Many years ago I was a freshly arrived teenage immigrant from Belfast attending Nepean High School in Ottawa. I had many assignments to do. My art assignments were always pictures of soldiers, corpses and explosions. I had a lot of processing to do! On one occasion I was given an assignment to do a short bio of any Nepean High School alumni. I picked Bruce Cockburn, a guy I hadn’t heard of at the time. I can’t remember a word of what I wrote but I do have vague memories of several visits to the family home and interviewing his mother I think. For a still angry young Belfast man I remember being completely impressed a few years later when I encountered his song “If I had a rocket launcher” (look it up on YouTube). It expressed much of angst and anger I was still processing – the residue of Belfast in the late 1970’s. I later grew to love so many of his songs but didn’t really follow him. Then tonight I discover his song “Postcards From Cambodia” and listen for the first time… very cool. I put on my headphones and allowed his word smithing to take me on a trip back to the days when isolation, fear of the Khmer Rouge, and the thunder of shelling, was mingled with stunning sunsets, beautiful Khmer smiles and lush rice paddies ... so many rich mental images and feelings associated with the places he talks about that I would come to know so well. I love the vaguely Cambodian feel and rhythm, It’s a different song but I love it. This is too big for anger, too big for blame... So I bow down my head say a prayer for us all... Got to meet this man one day. https://youtube/watch?v=9vmAbOBmbA8
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 05:54:45 +0000
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