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Culture

The best Canadian song of all time is, ironically, about Americans

By Toronto Life
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The best-ever Canadian song is The Guess Who’s “American Woman,” says Bob Mersereau, the author of the new coffee-table book The Top 100 Canadian Singles. (We’ll let national identity theorists ponder what it means that the tune is about the U.S.) Mersereau, a New Brunswick–based arts journalist, is attempting to document influential Canadian musicians he feels are underappreciated compared with British and American artists. So last year, he asked over 800 people in the industry to name their top 10 favourite Canadian tunes, resulting in a list of 100 songs. See them all, after the jump.

1. “American Woman,” The Guess Who 2. “Heart of Gold,” Neil Young 3. “The Weight,” The Band 4. “Summer of ’69,” Bryan Adams 5. “Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen 6. “Born to Be Wild,” Steppenwolf 7. “If You Could Read My Mind,” Gordon Lightfoot 8. “Takin’ Care of Business,” Bachman Turner Overdrive 9. “Four Strong Winds,” Ian and Sylvia 10. “Snowbird,” Anne Murray 11. “Big Yellow Taxi,” Joni Mitchell 12. “Tom Sawyer,” Rush 13. “Try,” Blue Rodeo 14. “New Orleans Is Sinking,” Tragically Hip 15. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Gordon Lightfoot 16. “Suzanne,” Leonard Cohen 17. “Life Is a Highway,” Tom Cochrane 18. “These Eyes,” The Guess Who 19. “Sundown,” Gordon Lightfoot 20. “Underwhelmed,” Sloan 21. “Up on Cripple Creek,” The Band 22. “Let Your Backbone Slide,” Maestro Fresh Wes 23. “Tired of Waking Up Tired,” The Diodes 25. “The Spirit of Radio,” Rush 25. “Oh What a Feeling,” Crowbar 26. “High School Confidential,” Rough Trade 27. “Echo Beach,” Martha and the Muffins 28. “Sweet City Woman,” Stampeders 29. “Wake Up,” Arcade Fire 30. “If I Had $1,000,000,” Barenaked Ladies 31. “Lindberg,” Robert Charlebois 32. “I’m an Adult Now,” The Pursuit of Happiness 33. “Nothin’,” Ugly Ducklings 34. “Coax Me,” Sloan 35. “Closer to the Heart,” Rush 36. “Picture My Face,” Teenage Head 37. “Shakin’ All Over,” The Guess Who 38. “Signs,” Five Man Electrical Band 39. “Lost Together,” Blue Rodeo 40. “Sonny’s Dream,” Ron Hynes 41. “The Safety Dance,” Men Without Hats 42. “Claire,” Rheostatics 43. “One Fine Morning,” Lighthouse 44. “(Make Me Do) Anything You Want,” A Foot in Coldwater 45. “Sunglasses at Night,” Corey Hart 46. “Working for the Weekend,” Loverboy 47. “Raise a Little Hell,” Trooper 48. “Rise Up,” Parachute Club 49. “Black Velvet,” Alannah Myles 50. “Seasons in the Sun,” Terry Jacks 51. “Montreal 40C,” Malajube 52. “Cinnamon Girl,” Neil Young 53. “You Oughta Know,” Alanis Morissette 54. “1234,” Feist 55. “Rebellion (Lies),” Arcade Fire 56. “Constant Craving,” k.d. lang 57. “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Neil Young 58. “Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy,” Michel Pagliaro 59. “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” Bruce Cockburn 60. “Bobcaygeon,” Tragically Hip 61. “A Case of You,” Joni Mitchell 62. “New York City,” The Demics 63. “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” Bryan Adams 64. “Ahead by a Century,” Tragically Hip 65. “Five Days in May,” Blue Rodeo 66. “I’m Moving On,” Hank Snow 67. “Pour un instant,” Harmonium 68. “Magic Carpet Ride,” Steppenwolf 69. “Money City Maniacs,” Sloan 70. “My Heart Will Go On,” Celine Dion 71. “Crabbuckit,” K-os 72. “This Beat Goes on/Switchin’ to Glide,” The Kings 73. “Old Man,” Neil Young 74. “1990,” Jean Leloup 75. “Eyes of a Stranger,” Payola$ 76. “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet,” Blue Rodeo 77. “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” Bachman Turner Overdrive 78. “Wondering Where the Lions Are,” Bruce Cockburn 79. “You Could Have Been a Lady,” April Wine 80. “Let’s Shake,” Teenage Head 81. “Help Me,” Joni Mitchell 82. “We’re Here for a Good Time,” Trooper 83. “Sunny Days,” Lighthouse 84. “Le petit roi,” Jean-Pierre Ferland 85. “Cuts Like a Knife,” Bryan Adams 86. “The Hockey Song,” Stompin’ Tom Connors 87. “Wheat Kings,” Tragically Hip 88. “Mon pays,” Gilles Vigneault 89. “Home for a Rest,” Spirit of the West 90. “Letter From an Occupant,” New Pornographers 91. “No Time,” The Guess Who 92. “As the Years Go By,” Mashmakhan 93. “Hey Hey My My,” Neil Young 94. “Diana,” Paul Anka 95. “The Maker,” Daniel Lanois 96. “Nova Heart,” The Spoons 97. “La complainte du phoque en Alaska,” Beau Dommage 98. “Secret Heart,” Ron Sexsmith 99. “Run to You,” Bryan Adams 100. “Weighty Ghost,” Wintersleep
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