If a Tree Falls

My friend Joel won tickets to a Bruck Cockburn concert in Prince George after he wrote a letter for a contest explaining the impact Cockburn has had on his life:

I first remember hearing Bruce Cockburn's music driving in my parents 1984 two-tone brown Volkswagen Vanagon, nicknamed "The Bread Box." Cockburn sang the line "... tried to build a New Jerusalem, and ended up with New York," and my Dad turned to me and said, "what a great line, eh?" It was an introduction to listening carefully to the message and worldview both explicit and implicit in songs - and Bruce Cockburn's worldview had a particular draw. Oh, sure, my sisters and I gave Dad a hard time about Cockburn's name (split it in half and it ain't so pretty - evident even now as the computer I'm working at won't allow me to google his name because of an internet filter that doesn't 'approve' of his name). But, regardless of the name, we were absorbing - by exposure and osmosis - a fairly healthy perspective on the world. The only concert I remember attending was when I was 12 years old at Expo '86 in Vancouver. In midst of McBarge, Highway '86 and corporations gathered to hawk their wares, I remember a charged atmosphere as I joined the crowd in singing along with many songs. It is not my aim to join the debate as to whether Cockburn is a stronger singer, guitar-player or advocate. For me, Cockburn is a prophet with a guitar - not just in my life - but to our culture. Whatever your political or religious stripe, over the years, you couldn't help but take notice when he decried injustice, stood up for the homeless, implored care of creation and invited full, joyful participation on God's green earth. Different songs form the soundtrack for different epochs in my life - from "If a Tree Falls" to "Shipwrecked at the Stable Door." I would be a different person had I not been introduced to Bruce Cockburn at a young age and I'm thankful for the opportunity to see, feel, experience and sing my way through the past 25 years with Bruce Cockburn as one able guide.