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."

Shining Mountain
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I went up on the mountain side
to see what i could see
to see what i could be
on the shining mountain

I watched the day go down in fire
and sink in the valley
and sink into the sea

drown in golden fire

Fireflies danced in the forest night
the trees began to sing
the crags began to sing
above the black forest

I went up on the mountain side
to know what i did know

to know whence i did know
on the crowning mountain

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Bruce Cockburn's song "Shining Mountain" describe a spiritual journey up a mountain to gain a greater understanding of oneself and the world. The singer climbs the mountain to observe and contemplate their surroundings, hoping to attain a higher level of awareness. The imagery of fire is used throughout the song to symbolize both destruction and illumination, and the singer watches as the day ends in flame and the night is lit up by the glowing bodies of fireflies.

As the singer ascends higher up the mountain, they encounter living beings that also seem to be engaged in some sort of mystical experience. The trees and crags begin to "sing," suggesting that everything in the natural world is connected and engaged in a sort of spiritual dialogue. The singer's goal is to achieve a state of enlightenment or "knowing," which they hope to achieve by reaching the "crowning mountain" at the top.

Overall, "Shining Mountain" is a song about spiritual exploration and the natural world as a source of inspiration and wisdom. Through communion with nature, the singer seeks to transcend their own limitations and connect with a greater sense of purpose and meaning.

Line by Line Meaning

I went up on the mountain side
I journeyed to explore the aspect

To see what I could see
To witness what lay ahead

To see what I could be
To discover what I could become

On the shining mountain
On the illuminated magnificence

I watched the day go down in fire
I observed the sun setting in a burst of flames

And sink in the valley
Slipping behind the hills

And sink into the sea
Surrendering to the horizon

Drown in golden fire
Extinguishing its light in a blaze of glory

Fireflies danced in the forest night
The woodland glowed with the light of insects' flame

The trees began to sing
The grove resonated with a dulcet melody

The crags began to sing
The rocks unleashed their dulcet roar