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Rain City Blues

from Fragments by Chris Ronald

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about

While listening to CBC radio one day, Ronald was struck by how Vancouver’s bridges are always mentioned in rush-hour traffic reports. Ronald weaves bridge names into verses that tackle topics such as housing, public education, fossil fuel extraction, and pot legalization.

lyrics

The house across the way has turned to rubble
The garage is a goner and the garden's too much trouble
When you're working like a dog to make ends meet
There's no tears for the old timers disappearing from our streets
If you're lucky you could rent a mortgage helper
That or join the masses driving in from the delta
Either way you'll be in debt above your head
And you'll wish you'd bought a cottage in The Maritimes instead
'Cause on the surface it can look like perfect bliss
But if you're living in this city you'll do very well to miss
All the talk about the bubble going bang
And the very heavy volume on The Knight, Oak, and Arthur Liang

And the school around the block is being shuttered
It's too quiet in the corridors, the mums and dads gutted
There'll be no more skipping ropes and bottle rockets
In the schoolyard with a playground that was paid for from their pockets
Quite the model for a public education
No more pennies for the poor kid with ideas above her station
It's a Band Aid on a cut requiring stitches
And some medicine for the boys to kill the insects in their britches
A cacophony of axes chopping strings
Is the next thing on the program then it's scissors clipping wings
So spare a thought for the pencil and eraser
In the hand of the child who built the Port Mann and Alex Fraser

Now our neighbours to the east are on their uppers
They were dancing in the sands and now they're singing for their suppers
And nobody has seen the farmer's daughter
For her daddy's fields are finished or they'll soon be under water
As the queen collects her eggs in a basket
It's her subjects who'll be carrying those chicks in a casket
'Cause the cookie is not crumbling in her favour
And a smorgasbord of fossil fuels has kinda lost its flavour
For the ones who like to stop and smell the roses
And listen to the leaders who can see beyond their noses
As you're looking at the ships in the shallows
Through a window made in China from the Lions Gate or Second Narrows

But the people are now putting heads together
As they try to turn this tanker sailing into stormy weather
And the eagle and the whale are at the helm
And a cargo of compassion is returning to the realm
As the needle of the compass shifts direction
The simple act of sharing is the latest reconnection
In a nanny state that's finally relaxing
Soon the day to day could be a little bit less taxing
Johnny Walker's gonna marry Mary Jane
She'll be waiting on the corner if you want to numb the brain
To the stories that you're hearing on the news
Or another dreary winter and a case of Rain City blues

credits

from Fragments, released May 26, 2017
Vocals: Chris Ronald, Jody Okabe, Rob Fillo, Dana-Marie Battaglia, Mark James Fortin
Guitar: Chris Ronald
Percussion: Pat Steward
Banjo: John Ellis
Violin: Mike Sanyshyn

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Chris Ronald Vancouver, British Columbia

Originally from England and now living in Canada, Ronald’s music has been described as “Canadian folk with British roots.” In recent years, his “keenly luxuriant voice and immaculate songcraft” have won him many accolades including a nomination for “Songwriter of the Year” at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. His latest release, Fragments, was released on esteemed Canadian label Borealis Records. ... more

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