The truth comes out as the fire burns low
It comes to light as only embers glow
The whiskey talks, the west wind moans in the night

The deadfall's gathered and the branches are cut
Kindling crackles and the smoke curls up
The small sticks catch then the bigger stuff will burn

Chinook dies down as the dark descends
Pine has burned, an' the ash has cleansed
The message smolders, is lost, but finally sent

——-

I think the essence of the song “The Truth Comes Out” is about change, and the slow, invisible disappearance of man’s connection to the natural world. This is a truth that can only be noticed in the dead calm and crackle of a late night campfire when all of our usual comforts melt away and the horrible, vulnerable nature of our fears finds no peace in the lonesome darkness. The allusions to the animals changing their regular patterns and nature’s shifting weather are the signs of this slow upheaval. Corb’s lyrics refer to the lengthier history of red men and this ancient knowledge of an Alberta much richer and longstanding than any of ours. It is this deep oral tradition and intimacy with nature that has dissolved away---and with it, the ghosts of history. I think it is this sense of loss and reverence in the outdoor church of nature that causes the heart to falter when sitting ‘round a late night fire. The truth, obscured by the silence and our fears, is there, and its moral weight is there--- hidden in the inarticulate details of the animal kingdom and just outside the firelight’s edge.

- charted for weeks on CMT's Chevy Top 20
- nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award: Best Music Video

Produced by Crowsnest Films, for CMT, with RGK Entertainment
Cinematography: Courtenay Forster & Time Lapse by Rick Garbutt, CSC
Stock Animal Footage via: Karvonen Films
Editor: Ken Filewych
Lab & Timing: Studio Post, Edmonton, AB