If the name “Bruce Cockburn” doesn’t bring certain songs to mind, take some time this week to sample his music. He’s prolific, original, and a brilliant lyricist and musician… my favorite singer-songwriter, hands down. U2 gave him a nod in “God, Part II” when they (mis)quoted possibly the best line from all of his lyrics:
“Heard a singer on the radio
late last night;
He says he’s gonna kick the darkness
‘Til it bleeds daylight.”
(The actual line, from his 1984 song “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” is “Got to kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight.”)
Bruce bares his soul through his music. He rages. He lusts. He hopes. Even before I really became aware of him, I’d heard one of his most famous songs, “If I Had a Rocket Launcher,” which seethes with anger at injustice.
“On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation — or some less humane fate.
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate.
If I had a rocket launcher…I would not hesitate.”
This song, like much of his work, was borne from his own experience — in this case, he was inspired by a visit to a Guatemalan refugee camp in 1983. Bruce is well traveled, and he’s written lots of songs about different places around the world, including Central America, Mozambique, and Nepal.
Bruce considered himself to be a Christian for many years, and that, too, seeped out in songs like “Cry of a Tiny Babe,” as well as influencing his concern for justice and the environment. Be warned, though: His songs are not the stuff you’ll hear on your local Christian station. Bruce isn’t afraid of swearing if he thinks it will help him make his point, and his songs sometimes frankly treat topics like sex and violence.
“When two lovers really love, there’s nothing there
But this suddenly compact universe of skin and breath and hair.”
— from “The Coldest Night of the Year”
While most of Bruce’s music is heartfelt, he isn’t above a little silliness. He’s covered Eric Idle’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” and he pokes fun at our fear of death in his own song, “Anything Can Happen.”
“I could have been hit by a falling pane of glass.
You could have had shark teeth write ‘finit.’
We could have been nailed by some vigilante type
In a case of mistaken identity – obviously.”
I love Neil Gaiman’s quip, “Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you’d most like not to lose.” I feel this way about many things, including picking my favorite songs by Bruce. I can say confidently that one of them is “Tibetan Side of Town” from Big Circumstance. Every time I listen to that song (and I listen to it a lot), I take a motorcycle ride through Kathmandu.
“Through rutted winding streets of Kathmandu,
Dodging crowded humans cows dogs rickshaws –
Storefronts constellated pools of bluewhite
Bright against darkening walls…”
You can find 13 of Bruce’s songs on his VEVO channel on YouTube.