John Gogo Brings Robert Service to Life With New Single “The Morning After”
Acclaimed Western Canadian balladeer John Gogo is bringing history to life with his new single “The Morning After”, a rollicking folk tune based on a virtually unknown Robert Service poem. Originally written in 1900, the poem was passed down through generations before landing in Gogo’s hands in 2020. Now, after setting it to music, enlisting Canadian folk legend Valdy, and recording with an all-star lineup, he is unveiling a song over a century in the making.
“Western Canada is filled with stories just waiting to be told,” says Gogo. “When I was given this poem, I knew I had to bring it to life in the best way I could—through song.”
Best known for “The Cremation of Sam McGee”, Robert Service, the “Bard of the Yukon,” wrote “The Morning After” on the back of a bank draft in 1900. He later gifted it to a Canadian Bank of Commerce colleague, Arthur Baker. The poem changed hands multiple times, eventually landing with Tom Varty, who held onto it for 70 years. Upon Varty’s passing, his daughter Pam presented the poem to Gogo, hoping he would turn it into a song.
The result is a boozy, barroom folk anthem that captures Service’s wit and humor with Gogo’s signature West Coast charm.
Set to a lively, swinging melody, “The Morning After” tells the all-too-relatable tale of a man suffering the consequences of a hard night out:
“Oh the sport awakes as morning breaks with a head like a load of bricks
The eyes are red in that aching head poor old stomach’s sick“
With a chorus written by Gogo that drives home the song’s timeless message:
“Try as he may he remembers nae the ladies nor the laughter
In turn he’ll forget the great regret the morning after”
To bring the song to life, Gogo assembled a stellar lineup. His brother Paul Gogo (of classic rock band Trooper) provided a barroom-style piano track, while Canadian folk icon Valdy joined in for a powerful duet. The track also features cousin Brent Gubbels on bass, rounding out a family affair steeped in folk tradition.
The music video, shot by Shawn Viens at the historic pavilion on Saysutshun (Snuneymuxw Nation), adds another layer of storytelling. Featuring Paul Gogo, Dawn Meisner, and Bill Miner, the video captures the late-night debauchery and regret that Service so humorously described.
“It’s wild to think this song started as a scrap of paper in 1900,” says Gogo. “And now, over a hundred years later, we’re all singing along.”
Gogo has spent over 40 years chronicling the legends, characters, and tall tales of Canada’s West Coast. With six albums to his name and a career that has seen him share stages with Willie P. Bennett, Blue Shadows, Valdy, and Fred Eaglesmith, he has long been a custodian of Canadian folk history.
Hi John! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers?
Hi, good to meet you too! I’m John Gogo, I’m a folksinger songwriter from Vancouver Island. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I just put out my 6th album, ‘Western Balladeer’.
When Pam Varty first handed you this century-old Robert Service poem, what was your initial emotional reaction—and did you immediately hear a melody in your head?
When Pam gave me ‘The Morning After’ poem, I was absolutely blown away. She said her dad had treasured it for 70 years, and when she was a kid, they’d recite it together, just like they would Robert Service’s most famous poem, ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’. When she told me she couldn’t imagine giving it to anyone other than me, I was honored and excited to get to work on it.
Yes, the melody and the chords did come to me quickly, but there didn’t seem to be a verse that could be used as a chorus. The song’s title had not been used in any of the verses, so I wrote a chorus lyric and incorporated the title.
The funny thing was, before I actually laid eyes on it, I somehow had this vision in my head of 8 verses, which I thought would be a few too many! I mean, pretty much only Bob Dylan writes songs with 8 verses! When I sat down to read it, sure enough, there were 8 verses. But it was easy to see which ones were expendable because one verse was a bit repetitive of another that was better, and the other was an attempt at making a joke that was kind of vague. Not to be critical of Robert Service, it’s just that it was a first and only draft, probably at a time when he was writing fast and furiously. I’m guessing he wrote it, gave it away to his friend, and forgot all about it.
You’ve always had a gift for bringing West Coast history to life. What was different or special about setting this particular piece of lost literature to music?
I appreciate that. From what I understand, Robert Service was one of the most prolific and successful poets of his time. I usually write both the words and music, but having been gifted a virtually unknown poem of his to turn into a song was really special to me and a great opportunity.
How did the duet with Valdy come together? What was it like to collaborate with such a legend on a song like this?
As I was coming up with the tune, I noticed how the poem was roughly 70% narrative, 30% in the first person. When I thought about that some more, I found certain lines that could be either, that’s when I realized it could be a duet.
The first person I thought of was Valdy. I’ve been a big fan of Valdy since I was about 13 years old, and it’s been great to do some shows with him in recent years and get to hang out with him. We have become friends. I was doing a show on Salt Spring Island, and he was there. I had already told him about the long-lost poem, so when he came over to say hello, I said, “Hey, you know that Robert Service song I was telling you about? Well, it’s a duet. Please think about it, you don’t have to answer right away, but what would you think about singing it with me?” He immediately answered “Yes!” I said, “Well, now I’ve put you on the spot, so please just give it some thought.” He looked away for about two seconds, like he was thinking about it, and again enthusiastically answered “yes!”
He’s such a great guy, super generous and lots of fun to work with.
This poem traveled over a century to get to you. Do you ever think about how your version might be heard or rediscovered a hundred years from now?
Sometimes I do wonder about that, if I might be lucky enough to have any of my songs remembered. So yeah, maybe ‘The Morning After’ will be that song!