[andrew sharpe]

Just sitting around butchering Chancellor on the guitar and wondering if anyone has any insight into the lyrics? I've read someone mention Hitler/Ava Braun but that feels a bit on the nose for Gord...though I know he used to rant about both frequently on tour. Someone else on another site suggested the vampire is Gord's temper.

Let's hear what you have.

[potsie]

Chancellor is classic Downie writing, full of metaphor, and wide open to varied interpretations. I think the song could be a twist on "The Road Not Taken". Unrealized dreams and and unfulfilled destinies due to the path that was chosen. There may be regret here. "I could've made chancellor without you on my mind" hints at falling short. I don't think chancellor is literal... the line could have been written, "I could've made president without you on my mind" as that would have made the same point. Outside of a few countries (such as Germany) where a chancellor holds more power than a president, chancellor is often a ceremonial title, particularly within the university system. The narrator might have been overstating the difference in his (her?) life if he said he could've made president but chancellor might be a more realistic approximation of how short he fell.

In parsing the poem, I'm intrigued by the use of the line "Before the dawning's first light". Typically this would be written as "Before the dawn's first light". "Dawning's" sounds awkward which makes me believe Gord was trying to infuse the line with an alternative meaning. Dawning would suggest the beginning of a new era through recognizing or accepting the end of this relationship. The windows are opened in the beginning of the song to let the old out and then closed by the end of the song to mark the dawning of a new era. The narrator is moving on.

"Marching armies in the night" might be a reference to Norman Mailer's book "The Armies of the Night" about the anti-Vietnam protest rally in 1967. Both the "Crazy Daisies" (The Crazy Daisy Band) and "Wooden Stars" were bands that were active in the late 1990's, with Gord being connected to the Wooden Stars through Julie Doiron (the album Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars was released in 1999). Although I'm not sure how any of this ties back into an interpretation of the song.

I went to YouTube to watch the video for the song to see if it gave any insight into the meaning of the song and noticed that Mike Downie posted "Chancellor" two weeks ago with this caption: "Gord Downie’s Chancellor music video from his solo record, Coke Machine Glow. We filmed the entire music video in 3 hours, one beautiful June morning in 2001, on Centre Island, Toronto at the swan boat ride. DOP Nick dePencier and I filmed Gord from a second swan boat; steering the boats was tricky. What looks like snow is fluff floating down from the majestic willow trees. Nick’s wife, acclaimed filmmaker, Jennifer Baichwal, and Gord’s wife, Kaya Usher, make a cameo appearance at the end of video."

Off topic a bit, but I recalled Gord's wife being "Laura". Apparently along with changing her name she has transformed herself into a spiritual guru. There are some videos of her talking about her spiritual healing and of her singing and playing guitar. Alas, no Hip songs from what I watched... seems to like Neil Young.

[youtube]xw3ZaEmMiRk[/youtube]

Seconds from pajamas I must
First open all the doors and the windows
And invite the vampire in to be one of us

Then in the guise of cool air
In the softer hours he's there
Sitting talking in the voice of your mother
About leaving one good party for another
And the night of a thousand missteps
And the loss that made him dogged
Or it could have been the doggedness
That caused the loss in the first place I guess

I'm discovering uses for you I thought I'd never find
I could've made chancellor without you on my mind

Crazy daisies and wooden stars
The threat of oxygen on Mars
Marching armies in the night
Smiling strangers riding by on bikes
Children smoking, sloganeers on mics
Just a few things most vampires don't like

I'm discovering uses for you I thought I'd never find
I could've made chancellor without you on my mind

Before the dawning's first light I must
First close up all the doors and the windows
And try to trap that cool air in to be one with us

I'm discovering uses for you I thought I'd never find
I could've made chancellor without you on my mind

[andrew sharpe]

Thanks for posting the video potsie, I hadn't seen it in a long time and really enjoyed it. Love the classic pointing and head nod at the end...I think it's such unique mannerisms that made GD such a good actor. Like even his every day movements and gestures are interesting lol. Anyone who's seen the Hip live more than once or twice would recognize that two fingered gun.

"I could've made chancellor without you on my mind" hints at falling short.

Or is it a romantic line? As in, success became less important to me once I found you.

I don't think chancellor is literal... the line could have been written, "I could've made president without you on my mind" as that would have made the same point.

Right, but this could indicate that the choice of "chancellor" isn't random. Even the least dedicated songwriter would expect listeners to draw obvious conclusions about a song that has "chancellor" and "marching armies in the night". But how does that relate to vampires? I really don't get it.

