What’s the best Canadian winter song?

(Entries to the draw for a toque are closed, but feel free to submit your favourite Canadian winter song)

It’s bright and sunny here in Canmore but I hear it’s a different story in Calgary. Chip just emailed me with this great idea…

“I just had an idea for all those snowbound skiers who access the blog. It’s snowing again in Calgary, much more than predicted and the roads are horrible. I think we need a contest. How about Best Canadian Winter Songs and the person who provides the suggestion with the most votes gets a toque.

Here are my Top 3(click to listen and see a video).

Chip”

Now that could be Chip’s way of getting a free toque, but I like the idea anyway. Leave a comment below with your suggestion(s). If you can find your song on Youtube, leave a link with your comment so readers can hear it.

I’m going to override Chip’s voting idea, however, and everyone who leaves a comment will be entered in a draw for a rare and coveted “SkiHere.ca” toque.

31 Comments:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. A Canadian/winter song I always enjoy is David Francey’s “Skating Rink”…so evocative of our outdoor winter experiences:
    http://youtu.be/wq_07HbxIUU
    Enjoy!

  2. Sarah McLachlan- Song for a Winter’s Night
    So beautiful!

  3. Song for a Winter’s Night – original Gordon Lightfoot version – tops my list. Also, check out the opening portion of the music video to Dan Fogelberg’s “Go Down Easy” -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvnO43MRgeA – hard to find a better music video for folks on this website!

  4. Sarah McLachlan is a Canadian treasure… Her “Song for a Winter’s Night ” is an all time favourite.

  5. Okay this is stretching it a bit but since I brought it up last year about Steppenwolf snow and at least one of the band members is Canadian I am going to have to add Magic Carpet Ride to the mix.. just like in the video getting locked in on a long downhill with a perfect track..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59_RG3eoExU

    Fantastic! -Bob

  6. I love “Hockey Sweater” by Dala!

  7. I love toques. The Joni and Jane Siberry picks are definitely two of my favourite winter songs; and for an Canadian Indie take on winter songs check out this link: http://yourockred.com/top-10-canadian-indie-songs-about-winter/, there are some good ones in there. There is a classical composition by Marjan Mozetich that is not specifically about winter but it is a beautiful piece of music and it is called “Affairs of the Heart”, which would relate to how most readers of this blog feel about winter. Find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWc62xO2O2c (good speakers/headphones will definitely enhance enjoyment). And apologies for such a long comment but I have to add one more song, and it is not Canadian. Kate Bush has a song (and album by the same name with many other snow related songs) called “50 Words for Snow” and it can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Aytn3Fcu0. It is worth a listen just to here 50 different words for snow (one of which is apparently in Klingon).

    Happy Trails

    • I really enjoyed going through the indie list. Some great lyrics, great music, and some really good video too. So thanks for helping me discover some new music!

    • The Joe Plaskett “Snowed In/Cruisin” youtube video was uploaded by ‘Kanan-an-askis’ .

    • Kate Bush gets my vote. I’ll be downloading that one.

      • Perhaps Kate can be voted an honourary Canadian for the purposes of the contest. It’s an intriguing piece of music that kind of grows on you by the time they reach 50, even though this didn’t use ‘sustrugi’ -)

  8. Cmon hosers. Let’s not get our touques in a knot. In the great white north it’s gotta be Bob and Doug’s 12 Days of Christmas.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEbUtpPQihM
    Now pass me a cold one.

  9. Great list. My vote would also go to Huron Carol, Song for a Winter’s Night, Four Strong Winds, and River, in that order.

    As a secondary group of more obscure ones, I’ll add;

    First Christmas – Stan Rogers (get your kleenex out);
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3siaBOJIA8M

    Whatever Happened to Christmas – Andy Kim and Ron Sexsmith;
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zOO47SLIQg

    and although it has absolutely nothing to do with winter, it evokes vivid images of cold days in the Rockies:

    Cold Hearted Wind – Ron Sexsmith;

  10. I say “Mon Pays” by Gilles Vigneault — “Mon pays, ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver”

  11. It’s gotta be Stompin Tom Conners Snowmobile song. After all where would we be without that magical machine that sets those perfect tracks!

  12. Sorry…just realized it was supposed to be Canadian. Tommy Roe’s song is still a beautiful winter one!

    Tommy Roe…didn’t he sing the song “Sweet Pea?” I remember him. We’ll make an exception for you even though he isn’t Canadian because of the nice comment you left previously. I like these impromptu contests where we can make and break rules as we go along. I don’t even know when this contest ends. -Bob

  13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmJU8CDlxXo
    “It’s Now Winter’s Day” by Tommy Roe.
    1967, first love at 16. How could I ever forget this song and my favourite season! This is my first viewing of the youtube version with the turntable, and the snowy lake that reminds me of my northern Ontario town. Thanks for a wonderful contest; I’m looking forward to the other entries.

  14. What could be more Canadian than the Huron Carol sung by Tom Jackson? I wasn’t expecting this to send chills down my spine but it did.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_cmnxep67k

    Don

  15. I remember a song when I was a kid about a snowman that played all these different musical instruments. It was called Bonhomme Bonhomme, to this day i have no idea what all the lyrics mean but it is stuck in my head like a frozen earworm.

  16. I agree with Pete – Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winters Night.

  17. Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song for a winters night”

  18. More Canuck Winter Songs

    All the songs suggested are truly iconic (Would that be “earconic”) and I would certainly add them to the list. I was hoping for a few more candidates. Here are some other classics I’ve dug up.

    Leonard Cohen – Winter Lady
    Stompin’ Tom Connors – Snowmobile Song
    Gilles Vigneault – Mon Pays

    All can be heard, along with some more modern season-appropriate tunes at:
    http://blog.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/blog/posts/canadian-winter-songs/

  19. http://youtu.be/hv3ysFw-p0U
    This local production of “Grandma got run over by a reindeer” will be the hands down winner!
    Merry Christmas everyone

  20. Snowbird by Ann Murray?

  21. If we made it international I would submit Hounds of Winter by Sting

  22. Four Strong Winds. Ian Tyson

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *