The death of Canadian icon Stompin’ Tom Connors has left me thinking. Stompin Tom’s death yesterday, at age 77, has triggered an outpouring of affection for the musician who made musical poetry out anything from picking tobacco in Tillsonburg to hauling potatoes from Prince Edward Island. Even the Prime Minister weighed in when he tweeted, “We have lost a true Canadian original.” As I have listened to the accolades and heard strains of his music throughout the day I have been surprised at how many of the songs I know and how many of the lyrics immediately conjure up in my imagination a Canadian scene.
Stompin’ Tom is credited with writing more than 300 songs. He has released four dozen albums with total sales of nearly 4 million copies. At age 15 Tom Connors left home to hitchhike across Canada, a journey that consumed the next 13 years of his life as he travelled between various part-time jobs while writing songs on is guitar. His travels, rich in experience, became the basis of his profound patriotism and the source of images for his songs.
We Canadians are not known to be particularily patriotic. In fact, I think many of us shy away from it because we feel a bit jaded by the strong patriotism that floats over the border from our American neighbours. But Stompin’ Tom, through his music, encouraged Canadians to be proud of our country and our particular perspective on the world. He was a different kind of musician with his cowboy hat and growly voice but he was fiercly Canadian and encouraged his listeners to appreciate all our country offers. For that we can be grateful.
