01 When Peace Came to the Valley / Valdy
02 Laugh Myself to Sleep * / Lynn Harrison
03 I Still Wish the Very Best For You / Brent Titcomb
04 If It's a Long Way Home / Scott Cameron Smith
05 Tears of a Thousand Years * / David Bradstreet
06 My Last Breath / Katherine Wheatley
07 Jamie */ Stan Rogers
08 Bomb Them With Butter * / James Gordon
09 Once It's Gone * / Randy Uberig
10 Willow and the Dove / The Laws
11 Burning in the Streets * / Don Bray
12 Justice */ Doug McArthur
13 Wisdom Guide Me / Eileen McGann
14 Lately / Aengus Finnan
15 Heaven's Restaurant / Fireweed
16 Prayer Watching / Tim Harrison
17 There is a Time * / Paul Langille
18 In the Blink of an Eye / D'Arcy Wickham
19 Pass It On / John Gracie
20 When the Day is Over / Susan Crowe

(click on above names to go to the artist's official web site)
(click on CD image to go to official web site)

Produced by David Bradstreet and Scott Cameron Smith
MMS / CD manufacturing
Transcontinental Printing – Ross Ellis / printing
Ariel Rogers – Fogarty’s Cove Music
Grant Avenue Studios – Paul Riemens / mastering engineer
LUMA / CD cover design & layout

The Tears of a Thousand Years Project:

The idea for this project was born on September 12th – a day on which many of us were asking ourselves what we could do to help.

During a CD Release in Toronto, singer/songwriter and firefighter Don Bray sang "Burning in the Streets" – which he had written a year previously from the fire fighter’s perspective, and dedicated it to his cohorts in New York City.  Upon hearing the song and dedication, the White Oak Folk Club’s Paul Young developed the idea of a benefit CD, and after discussing it with Don during a set break, decided to make it happen.

Paul assembled a Board of Directors – Jim Marino (host of CFMU’s Freewheeling Folk Show), musicians David Bradstreet and Scott Cameron Smith, Bill Crawford and concert promoter Randy Uberig – and the Canadian Musicians September 11th Relief Foundation was formed.

Many individuals and organizations have since come forward to assist this project.
This project would never have been possible without the immediate and generous support of so many musical artists.

The artists represented on this CD encompass a broad spectrum of the Folk Music pantheon, from trad flavoured to country and/or pop influenced, but they all share a single desire...to help, in any way possible.

Following Sept. 11th, a call was put out to Canadian folk musicians interested in donating a song to help raise funds in aid of the relief effort, and out of almost fifty entries, twenty songs were chosen. Three of the songs included were written in the aftermath of the events of September 11th – the title track by David Bradstreet, James Gordon’s “Bomb Them With Butter” and Paul Langille’s "There’s a Time". Previously released tracks by singer/songwriters Susan Crowe, Aengus Finnan, Fireweed, John Gracie, Tim Harrison, The Laws, Eileen McGann, Scott Cameron Smith, Brent Titcomb, Valdy, Katherine Wheatley and D’Arcy Wickham were chosen, as well as new offerings from Don Bray, Lynn Harrison, Doug MacArthur, Randy Uberig, and a previously unreleased track by the late Stan Rogers.

Folk music has always told the stories of its people, documenting history and keeping it alive in the hearts and minds of its listeners. In the weeks since the terrorist attacks, many have turned to music for answers, comfort, and release. The works on this album are songs of strength, courage, love and hope – personal reactions to the tragedy itself, thoughts to help put things in perspective, and songs to soothe the mind and heart. “Tears of a Thousand Years” was created not just as a fundraising effort, but also to continue in the folk music tradition of storytelling and community.

The Canadian Musicians September 11th Relief Foundation is a non-profit foundation.

The "Tears of a Thousand Years" CD features songs by folk artists: Valdy, Lynn Harrison, Brent Titcomb, Scott Cameron Smith, David Bradstreet, Katherine Wheatley, Stan Rogers, James Gordon, Randy Uberig, The Laws, Don Bray, Doug McArthur, Eileen McGann, Fireweed, Tim Harrison, Paul Langille, D'Arcy Wickham, John Gracie and Susan Crowe - some newly recorded, some earlier released favourites. We have received some gracious and enthusiastic help from businesses and individuals as well.

These are songs of strength, courage, hope and love. For the first run, all proceeds from this CD will go directly to the New York City and Salvation Army September 11th Relief Funds to help those whose lives have been forever changed by the tragic events on that bitter day in September.

To the songwriters, musicians, producers, manufacturers, promoters and artists who helped make this project a reality - we thank you all.

Jim Marino, President:
Canadian Musicians September 11th Relief Foundation
Host Freewheeling Folk Show, 93.3 CFMU.

The Spirit of Canadian Music  
MapleMusic Feature Interview with David Bradstreet re: Tears Of A Thousand Years

Canadian folk musicians touched by the events of September 11th do their part

In the wake of September 11th musicians have been especially quick to funnel their talents into fundraisers for Americans and Afghanis affected by the tragedy. With big-name projects like the God Bless America album and the Music Without Borders concert, it's remarkable and somewhat moving that a group of Canadian folk artists have created the low-key Tears of a Thousand Years Benefit CD. Utilizing the internet, organizers put a call out for song submissions only to be overwhelmed by the response. In the end, 20 tracks were chosen and the benefit album reflects a fine roster of Canadian folk singers, among them Valdy, Katherine Wheatley with Stephen Fearing and a previously unreleased Stan Rogers song that was donated to the album by his estate. MapleMusic spoke with Tears of a Thousand Years' contributor and board member David Bradstreet about the album, how it came to be and its goals.

MM: Tell me how this project came to be?

DB: Well it actually started on September 12th, the idea came when one of the board members [The Canadian Musicians September 11th Relief Foundation was established in conjunction with this Tears of a Thousand Years album] Paul Young was at Hugh's Room [Toronto folk club] listening to Don Bray. Don is a firefighter as well as a songwriter and he sang a song about firemen [included on the CD 'Burning in the Streets']. They thought: ‘Gee what a great idea, maybe we should do a record?’ At that time the call went out to the folk community. We wondered if anyone would be interested in submitting songs. They [organizers] were having a meeting in Oakville so I went to that meeting and the next thing I knew I was on the board. The call was for anyone interested in submitting songs and we got so many submissions that one of the big jobs at the initial stage was deciding what we were going to leave off. It was a hard decision ...

MM: I’m curious, with such big musical projects out there, like God Bless America and What’s Going On?, what would motivate you to put out a very small, down-to-earth, grassroots album of this nature?

DB: I think everybody, after that event happened, was shaken to their core. Some people got angry, there were lots of reactions. Our reaction was, fair enough we can't compete with the Elton Johns and the Stings but, we can do what we do. Through the record and a concert that we gave, which was a wonderful concert. We had virtually everyone on that record show up and play and I think everyone agreed that was one of the best concerts that any of us had been involved in. Everyone was pulling for the same cause. Normally at a folk festival everybody is up there trying to promote their own CD. It really was a wonderful feeling. Through the concert and the album, and I know it's not much money, I think we’re going to be able to put between $10-20,000 into the cause. It’s not huge but it’s what we do. We’re just trying to make a contribution and leave something behind that might make people actually feel better. I think when people hear that CD I think they get the feeling that we are doing our best to help people out a little bit.

MM: Do you think there is some corelation between folk music and fundraisers? There is a real history of folk music being about social causes. Where does Tears of a Thousand Years fit into that tradition?

DB: ... If you go back to Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, that was at a time when there was another war and it became a social voice, whereas pop music is about dancing and having fun. Folk music, in my opinion, is a little more pensive and certainly leans more on the lyrical content than mainstream pop. From there you had the Jackson Brownes and the 'Feed the World' efforts and songwriters that were thinking about the big picture. Folk music has always had a more simple approach to it. It’s more about people issues than about love songs, although there are a lot of those as well. When it comes to a massive social hurt like this, folkie songwriters are a natural outlet for it. The kind of people that will buy this record are the type that will think about this a bit more than wanting to get out dance and have fun.

MM: It’s interesting how all these big budget benefit albums have become such a huge thing but were any of those artists about protest in the first place.

DB: We make no claims that we're going to make millions of dollars for this. We wanted to show our support for all of the people that were hurt. That’s not just the people in New York but the people who were hurt and are getting hurt in Afghanistan. That’s why we chose the recipients that we did.

MM: So who are the recipients?

DB: The New York Fund, we’re putting part of it there. And the Salvation Army, we wanted to maximize the money and the Salvation Army has the least amount of overhead and the Salvation Army does have a world fund that will help out everybody ...

MM: Several tracks are unreleased. Tell me about those ones? One is a Stan Rogers song.

DB: Yes, Ariel Rogers is Stan's widow. She is now married to one of our board members [Scott Cameron Smith, also featured on the album] and he suggested that Ariel might be able to help us out. It turned out that Ariel helped us out quite a bit financially, getting this thing off the ground. And she said: ‘Well you know we've got this song that Stan did in Bermuda in the late 70s that’s never been on a disc.’ We thought what a great thing and there are a lot of Stan Rogers fans out there so that might help the cause.

Tears of a Thousand Years is now available through MapleMusic

The Canadian Musicians September 11th Relief Foundation is a non-profit foundation.