As if I Could Say No to You Old Man Winter

Let me begin by saying that I certainly feel for people in parts of the world where the weather has truly devastated communities.  Though certainly not tragic, in Canada we surely seem to be getting many, many visits from Old Man Winter this season. Indeed, he seems to be over-staying his welcome already. I know that it is very Canadian to complain about the weather. Perhaps my favourite story over the holidays is watching snow twinkle down in the washroom on the 11 floor of a high-rise building in which I stayed for the break. We were in a blizzard; the wind blew up the side of the building into the vent and through the duct work to the washroom. Presto, instant indoor winter.

At that time, I was writing songs. I changed the lyric to the song I was working on. I tried to write a positive ode to Old Man Winter, but the chords begged attitude—or at the very least some lyrical irony. I ended up with the lyrics that are the title of this blog, which I think can be taken two ways.  “As if I Could Say No to You” may be literal: we cannot say no to winter; truly, we do not have a choice in Canada, whether we like it or not it is here, and will be next year…and the year after that. But the title may also invoke the sense of a love that cannot help itself. You know, how we cannot help but see a puppy as adorable, even if it just destroyed the Christmas tree. Then the puppy looks at us wanting to go for a walk, and we say “As If I Could Say No to You.” As they say, our relationship with Old Man Winter is complicated, and Canadian.