Submitted by Lisa Hartt
Jane Siberry has always lived in the liminal space between the practical and the mystical. To hear her describe songwriting is to glimpse a process that is both everyday work and divine unfolding.
“Sometimes it takes years,” she reflects, noting a recent recording that stretched across four years of stop-and-start sessions. The long pauses, far from interruptions, became fertile ground. “Every now and then I get one word that was missing. It’s like tick — and slowly it fills in. Maybe I should just finish it the day before I die.”
Working on her new 3 disc offering titled “In the Thicket of Own Unconsciousness” with dialogue included as well, marks the next chapter in her artistic journey. “I feel like I’m inching myself toward my prime”, she says.
Her approach is marked by patience, an openness to inspiration, and a refusal to force. She admits there’s “the drudgery of it sometimes,” but she is guided mostly by inspired words and the faith that songs will arrive in their own time. For Siberry, songwriting is less about control than about trust — in herself, in the process, and in the mysterious timing of art.
That sense of trust extends beyond her writing into how she views creativity itself. “We stumble, and then we have to figure a way out,” she says. “That’s why we need our creativity — it makes life the challenge, not just writing songs.” In her view, songwriting is inseparable from living: a reflection of the world, a mirror of stumbling and recovering, a space where authenticity matters more than polish. She values people who are “real and stimulating” and sees that quality as essential for younger generations of artists. Her hope is that new songwriters will continue to “trust themselves” and carry forward the flame of originality in an era that often prizes image over substance.
This search for truth and authenticity has also shaped her complicated relationship with the music industry. At first, she hesitated to accept her induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“It just seemed like it was going to be a lot of fuss.” But in conversation with the Hall’s visionary, Frank Davies, she shifted perspective. She realized she had been unfairly judgmental and that she risked missing an opportunity for joy. “Now I’m delighted,” she says, her voice brightening. “It’s going to be a love fest — a good group of people. I look forward to meeting all the people I never get to see behind the scenes.”
For Siberry, the Hall of Fame induction is meaningful precisely because it comes without the commercial trappings of the industry. Unlike awards tied to sales or submission fees, this recognition feels heartfelt, an affirmation of her artistry rather than her marketability. “It’s more from the heart than something driven by sales,” she says. From the iconic “Mimi on the Beach “to the hauntingly ethereal “Calling All Angels”, she transcends genres to create new music, and we all wait with bated breath for her next offering.
As she prepares to step into this circle of Canada’s most celebrated songwriters, Jane Siberry remains herself: patient, searching, unafraid to dwell in uncertainty, and deeply committed to music as a spiritual practice. Her induction is not a closing chapter, but another unfolding — a testament to a songwriter who has always trusted the mystery of the process.
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Legends Induction Series events, taking place October 17 at Toronto’s Meridian Arts Centre and November 17 at Montréal’s Espace St-Denis. Tickets for the induction event at Toronto’s Meridian Arts Centre on October 17 are on sale via Ticketmaster HERE. Tickets for the Montreal event on November 17 are available at Espace St-Denis HERE.