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.

Song #13: Four Walls (2015 52-song project)

This song was written in Spring 2014, shortly after I moved into my Tiny Home, just in time for five long, miserable days of snow, rain and sleet.

It's part love song for my house and cat and part break-up song for a relationship that had ended shortly before my move. The references in the song are to off-grid living in a converted trailer. No electricity. No running water.

My Tiny Home c. March 2014

I added a third verse to the song in the fall of 2014.

Here's the song:

Song #11: We Will See Stars Again (2015 52-Song Project)

As I say in the video, I started this song last year and finished it this year.

Blogger seems to be having issues finding the video to embed, so here is the link to watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/U_neXtSjtgY?list=PLNZVYz5bOBsK0_06TEs2ff-BvyefvbdwI

It's inspired jointly by a Garnet Roger's house concert I attended last June and also Tannis Slimmon's song There's a Lift.

I feel bad that this failed to post March 8 – I had some major tech problems and while I thought this had uploaded, it had not. Better late than never, eh?

Song #12: Where To? (2015 52-Song Project)

I wrote this song in 1996. It doesn't have an exact date on it, but judging from the dates of other entries in this journal, it was written at some time between March 9 and March 31.

I wrote the song on my bicycle, bombing around the city of Toronto. I was an avid cycle-commuter there for many years – even in March.

That's why there are no edits on this page where I first wrote the lyrics down – I had already worked all the words out in my head before I ever put it on paper.

I'm quite fond of this song, though it feels like it belongs to another time in my life – but perhaps I'll be a cycle-commuter again at some point...

On the video, I misidentify this song as having been written around 2005 or 2006 – I think because that's the first time I can remember performing it – it took me a long time to develop the guitar skills to play this song the way I wanted to.

For some reason, Blogger won't let me embed the video. So, here's the link:
https://youtu.be/ZuNcvBgA_Es