Hello musical friends,
I hope you’ll enjoy this tribute to Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Excuse the Rah! Rah! Canada...but Trudeau was/still is the Gretzky of politics. The Great One. Forever...
Pass on for Canada Day if you think it’s commendable.
In advance of the September 10th release of his debut album, “Before and Afterlife: The Theory of Positivity,” Larry Pegg introduces Even in the Cold, the first song that celebrates the legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Here’s the link to listen http://lpgroove.ca/eveninthecold.cfm or click on the podcast link at the bottom of this post.
About Even in the Cold?
I wrote this song in October 2000 after Pierre’s funeral in Montreal. I had attended the ceremony with my thirteen-year old daughter. I was moved to attend Pierre’s funeral for a number of reasons. Primarily, I was very moved by his legacy, but on a human scale, his loss of his son Michel in 1998 affected me the most. It showed us all that public figures are still fragile and vulnerable people like the rest of us. They deserve our respect.
Many believe that Pierre's loss of Michel was his undoing, and that he lost his will to fight and ultimately to live. I felt this viscerally. My heart went out to the family. In a sense, this song was about my shame that many Canadian’s, literally hated the man. Many still do today, and I believe that this is a dark side of Canada that needs to be exposed, and put to rest.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/cms/binary/3673662.jpg?size=620x400
Above picture of a family’s crushing loss was taken by the Montreal Gazette.
Why is this song on an Album supporting Suicide Prevention?
Little did I know that my visceral connection to the Trudeau loss would be a parallel for my own life, as I was to experience the same devastating anguish when I lost my precious daughter to suicide in 2007.
From the darkness of ongoing grief, symptoms of PTSD and depression, I’ve found the way to express my own feelings of loss, and more importantly, to try and bring some help and a sense of hope to others through this musical offering, part of my life's collection of music. The Trudeau song is an important part of the story behind this project.
Like all my songs, Even in the Cold was written on acoustic guitar. It was always intended to be epic, telling both Trudeau’s and Canada’s story. Ironically, the song runs 6:37, about the same as Lightfoot’s "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. A full string section was envisioned, however we rocked this version out with the amazing guitar style of Fred Guignon. Fred’s frantic power chords and soaring whammy bar notes and the Gabriel-esque epic ending are fitting for any celebration of our collective passion for Canada. Special thanks to James Clugston for believing in this song and hitting those Canadian Rocker BG vocal highs and Ross Murray for fine drums/production, Edmund Eagan (continuum operator), Pat Guinta (bass), Jeff Rogers (keyboards).
You’ll have to be the judge if it captures some of the passion that we all felt for Canada’s most memorable Prime Minister. A video would be an amazing next step.
Thank you.
Larry Pegg
I hope you’ll enjoy this tribute to Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Excuse the Rah! Rah! Canada...but Trudeau was/still is the Gretzky of politics. The Great One. Forever...
Pass on for Canada Day if you think it’s commendable.
In advance of the September 10th release of his debut album, “Before and Afterlife: The Theory of Positivity,” Larry Pegg introduces Even in the Cold, the first song that celebrates the legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Here’s the link to listen http://lpgroove.ca/eveninthecold.cfm or click on the podcast link at the bottom of this post.
About Even in the Cold?
I wrote this song in October 2000 after Pierre’s funeral in Montreal. I had attended the ceremony with my thirteen-year old daughter. I was moved to attend Pierre’s funeral for a number of reasons. Primarily, I was very moved by his legacy, but on a human scale, his loss of his son Michel in 1998 affected me the most. It showed us all that public figures are still fragile and vulnerable people like the rest of us. They deserve our respect.
Many believe that Pierre's loss of Michel was his undoing, and that he lost his will to fight and ultimately to live. I felt this viscerally. My heart went out to the family. In a sense, this song was about my shame that many Canadian’s, literally hated the man. Many still do today, and I believe that this is a dark side of Canada that needs to be exposed, and put to rest.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/cms/binary/3673662.jpg?size=620x400
Above picture of a family’s crushing loss was taken by the Montreal Gazette.
Why is this song on an Album supporting Suicide Prevention?
Little did I know that my visceral connection to the Trudeau loss would be a parallel for my own life, as I was to experience the same devastating anguish when I lost my precious daughter to suicide in 2007.
From the darkness of ongoing grief, symptoms of PTSD and depression, I’ve found the way to express my own feelings of loss, and more importantly, to try and bring some help and a sense of hope to others through this musical offering, part of my life's collection of music. The Trudeau song is an important part of the story behind this project.
Like all my songs, Even in the Cold was written on acoustic guitar. It was always intended to be epic, telling both Trudeau’s and Canada’s story. Ironically, the song runs 6:37, about the same as Lightfoot’s "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. A full string section was envisioned, however we rocked this version out with the amazing guitar style of Fred Guignon. Fred’s frantic power chords and soaring whammy bar notes and the Gabriel-esque epic ending are fitting for any celebration of our collective passion for Canada. Special thanks to James Clugston for believing in this song and hitting those Canadian Rocker BG vocal highs and Ross Murray for fine drums/production, Edmund Eagan (continuum operator), Pat Guinta (bass), Jeff Rogers (keyboards).
You’ll have to be the judge if it captures some of the passion that we all felt for Canada’s most memorable Prime Minister. A video would be an amazing next step.
Thank you.
Larry Pegg