Stan Rogers - Northwest Passage

[xoruhtra]

One has to be really, REALLY good to be able to portray emotion like this with nothing but one's voice. Stan Rogers is this good.

[Mortdiver6]

i crewed canada's largest and toughest ice breaker ( CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent ) and every time we started by resolute island, the captain would play this on all the speakers aboard ship . If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes, your dead inside and i pity you.

[mpgingdl]

It's a rare song that can bring tears to my eyes. This is one of them. Stan Rogers was (still is)a genius. (

[sireofzelda]

This is just great!! Wonderful!!

[10greendonuts123]

The poor dude Wuz burned to death on a plane accident. :(

[gonzosundial]

Why do I keep coming back to this video? What a talent. Canadians, hats off to you. An American.

[ENEKAGYEPNEN]

I think we all really need to hear this, when making our own Northwest passages threw our hearts.

[desertstar987]

@ENEKAGYEPNEN Yes. I think you're right.

[mosquitobight]

He was only about 34 when he died, but he sounded 20 years older than that.

[bad74maverick1]

I have always wanted to chase the hand of Sir John Franklin, the one that's reaching for the Beaufort sea.

[MattSingh1]

I'd be lying if I didn't say this made me somewhat husky. On a similar note, if this does the same to you, I suggest you listen to 'Driving The Last Spike' by Genesis (listen to it with earphones in to get the fullest out of it).

[BlueRetinaBoy]

A beautiful song =) Melts your heart/soul

[MrKnowitall94]

Absolutely beautiful and haunting. Canadians, why is this not your national anthem?

--Excelsior from California

[StridentLobster]

@MrKnowitall94 It really, really should be.

[DistressedxDamsel]

This makes me cry for some absurd reason.

[realmeee1]

stan rodgers was the best and will never be replaced

[Grahcm]

What a talent. Tremendous song.

[seventy2hundred]

Sorry if this has been said already but, it's 'wide and savage' not 'wild'. Just thought I'd point that out. Great song.

[MrLEEMS]

@seventy2hundred I always thought it was "white" given how far up North it is.

[PeteHunt1]

A great song with terrific harmonies. Heroes all.

[naismith666]

So haunting. I listened to this with a Canadian volunteer in Afghanistan and has struck a steel spike through my soul.

[lordaboveall]

Thumbs up if watch Due South and you heard it there.

[Kle7777]

I'm a patriotic redneck all-American asshole, but this song makes me want to be Canadian. Canadians, you have a country to be proud of!

Also- NEVER forget that a lot of European nations consider your army to be their liberators from the Nazi's in WW2! Ask any Dutchman, every single one of them, who's army freed them from Hitlers barbarians in 1944/45, and they will say "Canada!", not Britain or the US, but Canada! Be proud, Canadians!

[Dayshinestar]

He died in a fire in a plane, he didn't make it out in time. Just saw it on discovery

[ghass2006]

How did he die?

[bruchpilot747]

@ghass2006 if you're interested in details: /watch?v=_v_VSG1hexU&feature=r­elated

rip Stan

[thaliahollis]

The most inspirational and beautiful song I've heard in years and years.--Franny

[MultiSciencerules]

Had the wonderful opportunity to hear CLISHMACLAVER sing this at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 1989 or 1990. The cassette tape I bought of those ladies is long since lost to history. This song brings back pleasant memories. Ah how time flies.

[RichardPayne52]

This song stirs my soul.

[xPinkTuxToThePromx]

I'm from Newfoundland and I couldn't be prouder listening to this glorious man and his voice of gold, his passion that brings envy to all. I only wish he were still around to know what people think of him, to know how everyone appreciates his music.

[1wackyjackie]

Josh:You don't have to be Canadian to appreciate good music.

[kit763]

I reckon the 7 people who disliked this, just slipped their cursor to the wrong button.

[umucchs]

this song is about more than geographical exploration.

[xaolinshowdown1fan]

What a beautiful voice. And the voice behind chills. I love this song. My ancestors were some of those early voygers who mapped the interior of Canada. Feel like I am there.

[tml4life24]

@xaolinshowdown1fan

And my ancestors were the guides for these men. I also feel the passion of being there

[plutonic0]

Gives me chills every damn time. "To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea" is one of the most brilliant and haunting lyrics I know of.

[ohthehilarity124]

Hell yes to Canadian nationalism and everything it represents!!

[Kitsune340]

Listening to this song on the sea ice on patrol with the Canadian Rangers. It's haunting, and a little sad.

[wheresthebody]

this should be the canadian national anthem

[Paulwe1]

@wheresthebody Yeah our normal is a bit weird.

[fireman0231]

An amazing person and an amazing voice that god had gifted us to listen to and then to take it back so early in life..... I am an East Coaster and this man was a great loss, but I am sure he died a hero rescuing other's on that terrible crash.

