2025 Competition Entry:

How It Was by Glenn Sutter

Genre

Folk

Artist

Co-writer(s)

no

Performer(s)

Glenn Sutter – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Description

This is one of those rare (for me) songs that poured out all at once, during a wonderful songwriting retreat. As I worked on it, sitting by a boreal lake, I was flooded with vivid memories of my dad, a self-taught trombonist and small-town family doctor, who had died almost a decade earlier. Unlike most of my songs, which often get revised and reworked, this one is still very close to the way it arrived.

Bio

Glenn Sutter (sue-ter) is a Saskatchewan singer-songwriter whose stories and songs draw you in, like a gentle fire. His engaging, good-natured folk-rock helps people escape for a while and find common ground through shared humanity, joys, and truths. From finger-style guitar to boogie piano, his songs touch on nature, love, and the human condition, with hints of Greg Keelor, John Prine, and John Hiatt.

Shortly after the release of his 2008 debut album, Sutter hit the national spotlight when his tune “Weight of the World” became the Saskatchewan track on David Suzuki’s Playlist for the Planet (CBC and Universal Music). Since then, he has toured, played big stages and festivals, and released four more albums.

Sutter’s latest album, a May 2024 release called “Truth and Lies,” is a wide-ranging exploration of what it means to feel at home. The first single, a love song called “End of the World,” was picked up for syndication and played by CBC stations across Canada. It also garnered glowing reviews, with the folk music website Great Dark Wonder describing it as “a wry, touching love story about what really matters.”

Lyrics

How It Was – Glenn Sutter

A black bag in the hall, and I’m back in time
To a peaceful night, when life was fine
That bag, you know, held the world for me
‘Cos the man you were, is what I longed to be

You’re love is on my mind
This is how it was

I see the bag there still, and the world within
I fell short, you know, and it’s wearing me thin
But I also see a battered trombone case
Full of times we shared, and pride on your face

You’re love is on my mind
This is how it was

Bridge:
A precious memory
You’ve moved along – it still calls me on
You’re love is on my mind

Now you’re dancing eyes greet me everyday
The black bag is closed, but it helps me pray
I knew you well – better than some
I want to pass your gift along, before I’m done

You’re love is on my mind (x3)
You’ve moved along – it still calls me on
You’re love is on my mind
You’ve moved along – it still calls me on
You’re love is on my mind

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