Lyrics

Mother Earth

Relased in 2019

Mother Earth is an art rock genre album and includes a solo from Slash of Guns N’ Roses fame on the lead single “One Giant Farm” as well as a feature solo from Steve Vai on the song “Mother Earth”.

Ancients Call

Songwriter: Les Stroud

I can tell you by the blood I left behind
I’m bound to a sacred place by more than blood alone
Devine healer she opens the door
To the world of the ancients
And they cry to me come with us come with us now
The whole earth bleeds and people cry
But the earth can heal and so can I

Ancients call call me home follow where I go

And far away across the sands of the kalahari desert
The bushman dance long into the night
Overcome by their trances they seek the wisdom of the ancients
They look to the ancesters among the stars
And they ask for guidance on how to survive
For the whole earth bleeds and people cry
But the earth can heal and so can I

The ancients call call me home follow where I go

Arctic Mistress

Songwriters: Les Stroud, Bryan Potvin

I wanted to feel wind blow across my face
I wanted to see her beautiful northern lights
I wanted to know if there was a reason to love
A place so pure
And so full of emptiness

Breath the arctic air
Breath the arctic air

I don’t want to see the end of her frozen world
She shows me her snow and glaciers that melt into tears
She calls me back home and lays like a beauty upon
Her bed of ice
This cold arctic mistress

Breath the arctic air
Feel what she shares
Breath the arctic air

Breath the arctic air
Feel what she shares
Breath the arctic air
See how she cares

Into The Wind

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Stand out in the rain
feel the water running down your back
Stand our from the crowd
you will never get this moment back
Stand out in the rain

Sit down on the ground
feel the earth that lies beneath your skin
Lie down on the ground
kiss the earth and all the souls within
Sit down on the ground

I’ll run
I’ll fly
I will certainly kiss the sky
I will talk to the rain
I will prove I am not insane
When I die burn me hot
blow my ashes into the wind
Into into the wind
into into the wind

Hold me in the rain
there’s water running down my back
Tear drops from the clouds
The earth cries we will feel the rain
The earth dies we will feel the pain

I’ll run
I’ll fly
I will certainly kiss the sky
I will talk to the rain
I will prove I am not insane
When I die burn me hot
blow my ashes into the wind
Into into the wind
into into the wind

Sunset sunrise
I will greet the day with open eyes
Hold me in the sun

I’ll run
I’ll fly
I will certainly kiss the sky
I will talk to the rain
I will prove I am not insane
When I die burn me hot
blow my ashes into the wind
Into into the wind
into into the wind

Life On Earth

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Life on earth

This is life on earth this is who we are
How’d it come to this how’d it get this far
Look around you now there’s no more wild and free
This is our one last chance to make the bastard see
If we pick up arms draw our swords
On those who rape the earth we can win this war

We let it get this far we let it come to this
Don’t let them take it all don’t let it dissapear
For all the beasts on land and all the fish at sea
And all the birds in air its time to set them free

We have a mother earth and we have let her down
Its time to build her up regain her crown
We can repair her wounds and clean the air
We can save the sea this earth we share

We let it get this far we let it come to this
The land we gave away is land we’re gonna miss
For all the beasts on land and all the fish at sea
And all the birds in air it’s time to set them free

We let it get this far we let it come to this
This is life on earth
This is who we are
This is life on earth

Mother Earth

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Ooooh mother earth
Speak to my soul teach me my role
Help me to know what I’m here for

Ooooh father sun
Fill me with life peace in my mind
Warmth in my soul and my body

Oh mother earth
I hear you calling
Oh mother earth
I’m searching for you all of my life
My mother earth
Mother earth

Ooooh mother earth
What are you worth
My feet are your ground
My head is your sky
We need to know you are living

Oh mother earth
I hear you calling
Oh mother earth
I’m searching for you all of my life
My mother earth
Mother earth

One Giant Farm (feat. Slash)

Songwriters: John Domovic, Ian Goodman

Stop living blindly
Here what I say
Stand up don’t walk away
A revolution is coming soon
Children today can’t be fooled

I know this world is smaller now
Don’t ignore this simple truth
The earth is not one giant farm

Tell me where now can I roam, I roam
Tell me where now is my home
My wilderness home
We’re turning every place we know
Into one giant farm

Hunt the dolphins
Kill the whales
Blood stains cover your sails

Farm the forests
Farm the seas
Will nothing be left behind

I know this world is smaller now
Don’t ignore this simple truth
The earth is not one giant farm

Tell me where now can I roam, I roam
Tell me where now is my home
My wilderness home
We’re turning every place we know
Into one giant farm

So free the dolphins
Save the whales
And breezes will fill up your sails
Love the land love the seas
Love mother earth wont you please

I know I’m feeling stronger now
Heed the simple truth the earth is not one giant farm

Tell me where now can I roam, I roam
Tell me where now is my home
My wilderness home
Tell me where now can I sail, I sail
We’re turning every place we know
Into one giant farm

When It's Gone

Songwriter: Les Stroud

It’s all gonna change
This world you’re so used to
Won’t be without pain
When all your big plans have fallen through

So I walk on sand
I walk on frozen lands
I walk in forests
Where I feel home
I feel home

Open your eyes
Fill your empty souls
We all realize the world is whole

So I walk on sand
I walk on frozen lands
Walk in forests
Where I feel home
I feel home

When it’s gone
I’ll feel I’ll breathe
When it’s gone
It’s all on me
When it’s gone
This is the dark night of my soul
When it’s gone
When there is no place I can go
When it’s gone
As above so below
When it’s gone
As within so without

Without
Without
Without

Embers (EP)

2020

Most albums recorded have what the artists call “throw away songs”. The songs seemed like a good creative idea at the time, but in the end they either just didn’t fit in with the final tracks of the album or they weren’t good enough. For me, as a song writer, this is always heartbreaking. It’s hard to put many hours into a piece of art only to decide later…..nah! With these four songs on Embers, my feeling was not so much “nah” as it was more a matter of them not quite fitting in with another album project I was working on at the time: Mother Earth. This EP is really just for me and the players. For “Wasting”, I actually kept the sound of Eddie Vedder in my head, as the voice I would’ve loved to have heard singing this tune. “Better” was a chance to show how I think harmonica can really blend well with horns on some straight ahead rock.

Bittern Lake

2018

On his fifth full-length album, Bittern Lake, Les Stroud, the Canadian singer- songwriter issues an urgent call for environmental preservation with a collection of powerful original songs and classic covers, produced by the legendary Mike Clink (Guns ’N Roses, Beth Hart, Metallica). Recorded at his home in Huntsville, Ontario, on the shore of its name sake  lake, Bittern Lake represents Stroud’s favorite way of making music: “Live off the floor, no overdubs, everybody in one room, all at one time. The musicians I bring along, they just fall in love with the process.” Those musicians on Bittern Lake include members of Stroud’s long time backing band, the Campfire Kings, as well as singer-songwriters Oh Susanna and Justin Rutledge, ace session drummer Tony Braunagel (Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal) and Cuban-Canadian guitar wizard Elmer Ferrer.

Any Minute Now

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Any minute now my dreams will all come true
There’ll be an end to this waste and I will finally lose this blue
Every single day the earth is scarred by our own hand
How can we throw away the sea and all the land

I want to walk in fields of paradise
Wouldn’t that be nice if I could be with you

Any minute now…..My dreams will all come true
Any minute now it’ll all come crashing down
Like trees in the forest – we will fall without a sound

I want to walk in fields of paradise
Wouldn’t that be nice if I could be with you
Any minute now…..My dreams will all come true

Far away we wander free on land and sea
Its what we need to do
Any minute now…..My dreams will all come true
On another day the truth is coming down
We’ll be swept away and the meaning will be found

If I could walk in fields of paradise just one more time
Wouldn’t that be nice with you
Any minute now…..My dreams will all come true
Any minute now…..My dreams will all come true

How Long

Songwriter: Les Stroud

How long til the last lion dies
And wildness has been pushed aside
If rhinos dissapear
Will no one shed a tear
Or even ask why
How long til we realise
Time’s no longer on our side
And we let it slip
Let it all slip away

How long til we farm the air
And pay for oxygen its only fair
Water made from oil
And plastic for our soil
Do we even care
How long til we realise
Time’s no longer on our side
And we let it slip
Let it all slip away

Sands through an hourglass, sands from a shore

How long til the rivers dry
And all our food is grown inside
A universe of fears
Created all these years
Can we change it in time

How long til we realise
Time’s no longer on our side
And we let it slip
Let it all slip away

Barn Sessions III – Off The Grid

2012

These are real recordings, made in my barn, with real musicians, playing for real. For you; the listener. As with so much that I do in my work as an artist – I strive to keep things as real as it gets. Existing on this album is the original version of “One Giant Farm”, a song which would show up again on the Mother Earth album with Slash taking over the duties of lead guitar. “Far Away Gone” must be one of those creations you call a “sleeper” because I often get it requested when I play live. So, it must’ve struck a chord with a few people so to speak and that thrills me to no end. This whole album lyrically was a time of transition for me. Romantic that is – some songs are the breakup that was happening and some were the new romantic involvement and where I was heading.

