Brush and Paddle

I come to you by brush and paddle
 Through the lingering mist of a northern lake
 There – that's my canvas – my canoe
 Can you see me clearly now?
 Brush and paddle – stroke by stroke
 The northern rivers of your public schools
 I was seen down every hall
 Can you see me clearly now?
 I come to you alive as all the colours
 You'll imagine on a canvas
 The promised greens of springtime
 The threatening greys of fall
 Algonquin – it seems so little time to paint it all
 I love the curl of water, the turning out of paddle
 The perfect swirl of circles, now, the past
 Vermillion, cobalt, crimson
 The sky is now electric
 And the light is turning fast
 Brush and paddle, stroke by stroke
 As the west winds move the future of white pines
 I cannot know the future, I only know this moment
 And how it is defined
 But I'll come to you alive as all the colours
 You'll imagine on a canvas
 The promised greens of springtime
 The threatening greys of fall
 Algonquin – it seems so little time to paint it all
 I come to you by brush and paddle
 Through the mists, Bill Mason, why, even Pierre Trudeau
 I am your invention
 I am your great need
 And Thomson – why, Thomson is my name
 I come to you by brush and paddle
 Through the lingering mist of a northern lake
 There – that's my canvas – my canoe
 Can you see me clearly now?
 And Thomson is my name