[gonzosundial]

I'm an American. This song haunts me. I salute Canadians, who I admire. Stan Rogers voice voice stirs something in me that reaches deep. So sorry he had to die so young. So glad his genius has been preserved.

[yanceys1]

I love this song. I heard it on Due South, thanks Canada. From TEXAS.

[Zanyzia]

am not a Canuck - unless my love for Lightfoot and Rogers make me one. Great song!

[shmazy21]

Proud Canadian!!

[ViperhawkX]

Any Yanks or Russkies who think they can declare OUR Northwest Passage to be "international waters" because it might be warm enough for them to get their hands on some oil there, well, they have another thing coming!

[JohnnyAndWayneShow]

yum

[FreeLobsterRocks]

proud to be Canadian extremely proud to be a martimer

[TrentMichaelLynds]

I love being Nova Scotian

[lyrilljackson]

@TrentMichaelLynds damn.

[MrHomer386]

Stan Rogers........Nuff said!

[Drag0nboy12]

i heard this on the radio a few months ago and it was stuck in my head on my from from west coast to east coast canada. CANADA FTW!

[Rozy02]

I love being Canadian

[Eiger6]

Magnificent song.

[GrrrIamMad]

When I hear this song I just can't stand how other people my age (highschool) don't understqnd that meaning and lyrics is everything, not a stupid catchy beat.

[noleftturnunstoned]

Winter is here again. oh to be Canadian, I would trade it for nothing.

[voidhawk66]

has anyone else felt the presence of ghosts after listening to this song? Its powerful stuff.

[tprdfh51]

So long Stan...you will blaze the trail which I will follow!

[myunknownvirus]

Wonderful song from a great singer/song writer. I'm going to see his brother Garnet in a couple of weeks.

[Romanticanime4ever]

This is sending shivers up my spine.

[Trodorne]

Who are these 7 people who dislike this song? Have you no soul? No courage in your hearts maybe? This song represents many lives who tried to traverse and find a ship route to the orient through the North. Am I angry at you? No, All i feel is pity for those who do not understand.

[tprdfh51]

@Trodorne they are retards.

[featurewall]

When work gets crazy, this song comes into my head, I realize everything is okay and I manage whatever comes. Because I'm not risking my life against the elements in pure exploration. Then I realize at the same time I'm not doing that very same thing.....but thats what I want to do.....

[YogSoggoth7]

Makes me want to marry a Canadian girl.

[xXxlolxXx52]

i love this song

[DrSchmi3d]

Listening to that song makes me itchy feet. Just want to travel the seas although being a lubber. :O))))

[FellowWorker1905]

What a voice, and what a man!

And how can anyone not like this song?

[SteveoBrit]

Sorry for the doubled up entry - My first submission and I didn't appreciate the delay in it showing up - thought it was lost in the ether

[SteveoBrit]

Heard this on a documentary about Franklin and never forgot it - Haunting and beautiful. We Brits have a lot to live down but we do a good line in heroic deaths! Stan Rogers is clearly another lost gem - I later heard Barrett's privateers sung a capella by The Men They Couldn't Hang at a festival in Dorset and only just have realised the Rogers link.

[SteveoBrit]

I heard this in a documentary on Franklin's expedition and have never forgotten it. Haunting could describe it - from the tragedy of the missing 'ghosts' of the expedition before you even start looking at the wider significance for Canadians. Historically we Brits have a lot to live down but we also do quite a good line in doomed heroics

Entirely separately I later heard Barrett's Privateers sung by The Men They Couldn't Hang at a Festival in Dorset. Stan Rogers is obviously another lost gem

[altareggo]

Well what do you know: not a single comment mentioning Justin... oops!!! Sorry, Stan's ghost :D.

[echoside190]

@altareggo

We do not mention he who shall not be named in the presence of such wonderful music.

[griev100]

makes me want to light my pipe and stand on a boat

[MrMrhull]

My god I wish he was still around..... God damn air canada.

[mashashell]

mexico is better

[24Matferrari]

@mashashell HAAHAHAHAHAHA good one

[cameronlovesevolve]

Stan Rogers is one of the reasons i'am proud to be NOVA SCOTIAN

[memechose16]

Having just been in the Arctic, this song means a lot to me. Canada is lucky to be associated with the raw, rugged beauty that exists in the North.

[braveheart6991]

@memechose16 if only more of the U.S. was like that! :'(

[cyclegeek]

6 dislikes? my x's family finally figured out how to surf the internet i take it. someone said to me 'if you don't like stan rogers, you can still be canadian, but i doubt you have a soul....

[stebopwns]

@cyclegeek Excellent quote. I'm gonna use it.

[cyclegeek]

@stebopwns interestingly enough, the guy who said it to me was aussie. 

