Cockburn's early albums were fairly straight ahead folk music spotlighting his brilliant guitar playing. In fact, there were a good number of instrumental guitar numbers on those early recordings. A Christian element came into his music around the time of the album Salt, Sun and Time, and over time his writing has taken on a stronger and stronger political orientation.
Perhaps the most consistent element of Cockburn's music has been his willingness to change and evolve over time. In this way, he is similar to fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
He has had a couple of radio hits in the United States, including (Wondering Where the Lions Are and If I Had a Rocket Launcher).
His albums in the 80s are considered some of his strongest, including Humans, Inner City Front, Stealing Fire, and Big Circumstance. After Big Circumstance he struggled with writer's block, and his output began to slow down; but he recovered with the formidable Nothing But a Burning Light, which led the way back to a sparer, more folk-oriented form of music. His later album The Charity of Night contains one of his most thoughtful songs, Pacing the Cage.
His 2006 album Life Short Call Now was preceded by Speechless, a collection of instrumentals, many of them from earlier albums. The album highlights Cockburn's prodigious abilities as a guitarist.
Cockburn's 31st studio album,Small Source of Comfort was released in March, 2011. BruceCockburn.com called the album "an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock."
Get Up Jonah
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It didn't take long - I don't know much about Turkish drummers -
But it made me think of Germany and the guy who sold me cigarettes
Who'd been in the Afghan secret police
Who made the observation
That it's hard
To live
Somebody stands in a window
Watches the river roll
Trains rumble in the foreground
With the weight of approaching dawn
Flames from the refinery
Rise broken, red and riveting
And the high vault of heaven
Looks far away and cold
There's howling in the factory yard
There's pounding in my head
I'm swollen up with unshed tears
Bloated like the dead...
Blood and ashes - time burning
On the skyline dark against the stars
A solitary horseman - waiting
Lashed to the wheel
Whipping into the storm
Get up, Jonah
It's your time to be born
In Bruce Cockburn's "Get Up Jonah," the opening verses are a reflection on the singer's thoughts that were inspired by a dream about Turkish drummers. They don't know much about Turkish drummers, but their mind wandered to the guy who sold them cigarettes in Germany, who had been a part of the Afghan secret police. The singer recalls a meal they had at a Vietnamese restaurant in Quebec whose proprietor used to be the head of the secret police in Da Nag. These musings have led the singer to contemplate something that they're avoiding thinking about, which they speculate is precisely what secret police and their methods are all about. The song then shifts to a more cinematic and surreal scene-setting, as the singer describes someone standing by the river, hearing trains rumbling, and the refinery flames in the distance. It's as if the singer is describing a fever dream, a place where time doesn't always feel tangible or real. Together, these images create an unsettling feeling of unrest, of something just beneath the surface that threatens to boil over or explode at any moment. The chorus, "Get up, Jonah, it's your time to be born," feels like a call to action, to wake up to the realities that surround us and to face them head-on.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up thinking about Turkish drummers
Upon waking, my mind was occupied with reflections on Turkish drummers
It didn't take long - I don't know much about Turkish drummers -
It didn't take me very long to realize that I was not sufficiently knowledgeable in regards to the topic of my thoughts
But it made me think of Germany and the guy who sold me cigarettes
Who'd been in the Afghan secret police
However, Turkish drummers led my mind to recall the man in Germany who used to be part of the Afghan secret police and who had provided me with cigarettes
Who made the observation
That it's hard
To live
This particular individual had shared with me the insight that existence is a difficult matter to cope with
Then I was reminded of the proprietor of a Vietnamese restaurant in Quebec who used to be head of the secret police in Da Nang - and it occurred to me I was thinking about all this stuff to keep from thinking about something else...
My thoughts went on further to recollect the previous head of the secret police in Da Nang, whom I had encountered at a Vietnamese restaurant in Quebec. At the same time, I started to notice that I was in fact using these thoughts to avoid contemplating something else.
Isn't that just what secret police are all about???)
This caused me to reflect on the true purpose of secret police and how they are used to deflect certain thoughts and actions that those in power deem unacceptable.
Somebody stands in a window
Watches the river roll
An observer stands by the window, keenly observing the flow of the river
Trains rumble in the foreground
With the weight of approaching dawn
In the foreground, heavy trains can be heard thundering, announcing the impending dawn
Flames from the refinery
Rise broken, red and riveting
Shattered, red, and captivating flames billow forth from the refinery
And the high vault of heaven
Looks far away and cold
The vast expanse of the indigo sky overhead appears both remote and frigid
There's howling in the factory yard
There's pounding in my head
Simultaneously, there are frenetic, disruptive sounds emanating from the factory yard, while a clamoring sensation consumes my mind
I'm swollen up with unshed tears
Bloated like the dead...
I am greatly engorged with tears that have yet to be shed, looking unnaturally swollen, like a corpse that has been bloated by water
Blood and ashes - time burning
On the skyline dark against the stars
A solitary horseman - waiting
Amidst the darkness and stars of the horizon, the ominous image of a lone rider, waiting patiently against the backdrop of flames and ash can be discerned
Lashed to the wheel
Whipping into the storm
Get up, Jonah
It's your time to be born
The rider is then revealed to be Jonah, whipped by the violent storm surging about him, with his destiny of being reborn beckoning him ever-closer
Contributed by Kennedy H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
J. S.
This whole album is superb.