We need your contributions to make: The Great Canadian Song Map

OTTAWA, ON--(Marketwired - February 08, 2017) - Canada's musicians and songwriters have put this country on the map, and now it's time to return the favour… with a little help from their friends at Canadian Geographic magazine.

As one of the magazine's contributions to Canada's 150th anniversary, Canadian Geographic has just launched The Great Canadian Song Map to celebrate our nation's geography through music. "Musicians have long been inspired by our country in their lyrics," says Aaron Kylie, the magazine's editor. "What better time to acknowledge their contributions than in our sesquicentennial year?"

The goal of the project is to collect as many, if not all, songs written about Canada. The song might be about an entire landscape, like Susan Aglukark's "White Sahara". Or it could be about a specific city or town like "Je reviendrai à Montréal" by Robert Charlebois or "One Great City!", the playful ode to Winnipeg by The Weakerthans. Or even a specific neighbourhood as in Ron Sexsmith's "Galbraith Street."

The sky's the limit (so long as it remains in Canadian airspace).

"More than almost any other country, our geography is a constant in our music," says James Keelaghan, singer-songwriter and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Fellow. "The best of our metaphors, the fount of our imagination draws from a deep well of understanding about how attached we are to the land. The Song Map is an ambitious project to create a musical topography of where we live. I think this is one of the most exciting initiatives I have seen in a long while."

Music lovers across Canada and around the world are invited to populate the map with their favourite tune to the map via Twitter, Facebook using the hashtag #CanadaSongs, or email us at songmap@canadiangeographic.ca. The goal of the project is help everyone visit Canada through song.

Canadian Geographic plans on publishing a print version of the map and will feature a selection of songs in our July/Aug 2017 issue. So if you want to see your song in print it needs to be received by mid May. That said, the map will remain active to be added to and built upon as more songs about Canada are written.

Canadian Geographic in English and Géographica in French, are published by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and highlight the latest geographic news and trends. Canadian Geographic has featured award‐winning journalism focused on our cultural and natural heritage since it was founded in 1930.