[jaysidell]

Great song! The lyrics have an error in the though. In the second line of the chorus, the land is WIDE and savage. I've seen this same error several places but if you listen he clearly says wide not wild.

Thanks for posting this song. Epic!

[canmoore]

He died in my birthyear! Makes me proud to be Canadian. Even if I am a land-lubber Ontarian.

[canadave87]

@canmoore It's okay, Stan Rogers was an Ontarian, too.

[zippybomb]

Thumbs up if you clapped at the ned of this!

[burnbrae41]

This song chokes me up, Ive driven across Canada twiceb, it's just awesome. Thanks for posting

[tprdfh51]

Stan Rogers rocks!

[JoshPeters53]

I'm not canadian but this is fucking awesome.

[TheRevJonnyNemo]

@JoshPeters53 I am, and yes it is.

[Paulwe1]

@JoshPeters53 I AM Canadian and I agree. Wish it weren't a capella but oh well, still great song. :D

[eepetius]

@JoshPeters53 fuck ye

[Ztiox]

they should do a trbute to Stand Rogers at the junos by having some singers prefrom this song. I would just like to see some other people take a crack at this beautiful song. Im sure it can get any better tho.

[waterdog226]

Whenever I hear this song, (especially on the radio, usually the CBC), I am absolutely overwhelmed by its force: on a scale of vocal folk artistry that is rare and gorgeous.

[LadyFullMoon71]

As usual, makes me wish I were Canadian. Of course, from my many visits, it seems as if Canada is what America could be if we hadn't f***ed it up.

[NorseWarriorKing]

@LadyFullMoon71 Too true, here in Canada we're more free than you are in "the land of the free". I like some of the earlier tales of america, but the place sickens me now.

[LadyFullMoon71]

@NorseWarriorKing It gets worse. The "Republicans" are determined to kill all of us who aren't rich. Still, I can still live on great music!!!! (I also loved Moxy Fruvous" Does this make me a mad woman?)

[MegaWolfgang]

RIP Stan. We miss you.

[shadowhfx]

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for introducing me to this song about 25 years ago. I think it could be - should be - our national anthem.

I am a professional musician and I have often wondered why this song has such a profound effect on me and so many others...

Is it the history? The melody? The poetry? The incredible voice?

I can't pin it down... but who cares? it's amazing.

For those Stan Rogers newbies - check out "Barrett's Privateers".

The heart of Nova Scotia beats in that song.

[plwizerd]

has haunted me for 25 years ... I took an Oregon passage, to find there but the road back home.....

[gilbertsonscott]

We first found out about Stan Rogers at the Winnepeg Folk Festival in the mid-90's. We heard a group sing this haunting song and I had to find out more about it. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know about this incredible artist until more than 10 years after his passing. I can hardly listen to this song without tearing up and I'm not even from Canada! It's incredible; truly one of the greatest songs ever written or performed.

[NOLA556]

this is the first time I've ever heard this song, or even heard of Stan Rogers.

what an amazing song. this is truly incredible. thank God I found this artist.

[primexmfr]

Stan's voice is like a big hammond organ. What power. Somehow the 'howling lunatic' harmonies fit in this fantastic tale of the lonely north.

[PSzymeczek]

This, Canadian Railroad Trilogy by Gordon Lightfoot, or anything by Le Vent du Nord.

[EnterTheMuffin]

I'm a canadian born who recently returned to his native country... This song strikes me as hard as this country did; in the most beautiful of ways.

[CrazzyOntarian]

6 people have no taste or respect for a great song, sung by a Very Great Canadian!

[LesArmesDuTemps]

@CrazzyOntarian I like to think of it more like "six people hade too many tears in their eyes to see what button they clicked".

[haw1948]

I still miss him after all these years!

[lancef1966]

First heard on Vinyl Cafe too here in Indianapolis. Great song, very interesting harmony. I recognized Rogers from his song Barrett's Privateers, just as good.

[CrazzyOntarian]

@lancef1966 Stuart Rocks eh? He always plays such awesome songs, and great stories! He's the one that introduced me to Corb Lund.



[kappazei]

We heard this song for the first time today on Vinyl Cafe. It's Canada Day weekend. After the song ended, my daughter broke the silence by saying, "Wow". Thank you Stuart McLean. Thank you CBC Radio. Thanks Moonfirespam. You've got great taste.

[mecampbellesq]

I've said it about this song before, and I"'ll say it again: Of all the musical instruments in the world, the greatest is the human voice...this song is proof.

[GrrrIamMad]

Happy Canada Day!

[wesley4006]

died the year i was born but made me believe in my irish roots

[hetrodoxly]

@wesley4006

Irish roots! why.

[Dutchpowder]

Air Crash investigation brought me here, and i'm ashamed of it

[FeralWarpwolf]

@Dutchpowder:

Brought me here, too. And I am glad it did. 

