-bye to is a bad thing. Sometimes we have to let go of good things. Things that we love, that we are sentimental about or things that we thought brought us joy. It can be bittersweet and can be the hardest thing to do. Mallory is discovering that life has it's joys and beauty and that sometimes things have be walked away from in order to let that joy and beauty truly flourish.

This song has the right tone for some of her moments of realization. It makes me ache for this woman who is only in my mind because I'm living this with her. I hope, when the story is finished, her journey is one that resonates with others in a way that offers hope. I guess I need to keep writing.

Happy Friday to you! Enjoy today's Soundtrack Friday and have a great weekend.

Kelly Clarkson's music video for her single Already Gone

Soundtrack Friday

Soundtrack Friday is a little late. I had something planned out and then I saw the opening ceremony for the 2010 Olympics. It's in Vancouver, British Columbia this year. A city I'm very familiar with because I spent nearly every summer there visiting family when I was growing up. I know Vancouver Island even more intimately as both my parents are from there. All of B.C. is beautiful and there are days I sorely miss it.

During the ceremony for the Olympics several Canadian artists were showcased but two stood out to me. One, because I grew up listening to her music and the other because the words made me even prouder to be Canadian.

Soundtrack Friday this week honor two wonderful Canadian artists - Joni Mitchell and Poetry Slam artist Shane Koykzan.

Joni Mitchell wrote this song back in the 70's but it is the version she sings in this century that truly give weight and meaning to the words behind her hit Both Sides Now.

Shane Koyczan is a spoken word artist whose words are amazing. He preformed a wonderful poem at the ceremony, the words of which are below. This part of the ceremonies made me so proud to be Canadian. Even if I haven't lived on her shores in 15 years.

"We Are More" by Shane Koyczan

When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we’ve got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world's anthem has been
“been there done that”
and maybe that’s where we used to be at
it’s true
we’ve done and we’ve been
we’ve seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don’t forget to mention that we have set sparks

we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say “eh?”
and yes

we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we’re more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you’re welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today

filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like “someday”

someday we’ll be great
someday we’ll be this
or that
someday we’ll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday

we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through

and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don’t have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don’t all know what it is in life we’re looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you’ve been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can’t wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
“ keep exploring... we are more”
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it’s true

Canada is the “what” in “what’s new?”
so don’t say “been there done that”
unless you’ve sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don’t say you’ve been there done that
unless you’ve been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you’ll come back
next time pack for all the things
you didn’t pack for the first time
but don’t let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
and what’s more
is that we didn’t just say it
we made it be.