Prairie Town by Randy Bachman

Album: Any Road (1992)

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Songfacts®:

The "Prairie Town" is Winnipeg, where Randy Bachman was born and raised. In the song, Bachman looks back at his childhood, when he bore the extreme cold and long winter nights, but got a great musical education and learned some valuable skills, like how to drive in the snow. He had to leave to pursue his dreams, but says "the prairies made me what I am today."
Bachman's fellow Canadian, Neil Young, sings and plays guitar on this track. The two have known each other since the 1960s, when Young spent time in Winnipeg. That was before Young joined Buffalo Springfield and before Bachman was in the Guess Who. Young's band at the time was called The Squires, which is mentioned in the lyric.

Young also appears in the video, which was shot in his barn.
This is the first track on Randy Bachman's 1992 solo album Any Road, which came at a time when he wasn't active with either of his famous bands, the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies provides backup vocals and also appears in the video.
Musicians on "Prairie Town" include Richard Cochrane on bass and Billy Chapman on drums. Bachman's son, Tal, started playing in his dad's band a short time later.

Comments: 8

Cory from Winnipeg MbR from Guelph, are you kidding? Bachman wrote incredible songs! And in the 60’s kids were learning records out of Liverpool, trying to become the Beatles. Great song, I prefer the rock version myself.
Billy Chapman from CanadaI played drums on this track and in the two versions of the video. Talmage didn't begin playing with the Bachman band until my motorcycle accident a few months after this video was shot......
Derek from Toronto, OnThe slower version of the song also features Margo Timmins of The Cowboy Junkies. She's also in the video.
Jack from Marietta, GaWhat a great song but very depressing. Who is the women in this video
Bobpape from Austin, TxWhere are more songs by Randy bachman? He co-wrote with Burt Cummins, but he also solo-wrote some great somgs with The Guess Who and B.T.O.!
Dan from Kingston, CanadaJust heard it for the first time two weeks ago at a Bachman-Cummings concert in Belleville, Ont. - it's a great song
R from Guelph, CanadaThis song is so bad it's good. It sounds like a little kid wrote it, then again this is Randy Bachman were talking about, who should stick to playing guitar. Listen how stupid this line is:
"Learning records out of Liverpool, Dreams of England on their Minds". Terrible.
Don from Newmarket, CanadaThere are two versions of this song - an acoustic and an electric version (I prefer the electric one.)

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