O Canada: Coward

Holly McNarland: Coward

[Purchase]

One of my favorite songs of all time (or at least within the top 20 or so, which I think is darn good) is by a Canadian, Ms. Holly McNarland, a native of Manitoba. The song, "Coward", is from her full-length 1997 debut "Stuff" which earned her a Juno award for best new solo act the following year.

The song, an introspective look at insecurities, is powerful to me because it's about something that generally makes one feel vulnerable, and yet it is sung in such a powerful voice that you have a hard time feeling ashamed or bad about it. You're hanging your dirty laundry out there and you're saying "yeah so? Let's see yours if you're so tough", and I love it for that. Indeed, Holly herself is able to teeter along at times with a fragile haunting voice, and then come back with a voice that threatens to break windows, and that's why she's always intrigued me.