Oh Canada - Stompin' Tom and the Canadian Identity

They way we listen to and understand music is often very subjective, directed by our personal taste for one style or another.  It is also often at the mercy of the changing winds of fashion.  But if one is willing to mine a bit deeper, to put aside personal taste, and admit that fashion is always fleeting and that true substance is not always dictated by such trends, then one just might be surprised by what can be learned from listening more intentionally attentively.  This is surely the case with Stompin' Tom.

I was saddened to learn of the death of this Canadian icon last week.  As I tweeted on the day of his passing, many may theorize, even philosophize, about the Canadian identity.  Stompin' Tom just sang with common words and simple tunes...and he nailed it.  Again, he may not be your style or he may not seem to be what is fashionable, but if you want to know what Canada is, or what it means to be Canadian, then get some Stompin' Tom albums and listen to them back to back.  A Canadian patriot, he was a Canadian, who insisted on staying in Canada and writing and singing about Canadian themes, Canadian places and, most importantly, Canadian people.  Each of his songs is like a snap shot of one particular tile in what is commonly referred to as the Canadian Mosaic.

Certainly Tom was of an older generation and many of the newest trends within Canadian culture (I am thinking primarily of the multiculturalism of our urban centers) may not have been specific themes found within his writing, but his vision to look at our own backyard and sing about what we see,  should surely inspire all of us, new and old.

If you are interested is exploring Stompin' Tom a bit more, here are two links to follow.  The first is to an article written by a musician, writer and journalist who describes how he discovered Stompin' Tom and its profound influence, the second is to an news article shortly after Tom's death.

Of course,  I could not end without a sample of his work so there is a video of perhaps his most famous song.

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/02/06/the-junos-stompin-tom-at-75-and-a-soundtrack-for-canada/

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2013/03/06/obituary_canadian_country_icon_stompin_tom_connors_19362017.html