The Cost

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Holding on to what was lost
Lifes true meaning is the cost

Like a battle cry to a desparate soul
I will rise up pay the toll
In my darkest night my longest day
Choice is simple, leave or stay
If I go, will I be free
Or just another man in need
If I stay, will I be weak
Its only freedom that I seek

Holding on to what was lost
Lifes true meaning is the cost

Like a wounded man in an endless war
I search for something, something more
What I find is seldom truth
Seldom freedom, seldom peace

Holding on to what was lost
Lifes true meaning is the cost
Holding on to what was lost
Lifes true meaning is the cost
Holding on to what was lost
Life’s true meaning is the cost

Far Away Gone

Songwriter: Les Stroud

4000 memories swirling round my brain
4000 tear drops drizzling down my window pane
I search for the answers and find truth in a song
The reasons why you loved me are far away gone

It’s been such a long time since I felt any peace
Since I laughed at a good joke or smiled with ease
I danced in a fire to love when it’s wrong
The reasons why you loved me are far away gone

Every time I get lonely I hope you’re lonely too
Theres a mountain of guilty wieghing down my spine
Truth is I cant be happy til youre once again mine

I shouldn’t drink I probably shouldn’t smoke
Hangin on to nothing makes me feel like joke
I sit in the darkness I’m still holding on
The reasons why you loved me are far away gone

One Giant Farm

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Hunt the dolphins kill the whales
Blood stains drip from your sails
Farm the forests far the seas
Long line and strip mine with ease
Corporate farming corporate mines
Will nothing be left behind

I know this world is smaller now
Don’t ignore this simple truth
The earth is not one giant farm

Tell me where now can I roam, I roam
Tell me where now is my home, my wilderness home
Tell me where now I can go
To hear the song of the sea

Stop living blindly here what I say
Stand up don’t walk away
A revolution is coming soon
The children today cant be fooled
Tell me where now can I roam, I roam
Tell me where now is my home, my wilderness home
Tell me where now I can go
To hear the song of the sea

Free the dolphins save the whales
And breezes will fill up your sails
Love the land love the seas
Love mother earth wont you please
Tell me where now can I roam, I roam
Tell me where now is my home, my wilderness home
Tell me where now I can go
To hear the song of the sea

Going Down Slow/Wild Things

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Rain blows across the lake
And it sounds like a forest crying
A tree falls on the land
And it sounds like a forest dying
All these voices of other lands
Need to hold on to each others hands
Bleeding hearts and the artists have all got to go
Mother earth and the spirits of land all know
What the mountains and the oceans and the trees try to show
This earth is going down slow
No matter how far you go
This earth is going down slow

Wind blows across the sand
And it sounds like a desert crying
Ice melts into the sea
And it sounds like the arctic dying
All these voices of other lands
Need to hold on to each others hands
Bleeding hearts and the artists have all got to go
Mother earth and the spirits of land all know
What the mountains and the oceans and the trees try to show

This earth is going down slow
No matter how far you go
This earth is going down slow

Wasted

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Early morning glances out her window
At the dew lain on the ground
Drinks her cup of coffee ponders life itself
How’d it ever get so dull
What is life about anyway she cant live it on her own
What is love about anyway she cant give it all alone
Wasted she is wasted wasted on her own
Wasted so wasted naked and alone

Are you hoping I can stay my soul departed yesterday
Late at night he looks for meaning
He’s so lonely it’s profound
Drinks his 12 yr pushes back fear
How’d it ever get so dull
What is life about anyway
He cant live it on his own
What is love about anyway
He cant give it all alone
Wasted he is wasted
Wasted on his own
Wasted so wasted
Naked and alone

If youre waiting for your
Life’s true meaning
You wont find it in a tear
Walk in forests
Swim in rivers let the wind dissolve your fears
Wasted I’m so wasated
Wasted on my own
Wasted so wasted
Naked and alone

Go Now

Songwriter: Les Stroud

All his life’s been spent trying to wash this stain away
Years have come and gone confusion stays
He’ll just want you I just need you just go on your way
If you leave you would not have to cry another day
All you need to do all you need to do is go now

All my life’s been spent trying to push this pain way
Discolouration spreads across a weathered page
I’m still bleeding youre still needing does it end this way
If you stay here you will see fear love cant keep away
All you need to do all you need to do is go now

All my life’s been spent trying to wash this stain away
Years have come and gone
Confusion stays
I’m still bleeding
Youre still needing
Does it end this way
If you stay here
You will see fear
Love cant keep away
All you need to do all you need to do
Is go now
And find a lover
Who wont destroy your heart
Pick up your clothes from the floor
And go now

Before you fall apart
Before this loving starts
Before we fall apart
Before I break your heart
Before I break your heart
Stop me now
Stop me now
Before I break your heart

One Tear At A Time

Songwriter: Les Stroud

You came in a dream of whispers
Life in your eyes innocence
All your beauty washes through me
Life without fear letting go of anger
Tears in your eyes innocence
Still your beauty washes through me

Can I burn a fire to light your way
Should I even try to make you stay
The feeling this time leaves me breathless
And crying one tear at a time

Life on this throne is painful
Full of fears
No innocence
All your beauty
Washes through me
Life in your arms is full of love and beauty
Absent of fear
Innocence
Still your beauty
Washes through me

This Time

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Touch me
And you’ll feel I’m a changed man
Taste me
I’ll be as sweet as I can
And if my life flies by and I die alone
The fault will be mine
I’ll try hard to get it right
This time
Watch me this is going to be good
Leave me? I really don’t think you should
If I die without you theres no deeper
Alone
There will be no fault in time
Theres only one chance to get it right
This time,this time, this time, this time is my moment to shine

Hold on I will take you for a ride
Purpose is fully in my stride
And if my life flies by and I die alone
The fault will be mine
Im gonna make sure I get it right
This time

This time, this time, this time is my moment to shine

Fear

Songwriter: Les Stroud

They warned us
You and I wont last through this
Your blind eyes
Stay closed as you resist
After all the life we held dear I
S finally lost we’ll live in fear
Don’t let the past
Define your years
Just let go of fear

The leaves fall
Wind blows through the trees
The waves roll
With passion from the sea
After all the love we held dear
Is finally lost we’ll live in fear
Don’t let the past
Define your years
Just let go of fear

Coming Home [BONUS TRACK]

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Coming home
I feel you all around me
Although im alone
I feel you should take me
So don’t wait too long to say…you’re coming home

The morning is bringing
A fear in my soul
I try to stay awake dear
So don’t wait too long to say…you’re coming home

You are the reason I still believe in me
You take my blindness and…make it so I see

I see the sun is rising
It burns up my hope
It warms nothing in me
So don’t wait too long to say…you’re coming home

You are the reason I still believe in me
You take my blindness and…make it so I see

I’ll wait through the endless night
So don’t take too long to say…you’re coming home
So don’t take too long to say…you’re coming home
So don’t take too long to say…you’re coming home

After Neil Young [BONUS TRACK]

Songwriter: Les Stroud

So ride your crazy horse tonight
To scoff at the ones who say what’s right
‘cuz after their gold rush is gone
All the minor has is a song

Maybe you should have just burned out
Not fade away
You’d be a legend now
I guess you’re a legend anyway

What are we gonna do
After neil young dies

Well maybe you’re the old man now
Rust will never sleep
Shakey, you’ve a heart of gold
I pray your soul to keep

What are we gonna do
After neil young dies

Wonderful Things: Barn Sessions I & II

Relased in 2011

This album is actually a collection of recordings done “in the barn’ (literally – it was a barn) with the first sessions taking place in, I think, 2010 and the second set of sessions in 2012. If you want to see some of the story of the first sessions, they are part of the documentary film I made called Off The Grid. Not only that, but I also threw on the final mix for this album the song “I Am Canadian” which I had recorded at some point with the Northern Pikes.

Never Intended

Songwriter: Les Stroud

If you’d help me get off of this train
I’d go back to the woods back to the forest
Open the door
Give me a push help me get off of this train
And instead of the foul breath of cities I’d fill up my lungs
With wind from the eagles
Straighten my back and walk like I always intended
But the pain in my back comes from watching you leave and my
Body is clenched by the fear

But I never intended to leave you
I stood as the one who believed you

All this ripping and pulling and grabbing
Attacks on my soul they seem never ending
I thought they were over
And I always thought you’d protect me

But I never intended to need you
I stayed when noone would believe you

Now I sit in the middle of nights with my face in my hands
Crying out why
Why is it over why am I here

But I never intended to leave you
I stood as the one who believed you
But I never intended to leave you
I stood as the one who believed you

Now I sit in the middle of nights with my face in my hands
Crying out why

Wonderful Things

Songwriter: Les Stroud, Lyrics: Kelly Adams

Always, often, sometimes never
This is how we live together
Front and formost issues solved
Aren’t lending much to our evolve

Wonder, worry, we’re the jury
Spoken to with scripted fury
Hide agendas, vote for names
And smiles which win, our earthbound games
I wont wait for gifts to fall
Through my life, I’ll seek them all
Celebrate what life might bring
And be the cause, be the cause
Of wonderful things

But I was born, on solid ground
With eyes for beauty, ears for sound
Raised, inspired all my days
Are spent in searching higher ways

I wont wait for gifts to fall
Through my life, I’ll seek them all
Celebrate what life might bring
And be the cause, be the cause
Of wonderful things

Feel your footing, breathe the air
Bask in moonlight, stop and stare
Don’t take for granted water sun

Another Glass of Wine

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Last night you waited for forever
You bare’d a witness to the time
I left you all alone and crying
You poured another glass of wine

The girl next door is moaning softly
Apartment walls are too damn thin
I hear her sexual excitement
I pour another glass of wine

The tenants all come home while the clock on the wall keeps turning
It’s getting pretty hard to believe I’m anything but used

I heard a streetfight on the corner
I closed my window to the noise
I read the same page at least three times
I poured another glass of wine

I got the text that youre not coming
I poured another glass of wine
By 3 am I felt like sending
Away the love you said was mine

I’m having coffee on the corner
I say that youll be coming soon
You tell me not to wait for sunset
I poured another glass of wine

Broken Toys

Songwriter: Les Stroud

You enter the room
With an air of confidence
All your movements
Are like a slow dance
They all say there’s nothing you can’t do
But I see the broken child inside of you

Broken toys, broken past, broken lives
Don’t heal so fast broken dreams, broken wings
You can’t build lives with broken things
They see your mask but I see through
I see the broken child inside of you

Your wit is quick your smile is strong
You’d never know there was something wrong
You hide it well your mask is cool
But I see the broken child inside of you

If I could travel travel and meet you in that place
Stop you on the corner and stare into your face
I’d shine your diamond rough
I’d help you through
I’d heal the broken child inside of you

Falling Into You

Songwriter: Les Stroud

I climbed up all of you
Despite my fear of heights
You pushed me off the edge to give me skill of flight
I flew so high I burned
The wings from off my back
And now I’m falling into you

When I finally hit the ground
No tear rose in my eye
No bones were broken free
No blood escaped my side
It became so clear to me
That I can safely land
When I’m falling into you

I’m a little bit hesitant
A little bit shy of nerve
A little bit reticent
Not as strong as my words
But I’ve never flown this high
Or walked a wire without a net
And so I’m falling into you

What’s happening to me?
I was made of steel
I never thought a game could turn to be so real
Now I understand
I can’t fall in love
Without falling into you

Dark Side

Songwriter: Les Stroud

I’ve got a drinkin problem I’ve had it all my life
I battle with the bottle now so does my wife
I beg for forgiveness forgiveness never comes
Someday I’ll give the bottle to my son
Everybody’s got a dark side x2

I send my baby flowers shower her with love
Take her out for dinner shelter from above
I climb off my ivory tower and walk down the street
There’s a woman on the corner
I would like to meet
Everybody’s got a dark side x2

Every street has a dark side baby every alley has an entrance way
Most intentions are
Pure when they start
But the don’t finish off that way

Marry for forever
Have a couple kids
All the problems in your closet you can keep well hid
Then a day comes a reckoning
And you’ll answer for your sins
Even you’ve got a dark side baby where you let the devil in
Everybody’s got a dark side x2
You’ve got a dark side
She’s got a dark side
I’ve got a dark side

Sad Harvest Moon

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Im tender im broken im weeping
Im frozen so hard I am ice
Im all of these things and im bleeding
When I know I have done you so wrong
You’re hurt by the truth that’s before you
A pain that will live very long
Your aching and crying and bleeding
You’re even brought down by this song
Ohhh every sad harvest moon
I know I will reap what I sew
I keep planting the seeds
Of a love I can’t grow anymore

So now weve a wound that is gaping
It threatens to bleed out our soul
The gauze that I give is not mending
The love I threw into a hole
What if I told you im sorry
Would that make the pain go away
What if I asked you to hit me
Would anything help you to stay
Ohhh every sad harvest moon
I know I will reap what I sew
I keep planting the seeds
Of love that I know I can’t grow
Tear out the truth from this picture
Trample it into the dust
Cut out the cancer that lives here
But don’t let this love turn to rust
Hate me and hit me and hurt me
Threaten my life with your glove
This farmer is finsihed his clearing
I no longer want to sew love
Ohhh every sad harvest moon
I know I will reap what I sew
I keep falling in love
But can’t seem to get it to grow
A crop must be watered and tended
A farmer must care for his land
If everythings left to the chances
The crops may all die at his hand
Ohhh every sad harvest moon
I know I will reap what I sew
I keep planting the seeds
Of love I can’t grow anymore

Ohhh every sad harvest moon
I know I will reap what I sew
I keep falling in love
But can’t seem to get it to grow
I keep falling in love
But cant seem to get it to grow

Northern Wilds

Songwriter: Les Stroud

He said – I can take you with me – but I cant take you home
She’d never known such total passion the way he touched her fingers – the way he let them go

So on the two would travel – into the northern wilds
Past waterfalls and tumbling rapids
Across the lakes in stillness – beneath the eagles cry they wandered

Nothing of this world could stop them
Could ever take away these dreams of yesterday

Love beneath the starlight – wrapped in northern lights
The caribou could hear them whisper
The wolf would keep them company – calling in the night

Even in the winter – when most folks stay indoors
They rode upon wood and rawhide – along the frozen highways
The creeks and forest trails they wandered

Nothing of this world could stop them
Could ever take away
These dreams of yesterday

Life was made for living – dreams were made to fly
These two were meant for something better
So they turned their backs on easy
And into the northern wilds they wandered

Nothing of this world could stop them
Could ever take away these dreams of better days

I Am Canadian

Songwriter: Les Stroud

This is the true north
Wild and free
There’s no better place
I can be

Eagles soaring over mountains high
Arctic circles open skies

I can
Whistle down the northern lights
Play hockey on a summers night
Taste the fresh atlantic spray
Run through fields of prairie hay
Stand by the totems on the bc coast
Listen to stories of ontario ghosts
Paddle down a river on a lake up a stream
Hike up a mountain or the valleys in between

I am canadian
Red and white through and through
I am canadian just like you

I have never seen ungava bay
Knowing that it’s there makes me rise up everyday
Forests thick and green oceans clear
Life is higher when you’re living here

I can
Whistle down the northern lights
Play hockey on a summers night
Taste the fresh atlantic spray
Run through fields of prairie hay
Stand by the totems on a bc coast
Listen to stories of ontario ghosts
Paddle down a river on a lake up a stream
Hike up a mountain or the valleys in between
Dance in a pow wow dance on the streets
Head to a city where the people like to meet

I am canadian
Red and white through and through
I am canadian how ‘bout you

Every Lonely Heart

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Somewhere waiting on a corner
Stands a dream that must come true
When you’re half asleep
Nothing cuts so deep
As all the hurting you’ve been through

Every lonely heart is waiting to dance
Trip the light fandango
Burn the house down

I’m waiting for you
Just tell me what to do
I’m waiting for you
To bring me home

Every now and then I wander
In and out of thoughts of you
I’m falling out of love
I’m back in love again
I’m in and out of love with you

I am the answer
To every love you’ve ever hoped for
Every dream you’ve ever had

I am the answer
If you’d only come here with me
And take me by the hand

I’m waiting for you
Just tell me what to do
I’m waiting for you
To bring me home

If you wait too long
And all your love is gone
I’ll be waiting there for you

Gypsy Soul

Songwriter: Les Stroud

And if you see me running long
My gypsy soul is so damn strong
And if you wake before the dawn
You know that I’ll be gone

I’m a gypsy soul
The highway is my home
I’m a world war ace
But I’m lost in space
I’m a free bird now
And I love that sound
The wind that blows
I’m just a lonely soul

And if you see me running long
My gypsy soul is so damn strong
And if you wake before the dawn
You know that I’ll be gone

If you take a chance
On my circumstance
You can’t turn back
Jump off of the tracks

And if you see me running long
My gypsy soul is so damn strong
And if you wake before the dawn
You know that I’ll be gone

I’m a gypsy soul
I’ve got far to go
I’m a world war ace
Just an empty soul that roams

And if you see me running long
My gypsy soul is so damn strong
And if you wake before the dawn
You know that I’ll be gone

Long Walk Home (EP)

2007

I was never shy to take advantage of the celebrity that becoming Survivorman afforded me when it meant I could meet my childhood heroes or other artists I admired. Such was the case when Bryan Potvin of The Northern Pikes contacted me out of the blue one day just to say he was a fan of the show and thus we struck up a friendship. That friendship would then become an artistic one when he discovered that I was a folky, singer songwriter with ambitions beyond my current place. All of that led to he and I hooking up with his old bandmates from his band The Northern Pikes to record an EP.

Steady Job

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Im gonna buy myself and suv
Im gonna buy myself and suv
Im gonna buy myself and suv
Everyone gonna envy me
When I get my self
Get my self
Get myself
A steady job

Im gonna find myself a movie star
Im gonna find myself a movie star
Im gonna find myself a movie star
We’ll get drunk in an LA bar
When I get my self
Get my self
Get myself
A steady job

I’m gonna bet my horse is number one
I’m gonna bet my horse is number one
I’m gonna bet my horse is number one
I’m gonna spend my money just for fun
When I get my self
Get my self
Get myself
A steady job

I’m gonna have a big fat bank account
I’m gonna have a big fat bank account
I’m gonna have a big fat bank account
I’m gonna throw my money all around
When I get my self
Get my self
Get myself
A steady job

I’m gonna get myself a forty four
I’m gonna get myself a forty four
I’m gonna get myself a forty four
When the money runs out I’m gonna get some more
And I wont need
I wont need
I wont need
No steady job

Nice Tattoo

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Don’t want a woman with fancy clothes
Don’t want a woman with rings in her nose
Don’t want a woman do what she ‘sposed to do
I just want a woman with a nice tattoo

It could be
On her arm
Or maybe right across her chest
She could have one on her leg
Say slippery when wet
Don’t care what that girl like to do
Long as it’s a women with a nice tattoo

I want a woman who’s looks could kill
I want a woman gonna give me my fill
I like a woman let me do what I do
Long as it’s a woman with a nice tattoo

It could be
On her arm
Or maybe right across her chest
She could have one on her leg
Say slippery when wet
Don’t care what that girl like to do
Long as it’s a women with a nice tattoo

All kinds of women around this world
Big fat mamas and skinny girls
All kinds of women make me do what I do
Long as it’s a woman with a nice tattoo

On her arm
Or maybe right across her chest
She could have one on her ass
Say slippery when wet
Don’t care what that girl like to do
Long as it’s a woman with a nice tattoo

I just want a women with a nice tattoo

We Crawl

Songwriter: Les Stroud

I didn’t know this would go so fast
I wanted life just to last and last
So many things that i planned to do so many things that I’d say to you
I wake up every single day
You and love seeming far away
The steps of life are not straight or sure
I’ve got to find, got to find a cure
We crawl,we walk,we run and we never stop
First we cry then we talk
We’re shouting at the top of our lungs crying out for love

First we crawl when we think there’s no other way
Stand up like we’re told to do every day
Oh we run when we want to get away
Never stop never stop we just run away
We crawl, we walk, we run and we never stop
First we cry then we talk
We’re shouting at the top of our lungs crying out for love

Life’s not wasted
Rockin’ from the cradle to the grave time’s not wasted

I didn’t know this would go so fast
I wanted life just to last and last
so many things that I planned to do
So many things that I’d say to you

We crawl. we walk. we run and we never stop
First we cry then we talk
We’re shouting at the top of our lungs crying out for love

Three Cheers

Songwriter: Les Stroud

I don’t give a damn
I’ve got time on my hands and a drink in my hand
Hey what can you say
Three cheers for the hell of it
I wont go home

Friday night and I’m feeling alright
My best friend just walked through the door
Says the boys are all waitin’ down on the corner
Across from the old grocery store

I throw on my old coat and go to the drawer
Where my hard earned money awaits
Pick up a ten spot
To throw in my pocket
And rush out so I wont be late

We might go to jimmy’s
Maybe to timmy’s
Maybe to our favourite bar
Out side it’s rainin’
No one’s complainin’
There’s no need to go very far

I don’t give a damn
I’ve got time on my hands and a drink in my hand
Hey what can you say
Three cheers for the hell of it
I wont go home

When we were in high school
We thought we were real cool
Long hair and faded blue jeans
We fought if we had to smoked like a damn fool
And skipped off a class in between

We’ve all been in trouble
‘cuz we’re sure no angels
But I think we’re pretty good guys
We try to be thinkers
We’re sure damn good drinkers
People I tell you no lies

I don’t give a damn
I’ve got time on my hands and a drink in my hand
Hey what can you say
Three cheers for the hell of it
I wont go home

It’s getting’ quite late
The party’s still goin’
‘cuz we try to stay up all night
Some of us pass out
Others will make out
All of us sure feel all right

People I’m sure
That you’ve all had your good times
Just like me and my friends
This round is on me
Yeah this party is free
I hope it will never end

