City Of Bellingham Staff Directory, Moonraker Brewing New Location, Good Comebacks When Someone Says Ew To You, Undead Language 5e, Warhammer 40k Dreadnought Datasheet, Articles W

By 2004, he'd clearly grown tired of the question. Gord Downie Memorial site? The band's propulsive, muscular rock, coupled with intense live performances and Downie's cryptic, literary lyrics, allowed the band to attract a diverse fan base that included party animals and armchair philosophers alike. Create the spark. That's a strange and comforting thing to me. They were too traditional and aspirational to be punk or alternative, and yet they were raw enough that they immediately stood out on any mainstream radio playlist. "His main focus was the release of Secret Path," says Gord's brother, Patrick Downie. He clearly was so taken with it and couldn't let it go.". He delivered frenetic dance moves or stream-of-consciousness rants in ways that suggested he was channelling the music. When are you falling off the map? He was the singer who once sang, Do I make you scared? During his final months, Downie chose to say goodbye in his own unique wayand he let fans bid the beloved band farewell, too. Downie was born Feb. 6, 1964, to parents Edgar Charles and Lorna Downie and grew up in Amherstview, Ont., just outside Kingston. Both it and Battle of the Nudes are credited as Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles. That included only three live shows, in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, and appearances at the Ottawa WE Day event and Haydens Dream Serenade concert in Toronto. It was, in a way, a very Canadian approach to celebrity. Downie also appeared in Michael McGowan's 2008 film, One Week. [19], Downie was heavily involved in environmental movements, especially issues concerning water rights. [64], Residents of the Ontario village of Bobcaygeon, which Downie had written about in the song of the same name, held a candlelight vigil for him the night after his death;[65] a large public gathering also took place at Springer Market Square in the band's hometown of Kingston. Sit down. It's the main take-away of almost everybody who worked with him,. His third solo effort, The Grand Bounce, was released in 2010. Word of mouth about the band spread throughout Kingston and eventually to Toronto. Bodie is currently a State Historic Park. Kingston Transit buses displayed "GORD, WE'LL MISS YOU" on their electronic destination signs, alternately with the regular route number and name display. Working with Gold and Gregg, the Hip signed a record deal with MCA that led to an eponymous 1987 EP, but the band didn't start to become a household name until 1989's Up to Here, which included the hits Blow at High Dough and New Orleans is Sinking, both of which still get heavy play on Canadian radio. "Gord and I, we knew so little about residential schools," Mike says. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie performs with band members Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay and Rob Baker at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to kick off the bands latest Man Machine Poem tour in light of Downies brain cancer diagnosis, in Victoria, B.C., Canada July 22, 2016. On Oct. 17, 2017, Gord Downie passed away from brain cancer at the age of 53 in Toronto. As a musician, he lived "the life" for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Today Bodie is an authentic, intact ghost town. Tragically Hip: Canada Waves Goodbye to a National Treasure. [76] A different recording of "The East Wind" appeared on The Grand Bounce, and "At the Quinte Hotel" was previously released in video form, but never in an audio recording. [13], In addition to his solo works, Downie collaborated with several fellow Canadian and international artists. No other act of the day was embraced with the fervour and frenzy that Hip fans displayed toward Downie as a performer, but it was his lyrics that inflamed his fans. They're writing all the music and I'm writing all the lyrics and we're coming up with some neat stuff. Everyone whose family has ever been cursed with cancer projected stories onto the tale of a man who chose to stare down a terminal diagnosis and take the show on the road. Over three decades, the Tragically Hip released 14 studio albums, the majority of which topped the Canadian album charts and were eventually certified Platinum (their first three LPs all went Diamond). Gord Downie's legacy. As the Tragically Hip's lead singer and lyricist, Downie was the face and voice of a band whose discography sold more than eight million copies. Related [79] The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. It would turn out to be the last show of his bands 30-year, multi-million-selling, award-winning career, a fate many suspected at the time. Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell deserve to be read on the page just as often as you play their recordsbut they dont play rock music. [7], On December22, 2016, Downie was selected as The Canadian Press's Canadian Newsmaker of the Year and was the first entertainer selected for the title. It shouldnt have surprised us. [7], In 1984, at age 20, Downie formed the Tragically Hip with Rodents's members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair, another younger Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute alumnus, Johnny Fay, and saxophonist Davis Manning. After the final cross-country tour, all 17 Hip recordings (including box sets and live concerts) were back on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart as sales and downloads skyrocketed. Record sales and radio play declined, though never precipitously enough to render the band irrelevant. I know an 85-year-old with boy trouble. He called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. Gordon Edgar Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. Downie was not able to attend the ceremony due to his illness which had not yet been made public. He was married to Laura Leigh Usher. