I generally spending my time introducing you to Canadian musicians whose work I love and admire. Today we celebrate Canada Day, Canada’s national holiday, and so I thought I’d do something a little different. Today I’m going to let the musicians speak for themselves, and tell you about the nation they call home. Here, five great Canadian songs about Canada.

Joel Plaskett - “True Patriot Love”

Joel Plaskett, often considered to be the most patriotic of Canadian indie musicians, sings here of his fear that the cultural identity of his beloved Canada is being assimilated by the United States’.

Weakerthans - “One Great City”

Though this Weakerthans classic was written about their birthplace of Winnipeg, it sweetly illuminates the love-hate relationship many of us have with our hometowns.

Constantines - “Trans Canada”

The Trans-Canada Highway stretches grandly across five thousand miles, from one Canadian coast to the other. This driving Constantines track captures some of its spirit. (For a really excellent version of this song, check out their Daytrotter session.)

The Rural Alberta Advantage - “Edmonton”

The Rural Alberta Advantage offer another song about hometowns, this one describing the way they tug at you and shape your personality and identity, even long after think you’ve left them behind.

Jason Collett - “Love Song To Canada”

This song from sometimes-Broken Social Scene member Jason Collett is exactly what the title implies: a wholehearted (but not sappy) outpouring of love for the nation of Canada.

Happy Canada Day everyone!