As he approaches 71 on June 30, Murray McLauchlan is not too old for change.
The Canadian singer-songwriter icon, who will play Vernon鈥檚 Performing Art Centre Monday, June 17, gives two examples.
He reworked a lyric in his classic song Down By The Henry Moore, released in 1975, at the request of his wife, broadcast and music executive, and fellow Order of Canada member, Denise Donlon.
鈥淭he original line is 鈥楾his fat girl come up and grabbed me.鈥� Denise said, 鈥楾hat line makes me very鈥ncomfortable,鈥欌�� said McLauchlan in a phone interview as he prepares for a 10-city tour of B.C. through June. 鈥淏ody shaming. Political correctness. So I changed it to, 鈥楾his girl came up and grabbed me.鈥� It鈥檚 changed now and forever.鈥�
The other change is in a format to a reporter鈥檚 favourite McLauchlan song, Never Did Like That Train. The reporter was curious about the lore behind the song, having grown up about 50 feet from railway tracks.
鈥淢y accompanist (Victor Bateman) and I did a rockabilly version of the song and we鈥檝e added that version to the repetoire,鈥� said McLaughlan, to the reporter鈥檚 delight. 鈥淲hen I was a little kid growing up in North Toronto, freight trains would be going by in the middle of the night and it made me restless. Later on in life, things that bugged me made me restless and the train became a metaphor for events happening in life.鈥�
Over his 45-year career, McLauchlan has released 19 albums and been awarded 11 Junos. His songs Farmer鈥檚 Song, Down by the Henry Moore, Whispering Rain and Sweeping the Spotlight Away are now considered Canadian standards. He鈥檒l be playing those songs 鈥� 鈥淚 love playing them and if I didn鈥檛 play them I鈥檇 get shot鈥� 鈥� as well as selections from his latest album, Love Can鈥檛 Tell Time.
His much-loved song, Child鈥檚 Song, was featured in the smash NBC TV show This Is Us.
鈥淚 love getting up on stage and playing for people,鈥� said McLauchlan on why he keeps touring. 鈥淎s a songwriter I know that it鈥檚 not enough to sit in your kitchen and write. Your songs need to be heard. Music is a communicative art and if it isn鈥檛 brought in front of people there is no way to tell if that end has been met. I like to think of a concert tour as a kind of roving gallery to test your art and your ideas. I try to do my very best to make it worthwhile for folks to be there and to perhaps look at things in a new way when they leave.鈥�
Murray McLauchlan plays the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Monday, June 17. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Reserved seating tickets for An Evening in Concert with Murray McLauchlan are $47.50 (facility fees and tax incl., handling charges may apply) and are available from Ticket Seller at 250-549-7469.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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