A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow (Ontari-ari-ari-o!) is an unofficial anthem of the Canadian province of Ontario. The song was written as the signature tune for a movie of the same name that was featured at the Expo 67 Ontario pavilion.
The song was written by Dolores Claman, who also wrote the Hockey Night in Canada theme, with lyrics by Richard Morris. Lyrics for a French version were written by Larry Trudel.[1]
It was commissioned by the Progressive Conservative government of John Robarts for the Ontario pavilion at Expo 67, the World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec in Canada's Centennial year of 1967, and was used again in the following decades.
The song was featured at the Province of Ontario's exhibit in the short film A Place to Stand, which won the 1967 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film (see below).
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
-
Give us a place to stand
And a place to grow
And call this land Ontario
A place to live.
For you and me
With hopes as high
As the tallest tree
Give us a land of lakes
and a land of snow
And we will build Ontario
A place to stand, a place to grow
Ontari-ari-ari-o !
A place to live.
For you and me
With hopes as high
As the tallest tree
Give us a land of lakes
and a land of snow
And we will build Ontario
A place to stand, a place to grow
Ontari-ari-ari-o !
[edit] The film
The film, A Place to Stand was produced and edited by the Canadian artist and filmmaker Christopher Chapman. For the film, he pioneered the concept of moving panes, of moving images, within the single context of the screen. At times there are 15 separate images moving at once. This technique, which he dubbed "multi-dynamic image technique"[2] has since been employed in many films, notably Norman Jewison's 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair. Mr. Jewison has credited Mr. Chapman as the creator of the edit style.[3] The technique may also be seen (with rather with less impact) on television today in the series 24.
It is said that most of the editing decisions were worked out in an accountant's spreadsheet book and the pencil edit plan resembled flow charts.[citation needed] Chapman has said that at one point in the editing process he stood there in the room, bits of footage hanging from clips all around him. He felt crushed by the force of his vision and he was a breath away from quitting... Just then Steve McQueen came into the suite and told Chris that he had never seen such an incredible concept as this film. That one little moment changed his mind.[citation needed]
The 18-minute film used 70mm stock and was projected onto a 66 by 30 foot screen. It was nominated for an Academy Award in two categories: Best Documentary Short Subject and Best Live Action Short Subject. It won the latter prize, which Chapman accepted on April 10, 1968.[4]
[edit] Cultural resonance
- In their early busking days, Barenaked Ladies would often perform this song, with their hometown of Scarborough, Ontario replacing Ontario.
- Actor Jim Carrey made the song famous once again for a short time in 2004, when he sang it on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show when the show travelled to Toronto to tape four episodes.
- In 2005, the song was mooted as a possible official song for the province[citation needed], which was without such a song.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Konder, G. C., (2004) A Place to Grow Accessed January 28, 2007
- Whalen, J., Expo 67 in Montreal Real Audio link to the song Accessed January 28, 2007
- Scoutxing, Lyrics Accessed January 28, 2007
- Government of Ontario Archives, WMV and MOV files of the film (excerpt) Accessed January 28, 2007
