Covering Canada – 5 Incredible Songs You Didn’t Know Were Canadian
Some of the greatest music in history has been a product of Canada. In some cases, it took another artist recording the song to get it on the international charts. This often left people thinking that the covering artist also wrote and conceptualized the song. Here are five very popular songs that were written by Canadians but made famous by someone else.
1- This Flight Tonight. Nazareth knows all about how ‘Love Hurts,’ but when it comes to this particular song about hopping on a flight and leaving a lover behind, Joni Mitchell is the driving force behind it. Released in 1971, this song came from Joni Mitchell’s album, “Blue.” Just two years later, Nazareth took the lyrics and melody and turned it into their own hard-hitting cover. Anyone who bought Nazareth’s greatest hits has most likely rocked out to this great song. Next time you hear it remember that you’re listening to some great, Canadian poetry.
2- Hallelujah. This is probably one of the most covered songs in musical history. Heck, they even played it in one of the Shrek movies. Most often, Jeff Buckley is the one who is given credit for this poetic masterpiece. Buckley certainly nailed his performance of the song; however, the passionate poet behind this one is Montreal’s own Leonard Cohen. Cohen released this song on his 1984 album “Various Positions.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t very popular until Jeff Buckley got a hold of it. Legend has it that the song was reduced from as many as 80 verses before it was finally released. If you are lucky enough to make it to a Leonard Cohen concert today, chances are you’ll hear one of the 300 different versions of this tune.
3- Walking with a Ghost. Anyone who says that there has been no good music since the 90s must not have heard the White Stripes. In the mid-2000s, this duo was extremely popular due to hit songs such as “Seven Nation Army” and “The Denial Twist.” After proving they were capable of writing some pretty amazing music of their own, they had another huge hit with “Walking with a Ghost,” written and originally recorded by the Canadian duo, Tegan and Sara. Released on an album with only five tracks, the White Stripes made Walking with a Ghost the title track. This helped the Calgary-born, identical twins become a little more well-known.
4- Universal Soldier. The 1960s produced some amazing anti-war music, commonly referred to as “sixties protest songs.” This was a decade where people wanted peace and love, and they were not afraid to speak up about it. Universal Soldier was a hit for British singer/songwriter, Donovan, in 1965. Although it was a bigger hit for Donovan, it was Buffy Sainte-Marie who put her thoughts on war to paper and originally released Universal Soldier on her 1964 album, “It’s My Way!” Buffy has said that she wrote this song in the basement of The Purple Onion coffee house in Toronto. She said, “The song is about individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all.”
5- You Were On My Mind. Around the same Buffy Sainte Marie’s protest song was being made famous by Donovan, Canadian Singer-Songwriter duo Ian & Sylvia wrote and recorded You Were On My Mind. While it gained popularity in the folk music community, it wasn’t until the California pop group We Five covered it in 1965 that it became Billboard Hot 100 chart topper. We Five upped the tempo a little and left out a section of the verse that mentioned getting drunk and sick so that it was more “appropriate” for the masses. The meaning of the song has been interpreted many different ways. We Five’s version’s upbeat tempo and exclusion of lyrics would give a first impression that this song is about love gone wrong and that the singer is trying to ease the pain of her ex, always being on his mind. Another interpretation of the Canadian version suggests the song is about an abused housewife drinking away her problems, but ultimately goes home again.
To hear both versions of these incredible songs, check out our YouTube playlist:
