Jason Collett is a Canadian singer-songwriter. A member of Broken Social Sc… Read Full Bio ↴Jason Collett is a Canadian singer-songwriter. A member of Broken Social Scene, he also tours and records on his own.

The best songs don’t just tell a story set to music – they capture a moment, encapsulate a feeling and draw in the listener, in a way that’s at once singularly personal and completely universal. When Toronto singer-songwriter Jason Collett was mulling over titles for his new album, the by-turns effervescent and elegiac Here’s To Being Here, he stumbled across a line in an anthology of poetry by his friend Emily Haines’ (Metric) late father Paul, a well-known avant-garde jazz poet.

“I really love the simple sentiment of the title. I think of it as a toast, a raising of the glass to the notion of being present to the moment. Recording this record was all about that for me. Capturing the bits of spontaneous magic in the studio that are just the happy accidents of the day. For me there's a kind of unadorned celebratory ring to the phrase ‘here’s to being here’. There's no irony in it, and lord knows we’ve all had enough of that for a while. I really like Haines’ playful writing. It’s like Dylan, almost Dada-esque; it doesn’t take itself too seriously. I really relate to that era of writing… Ginsberg, that pre-’60s movement.”

Fittingly, Collett’s own work draws upon such classic cultural touchstones while continuing to push the boundaries of the great singer-songwriter tradition. After over a decade of honing his sound and style, in the process becoming a key figure in Toronto’s burgeoning indie scene, Collett returns with the long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s critically acclaimed Idols of Exile.

But where Exile was one big house party featuring Collett’s Broken Social Scene brethren, the guestlist was scaled back a bit for Here’s To Being Here, which was built largely around Collett’s former touring band Paso Mino, with producer Howie Beck, New York guitar great Tony Scherr, The Stills’ Liam O’Neil, BSS’ Kevin Drew, and members of Apostle of Hustle and the 6ixty8ights all lending a hand in the studio.

When it came time to get off the road and begin to record some of the 40-plus tunes the prolific Collett had written over the past several years (the father of three children, the busy musician notes he’s able to find sanctuary and perspective to write while on tour), the recording process took place in two quick but productive sessions in winter 2007: four days in a barn an hour outside of Toronto with engineer Marty Kinack in February, and two days at Toronto’s Hallamusic studio in March.

“For me, the studio is a very different beast from playing live. What you’re trying to do is capture a bit of magic in an environment that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to that. Howie and I have a really dynamic thing going on,” Collett says of working with Beck, who also produced his last album. “He’s the Woody Allen of rock and roll: he’s neurotic, funny, he’s got crazy ears – he can hear things that other people can’t, which drives *ME* crazy. He works fast, and I like working fast.”

Here’s To Being Here is the sound of a seasoned songsmith fully coming into his own signature sound – from the ’70s AM-radio vibe of road-tested favourites like the rollicking relationship reflections “Not Over You” and “Out of Time” to sparse countrified ballads like Canadiana ode “No Redemption Song” and album closer "Waiting For the World" (partially inspired by Collett's friend James Loney, who was taken hostage in Iraq in 2005), the album redefines the contemporary guitar-based singer-songwriter framework for the current genre-blurring musical landscape. As tuneful as they are poetic, these masterful songs of hope in an age of disillusionment stick in your head as firmly as they capture your heart.

“I feel this is a rock-and-roll music record. Not rock, not rock and roll, but Rock ’n Roll music. I don’t care much for the roots-rock tag or the singer-songwriter one and all the banality those genres conjure up. Rock ’n Roll music encompasses all sorts of influences – country, blues, gospel... all those things, and I’m just part of that tradition,” Collett points out. “We decided midway through the record to avoid embellishing it with horns and strings – which I really love, but I think it sort of helps make the record more cohesive with the absence of that indulgence. There’s not a lot of trickery to it. It’s not like we really stripped things down, it’s just that we never gussied them up.”

Collett, who began writing to try to escape the boredom of the suburb of Bramalea where he grew up, and logged time in Toronto bands before going on to craft two full-length albums (1999’s Chrome Reflections and 2001’s Bitter Beauty) prior to joining the Arts & Crafts family in 2003, has always penned songs with a poet’s knack for reflection and a journalist’s eye for detail. That timeless quality permeates Here’s To Being Here, which not only allows listeners a peek into the songwriter’s thoughts, but also a glimpse into the everyday human emotions that bind us.

“I’m beginning to recognize that I have a body of work. I’ve always tried to make records with a classic sensibility, so that they’re records you can listen to 20 years from now,” Collett says. “I feel like I connect when I’m just being candid. I want to take the audience on a journey with me – by being as present in the moment as I can.”

With the release of Here’s to Being Here, Collett looks back at the ghosts of his past while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the future. The title says it all: it’s a line of poetry, an affirmation, a toast to where we’ve come from, and where we’re going.

Blue Sky
Jason Collett Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You tried to make good
Hiding out in the neighborhood
Getting by and it's understood
There's no time like the time right before the flood

You get high to feel your love
It's alright, so you need the crutch
Step aside, wonder what's up

You close your eyes
You see you've missed so much

Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky
Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky

You can fly in your dreams
Floating by the black and white scenery
Take a drive where lovers leap
Only to arrive dead on your feet

Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky
Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky

Oh, this stiff heart of mine (stiff heart of mine)
If ever there was a time (there was a time)
Only you must leave these things behind

The paint is peeling off
The hood of this old truck
As you drive into the West
Where the eye of God is sinking fast

Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky
Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky

Bring on the blue sky
Bring on the blue sky

Bring on the blue sky
Bring on blue sky

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jason Collett's "Blue Sky" touches on themes of escapism and hope amidst life's difficulties. The first verse talks about trying to make good in the neighborhood while getting by before the flood. The flood could possibly refer to any number of life crises such as financial struggles, relationship breakdowns or a feeling of impending doom. The second verse talks about using drugs as a crutch to feel love and to cope. The chorus, "Bring on the blue sky," is a plea for hope and positive change, which goes hand in hand with the following lines about flying in dreams and taking a drive to leap with lovers. These are activities that allow people to escape their difficult reality and find freedom from their hardships. The bridge talks about leaving behind a stiff heart, which is possibly synonymous with leaving behind the feeling of being stuck in a rut. The peeling paint of the truck represents the wear and tear of life, possibly symbolizing the transition to a new beginning in the West.

Line by Line Meaning

You tried to make good
You attempted to improve your situation

Hiding out in the neighborhood
You stayed close to home to avoid attention

Getting by and it's understood
You managed to survive, and everyone knows it

There's no time like the time right before the flood
Things are about to get worse, and you can feel it coming

You get high to feel your love
You turn to drugs to enhance your emotional state

It's alright, so you need the crutch
You justify your drug use to yourself

Step aside, wonder what's up
You pause to consider your situation

You close your eyes
You shut out the world

You see you've missed so much
You realize how much time and opportunity you've wasted

Bring on the blue sky
You want happier times to come

You can fly in your dreams
Your dreams offer the chance of escape