Bruce Cockburn (pronounced "CO-burn") (born May 27, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario… Read Full Bio ↴Bruce Cockburn (pronounced "CO-burn") (born May 27, 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) has had a long and distinguished career, with much success in his native Canada. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll. Cockburn was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2012 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (in Canada the award was to honour "significant contributions and achievements by Canadians").

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."

Never So Free
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wind across the quay-side
Grit in my eyes and fish in my nose
White as whalebone, wheeling seagulls cry

Outside the bar in the high street
Blind fingers spin an accordion reel
Shoes and sedan wheels grudgingly keeping time

Fishing boat stretched out at low tide
Dog and a black man work on the deck
Bright as a bottle, sunlight skips wave to wave

Part of a map of somewhere

Teases my foot like a haunting dream
Never so free, i'm lost in the seagulls' flight

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Bruce Cockburn's song Never So Free depict a free-spirited individual lost in the beauty of nature without any worries or expectations. He stands on the quay-side, where the gusts of winds carry with them the smell of fish and sand. As he gazes into the distance, he watches the seagulls soar elegantly across the sky, their high-pitched cries echoing in his ears. The music emanates from a nearby bar, where someone expertly plays an accordion that sounds like a call to celebrate life.

The singer's attention then shifts to the fishing boat that lies stranded at low tide. There are two figures working on the boat, a dog, and a black man. The sunlight skips in the water, and the entire scenery glistens. The view reminds him of a part of a map that he has seen before, which only adds to the mystical aura that surrounds him, and his foot is tingled by a haunting dream.

Throughout the song, the singer emphasizes the feeling of being untethered, lost in the moment of natural beauty. He revels in his freedom as he describes the seagulls' flight and how it has never made him feel so free. As such, the song's overall message is one of cherishing life's simple, yet profound joys.

Line by Line Meaning

Wind across the quay-side
The breeze is blowing across the dock

Grit in my eyes and fish in my nose
There is dust in my eyes and the smell of fish pervades the air around me

White as whalebone, wheeling seagulls cry
The seagulls are making mournful cries and their wings look very white in the sunlight

Outside the bar in the high street
I'm standing on the street, in front of the bar

Blind fingers spin an accordion reel
A blind person is playing an accordion

Shoes and sedan wheels grudgingly keeping time
People's feet and car wheels are moving in time to the music, but they aren't enthusiastic about it

Fishing boat stretched out at low tide
A boat used for fishing is resting on the shore, with the tide being low

Dog and a black man work on the deck
A black man and a dog are working on the boat's deck

Bright as a bottle, sunlight skips wave to wave
The sun is bright, and its rays are gleaming off the waves

Part of a map of somewhere
This is a location that hasn't been fully explored or charted yet

Teases my foot like a haunting dream
This location is intriguing and mysterious, and I'm compelled to explore it

Never so free, i'm lost in the seagulls' flight
I've never felt so unburdened by the complications of life - I'm truly free, and I feel like I'm flying with the seagulls, lost in the moment

Contributed by Aaron O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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