@Gina This song was written a LONG time ago but is as meaningful to right now as it ever could have been
The Stories Behind Tom’s Songs
Big League
A song thinking from the position of a father who’s son had died in a car accident. He was going to be a hockey star in his dad’s opinion and was destined that way but it never came to be.
“The song is based on a true story. I met a man in an arena when we were on tour just before sound check, a nice soft spoken guy, who told me that his son had aspirations to play pro hockey and had a scholarship, or had been close to one in the States. He asked me if we were going to play “Boy Inside The Man” that night and said that his son had been a big fan. I asked him if his son would be there, not realizing the man had been using the past tense. That was when he told me his son had died in a car accident that past summer… I felt for that guy, his story hit me hard. Some songs are hard labour, but the best songs are born … I carried that story with me for quite some time. Ken and I rented a house to write and pre-produce Victory Day. With the exception of the music equipment, we kept it bare and empty, not even a phone – nothing, like a Buddhist retreat or a monastery. In the upstairs room I simply kept a mat, tape recorder and guitar, that’s all. Ken was producing the Tragically Hip at the time, so sometimes he wouldn’t show up till late in the evening. I’d go into that room in the afternoon for an hour or so and meditate … and sometimes I’d fall asleep in the silence. One day I woke up, picked up the guitar, turned on the tape recorder and played and sang “Big League” in one pass. One pass, and there it was … born. I’m as proud of that song as anything I’ve ever written. It’s Canadiana, and even though it rocks, it’s written in a true Canadian folk narrative style. But most importantly, I hope it cuts to the heart of life, love, loss and family … I think it says something about the hopes and dreams we put into our kids’ heads, and the transience and preciousness of life. This song’s origins are culturally specific, but the story taps into something universal, into ideas and feelings that resonate through every culture.” – Tom Cochrane
© 2026 – SoulSequel
4 responses to “For those interested”
An attempt to focus on the positive aspects of this tragedy:
Although the Humboldt tragedy has triggered a lot of sadness; it has also triggered something else as I watch how our country has responded…and more specifically how Saskatchewan has.
There is something very unique in my opinion about living on the Prairies. It might be the huge skies, the endless view, or the sense of feeling smaller that motivates a very strong sense of community that connects people.
We felt it in Alberta.
To this day, one of my favourite Life moments was a stop in the middle of nowhere, that felt like everywhere simultaneously. It was late August, somewhere north of Medicine Hat and all I could see in every direction was the golden wheat fields just before harvest wavering in the breeze under a cloudless, blue, blue sky. I got out of the car and was mesmerized by the sounds of silence. Steinbeck does a way better job of describing the feeling, but I remember the sensation like it was yesterday.
There is something in the air there that does something to people. It brings them together. I’m not sure you can experience the feeling in an urban environment. Maybe its the management of the environment that takes away the sense that allows Nature to be in charge, but whatever it is, it might be the closest sensory experience to what Heaven can be.
You can’t capture it in a picture. It’s hard to describe with words. It’s just one of the best feelings imaginable. I hope that those who died and those affected by the tragedy in Humboldt are able to have the Prairie Experience of interconnectedness to help them through a very challenging time. This is my prayer.
@spitfire3dc Thank you for thinking of me with this song. I have always lived near big mountains, and the ocean. It would feel weird for me to be land-locked, but the prairies are so beautiful, and so is your picture.
I hope the boys, men and lady who died are somewhere beautiful as you described. It’s so heartbreaking. I love the #putyoursticksout that you shared with me.
Peace, love and hockey. Oh Canada…
That is a beautiful song. I looked into it and found this:
Adam Herold’s casket leaves church to sound of Tom Cochrane’s Big League.
https://globalnews.ca/video/4144080/adam-herolds-casket-leaves-church-to-sound-of-tom-cochranes-big-league
@gina4peas a good SI article.
https://www.si.com/nhl/2018/04/13/humboldt-broncos-crash-junior-hockey-saskatchewan