Song #17: Tecumseth (2015 52-song Project)

Tecumseth is a short street in Toronto that runs from Queen West to the railroad tracks.

When I lived in Toronto, I often used it as a cycling route/shortcut from downtown to the west end.

I never lived on Tecumseth, but about 20-odd-years-ago, I had a dream that I had lived there in an old abandoned church with my most recent ex at the time. (That should be an acronym. My MREATT.)

That dream resulted in this song:

This is not a song I've performed very frequently. It's a bit more jazzy than my usual vibe and it never seemed to fit into my sets. I like it, though.

And I can still vividly remember that dream. Even after all these years.

*Because I'm super-busy and traveling and homeless this month, I'm pre-scheduling these posts. That means that I can't provide a link to the song on YouTube, because it doesn't exist yet, at the time that I'm writing this post. But here's a link to my 52-song Project playlist where you can find the song with the final version of the lyrics.

Song #16: Queen Street Coffee (2015 52-song Project)

This is a pretty old song which I wrote in my early 20s when I lived in Toronto.

This song was composed on my back back when I was an avid cycle commuter.

It's essentially about a "relationship hangover", the experience of one relationship hanging on and overshadowing the beginning of the next relationship.

I am often a vivid dreamer and this song describes the experience of my unconscious mind holding on to longing after a person even after my conscious mind has moved on.

Song #15: Portland Street (2015 52-song Project)

This is a song about the terrible trap of living in over-priced rental accommodation.

Often, when a person can't save up enough to put a down-payment to own their own house, or if their rent is such a high a proportion of their income that they are financially hamstrung, they end up at the mercy of less-than-decent landlords.

Frequently, tenants and landlords end up in awkward agreements – often unspoken – that go like this: I won't make a fuss about you being late on your rent if you won't make a fuss about repairs that need to be done to the house. As a result, tenants can end up living in places with un-inspected and unmaintained furnaces, faulty electrical, bad plumbing, poor ventilation, leaks, mold, etc, etc.

This song was inspired by one such real-life situation, located in this instance on Portland Street in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Please see YouTube for the final lyrics.

Song #14: Small World (2015 52-song Project)

This is a song I wrote in 1996 in response to a moment in Toronto when I realized that someone I had known from high school in Nova Scotia, and with whom I had been briefly and unsuccessfully roommates during a university summer, had started dating a guy who lived next door to me in Toronto.

Awkward run-in!

It was one of those big-city/small-world moments. And it brought out all of the elements in my personality that long for hermit-hood.

This song depicts my dream for an idyllic, rural lifestyle, shared with just the right person.

As I am currently enduring a somewhat nomadic month (for reasons I won't get into here—long story), I find myself yearning for this vision of a settled spot, a homestead.

I'm interested to find that my concept of a good, rural home hasn't changed much in 20 years. I still hope for a clothesline, tea, popcorn, a vegetable garden (and the time, energy and interest to tend that garden). And hopefully some good company.

It took me a long time to get out of Toronto.

It's taken me a while to decide what I want here in Nova Scotia.

I'm getting there.

This ideal is something I hope I can create for myself.