The Realist

I don't know if it's because of his good manners, his Canadian background, or his pacific speaking voice, but a conversation with Bruce Cockburn is a very soothing experience. Even in the moments when he reflects on some of the grimmer aspects of the world, like Global Warming, Cockburn's verbal presentation is much like his songs: witty, wry, stoic, occasionally comically-angry. But it conveys the feeling that, doomed world be damned: things are going to be okay.

You'll hear the brilliant songs, the unusually (for a songwriter) felicitous guitar playing, and smooth, ageless voice this Thursday, if you go see Cockburn play the . Along with work from other periods, he will be promoting his sharp, recent disc, "Small Source of Comfort."

"It's funny you find it to be a dark record," said Cockburn recently. "Do you know my other records? Like 'You Haven't Seen Everything'?" Then he chuckles, softly, Canadian-ly. 

He has a point.

Blowing out of the Great White North in the late-60s, first making a big splash in the States in the mid-70s, Cockburn has always had a lyrical, if grim, way of looking at things. Sure, one of his most famous songs is "If I Had A Rocket Launcher," but there are others that show Cockburn as a man who does not look for other difficult themes. From loneliness to existential dread. And many other topics that don't usually make the Top 40 rock. 

"If I think the most recent record is about anything, it's simply my way of looking at reality and what that is," said Cockburn. "I have songs on the album like 'Iris Of The World,' which is joyous and 'Each One Lost,' which certainly isn't. My job is simply to take what I can and try to distill it in some communicable form. But this certainly isn't a hopeless record and I'm not a hopeless person."

Still, there are real concerns, mentioned in passing on the album.

"Yeah, I reference Global Warming in 'Iris,' because it's real. Climate change isn't going away because people aren't talking about it anymore. These politicians who ignore or say it doesn't exist drive me crazy," he said.

Although he can rock out, on electric guitar, with a band, like nobody's business, Cockburn will be playing solo at FTC. He says he likes this sort of spare presentation, for the most part.

"When the record was released in March, I did a bunch of dates with a rhythm section and it was really enjoyable. It's easier in some ways, because you have a trade-off with the other musicians. They pick up the slack. But solo can be rewarding in a different way. People really hear the words and the whole thing is more direct and personal."

Still, Cockburn, who is lauded for his songs and vocals, remains modest -- or is that realistic? -- about his gifts.

"This whole thing about being a singer/songwriter was sort of a fluke," he said about his career, 40 years on. "If, when I started writing songs I could've found someone to sing them, I probably would have just been a guitarist in the band. But nobody would do the damn things. So I had to. And yeah, I guess I'm a pretty good guitarist, for a songwriter. But I've been doing this whole thing for so long. And people would be pretty disappointed if they came to see me and I didn't sing and play. So I guess we're stuck with each other."