[GlobePhobe]

I am currently under the impression that I am the only 15 year old who knows who Stan Rogers is and was. Love the music.

[xLars10]

R.I.P the victims of Air Canada-flight 797

[PapaT104]

I once sang this song for a school production... noone had ever heard the song, and we only had the words. I wish we knew.

[MrHarry205]

This song makes me feel happy to be a Canadian and to learning Canadain history!!!

[jewallace1]

Thanks for upload, makes my heart sing and proud to have met Stan in 1980.

[AimingForVegan]

Thank you kindly for uploading the great "Northwest Passage" by the legendary Stan Rogers.

[dfxman]

watched an air disaster documentary the other day, and he was one of the victims...so i'm having a look, and glad i did.

[GrrrIamMad]

6 People added to my Hit-List.

[TKO24TKO]

@GrrrIamMad Go get 'em

[Brephos]

I like canadian girls!

I mean, I freaking love this song. I hope you don't hold it against Texans that he died on the way back from Kerrville- airlines were more to blame, and Texas has done so many worse things... so, y'know. Canadian girls!

[Lijaskurzeme]

Why on earth would any sane person 'dislike' Stan's music???

Do you even know his musical legacy???..Doubt it.

I have listened to his music for 30 years and he is iconic in my eyes!!! :)

Please do not disrespect a person who is a genius for one, and is now deceased.

[BaconTV123]

is this guy from Newfound Land?

[PippinRally]

@BaconTV123 According to wiki he's from Ontario but his family was from Nova Scotia and he spent his summers there.

[BaconTV123]

@PippinRally kk thanks just asking

[Raitaro85]

6 people have NO TASTE!

[crubba]

it's the anniversary of stan's death today... such a loss, what a talented man

[arobinson807]

I grew up among marine archeologists and first heard this song when i was about 6 or 7 growing up on the west coast of British Columbia. Listening to this for the first time in about 20 years brought quite a tear to my eye.

[keplermission]

watch?v=8OQJ4UrAVJw

This is a video link to help you prepare for a visit to fisheries museums with the on screen links both on the video and pull down menu. As there are a great deal of links it may need you to pause the video to see all that are available.

[astayonix]

So beautiful. So haunting. Pure, raw, and powerful. Thank you for posting.

[HPgeek2]

This would be a much better national anthem for Canada.

[standforthmysoul]

@HPgeek2 I think the first 1m 31secs would be perfect for Canada's national anthem at the football (soccer) world cup.

[Brosiden1]

@HPgeek2 too long

[tubatim]

Pure Canadiana.

[waterdog226]

Gives me shivers.

[nerdyharry]

these voices gel together so perfectly in harmony

[potatoface13]

air crash investigation brought me here..

[rekktor2]

My teacher played this song way back when i was in grade 4, and just found it again after all these years. Still love it!

[chutoi26]

So terribly tragically true...as we rape, glean and destroy,,,

I wish we had Stan with us now.

[Kineticmoleculartheo]

Makes me feel so good inside.

[folsom90]

This song reminds me of Due South

[somegalfromcan]

Stan Rogers is one of the reasons I am proud to be Canadian!

[Will16016]

@somegalfromcan  I'm proud too

[AnnonymusII]

@somegalfromcan

I am not canadian, I am german. But I am proud too. This man and his art touches my heart and my soul and I am proud of being a part of the family of people who loves this kind of music and this kind of living.

Farewell good old friend. Wherever you may be..... your songs will be with you.

[S0ulForgeD]

@somegalfromcan I'm not even Canadian and I'm totally proud of him.

[uog420]

fuck this guy is awesome

[snowfalltimbre]

I saw Stan Rogers and band (including his brother Garnet) at my university in upstate NY in 1981-82 > an astonishing show that still ranks in the top 5 musical events I have ever had the privilege to see and hear. His death was a devastating loss for humanity. What a beautiful spirit> he lives still in my heart after all of these years. For Canada to give rise to a man of this quality says so much about the soul of his native country.

[777azathoth]

proud to be canadian!

[Breiavis]

i mean damn why did he had to die so young :-(

[Breiavis]

damn why did he died so young :-(

[riastradh2]

It's a sad day when that Canada will be remembered more for Justin Beiber than Stan Rogers, priorities people priorities!!! :)

[Tb0neZ5]

@riastradh2 I had no idea justin beiber is canadian.... I'm almost ashamed to be one now =(

[coibhin]

Here's to you Canada, from one of your lovers who comes from below the border. Be true to your grand heritage, and may our countries stand together in peace and war. Sorry about that Fenian business :>)

[Righton2000]

@coibhin Hey, no worries, man. Being a British colony, we've gotten to know how to handle the Irish. They're good folks.

[OrgrimFreeman]

In my mind this is Canada's true national anthem.