A New Year Song

I've had this Youtube video open on my browser since before Christmas, as I waited for the right way to share its meaning for me.




Listening to it again now, I realize that it suits this New Year time quite well. For me, the new year period is a time of reflecting on what has been and what may come. This song just rings with that message.

And then it is a special song to me for another reason as well.

You see, I first heard this song on the local country music radio station, somewhere in the early 90's. It was credited to a new duo on the Canadian music scene, Bourne and Macleod. At the time, the song struck me as quite beautiful and I found Bill Bourne's voice to be very original.

A couple of years later, I was at a nearby summer music festival known as the North Country Fair. I had never heard of this event until a good friend went and returned with many fun tales. The Fair is something very rare in Alberta, a very "hippy" sort of folk-ish little festival in rural Northern Alberta. It's local nickname is actually The Hippy Fair. Turns out that attending this festival was a sort of magical part of what was probably the most fun summer of my life, to date...kind of my summer of '69 I guess. I won't try to share how just amazing a weekend this was, but for now I'll just say that Bill Bourne was performing at this festival so I had a chance to see the top hat and funky glasses wearing musician live. As I recall, he was playing with Shannon Johnson. Anyway, I know I heard him play this song at the festival. I also got to learn that he was as enjoyable live as canned.

Fast forward a couple more years, to my first year working for the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. Back then the office and technical staff had plenty of socializing/fraternizing opportunities and I had developed a rather large crush on the cute volunteer coordinator. One Friday night we were hosting a fundraiser concert and I went, quite excited at the chance to chat her up a bit. Not only that but one of my favorite musicians of the time, Bill Bourne, was going to be playing. It was sure to be a good night.

Well I showed up to the event and, after chumming with some friends, went looking for the focus of my crush...only to be crushed myself when I found her at a table with some office staff...cuddled up to...you guessed it...Bill Bourne. Suddenly one of my favorite musicians feels like the enemy. I gotta say, that was a pretty uncomfortable moment. I was so put off that I didn't even go over to meet the man.

Anyway, I've never run into him since. Which is surprising in a way, since I have worked with so many other Canadian artists in one way or another. If I had taken the offered gig at the local college though, I'd have worked one of his performance last year.

Funny how these things go sometimes isn't it?

But yeah, it seems like a good song for this time of the year. My thanks to the person who shot and uploaded this video. If only I could find one of Bourne and Macleod themselves.