Below is a list of Bruce Cockburn songs that to date have not made it to commercial release.

These songs have been tracked by vigilant Bruce Cockburn fans over the years. Another source of unrelease song titles is the BMI song registry. What makes these songs unique is that they have never been commercially released on any album or single by Bruce or anyone else. (There are many other rare songs that do appear on single B-sides or on tribute and guest performance recordings. Information on those songs can be found elsewhere on these web pages.)

A reference to this song was found somewhere on a UseNet posting. The authenticity of this reference cannot be confirmed. The reference is as follows:

"In 1965, after leaving Berklee, [Cockburn] wrote his first song, called 'It's Not You Who Is Leaving Because Baby, I'm Heaving You Out' after hearing Dylan and thinking, 'Maybe I could do that.'"

Decide for yourself. :-)

With the Esquires

While the band Three's a Crowd (Bruce was a member) made a music video for this song in 1968, it was never released on vinyl.

Other Early Songs

These songs titles were found in Bruce's records within the BMI/SOCAN music registry. These songs are copyrighted to Bytown Music Publishers, not Bruce's current publisher Golden Mountain Music. These songs are probably from Bruce's early years. One clue here is that some of the songs were co-written with The Children (1966-1968) band co-member Bill Hawkins. At least one song ("Tea Freak Blues") was written during Bruce's years as a jingle composer for TV and radio commercials. Bruce mentioned two songs ("High Priestess" and "It's an Elephant's World") in a 1970's interview, however he dropped the songs from his repertoire because "he couldn't relate to them" anymore.
Long time fan Dale Burnside has a paper placemat given to her by Bruce on which he wrote the lyrics. This happened at Le Hibou.

Misc. Songs

These songs titles were also found in Bruce's records within the BMI/SOCAN music registry. They are copyrighted to Bruce's current publisher Golden Mountain Music. These songs are probably a combination of working titles later released under a different title as well as songs that just didn't make it to release.

Songs from the film Goin' Down the Road (1971):

Bruce wrote the soundtrack that accompanied the film. Although the film has been available on video, the actual music had never made it to commercial release.

Songs from the film Ernest Brown: Pioneer Photographer (1973):

Bruce wrote the soundtrack that accompanied the film. Although the film has been available on video, the actual music had never made it to commercial release. As such, the song title listed here are names penned by fellow Bruce Cockburn fam Steve Graham.
Bruce performed this song in 1975 at Massey Hall In Toronto, Ontario; also performed at the University of Alberta in 1976.
Performed at the University of Alberta in 1976.
Bruce performed this song at the Mulhurst show in 1979. The inspiration for the song is a painting at a church in Ottawa.
Bruce performed this song on May 11,1980, in Boston, MA.
Bruce performed this song during the early 1980 on the radio program The Entertainers.
Bruce recorded this song during the In Session video session in 1981.
Bruce performed this song during a concert in Calgary on May 23, 1983.
Bruce wrote and sings the theme song to the children's series Franklin the Turtle. It's true!

Songs from the film Waterwalker (1984):

Bruce wrote the soundtrack that accompanied the film, an autobiographical documentary by Bill Mason. Although the film has been available on video, the actual music had never made it to commercial release.
Bruce performed this song on a 1985 television broadcast in Hamburg, Germany.
Bruce performed this song at a show in Lindsay, Ontario on August 2, 1991. One observant Human reports that at a concert on November 3, 1991, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Bruce made the following comments after playing "Coyote Blue," "Let the Bad Air Out" and "Wake Up, Willie:"

"There are a couple of songs, three in fact [referencing the three titles above], that we recorded when we were doing the new album that didn't end up on the album. And that was one them [Coyote Blue]. I think we thought that that one was just too silly for the rest of the album. But your perspective changes sometimes when we're up looking at you... They were kind of fun songs that didn't seem to fit the rest of the album in the way the rest of the album fits together, so we didn't put it on."

"Wake Up, WIllie" was eventually released on the benefit compilation album, Kumbaya 1994.

Bruce performed this song during a German radio show on May 15, 1992.
Bruce performed this song on July 23, 1992, in Wilkes Barre, PA.

Bruce performed this song in Charleston, WV, on the radio show Mountain Stage (Public Radio International) on March 29, 1993. See notes for "Coyote Blue."

Update: Bruce's new album Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu has a newer version of the song. According to Bruce, the new version has a new melody and rewritten lyrics compared to the original version. As bruce has stated, the original version, "didn't work."

According to Bob Weir (ex-Dead), he and Bruce co-wrote this tune as part of a musical of the story of baseball legend, Satchel Paige. The song dates from 1995.
Bruce performed this song on January 12, 1997, in a radio interview on Vince Scelsa's "Idiot's Delight" (WNEW New York). It is not a Bruce original, rather it is the old chestnut. Bruce also told fellow Human Bill Pringle that he recorded the tune but that it never made it to an album.

Other recent songs from 1995-1996 tours:

During the U.S./Canada tour of 1997, Bruce played this Elizabeth Cotton composition during sound checks remarking to the sound technicians that this was the first song he ever learned to fingerpick.
More recent listings in the BMI database.
Last updated: October 1, 1999