Peter's Ghost

I found this when cleaning out my Inbox recently. A shred of song that never came to be. It was meant as a tribute to Peter Gzowski. I had a lot of different feelings about him and his work, but admiration was always foremost among them and Morningside memories are still strong for me.



The first blurb is a chorus. The second is a verse. The verse describes an image from my true-life exodus from Nova Scotia to Toronto, driving an 83 Ford Ranger back to my childhood home on two cylinders, with my life in flames behind me. One particular interview Gzowski did that morning had a profound influence on me, and I quit smoking right at that moment.



Peter's ghost is still the host of a radio show in heaven

You can hear him coast to coast from seven to eleven

That smoky voice is still my choice when all I want to hear

Is the morning side of Canada, a-chuckling in my ear



I was rolling up a smoke and steering with my knee

That voice on the old truck radio was my only company

I lost my love, I lost my pride, and all that I held true

And the spirit of the countryside was the only hope I knew