Tom Cochrane, D.Mus (hon), (born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian singer and son… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Cochrane, D.Mus (hon), (born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, whose story-telling songs have earned him the nickname "The thinking man's rocker." His best known song is the hit single "Life Is a Highway." He has also performed with the band Red Rider (alternatively known as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider)

Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake, Manitoba to Violet and Tuck Cochrane, a bush pilot. The family relocated to Etobicoke, Ontario in the West Deane Park area when Tom was four years old. He purchased his first guitar at age 11 by selling a toy train set. He attended Martingrove Collegiate Institute in the 1960's. In the early 1970s, he was performing in coffee houses across Canada. He eventually made his way to Los Angeles where he found a job writing theme music for My Pleasure is My Business, a Xaviera Hollander movie. Unable to find steady income from music, Cochrane returned to Toronto where he drove a taxi cab and later took a job on a Caribbean cruise liner to help pay the bills. Cochrane went back to Los Angeles in 1976, trying to sell his songs to publishers but without success, and returned to Toronto in 1977. Cochrane walked into the El Mocambo club one night in Toronto and came across a band of locals calling themselves Red Rider. After an audition, they agreed to Cochrane joining the band as lead singer and songwriter, a decision that would change their musical careers.

After the Red Rider era, Cochrane set off on his soloist path again. In 1990, Cochrane took his family to West Africa where he helped to raise awareness and money for the World Vision famine relief organization. That experience shaped his next album Mad Mad World which contained the internationally acclaimed hit single "Life is a Highway".

The three-CD box set Ashes to Diamonds, including material by both Red Rider and Cochrane as a solo artist, was released in 1993.

In 1995, he released Ragged Ass Road and followed that with a Canadian tour in 1996. The tour resulted in Songs of a Circling Spirit, a live CD and multi-media package of previously released material.

In June 1999, Cochrane was involved in a light plane crash in Montreal, after his plane's engine stalled just after take-off. Fortunately, no one was injured.

At the 2003 Juno Awards, Tom Cochrane was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The special award ceremony took place April 5, 2003 at Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec. According to the Life Is a Highway Songfacts, his other honors include seven Juno Awards, being an Honorary Colonel in the Canadian Air Force, and having been inducted onto the Canadian Walk of Fame. They take their rock stars seriously in Canada.

In December 2003 he was one of the musical guests on a CBC special called, Rick Mercer's Christmas in Kabul.

He currently lives with his family in Oakville, Ontario.

On July 2, 2005, Cochrane took part in the Live 8 concert series.

Cochrane's new album "No Stranger" recorded in rural Ontario was released in October 2006.

"Life Is A Highway" was re-made in 2006 by the country band Rascal Flatts for the motion picture "Cars" and became a successful country single.

You're Driving Me Crazy
Tom Cochrane Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's strange to hear you talk about faith
When you were too blind to recognize
That the faith you sought
Was a passing phase
Merely in disguise

You've finally come to realize
That confusion confessed to popularize?

When your congregation was so surprised
To see that I was coming through

Oh, you're driving me crazy
You think you're so complete
Oh, you're driving me crazy
Right back into the street

And now I feel like a stranger in my own backyard
Now praying for your freedom seldom seemed hard
But I've noticed a lot of changes in freedom too
Like I've noticed changes in you

I could hear them laughing
As usually they'd do
In the days of my childhood
I can't see them anymore
Faith healers---I don't need them

Oh, you're driving me crazy
Well you think you're so complete

Oh, you're driving me crazy
Right back in to the street

Overall Meaning

In Tom Cochrane's song "You're Driving Me Crazy," the singer is addressing someone who is talking about their faith. However, the singer is skeptical of this person's sudden interest in faith, believing it to be just a passing phase that is in disguise. The singer is critical of this person's lack of recognition of what faith truly means and implies that this person was confused and only sought faith because it was popular at the time. Moreover, the singer feels as if they have become estranged from their own life due to these changes in the other person, who they can no longer relate to. The singer then goes on to lament the loss of their childhood and the people who used to surround them, including faith healers, which they no longer need.

The song seems to be addressing someone who has shifted their beliefs significantly, and the singer is not pleased about this transformation. The singer is angry about the other person's supposed lack of sincerity and seems to feel a sense of betrayal because of it. Cochrane suggests that this sudden change is one of the reasons why the singer feels like a stranger in their own life. Despite this, the song does not offer a clear resolution, leaving the listener to wonder about what ultimately happens between the two people involved.

Line by Line Meaning

It's strange to hear you talk about faith
It feels strange to me when you talk about your faith

When you were too blind to recognize
You were unaware before

That the faith you sought
The type of faith you were searching for

Was a passing phase
It was just a temporary interest

Merely in disguise
You didn't recognize it at the time

You've finally come to realize
You've finally figured it out

That confusion confessed to popularize?
Confusion was a popular thing to follow?

When your congregation was so surprised
Your fellow church members were surprised

To see that I was coming through
To see me arrive

Oh, you're driving me crazy
Your actions are causing me to feel insane

You think you're so complete
You believe you are perfect