‘Home’ is sometimes more of a feeling or a concept than an actual place. Canadian folk-rock artist Timothy Street captures the comfort and stability of a conceptual hometown. It’s the kind of place that doesn’t change, as expressed in his new single “My Home Town.”
Having grown up in a military family that moved around a lot, Timothy always envied the people who had stayed in one place. “That’s what I was daydreaming about when I wrote ‘My Home Town’,” he shared. It’s one song from his new 2022 full-length album release, Folk Town. “It’s about having roots somewhere, a sense of belonging, and a stable home that I never really got to have,” he said.
The song has the jangly sound of the guitar and harmonica. Timothy sings about a town where the narrator drank his first beer, bought his first guitar and kissed a girl in the back of a police car in a whiskey-smooth tone.
Sometimes I still wonder why
I ever said good bye
And left this old town behind
But here I am
I’m back again
It’s not total fairy-tale nostalgia, however, Timothy lived in Halifax for many years. It’s where he learned to sing and play guitar. Becoming a part of the music community made it feel like a hometown. “That city will forever have a huge place in my heart,” Timothy said.
When city life became too expensive, Timothy moved to Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick in 2016, where he has family connections.
The music video for “My Home Town” was shot along the roads and beaches of Grand Manan Island. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a place with friendlier people than here in the Maritimes,” he says, “but, even still, I’ll probably forever be seen as an outsider in such a small, close-knit community like this one — even with family connections and having spent a lot of time here growing up — and that’s ok. To me, it’s my hometown.”
Folk Town has eight songs in total, combining the personal and the political. It includes songs about timeless struggles, and the pursuit of love and belonging. The album deals with holding onto hope in this modern age of political division and the ever-growing chaotic state of the world.
It’s filled with nostalgic songs for the good times and it glorifies small-town living. It influences a tight-knit community and the simple joys of life. The songs will have you reminiscing about your youthful mistakes and the carefree feeling of falling in love.