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. Those were the private reasons. Nonetheless, someone piped up. Another 11.7 million watched a CBC broadcast of the concert, with hundreds of viewing parties held in public parks, squares, movie theatres, bars and restaurants across Canada. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip (Photo by Aven Hoffarth) One of the best things about Gord Downie was his thoughtfulness. The rest of the Tragically Hip were scions of the Kingston elitesons of doctors, deans, judges and popular teachers. You are sitting on a project that might change the cultural landscape of First Nations for decades to come . [52] Under the stage name Kaya Usher, she released her own debut album as a singer, All This Is, in 2021 with the participation of two of their four children, and some of the tracks feature Usher performing with a guitar that had once belonged to Downie. Bobcaygeon, meanwhile, is a summer sing-along named for a sleepy town in East-Central Ontario, though the lyrics also grapple with the 1933 Christie Pits riot, during which Torontos Jewish community clashed with so-called Swastika clubs. On that summer night in Kingston, the set list dipped back to the Hips first hit single, Blow at High Dough, the one that opens with the line: They shot a movie once, in my hometown. His movie, our hometowns: Downies lyrics imbued Canadas music scene with mystery and magic and presented it, poetically, to a wide mainstream audience. The man slumped a bit. Gord Downie was born on February 6, 1964 in Amherstview, Ontario, Canada. [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. Avril?". He rarely granted interviews, and generally eschewed red-carpet jaunts for events like the Juno Awards. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary . That includes Downies specifically Canadian references, which were all but alien on radio playlists then (or now). We want to hear it. Downie died on October 17, 2017 at the age of 53. Downie was married to Laura Leigh Usher,[48] herself a breast cancer survivor. The Downie residence was the only one where the Hips gold record was nowhere to be seen; the elder Downies couldnt remember the name of his high-school punk band. It's there all the time, tuned in to Fox News. He also performed a few live shows to support the album, with supporting musicians Kevin Drew, Charles Spearin, Dave Hamelin, Kevin Hearn and Josh Finlayson. [34][35] Doctors at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre confirmed the same day that it was a glioblastoma, which had responded favourably to radiation and chemotherapy treatment but was not curable. In a rare interview with the CBC upon Secret Pathsrelease, Downie spoke about how he hoped Secret Path would bring more attention to the challenges indigenous communities face and potentially help shape Canadas future. The band even has its own postage stamp and a street named after it, Tragically Hip Way, in Kingston, Ont. "You know, I feel enough pain without having to go back and see some of the images, or hear the music and things like that. What followed once the show hit the road, though, was a public outpouring that few could have predicted: a year of Downie transforming from an aging rock star to tragic hero. Colin James is also featured in the episode. Their self-titled debut EP arrived in 1987 while their first LP, Up to Here, followed in 1989. However, the band never quite took. In December, the Assembly of First Nations honoured his work on reconciliation by endowing him with a Lakota spirit name: Wicapi Omani, or man who walks among the stars. In June, he and the band were named to the Order of Canada; Downie received his early, alongside activist Sylvia Maracle. On October 13, 2016, Downie and his brother Mike, along with the Wenjack family, announced the founding of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund to support reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Were still trying to figure out what makes us Canadian, and we have one of the loudest neighbors in the world, so this band helped a country, and Gord helped people lyrically, slowly start to try to define themselves.. [citation needed], Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. This was a man inviting us to his own wake. The emotional strength that Patrick and Mike have shown is inspiring, but they add that they're driven to keep their brother's legacy alive with projects like Finding the Secret Path because of what it means to others. Gord Downie is the late lead singer and songwriter of rock giants The Tragically Hip. Downie said growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario had an impact on the way he viewed the environment, which led him to support the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper as a board member and to pay for renewable energy at his Toronto home. Downie could at least boast that he had a family connection to hockey royalty, in Sinden. [1] [54] [55] The surviving members of the Tragically Hip made the news of his death public the next morning, by sharing an official statement from his family on their website: [54] We are not the country we think we are. The group also has a Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction, a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, an honorary fellowship with the Royal Conservatory of Music and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. [42] At the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, two additional awards were won by Gord Downie's Secret Path in Concert, the CBC Television broadcast of Downie's 2016 Roy Thomson Hall performance of the album. "Rock 'n' roll is not unlike love," he told music writer Michael Barclay in 2000. The claims are located in Okanogan County, in Section 3, Township 35 N., Range 31 E. The state lease encompasses the south half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter and the Lots 5 and . The hour-long film chronicles that last year of Gord Downie's life, and his determination to tell Chanie Wenjack's story: "It's such a simple story, that's part of its grasp," says Mike. [36], Downie toured with the band in summer 2016 to support Man Machine Poem, the band's 13th studio album. [4][5] In Kingston, Downie attended the downtown high school Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, where other members of the Tragically Hip also attended. Shut up until its time to do it again. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. [6] After graduating high school, Downie attended Queen's University where he majored in film studies, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in 1986. Thats what even newcomers discovered during the CBC broadcast of the Tragically Hips final show on Aug. 20, 2016, six months after Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. It was a rare piece of celebrity news about Downie, who had steadfastly shielded his four children and Laura Usher, his wife of 23 years, from the public eye; the lone exception was in 2012, when Downie talked openly about Ushers bout with breast cancer. He usually started with a "Hello," and often ended with a variation on "Good night, music lovers," but what would happen in between was anyone's guess. Gords command of language was profound. Downies privacy was put to the test in 2015, when the Huffington Post ran a story about how his Toronto home had recently sold for under the asking priceunheard of in the citys real estate market. ~ MacKenzie Wilson HOMETOWN Amherstview, Ontario, Canada BORN February 6, 1964 Similar Artists Gord Downie & The Country of Miracles The Tragically Hip Hayden Joel Plaskett Rheostatics Dan Mangan Matthew Good Matt Mays Arkells Wintersleep [25] Chanie Wenjack was a young indigenous boy who died trying to escape a residential school,[27] who became the centre of Downie's Secret Path project. With seven solo albums to his name, Downie's own music refutes definition, renowned for its adventurous poetry . Now, one year later, Gord's brothers take us through his final year full of passion and emotion, and share what it was like to be right by his side the entire way. [6] The Tragically Hip quickly became famous once MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson saw them performing at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto and offered them a record deal. To play live, he formed a band featuring members of the Odds, the Rheostatics, Erics Trip, Dinner is Ruined, and the Skydiggers. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. In a tribute to Downie at the Juno Awards ceremony, Sarah Harmer, Dallas Green and Kevin Hearn performed a medley of the album's title track with the Tragically Hip song "Bobcaygeon". Canadian Icon Gordon "Gord" Edgar Downie February 6th, 1964 - October 17th, 2017 We lost a true Canadian icon, talented poet and musician. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Its focus is on youth learning and combining Cree education with the contemporary world. And for him that missing piece became very obvious. Downie dismissed questions about why the band didn't break big in the U.S., telling CBC that he felt successful after the band's first practice. Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie performs with band members Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay and Rob Baker at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to kick off the bands latest Man Machine Poem tour in light of Downies brain cancer diagnosis, in Victoria, B.C., Canada July 22, 2016. I think that everyman quality matters.. To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. Though he wasn't afraid to go it alone as a solo artist, Downie's legacy will always be tied most closely with the Tragically Hip. Days earlier, this quiet man had held much of the entire nation rapt, millions watching as he summoned all his strength to tackle his terminal condition, to fend backhowever brieflythe inevitability of death. ", Mike says he hopes the film makes it clear that this idea, "meant a lot to this guy, he wasn't chasing causes around, this was really important. I wouldnt say its given me a stigma, but its something thats always stayed with me, not actually being from Kingston. His outsider status became part of his public identity: the poet in the bar band; the rock star slumming it with indie kids whilecozying up to intelligentsia; the artist with a commercially successful cushion who thrived on continuing to challenge himself with new collaborators and varied disciplines like dance, painting, and acting. [6] In 1986, Manning left the band as guitarist-vocalist Paul Langlois joined. In a genre prone to clich, outright nonsense and occasional misogyny, Gord Downie wrote lyrics that dipped in the same well as Al Purdy, Raymond Carver, Northrop Frye, Timothy Findley, Hugh MacLennan and others; he would even quote those writers directly in his lyrics. It really was his biggest wish.". Gord Downie's brother Mike describes what the Tragically Hip's front-man went through to keep pushing his projects ahead during his final struggle with a terminal brain tumour. It would be the last time. Downie formed the Tragically Hip in 1984 alongside childhood friends Bobby Baker, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay. Gordon Downie was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. The Hip, as they're often called, won 16 Juno awards (the most of any band) and received a raft of other honours, including the Order of Canada. Throughout his career, Downie seemed unfiltered on stage. [78] On September 21, it was confirmed that Away Is Mine, an album comprising the last songs Downie recorded in his lifetime, will be released on October 16. In 2005, the band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Copyright 2023 St. Joseph Communications. As original material slowly seeped its way into the set, it was the other Gord, Sinclair, who wrote most of the lyrics. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is Lakota for "man who walks among the stars". The cause was terminal brain cancer. Each night, Downie took to the stage dressed in metallic leather suits and feather-adorned hats, performing hits from the Tragically Hip's entire discography. Now, nearly a year after Gord Downie's death, his brothers Patrick and Mike are premiering a new CBC documentary they've produced Finding The Secret Path. In 2014, Downie released an album with the Sadies called And the Conquering Sun. The band won its first Juno (Most Promising Group) on the strength of that album and solidified its hold on the Canadian music scene with the next three albums: 1991's Road Apples, 1992's Fully Completely and 1994's Day for Night, all of which went multi-platinum or diamond. Gord knew this day was coming his response was to spend this precious time as he always had making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss on the lips. Gord Downie was given sufficient time to pen his own obituary, and that is exactly how it should be. In addition to the Tragically Hip's performance, Downie sang a song with a local band, Northern Revolution. READ MORE: Gord Downie calls out to Justin Trudeau during Tragically Hip's final show of tour. Meanwhile,Secret Pathcomprised not just a record, but a graphic novel and animated film as well, all of which werebased on the tragic, but largely unknown, story of Chanie Wenjack, an indigenous 12-year-old boy who froze to death trying to escape the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School. The album was scheduled for release on October 27th. But the bands greatest accomplishment may be transcending their status as a key Canadian cultural touchstone to an integral part of the countrys identity. Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to Canadians | CBC News Loaded. During their live shows, Downie would notably ad-lib lengthy stories in the middle of songs. to catch the first shows of the tour, just in case he didnt make it home. Meanwhile, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund was started to "start a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples.". All Rights reserved. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 Fifty Mission Cap,for instance, recounts the story of Toronto Maple Leafs hero Bill Barilko, who died in a plane crash months after winning the Stanley Cup. Gord said he had lived many lives. [57] Later in the day, he held a press conference at Parliament Hill at which he tearfully remembered Downie as "Our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he hadand not just loved it in a nebulous, 'Oh, I love Canada' way. He released his second solo album, Battle of the Nudes, in 2003 before returning to the studio with the Tragically Hip. "Then for him to say, 'Look at this, this is our country too. These tales would often spawn new Hip songs Nautical Disaster and Ahead by a Century were both borne out of New Orleans Is Sinking while some live versions, such as Highway Girl, proved more popular than the studio recordings. The album was raw, experimental and far removed from the rock radio world the Hip inhabited: droning organs, atonal guitar screeches and accordions competed for sonic space with Downies vocals atop opiated folk-country songs. [34] The tour's final concert was held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario, on August 20 and was broadcast and streamed live by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on television, radio and internet. He stoked the fire until sparks came out. In 2008, Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on City and Colour's single "Sleeping Sickness". In the wake of his diagnosis, Gord only fought harder for what he believed in: social justice, environmentalism and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, he added. [66] Most rock radio stations dropped regular programming to shift to an all-Tragically Hip format for the day,[67][68] and some further announced that they would continue the all-Hip format through the weekend until the morning of 23 October. But the new 150 years can be years of building an actual nation. Gordon Edgar Downie CM (February 6, 1964 October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. "The first time we heard him open his mouth, we just went, holy shit. I see stuff and I ," Patrick says, taking a moment to collect himself before continuing his thought. "[58] Canadian MP Tony Clement called upon the government to consider holding a state funeral for Downie, stating "I think he matters that much to Canadians. The statement was released via the band's official Twitter. No one. See where those sparks land. A documentary film, Long Time Running, about the Tragically Hip's summer 2016 cross-Canada farewell concert tour, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. Editors picks But music was his first love. The Secret Path began as 10 poems that Gord Downie wrote as he grappled with Chanie's story. You do it for the company but I'm genuinely shocked by the themes and things you touch based on the music you're singing to. Downie was also featured in the sitcom Corner Gas in the episode "Rock On!" lang and Neil Young, rapper Drake, and the rock group Rush, remembered Downie on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I think rock 'n' roll is the