{"id":1515,"date":"2013-03-06T22:51:18","date_gmt":"2013-03-06T22:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/networkeffects.ca\/?p=1515"},"modified":"2013-03-07T19:04:37","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T19:04:37","slug":"the-singer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/networkeffects.ca\/?p=1515","title":{"rendered":"The Singer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Singer, you must search for your place on the earth
\nWhile the same for your nation is true
\nSo lift up the soul of your country
\nAnd a place will be found here for you
\nBut don\u2019t go and run \u2018til your song has been sung
\nAnd the words of your soul have been said
\nFar a land without song can\u2019t stand very long
\nWhen the voice of its people is dead<\/p>\n

~ Stompin’ Tom Conners – \u00a0The Singer (Voice of The People)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

I can’t remember when I first heard Stompin’ Tom’s music, I just always remember hearing it. \u00a0I suppose, growing up in the\u00a0Maritimes, Tom’s music got a fair bit of play on the radio, not to mention hockey arenas, Legions<\/a>, and Community Centers across the Eastern provinces. \u00a0Songs like The Consumer<\/a> were on the radio as a kid in the Maritimes – Tom sang about challenges of the everyman I heard my community talking about as I grew up.<\/p>\n

I remember going on the road for a few days with Stompin’ Tom. \u00a0Tom would drive his car, which had a CB contact with the other van. \u00a0They’d go into towns like Leamington, Delhi, and Petrolia, and they had an advance guy – like in a circus – who’d go in three weeks before, book the high-school gym, buy an ad for nothing, stick up posters everywhere, give the school the coat concession for the use of their space, make sure anybody could come to the show and that kids under nine were free, and he’d sell out everywhere.<\/p>\n

On A Cold Road: Tales of Adventure In Canadian Rock\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I first starting playing guitar I learned to play Moon Man Newfie<\/a> just because the song was such a hoot to play with friends around kitchens and living rooms and filled me with pride that as a kid growing up in a ‘have-not’ province there were some things my region was rich in – joy and\u00a0revelry.<\/p>\n

Throughout my travels across Canada and overseas I always had a copy on Stompin Tom Live At The Horseshoe Hotel<\/a> with me and have been know to gift friends and hosts with vinyl copies of it.\u00a0 Whenever I got homesick I’d always listen to a little Gumboot Cloggeroo<\/a> to lift my spirits.<\/p>\n

When I moved to the NWT to work in Aklavik<\/a> as a teacher, the country band I played in – The Shorty Lake Boys<\/a> – played a bunch of Stompin Tom tunes – among which was The Martin Hartwell Story<\/a>. (Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Canadian MP Charlie Angus<\/a> reflects on Stompin’ Tom and his influence. [MP3]<\/a><\/p>\n[audio:https:\/\/dl.dropbox.com\/u\/2251996\/charlieangus_on_stompintom.mp3]\n

 <\/p>\n