KENTVILLE, N.S. — When the terrible tragedy of a mass shooting occurred in April, he knew his song had found its purpose.
Geof Turner of Steam Mill said he first got the idea of producing his own take on the classic folk song Farewell to Nova Scotia about seven years ago.
A former mail carrier who is now the acting lead hand at the Kentville post office, he was walking along Belcher Street when the inspiration hit. He said your mind tends to wander and you think a lot when you’re walking.
“I honestly don’t know why it popped into my head, but I was thinking about the song Farewell to Nova Scotia, which we all love,” Turner said. “It’s sort of the unofficial anthem of the province.”
Although he thinks it’s a beautiful song, Turner admits that he’s always found the anonymously-authored lyrics somewhat depressing. For example, it says, “Let your mountains dark and dreary be” and “the sun was setting in the west”, denoting that the day is drawing to an end.
The man in the song says “I have two brothers and they are at rest. Their hands are folded on their chest”. The man is dying. He is going to miss his love and his native Nova Scotia.
“I thought, ‘why doesn’t someone flip it around’ and why don’t we make it ‘The sun was rising in the east’, and it’s a brand new day and it’s full of hope and promise and optimism,” Turner said.
He was initially worried about copyright infringement, so he reached out to Nova Scotia folklore expert, writer and entertainer Clary Croft to find out if any issues could arise from reworking Farewell to Nova Scotia. Because the song is in the public domain, there were no copyright concerns.
Turner enlisted the help of his brother, George, who is also musically inclined and has written many songs. They reworked the lyrics and came up with a more upbeat version called “There’s No Place Like Nova Scotia.”
They recorded the song and put it on YouTube. They also sent it to the CBC and the late Stan Carew played it on an edition of Weekend Mornings.
Since then, Turner has continued working to refine the song and has re-recorded it. He has always hoped that it would go further and that perhaps it could be used as a means to raise funds for a worthwhile cause.
When news of a mass shooting in Nova Scotia broke, Turner reached out to the Canadian Red Cross. They have established the Stronger Together Nova Scotia Fund in support of families and communities devastated by the violent tragedy.
Through the Kentville Lions Club, a charitable organization of which Turner is a member, the song is now raising money for the Stronger Together fund. The company TuneCore has distributed the song to a number of online music platforms, the two biggest being iTunes and Spotify.
Turner said the mass shooting in April affected everyone personally as Nova Scotians. It resonated with him that the tragedy could have just as easily occurred in our own community or to his own family.
“I think we’re a pretty tight-knit province,” Turner said. “I like to think that we look after each other.”
He hopes that the song reminds people of how beautiful a place Nova Scotia is. Using it to help raise funds for the Stronger Together fund “just seemed right.”
