The Weakerthans - "One Great City!"

The Weakerthans:One Great City!
From LyricWiki
This song is performed by The Weakerthans.

Late afternoon, another day is nearly done.
A darker gray is breaking through a lighter one.
A thousand sharpened elbows in the underground.
That hollow hurried sound
of feet on polished floor,
and in the Dollar Store
the clerk is closing up,
and counting Loonies, trying not to say,
"I hate Winnipeg."

The driver checks the mirror, seven minutes late.
The crowded riders' restlessness enunciates
that the Guess Who suck, the Jets were lousy anyway.
The same route every day.
And in the turning lane,
someone's stalled again.
He's talking to himself,
and hears the price of gas repeat his phrase:
"I hate Winnipeg."

And up above us all,
leaning into sky,
our Golden Business Boy
will watch the North End die,
and sing "I love this town,"
then let his arcing wrecking ball proclaim,
"I hate Winnipeg."

schmawy

says...

Do you know who the "golden business boy" line is referring to, Calvados? Mayor or the like I'd assume.

Great as always.

calvados

says...

>> ^schmawy:
Do you know who the "golden business boy" line is referring to, Calvados? Mayor or the like I'd assume.
Great as always.

Your great taste in music never ceases to amaze, my schmaws And indeed I do know, as would any Winnipeggian:

The Golden Boy, a magnificently gilded 5.25M (17.2-foot) figure, is probably Manitoba's best known symbol. Embodying the spirit of enterprise and eternal youth, he is poised atop the dome of the [Manitoba Legislature] building. He faces the north, with its mineral resources, fish, forest, furs, hydroelectric power and seaport, where his province's future lies. -- http://www.gov.mb.ca/legtour/golden.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Boy_(Manitoba)

By the way, another WT song -- a poignant one -- that heavily references the Peg and which you ought to like is "Night Windows". So far there's no good vid for it, but here is the audio and the lyrics, do tell me how you dig:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a-NQ8QZhfM
http://lyricwiki.org/The_Weakerthans:Night_Windows