The Rural Alberta Advantage - The Ballad of RAA - Jess Nicol

When I first asked Jess to make a contribution to Art for Art, Jess said she didn't know many Canadian musicians but she'd look into it. I'm not going to lie, I was slightly afraid Jess would email me with a link to Justin Bieber's "Baby". Don't get me wrong, I love Canada's national treasure as much as any eight year old girl (yes, I've even seen him in concert) but Justin Bieber wasn't exactly the style I was looking for.

To my sweet surprise Jess chose The Rural Alberta Advantage, who deceivingly, are from Toronto. Their 2008 release Hometown contains tracks such as: "The Dethbridge in Lethbridge"; "Frank, AB"; and "Edmonton". And if you haven't heard "In the Summertime" I suggest you youtube/google/grooveshark or do whatever it is you do right away. I did a little bit of research to find out why an Ontario based band would focus so heavily on a region of Western Canada and I found out that Nils Edenloff, guitarist and singer, was raised in Fort McMurray and draws on much of his childhood experiences in his songwriting.

This is why Jess is the perfect person to write about The RAA. Jess is an Albertan girl. She has lived here her entire life and only laughed at me when I got lost trying to find her house in Cochrane. She had little sympathy for me, but really, how can you get lost in Cochrane?

Take a listen to The RAA's song, "The Ballad of RAA":

Anyway, here's Jess (Who's that girl??? Who's that girl!!! It's Jess!)

I wrote this poem within the context of listening to the song "The Ballad of RAA". As I listened to it I came to realize that this song is totally about the friendship I have with the amazing person who first introduced it to me. This poem is about heart break, crisis, environment, distance and friendship. It is a reflection on an event, within a time, within a setting, within a life.

A Prairie in Three Parts

1

I lost my heart in the shadow of a mountain

a cut and then the drip                drip

flowing

out         with my pulse

flowing

through              the foothills, past the rose and wheat. 

pulling

stopping 

shedding 

unravel               ling

until

it had gone

now/it has gone

2

fall and tear and break and die

and no and what not yours inside

have you been here before?

Wild rose of the Rockies, you'd know. 

you'd know. 

and now and wait and know and 

no and yes but I can't hide

in the x-ray grass. 

Tell me what the future brings.

two more hours

of time. 

It will pass. 

It will pass. 

With our hands held across the nation

more than we knew

before. 

3

These things will pass. It's the good ones that will last

* * *

For more on The Rural Alberta Advantage, visit their website.

For more on Albertan Jess, visit the contributors page.