same. Trending Over the course of his career, Downie released three other musically adventurous solo albums, a collaboration with Toronto roots-rock band the Sadies, and a book of poetry. Where some go to get lost. What few knew in 2015, however, was that Downie and Usher had separated, promptingthe sale of the house. The entire band valued their privacy, but Downie even more so: perhaps because of the adulation directed his way, but also because of the way he was raised. The working men were going to work. "You find it oddly strangely comforting that no matter how old you get, when it comes to matters of the heart, you're always 15 inside. Yeah, no more ads! In the space of a month, he transformed the half-century-old tale of Chanie Wenjacka 12-year-old boy who froze to death running away from residential school in 1966into a current concern. " Rosa Hwang (@journorosa) October 18, 2017. I think thats all part of what appeals to Canadian fans. Downies political awareness had been tweaked in 1993, when the Hip invited Midnight Oil on a summer Canadian tour; that bands singer, Peter Garrett, was an outspoken activist who would later serve as Australias environment minister. That's who influenced me as a poet.". Visitors walk the deserted streets of a town that once had a population between 7,000 and 8,000 people. Downie also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 indie drama Nothing Really Matters, directed by Jean-Marc Pich. No matter how opaque or directly critical of Canadian history he may have been, Downie faced a sea of literal flag-waving at almost every single showespecially at shows not on Canadian soil. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. His family released the following statement: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family. Clockwise from left: Gord Downie, guitarist Gord Sinclair, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Paul Langlois and drummer Johnny Fay. Over more than thirty years and across fourteen studio albums, Downie and his band of brothers built a legacy as the essential Canadian rock band. I think I take my nanas approach," he once admitted. It had more in common with Neil Youngs 1975 ramshackle fan favourite album Tonights the Night than, say, anything that would have a life on classic-rock-radio playlists. Canadian rock legend Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip died at the age of 53 from brain cancer. The bands management broke the news just after the May long weekend in 2016, while simultaneously announcing a tour to promote the new album. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. In the latter part of the decade, he pushed the band to record two albums with Bob Rockwho produced albums by the likes of Metallica and Michael Bubleand he helped broaden the bands sonic palette. It was a move unprecedented in music history: this was not a suicide, like with Kurt Cobain; this was not an addict flaming out in public, as Amy Winehouse did; this was not an artist whose later work showed clear signs of physical decline, like Johnny Cash; this was not someone who was going to disappear quietly, like David Bowie, who left us to wrestle with his final artistic statements posthumously. Its kinda what I do. He was the man who once wrote a song for his late grandmothera song he sang several nights on stage in the summer of 2016that said, You were far more unifying than you know.. This, it seemed, meant much more to him than the Hips final show or the Order of Canada or the millions of records he sold. The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. At the end of their set that night, the whole place stood up and clapped and it was undeniable if you were in the room that night that this was something special.". Downie died of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time At the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 6, 2016, National Chief Perry Bellegarde honoured Downie with an eagle feather, a symbol of the creator above, for his support of the indigenous peoples of Canada. "For Gord, his way of experiencing the world is to write about it. TV is the main source of information. ", After his final appearances with the Tragically Hip, Downie released Secret Path, a multimedia project that tells the tragic tale of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, who died of exposure and hunger in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont. I dream about it, but I dont want to get too far ahead of myself, he said. He was also a dedicated activist, focusing on environmental issues and the disenfranchisement of Canadas indigenous community. [14] And their support hasn't gone. [6] In an interview with Canadian music journalist Steve Newton, Downie noted that the Tragically Hip's early setlist was originally drawn to bands such as The Yardbirds and The Stones, a decision that was made because the Hip wished other Kingston bar bands would also play the genre. And Then There Was David Lindley, See the Beths Deliver Refreshing 'Expert in a Dying Field' Mini-Set on 'CBS Mornings', The YSL Case Is Stretching Fulton County's Justice System to Its Breaking Point, Trump Promises to Continue Presidential Campaign if Indicted, Then Delivers a Snoozy CPAC Speech, NBA 'Investigating,' Team Suspends Ja Morant After Allegedly Flashing Gun on Social Media. On February 2, 2017, Downie joined Blue Rodeo onstage at Massey Hall for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". He sang about Canada, but disavowed nationalism, his songs exploring heavy topics like David Milgaard's wrongful conviction (Wheat Kings) or Canada's treatment of First Nations (Now the Struggle Has a Name). Thats whats missing as we celebrate doughnuts and hockey. "It certainly took ahold of Gord, I think, because it's just so simple a boy trying to get home.