# "The Last Night of the World" - everything that is good and holy about Bruce Cockburn **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090 "2001-11-08T00:42:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/1 "2001-11-08T00:42:25Z")
[The Last Night of the World](http://mfile.akamai.com/3196/rm/muze.download.akamai.com/2890/us/us_rm/3300/331284_1_03.ram?obj=v11016) is everything you want a Bruce Cockburn song to be. You’ve got the acoustic guitar over the pedal bass, you’ve got his gentle fatalism, you’ve got his cliche free and fresh lyrics . . . and a compelling melody. You don’t always get a compelling melody with Bruce Cockburn. But you do in this song. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/2 "2001-11-08T05:29:39Z")
large bruce cockburn fan chiming in here. finally went to see him last summer and he blew me away. brought tears to my eyes, really. god DAMN good guitar player, too. whats your favorite album? mine is ‘further adventures of…’ he played ‘feast of fools’ last summer. wow! ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/3 "2001-11-08T13:26:42Z")
I’ve been to many of his concerts, but none recently. The best was at the Stratford (ON) Festival Theatre almost 20 years ago. The theatre has perfect acoustics, and he and his band played with very little amplification. It was magic. My favourite album is Humans, but I think the strongest song on that record is How I Spent My Fall Vacation, not Tokyo. I lost interest after that - except for Lovers in Dangerous Times and If I Had a Rocket Launcher. But Last Night of the World has got me interested again. And I’ve run into him twice! I used to work in the same building that True North is in and twice he was coming in as I was going out. Was totally tongue tied both times, so I said nothing! ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/4 "2001-11-08T14:21:20Z")
**Cockburn** (Is it pronounced “Coburn”?) is an artist who I have always wanted to check out but don’t know much about. Recommend please an album or two for me please. I only know him from **Garcia’s** cover of _“Waiting for a Miracle”_ Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/5 "2001-11-08T15:06:35Z")
Yep - pronounced Coburn. The two classic albums are [Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002852/qid=1005231797/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_11_2/102-6883656-3909705) and [Humans](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002852/qid=1005231797/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_11_2/102-6883656-3909705). Similar to Dylan, he started out as an acoustic folky, but after Humans, picked up a Strat (which was tolerable) and a Flying V (which looked ridiculous). He’s also interesting, because he was mellow in his early years, then got really, really angry, but appears to have chilled out. Do check him out - there’s some fine writing and guitaring going on. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/6 "2001-11-08T21:16:38Z")
Muchas Gracias D18! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/7 "2001-11-08T21:42:01Z")
I only have his Christmas album. But, by golly, it is the BEST Christmas album I own (Jorma Kaukonen’s comes close, but it has a few stinkeroos on it). I’ll be watching this thread with great interest. The one who recommends the album that I eventually end up buying will win a Valuable Prize. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/8 "2001-11-08T21:45:03Z")
Oooh, ooh, do I get bonus Uke Ike points for being the first to suggest Bruce Cockburn as the right guy to write a 9/11 tribute song? Wherever that thread was. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/9 "2001-11-08T22:50:12Z")
Two big favorites: “All the Ways I Want You”, and my very favorite all-time song title, “Clocks Don’t Bring Tomorrow, Knives Don’t Bring Good News”. I’ll have to check out the new album. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/10 "2001-11-08T23:00:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*Oooh, ooh, do I get bonus Uke Ike points for being the first to suggest Bruce Cockburn as the right guy to write a 9/11 tribute song? Wherever that thread was. \*\* Heck, I’m already using “Last Night of the World” as my personal 9/11 song. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/11 "2001-11-09T00:53:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\*Oooh, ooh, do I get bonus Uke Ike points for being the first to suggest Bruce Cockburn as the right guy to write a 9/11 tribute song? Wherever that thread was. \*\* [Wildest Bill] he alredy did. if i hadda a rokit launcher. gotcha ya! [/Wildest Bill] ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-night-of-the-world-everything-that-is-good-and-holy-about-bruce-cockburn/92090/12 "2001-11-10T00:49:53Z")
brilliant, d18. simply brill. oh, the memories…