Hello out there, we're on the air, it's 'Hockey Night' tonight.
Tension grows, the whistle blows, and the puck goes down the ice.
The goalie jumps, and the players bump, and the fans all go insane.
Someone roars, "Bobby Scores!" at the good old Hockey Game.
Oh, the good old hockey game, is the best game you can name.
And the best game you can name, is the good old hockey game.
Second period
Where players dash, with skates aflash, the home team trails behind.
But they grab the puck, and go bursting up, and they're down across the line.
They storm the crease, like bumble bees, they travel like a burning flame.
We see them slide, the puck inside, it's a 1-1 hockey game.
Chorus
Third Period
Last game of the playoff too.
Oh take me where, the hockey players, face off down the rink
And the Stanley Cup, is all filled up, for the champs who win the drink.
Now the final flick, of a hockey stick, and the one gigantic scream.
"The puck is in! The home team wins!", the good old hockey game.
Chorus
.
.
The passing of Stompin' Tom Connors, who will be laid to rest with a Memorial Service on Wednesday, has been commemorated far and wide this week.
The finale from the hockey family if you will, tonight's opening for Hockey Night in Canada, as perfect a conclusion to the national days of mourning, Saturday Night Hockey's Holy Night and Hockey Night Canada our collective chapel.
And the CBC did it up right on Saturday Night.
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The troubadour, born in St. John, New Brunswick, but claimed by communities from St. John's Newfoundland to Tofino BC and every hamlet in between, was one of the true Canadian icons and the measure of his resonance across the land could be found in the stories that were exchanged through this week.
Globe and Mail-- Stompin' Tom Connors, Canada's troubadour sang of everyday lives
Globe and Mail-- Stompin' Tom: The closest we may get to a Woody Guthrie of our own
Globe and Mail-- Editorial: Thank You, Stompin' Tom Connors. We needed you
National Post-- The Legend of Stompin' Tom: Dave Bidini bids farewell to a Canadian icon
Toronto Star-- Stompin' Tom Connors dies at 77: A look back at a Canadian country icon
Toronto Star-- Stompin' Tom Connors: His Songs About Canada
Toronto Star-- Stompin' Tom Connors: Mitch Potter's 1990 interview with the legend
Toronto Sun-- Stompin' Tom Connors a true Canadian rebel
Torontoist-- Across this City with Stompin' Tom
Huffington Post-- The Hockey Song, By Stompin' Tom Connors, was Pure Canadianna
Yahoo-- Stomp On: Canada remembers Stompin' Tom Connors
Georgia Straight-- "The Hockey Song" legend Stompin' Tom Connors dead at 77
Maclean's-- Stompin Tom Connors: Our National Poet
CBC-- Stompin' Tom Connors dies at 77
CBC-- Stompin' Tom remembered by fans, friends
CBC-- Canadian Musicians pay tribute to Stompin' Tom Connors
CTV-- Stompin' Tom Connors dead at 77
Known for the wide catalogue of folk songs that triumphed the Canadian spirit and embraced everything Canadian, the tales of Bud the Spud, a Saturday Night in Sudbury or the soundtrack to a game played on ice but lived in homes across the land, his The Hockey Song possibly one of the most recognizable tunes of Canadian music.
And while Canadians will reflect on his passing with a measure of wonder over the simple genius of his songs and the reflection they found in them, his anthem of the sport we claim as ours will remain part of the scene for no doubt years to come.
Played to an appreciative audience nightly wherever it seems in this world that an arena can be found, it's a song which perhaps we will join in on the chorus with just a little more passion, now that we're left to carry the tune on our own.
And to give us a measure of the man he was, upon his passing, a note was released on his website, Thanking us for listening and sharing with him, passing the torch on to Canadians to sing the praises of the Country he was devoted to.
In the days since the announcement, there has been much talk of an appropriate salute for Stompin' Tom, talk of a state funeral, renaming roads and buildings, or holding some form of public celebration.
One obvious option would be the Canadian Juno Awards, which celebrate Canadian Music, though the Awards and Connors had a falling out a few years back. However, if Juno Organizers want some free advice, including a segment on the singer's vast works probably is a no-brainer, past history or not. (Juno people, You have been warned!)
However, the best we've heard so far, an honour that would surely symbolize what he meant to the game (and it to he) and one that would probably bring a smile to his face as he watches hockey from the great beer parlour in the sky, the prospect of enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
As good an idea as there could be, so let's launch the campaign! Write the letters! Bombard the sports talk shows with the idea!
Open the doors and lets get the party started...
Hello out there, we're on the air, it's Hockey Night tonight...
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