songs Archives - Page 3 of 4

Blue Rodeo

Last Sunday night my wife and I went to see Blue Rodeo in concert at the Calgary Jubilee Auditorium. It was a great show filled with new music from the 1000 Arms album and old music from just about every one of their 15 studio albums. This is a band that has been playing since…

Big Picture

Song-writers can be keen social commentators that help us see the bigger picture of issues in our world. They may comment in cryptic and sometimes crude ways, but it is worthwhile hearing what they say. The Eagles wrote and performed a song for the 2007 album, Long Road Out of Eden. The lyrics of “Frail…

Celebrate This Heartbeat

I have previously sung the praises of Randy Stonehill and in particular the Welcome to Paradise album of 1976. A recently performed Living Room Concert streamed live on Facebook reminded me of his 1984 album Celebrate This Heartbeat. The title song reminds us that every day is a gift from the Lord. I encourage you…

Radio Sky

The end of one year and the beginning of another always puts me in an introspective and creative mood. Today, I find myself quoting the lyrics of a favourite song with a sentiment about death and gravestones. “Radio Sky” (by the “Warped 45s” from their debut CD 10 Day Poem for Saskatchewan.) (Listen to the…

Randy Stonehill – Turning 60?

Randy Stonehill is “turning sixty,” no, wait, next March he will be 65! This will be another major milestone for the young man who wrote “Turning Thirty.” Randy Stonehill came along at just the right time for me in my musical appreciation. In 1976, I was 16 years old when I discovered Randy’s album, “Welcome…

Musical Influences

Writing songs and poetry is a deeply personal process that, at the same time, is influenced by many other voices. The thoughts, concepts, and words in my head are there through a variety of musical, literary, and poetic influences. Sometimes I am inspired to write a song or poem about a grandchild, a friend,…

Party Line

Looking back over the last 40 to 50 years, one of the areas of greatest technological change has been our means of communicating with one another. Future blogs in this series will discuss such technologies as the internet, cell phones, and social media. Today, I will let Nora Jane Struthers and her band, The Party…

Portadown Station

Sandra McCracken is one of my favourite song-writers. She has a great ability to write haunting songs that stir our emotions. “Portadown Station” is but one example. It is a simple story of someone on the road, loving the experience but missing someone at home. The lyrics, “I hear your voice in my head, but…

The Power of a Family

I witnessed a powerful act of family on the weekend. Most families are made up of a diverse collection of genetic and non-genetic relationships and our Westwood/Smith family reunion on the weekend was a great example of this. The glue that holds this family together is the patriarch Albert Edward Westwood who was my grandmother’s…

Beauty Left the Room

Charlie Peacock is a gifted song-writer and jazz player known best for his song “In the Light,” recorded by himself and by DC Talk. One of his lesser known songs is called “Beauty Left the Room.” The lyrics follow here. Beauty Left the Room (Lyrics and Music by Charlie Peacock) (Listen while you read the…