A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Dave Pollard was seeking the most Canadian of songs. He’s assembled a list of 76 possible songs, which need to be reduced to a list of 12 finalists. Being an imbecile, I volunteered to be one of the judges. In the nex week I have to listen to all 76 songs and chose my 12 favourites. A quick assessment shows that I own or have heard 24 of these songs. At the end of this post, I’ve added the list with the ones I’ve got covered in bold.
If anybody has a copy of, say, Frederic by Claude L’veill’e or Wade Hemsworth’s The Black Fly Song, let me know.
01 A Case of You Joni Mitchell
02 A Real Canadian Girl Stompin’ Tom Connors
03 Acadian Driftwood The Band
04 Ah que l’hiver Gilles Vigneault (Pauline Julien)
05 Alouette Traditional
06 Ambulance Blues Neil Young
07 Banks of Newfoundland Francis Forbes
08 Barrett’s Privateers Stan Rogers
09 Bobcaygeon Tragically Hip
10 Bud the Spud Stompin’ Tom Connors
11 C’est l’Hiver Demain Robert Charlebois
12 Canada centennial song Bobby Gimby
13 Canadian Dream Rheostatics
14 Canadian Railroad Trilogy Gordon Lightfoot
15 Canadiana Suite Oscar Peterson
16 Coldest Night of the Year Bruce Cockburn
17 English Bay Blue Rodeo
18 Far Too Canadian Spirit of the West
19 Farewell to Nova Scotia Traditional
20 Fifty Mission Cap Tragically Hip
21 Five Days in May* Blue Rodeo
22 Four Strong Winds Ian Tyson (Ian & Sylvia)
23 Frédéric Claude Léveillée
24 Gaspésie Félix Leclerc
25 Gavin’s Woodpile Bruce Cockburn
26 Good Fortune Weeping Tile (Sarah Harmer)
27 Grandfather Song Gerry Alfred & the Medicine Beat
28 Heather Down Road Maria Dunn
29 Helpless Neil Young
30 Hillcrest Mine James Keelaghan
31 Hockey Night in Canada Lynn Miles
32 Horses Rheostatics
33 Je Reviendrai a Montréal Robert Charlebois
34 Jolie Louise Daniel Lanois
35 L’hymne au Printemps Félix Leclerc
36 L’Independentriste Robert Charlebois
37 La fin justifie les moyens Jean-Pierre Ferland (Ginette Reno)
38 Lakeside Park Rush
39 Land of the Silver Birch Traditional
40 Le Plus Beau Voyage Claude Gauthier
41 Life is a Highway Tom Cochrane
42 Little Lambs Marc Jordan
43 Log Driver’s Waltz Wade Hemsworth
44 Lukey’s Boat Traditional (Great Big Sea)
45 Midwinter Night’s Dream Rheostatics
46 Mon Pays (C’est l’Hiver) Gilles Vigneault
47 Montréal Lucie Blue Tremblay
48 My Country Tis of Thy People You’re Dying Buffy Sainte Marie
49 Northern Wish Rheostatics
50 Northwest Passage Stan Rogers
51 Okanagan Okee Stompin’ Tom Connors
52 Pirates of the Saskatchewan Arrogant Worms
53 Powderfinger Neil Young (Cowboy Junkies)
54 Prairie Town Randy Bachman (Neil Young)
55 Rise Again Leon Dubinsky (Rankin Family)
56 River* Joni Mitchell
57 Roses & Blue Jays Buck 65
58 Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon Guess Who
59 Sainte-Adèle, PQ Jean-Pierre Ferland
60 See the Sky About to Rain* Neil Young
61 Snowbird Gene MacLellan (Anne Murray)
62 Something to Sing About Oscar Brand
63 Song for the Mira Allister MacGillivray (Rita MacNeil)
64 Song of the North Susan Aglukark
65 St Jean Port Joli Lucie Blue Tremblay
66 Sudbury Saturday Night Stompin’ Tom Connors
67 Suzanne* Leonard Cohen
68 The Black Fly Song Wade Hemsworth
69 The Crawl Spirit of the West
70 The Hockey Song (The Good Ol’ Hockey Game) Stompin’ Tom
Connors
71 This Heart That Lives in Winter Lynn Miles
72 Un Canadien Errant Traditional (Leonard Cohen)
73 Waiting in Canada Jann Arden
74 Welcome, Welcome Immigrante Buffy Sainte Marie
75 Wheat Kings Tragically Hip
76 Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Gordon Lightfoot
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I *love* The Black Fly Song.
awesome campfire song that speaks of the wilderness good and ‘ahem’ bad.
“Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” is an amazing song by Blue Rodeo. There are a lot of great songs on the list.
You must have heard ‘Alouette’ and ‘The Log Driver’s Waltz’ before. I used to see the animation to the Log Driver’s Waltz on TV all the time as a kid, and I loved it to bitty bits. I think I might have a tape of Gilles Vigneault singing Mon Pays (C’est l’Hiver), but I don’t know where it is anymore.
Bree: I’m not sure about ‘Alouette’ (I expect I have), but you’re right about ‘The Log Driver’s Waltz’ (and I’ve bolded it appropriately). I have warm fuzzy feelings about it from that crazy animated short.
Darren, you know it…Alouette, gentile Alouette,
Alouette, je te plumerai. Famous traditional French-Canadian round.