LISTENING IN: A moving moment ‘Out in the middle of Lake Ontario’

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ Who knew that a throwaway line in Blue Rodeo’s 1993 song “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” would resonate so deeply some 33 years later?

Sung “with full authority and ownership” by audiences at the Toronto band’s recent performances – those that came after Donald Trump tried to rename one of the Great Lakes “Lake America” – the now patriotic line “Out in the middle of Lake Ontario” reaffirmed both Canadians’ defiance towards the provocateur in chief, and the beloved band’s standing as cultural icons, capturing sentiment in a proprietorial Hoser way, not unlike the Hip declaring, “You said you didn’t give a f*** about hockey, I never heard anyone say that before.”

That audiences can sing the song in its entirety without help (as they can do for most Blue Rodeo songs) and do for part of this one, is another sign of devotion to the iconic band, which only continues to grow, even if in an unintended way.

Lyrics

You say that you’re leaving
Well that comes as no surprise
Still, I kind of like this feeling
Of being left behind

This ain’t nothing new to me
Well it’s just like going home
It’s kind of like those sunsets
That leave you feeling so stoned

Hey, hey, I guess it hasn’t hit me yet
I fell through this crack and I kind of lost my head
I stand transfixed before this streetlight
Watching the snow fall on this cold December night

Never thought this could happen
But somehow the feeling is gone
You got sick of the patterns
And I got lost in this song

Hey, hey, I guess it hasn’t hit me yet
I fell through this crack and I kind of lost my head
I stand transfixed before this streetlight
Watching the snow fall on this cold December night

And out in the middle of Lake Ontario
The same snow is falling
On the deep silent water
The great dark wonder
Into the waves of my heart
Into the waves of my heart
Of my heart

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