I don’t give a damn
I’ve got time on my hands and a drink in my hand
Hey what can you say
Three cheers for the hell of it
I wont go home

Storm Winds

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Don’t wake me up
From my drunken state
It hurts my head to think
Of how our love is now late

It’s the eye of your storm
The lee of your island
Or a storm wind that blows
Cross your waters

A tempest rages in my head
And thunder cracks down
With each word you’ve said

It’s the eye of your storm
The lee of your island
Or a storm wind that blows
Cross your waters

I don’t need a raincoat
To stand out in the rain
Oh you know in the night sky baby
You can’t see the clouds of my shame
Will this storm pass through
Over me and you

I’ve just got to hide away baby
For all time

In the eye of your storm
Or the lee of your island
Or a calm wind that blows
Cross your waters

Long Walk Home

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Concrete beneath my feet
Darkness invades the street
Pull down the iron cages
The city dies in stages

(Memories)
I cant find you
(You and me)
Anywhere I look out on this
Long walk home
(Come with me)
Come with me now
(You will see)
We can be together on this long walk home

Our body’s twist and turn
And as our feelings burn
Let me watch you sleep upon the grass
But that was long ago
Maybe never so

(Memories)
I cant find you
(You and me)
Anywhere I look out on this
Long walk home
(Come with me)
Come with me now
(You will see)
We can be together on this long walk home
(Memories)
And if I found you
(You and me)
I will take you with me on this long walk home

And as we turn the corner
The city ends and there we find
Peace of mind
It seems each day we’re stronger
When two are one we overcome
Always

I am Canadian

Songwriter: Les Stroud

This is the true north
Wild and free
There’s no better place
I can be

Eagles soaring over mountains high
Arctic circles open skies

I am canadian
Red and white through and through
I am canadian just like you

I have never seen ungava bay
Knowing that it’s there makes me rise up everyday
Forests thick and green oceans clear
Life is higher when you’re living here

I am canadian
Red and white through and through
I am canadian how ‘bout you

Les Stroud

2000

After more than ten years away from writing music I found myself staring at an acoustic guitar in a house in Yellowknife NWT in Canada’s Arctic. I picked up the guitar and out came “Ride On” And I never looked back. I started writing again and performing again and as soon as stepped on stage I realized just how much I had missed it all. Music. Creating. Recording. Performing. Fast forward to living in Temagami, Ontario and befriending Ian Auger and I found myself in his studio crafting many folky and roots-rock songs. As simple as these tunes are you could certainly see where I was about to go with my artistic side; the celebration of nature through my music.

Ride On

Songwriter: Les Stroud

Ride on babe ride on
Wild running stallions are free to ramble on

Like a forest fire at midnight burning on and on
I see your eyes shining when you sing your song
And when the wind blows throug hthe forest
And the sun shines through the trees
It’s then you feel your strongest and there’s noone else to please

So ride on babe ride on
Wild running stallions are free to ramble on
Ride on babe ride on
Forest fires at midnight keep burning on and on

When you gather friends around you
You show off just your pride
All your other feelings are locked up deep inside
But when you break out from the city and feel the mountain air
The world could fall behind you
You don’t really care

While the rest of us are sleeping
You’ll be moving on
While the rest of us are waking
You’ll be so far gone

So ride on babe ride on
Wild running stallions are free to ramble on

In the eys of your children you find strength to believe
In the eyes of your elders you find strength to need
Since no one has the answer to bring you peace of mind
Let faith move the mountains that we all have to climb

So ride on babe ride on
Wild running stallions are free to ramble on
Ride on babe ride on
Forest fires at midnight keep burning on and on

Free to Be

Songwriter: Les Stroud

The wind is light the sky is blue
My heart is heavy when I don’t have you
And I miss you like a parched land misses rain

A camp on the land a boat on the sea
Life aint life if you can’t be free to live it
You’ll always find a way

40 hours of work week were never meant for me
Lately ive been bitten by the bug that sets us free
Wilderness wanering and ocean waves are calling
Standing in a forest you can hear when trees are falling
Oh this is free
Free to be

A little to the right
A little to the left
A lot in the middle cuz it feels so right just loving you
‘neath the sun and ‘neath the moon

Years they come and years they go
All I know’s they all go by so fast
Don’t waste your days away

Mother Earth

Embers (EP)

Bittern Lake

Barn Sessions III – Off The Grid

Wonderful Things: Barn Sessions I & II

Long Walk Home (EP)

Les Stroud

Keep Up With The Adventure