Paul Valdemar Horsdal, CM (born 1 September 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario), commonly known as Valdy, is a Canadian folk musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for "Rock and Roll Song", his first mainstream single released in mid-1972 on Haida/A&M.
He was a member of the London Town Criers during the 1960s and subsequently joined Montreal band The Prodigal Sons. Prior to beginning his solo career, he was based in Victoria working with various artists, including Blake Emmons.
Valdy is the winner of two Juno Awards for Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year, and has received seven additional Juno nominations. His fourteen albums have achieved sales of nearly half a million copies, four of which are certified gold. Of Canadian folk artists in the mid-1970s, only Gordon Lightfoot was more popular. His music was featured in the Steve McQueen film The Getaway. Valdy also appeared on the CBC TV show The Beachcombers as the environmental activist "Halibut" Stu. He also managed to secure a part in the reunion production of The New Beachcombers performing a song he wrote, "It's The Water," as part of a jug band.
I came into town as a man of renown
A writer of songs about freedom and joy
A hall had been rented and I was presented
As the kind of a singer most folks could enjoy
As I climbed up the stair to the stage standing there
It was obvious something was missing
I could tell by the vibes they wouldn't be bribed
They weren't in the mood to listen, they yelled out
Play me a rock 'n' roll song
Don't play me songs about freedom and joy
Play me a rock 'n' roll song
Or don't play me no song at all
I played them some songs about peace and contentment
And things that I've come to believe in
When I was through to a chorus of boo
Some track star yelled thank God he's leaving
Now someone play me a rock 'n' roll song
I've had it to here with your flowers and beads
Play me a rock 'n' roll song
Or don't play me no song at all
Well if I played you a rock 'n' roll song
How could it be fair 'cause my head isn't there
So I'll leave you with your rock 'n' roll songs
And make my way back to the country
Still I hear play me a rock 'n' roll song
Don't give me music I don't want to hear
Play me a rock 'n' roll song
I should have stayed home with a big case of beer
Play me a rock 'n' roll song
I'll be a dandy in the City, i'll be Rugged if we move back to the Land.
I'll be a latin Lover, or I 'll be a fa-mily mAn.
Yes i Can, yes i Can, any way you want me here i Am.
Yes i Can, yes i Can, i can be your Life, be your lover, or be your Man.
I'll be a rodeo Rider. perhaps a Tall dark stranger riding into tOwn.
A Lover or a dreamer or a Fighter. if it's What you need, i won't let you dOwn
Yes i Can, yes i Can, any way you want me here i Am.
Yes i Can, yes i Can, i can be your Life, be your lover, or be your Man.
I'll be a shoulder for you to Cry on, although Some say i 'll be a devil in disguise.
Really i'll be someone you can reLy on. i'll be Funny, i'll be foolish, i'll be Wise.
Yes i Can, yes i Can, any way you want me here i Am.
Yes i Can, yes i Can, i can be your Life, be your lover, or be your Man.
Me voiLa, me voiLa, comme tu m'as voulu, me voiLa.
Me voiLa, me voiLa, comme la Vie, ton amor, ton amI.
Just to be your Life, or your lover. you'll never need another,
I like the way that your hair falls away when the night brings a candle to you
And I like to stare as you come down the stair and the light from the landing shines through
And how many fallen leaves will it take to believe that autumn has finally come
The weathers grown colder and we've both grown older it's hard to believe we're still one
[Chorus]
Let's dance that old dance once more, still move as smooth on that old ballroom floor
I'll wear my Sunday best, you wear your favourite dress
Lock up the door, and lets dance that old dance once more
You hung around keep my feet on the ground when I acted as proud as a fool
We were kids and we've grown, we've got kids of our own Got to raise by the old golden rule
Somehow it seems, some of our dreams got discarded somewhere on the road
When all that was true could be found in the blue of your eyes that still sparkle and glow
[Chorus]
The Frost King has come and with a flick of his thumb turned the windows to Renaissance art
As we sit round the fire with no need to enquire about the ways of the soul and the heart
Years passed us by like a soft whispered sigh not noticing youth as it flew
It's easy to tell that you wear your age well not trying to prove you're still you
[Chorus 2x]
isn't anybody keepin' anybody warm tonight?Isn't anybody
out there holding anybody tight?
isn't anybody willing to give alittle more than they get?
I'm sure that love isn't over yet. and he's playin it
cool times, treatin you cruel time, fraid of being a fool
times. like a fool in love,doesn't know any better A fool
in love,is out there breakin all of the rules, for a fool
in love the only thing that matters, is the one you love,
that's all just the one you love.
What happened to the missing you whenever your not there?
What happened to all those silly secrets that lovers used
to share? Isn't anybody saying the little things that
mean alot, my god has everyone forgotten he's playin it
cool times,treatin you cruel times, fraid of being a fool
times,
just like a fool in love, nothin like a fool in love,for
a fool in love,the only thing that matters, is the one
you love,the one you love, loving you is all I am really
livin for, all I could hope to find,still it's crossed my
mind.
isn't anybody keepin anybody warm tonight? Isn't anybody
out there holding anybody tight? Isn't anybody willing to
give a little more than they get? I'm sure that love
isn't over yet, and he's playing it cool times, treating
you cruel times, afraid of being a fool times. For the
Peter and Lou would skate,
on winters frozen lake,
circling around all their friends,
Laughing wherever they went,
They're catching the morning plane,
sending the rest by plane,
hangin their skates on the wall,
taking their turn and that's all.
With brushes and canvas,macromae handcrafts,
and Betsy Smith singing the blues.
A chorus for Peter and Lou.
Now lonliness has a way,
of hanging around all day,
I'm standing alone on the ice,
wondering if maybe they'd been right.So.....
Chorus
La La La la la la repeat
So if I miss them
I'll go back and listen
to Bessy Smith singing the blue,
Sonny lives on a farm, in the wide open space
You can kick off your sneekers, and give up the race
You can lay your self down, by a sweet river bed
Sonny always remembers, what it was his moma said
Chorus
Sonny don't go away, I am here all alone
And your daddy's a sailor, and he never comes home
And the nights get so long, and the silence goes on
And I'm feeling so tired, I'm not all that strong
Sonny caries a load, He is barely a man
There's not all that much to do, still he does the best he can
And he lives in a room, at the top of the stairs
And the sea keeps on rollin in it's done that for years
Chorus
Sonny don't go away, I am here all alone
And your daddy's a singer, and he never comes home
And the nights get so long, and the silence goes on
And I'm feeling so tired, I'm not all that strong
Towns a hundred miles away Sonny's never been there
He just goes to the highway and he stands there and stares
And the mail comes at four and the mail man is old
Yet he's still dreaming dreams filled with silver and gold
Chorus
Sonny don't go away, I am here all alone
And your daddy's a sailor, and he never comes home
And the nights get so long, and the silence goes on
And I'm feeling so tired, I'm not all that strong