Ian Tyson passed away yesterday at the age of 89 at his home in southern Alberta. Ian, like me was born in Victoria B.C. but settled in sSouthern Alberta and became as part of the western culture there as the prairie grasses that grows all around his ranch. I first heard his music from my friend Steve Earle when he played summer wages at his concert in Medicine Hat. I was floored by the song. It reminded me of my home on the west coast and was surprised it had been penned by Tyson, whom I had all but assumed wrote only cowboys songs. I met Ian about a decade ago at at Bob Dylan concert when our mutual friend Neil Mcgonnigle introduced us. Ian quipped that Dylan couldn’t even sell out the saddle dome, I had a laugh, and pictured a decades old rivalry that started in the 60’s in Greenwich Village. I have been listening to Ian a lot over the last two days and have been falling in love with his songwriting. It makes me miss Southern Alberta, a place that seems to really get into your soul. Who knows, maybe someday.
R.I.P Ian Tyson
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