![]() Lemire created a graphic novel inspired by Downie's songs, and its images were used to create the film. Meanwhile, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund was started to "start a new relationship with Indigenous Peoples."ĭuration 4:14 Tragically Hip frontman wants the story of Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who died running away from a residential school in northern Ontario, to be his legacy projectĭownie, who won two Junos for the 10-song solo album, thought of the Secret Path music, concerts and film created with artist Jeff Lemire as his legacy project. We are not the country we think we are."Īfter his final appearances with the Tragically Hip, Downie released Secret Path, a multimedia project that tells the tragic tale of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, who died of exposure and hunger in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont. Courage: Canuck musicians, politicians tweet support for Gord Downieĭownie spent his final months speaking out in support of Indigenous people, declaring: "Canada is not Canada.'Canadian original': Politicians pay tribute to Gord Downie. ![]() INTERACTIVE | Looking for a place to happen: Canadian stories behind Tragically Hip's lyrics.(Patrick Morrell/CBC)ĭownie contained similar complexities: He was an everyman poet, seeming both aloof and down to earth, writing lyrics that rhymed "catharsis" with "my arse is." He sang about Canada, but disavowed nationalism, his songs exploring heavy topics like David Milgaard's wrongful conviction ( Wheat Kings) or Canada's treatment of First Nations ( Now the Struggle Has a Name). People leave flowers and candles at a growing memorial for Gord Downie at Springer Market Square in Kingston, Ont. The band's propulsive, muscular rock, coupled with intense live performances and Downie's cryptic, literary lyrics, allowed the band to attract a diverse fan base that included party animals and armchair philosophers alike. The 15-show Man Machine Poem tour, especially its final concert, became a cultural event, as Downie's dire prognosis prompted an outpouring of support from people across the country who had the rare opportunity to celebrate a much-loved Canadian before he was gone.Īs the Tragically Hip's lead singer and lyricist, Downie was the face and voice of a band whose discography sold more than eight million copies. (Mike Homer/Live Nation)Ĭanadians learned of Downie's illness on May 24 last year - the same day the rest of the rock group, Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay, announced that the Kingston, Ont.-based band would head out on a final summer tour "for Gord, and for all of us." The panel can be streamed in Canada and worldwide at cbc.ca/secretpath.As the Tragically Hip's lead singer and lyricist, Downie was the face and voice of a band whose discography sold more than eight million copies. In an engaging discussion, these Indigenous leaders will reflect on how art can help us face the past and work together to change Canada's future. How can Chanie Wenjack's story make a difference? Immediately following The Secret Path broadcast, CBC live-streamed The Road to Reconciliation, a special one-hour panel conversation with CBC's Jesse Wente, filmmaker Tasha Hubbard, and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation director Ry Moran, live from CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. Watch Gord Downie's The Secret Path in Concertĭownie's music and award-winning cartoonist Jeff Lemire's illustrations also came together in an animated film that was broadcast by CBC in an hour-long commercial-free television special this past Sunday - you can still stream it here on CBC Arts. " Secret Path acknowledges a dark part of Canada's history - the long-suppressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school system - with the hope of starting our country on a road to reconciliation," the project's website states. POINT OF VIEW With Secret Path, Gord Downie is illuminating a way forward to Indigenous artists
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |