Spring: March 22, 2011

It's spring, everyone! This week Variations on a Theme welcomes the return of spring.

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We start with a quintessential happy, sunny spring song.

* The Free Design - "Canada in Springtime" - There Is a Song (1972)

* Hey Rosetta! - "Yer Spring" - Seeds (2011)

Spring also lends itself to introspection—acoustic meditations on the wonder of nature and the beauty of the seasons.

* Bruce Cockburn - "Spring Song" - Bruce Cockburn (1970)

* of Montreal - "Springtime Is the Season" - Cherry Peel (1997)

However, it's not only the introspective singer/songwriters who like spring. The rockers, punks and freaks love it too.

* Leatherface - "Springtime" - Mush (1991)

* Eric's Trip - "Spring" - Love Tara (1993)

* The Flaming Lips - "Can't Stop the Spring" - Oh My Gawd!!! (1987)

Now we'll take a little trip to the North Country with some reflections on how relationships play out in those harsh climes.

* Johnny Cash - "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" - Orange Blossom Special (1965)

* Ian Tyson - "Springtime in Alberta" - And Stood There Amazed (1993)

* Spring Breakup (Kim Barlow and Mathias Kom) - "Spring Flings" - Spring Breakup (2010)

Spring is a good time for cleaning—sweeping out the dusty corners of your house, getting rid of the gravel coming in off the streets and clearing out some of the junk that's accumulated around your heart and in your psyche over the winter.

* Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova - "Spring Cleaning" - One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels (2004)

* Greg Brown - "Spring Wind" - The Live One (1995)

* Jimmie Spheeris - "Seeds of Spring" - Isle of View (1971)

Now we come to the end of our Spring show. As color comes back into the world—flowers blooming, leaves growing, birds flitting around—and you marvel at its beauty, sometimes you realize the color and beauty was there all along. It's actually you that has changed—now you can see in color.

* Mary J. Blige - "Color" - Stronger with Each Tear (2009)