5 Songs That Display the Songwriting Brilliance of Ron Sexsmith

If you’re a Ron Sexsmith fan, you probably want to tell every music fan you know about him. The Canadian artist is a ridiculously talented songwriter, and he’s been doing it at a high level ever since he was self-releasing his stuff in the ‘80s.

Each new Sexsmith album (his latest was The Vivian Line in 2023) yields a bevy of delights. We thought we’d cherry-pick five gems from his prolific catalog to give you an idea of what you’re missing if you haven’t discovered him yet.

“Secret Heart” from Ron Sexsmith (1995)

Sexsmith signed to a major label deal on the strength of about a decade’s worth of independent releases. He was teamed with top producer Mitchell Froom, and received help from ace session players like Jerry Scheff and Jerry Marrotta. But on songs like “Secret Heart,” which opens up the album, you don’t need much more than the unadorned beauty of the words and music, as revealed by Sexsmith’s tender performance. Giving a pep talk to his ticker, the narrator is actually dealing with his own fear of putting his emotions on the line, since he has no assurance they’ll be treated kindly.

“Strawberry Blonde” from Other Songs (1997)

The story song is one that can trip up the average songwriter because it’s so difficult to walk the line between sharing too many details and leaving the audience too much in the dark about what’s happening. Allow Sexsmith to demonstrate with “Strawberry Blonde.” He delicately draws contrasts between the new kid in town’s life as it should be and the tragedy that actually awaits her. But instead of leaving us on a sad note, the narrator, who knew her back when, brings us to the present and pleasantly surprises us with a touching glimmer of hope.

“Doomed” from Whereabouts (1999)

Here’s another example where by keeping it spare, Sexsmith proves absolutely mesmerizing. There’s a woozy organ bed, gently brushed drums, some arpeggiated keyboards, and a strummed electric guitar. They provide texture, but they wisely stay out of the way so Sexsmith can give an understated yet soulful vocal performance. The title suggests a complete downer, and there’s no doubt the narrator is feeling the hurt of a tumultuous relationship. But he suggests it’s all part of the game, and you need to be resilient enough to stick it out: So we’ll take the good times then / We’ll take on its counterpart.

“Hard Bargain” from Retriever (2004)

This might just be Sexsmith’s most well-known song, as it received some nice publicity when it was released and then also benefited from a lovely cover by Emmylou Harris. Leave it to Sexsmith to find a way into a love song that doesn’t make it seem cloying or unrealistically rosy. His narrator admits time and again he’s predisposed to sorrow: Each time I’m headed for nowhere / Doomed and determined to get there. In defiance of all his tendencies and predilections, the love of his life stubbornly keeps his heart clean and safe. You drive a hard bargain, Sexsmith sings of her loving persistence.

“Think of You Fondly” from Hermitage (2020)

To paraphrase the song above, Sexsmith drives a hard bargain as well in that he simply refuses to release an album that’s not written with the utmost care and performed smartly and tenderly. There are numerous songs from each record we could recommend. We chose this one from Hermitage because of how well it fulfills its role as an album-closer. The piano ballad is pretty much only one verse and a chorus sung twice, but every moment is bittersweet magic, especially the closing lines: Should you ever think of me sometime / May all the memories rhyme.

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