In parsing the poem, I'm intrigued by the use of the line "Before the dawning's first light". Typically this would be written as "Before the dawn's first light". "Dawning's" sounds awkward which makes me believe Gord was trying to infuse the line with an alternative meaning. Dawning would suggest the beginning of a new era through recognizing or accepting the end of this relationship. The windows are opened in the beginning of the song to let the old out and then closed by the end of the song to mark the dawning of a new era. The narrator is moving on.

To me the dawning's first light has to be related to vampires, who fear the light.

Both the "Crazy Daisies" (The Crazy Daisy Band) and "Wooden Stars" were bands that were active in the late 1990's, with Gord being connected to the Wooden Stars through Julie Doiron (the album Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars was released in 1999). Although I'm not sure how any of this ties back into an interpretation of the song.,

Nice catch...I've never heard of The Crazy Daisy Band. But yes, Gord was openly a fan of Doiron's and reference her bands other times ("I played Love Tara, by Eric's Trip, on the day that you were born"). But what else do the things in the list have in common? At first I thought it was a list of things he likes, and the vampire is negativity (which wouldn't like things that Gord likes), but children smoking, marching armies and sloganeers aren't likable things, so that's out.

Perhaps "you" and/or "the vampire" are traits of Gord's that he doesn't like, or wants to be rid of, as Kingstonian suggests on https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530...858501488/?

[andrew sharpe]

Could "the night of a thousand missteps" be the Night of the Long Knives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives)? I keeping coming back to the Nazi stuff, which feels way too obvious, but Gord ranted about Hitler and Ava Braun during Hip shows constantly ("You should have dedicated your life to art!"), so I guess that's why I have this subject in my head when I hear a song called Chancellor. I HAVE to think Gord would expect listeners to think the same...although stupendously obscure, Gord was not one to misdirect.

[SRK]

Off topic a bit, but I recalled Gord's wife being "Laura". Apparently along with changing her name she has transformed herself into a spiritual guru. There are some videos of her talking about her spiritual healing and of her singing and playing guitar. Alas, no Hip songs from what I watched... seems to like Neil Young.

(picks jaw up off floor)....wow. That's certainly something.

[hotmetal401]

Could "the night of a thousand missteps" be the Night of the Long Knives (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives)? I keeping coming back to the Nazi stuff, which feels way too obvious, but Gord ranted about Hitler and Ava Braun during Hip shows constantly ("You should have dedicated your life to art!"), so I guess that's why I have this subject in my head when I hear a song called Chancellor. I HAVE to think Gord would expect listeners to think the same...although stupendously obscure, Gord was not one to misdirect.

I had never really considered the Hitler interpretation, and I was brushing it off, but then I recalled a couple of 1996 boots. I believe Springtime was once introduced as "the kind of lullaby Ava Braun would sing to Hitler." Given that Chancellor is very much a lullaby, you might be onto something.

[potsie]

"I could've made chancellor without you on my mind" hints at falling short.

Or is it a romantic line? As in, success became less important to me once I found you.

I've never considered Chancellor to be a "romantic song" but as I look again at the lyrics I think you might be right, although the romanticism may be one-sided. The idea of that line being romantic also matches up better with the overall musical tone. Downie's singing voice sounds very much at ease. The narrator's career (or path in life) may have been derailed by love, but he's OK with that; there is no bitterness in Downie's voice and the buoyant piano playing adds to the feeling of a contented acceptance, as opposed to a sour resignation.

I don't think chancellor is literal... the line could have been written, "I could've made president without you on my mind" as that would have made the same point.

Right, but this could indicate that the choice of "chancellor" isn't random. Even the least dedicated songwriter would expect listeners to draw obvious conclusions about a song that has "chancellor" and "marching armies in the night". But how does that relate to vampires? I really don't get it.

The vampire as metaphor suggests a parasitic relationship. Who is the needy one in the story... the narrator or his lover? I think it's the narrator who's still "discovering uses" for his partner. He may be deriving his needs at the expense of his partner.

Both the "Crazy Daisies" (The Crazy Daisy Band) and "Wooden Stars" were bands that were active in the late 1990's, with Gord being connected to the Wooden Stars through Julie Doiron (the album Julie Doiron and the Wooden Stars was released in 1999). Although I'm not sure how any of this ties back into an interpretation of the song.,

Nice catch...I've never heard of The Crazy Daisy Band. But yes, Gord was openly a fan of Doiron's and reference her bands other times ("I played Love Tara, by Eric's Trip, on the day that you were born"). But what else do the things in the list have in common? At first I thought it was a list of things he likes, and the vampire is negativity (which wouldn't like things that Gord likes), but children smoking, marching armies and sloganeers aren't likable things, so that's out.

Agree that this list plays to both sides, positive and negative. A bit of a head-scratcher.