MONTREAL -- “Follow the unknown with something more familiar,” sang the late Gord Downie of the iconic Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip.
The line seems appropriate in the current context as people around the world were forced to grapple with quarantines and isolation following the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Following that previously unknown world, Comedian Joey Elias would like everyone with a voice to do something very familiar: sing the song “Courage” from their balconies, rooftops, porches or bedrooms.
Following Martha Wainwright’s leading of Leonard Cohen's “So Long, Marianne” in Montreal and other mass-sing-alongs around the world, Elias is calling on Canadians to sing the song that’s blasted over rock radio stations for decades Thursday (Mar. 26) at 6 p.m. EST.
Elias said the response has been overwhelming.
“It’s really much bigger than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “I really just figured I’d put it out there and whoever wanted to join, great.”
The reason for doing it is simple: take the edge off.
“I thought, if we could just get together as a country with a band that united us already, and just come together and forget about all that nonsense and dance like nobody’s watching, let’s sing, let’s play the instrument," he said. "It’s a quick distraction, but hopefully it’s a distraction that the whole country can get behind.”
