Bruce Cockburn discography

Cockburn performing in 2007

The discography for Canadian rock singer Bruce Cockburn consists of 26 studio albums, 5 live albums, 9 compilation albums, and over 30 singles.

Cockburn was signed to True North Records in 1970, becoming the first artist signed to the label. That same year, he released his self-titled album, which peaked at No. 65 on the RPM Canadian album chart.

Following "Up the Hillside", which reached the Canadian adult contemporary chart, Cockburn experienced a seven-year dry spell on the singles charts until "Wondering Where the Lions Are", his first song to appear on the national singles charts in the United States. It became his highest charting single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and his second song to reach the RPM Top Singles chart after "One Day I Walk", which had entered that listing nearly eight years prior. Cockburn sustained a series of charting singles throughout the 1980s and 1990s in Canada, with several of them reaching the top 50. His highest charting song in his home country was "If a Tree Falls", which peaked at No. 8 in 1989.

Cockburn's albums were released under several labels in the United States, with his first album being carried by Epic Records in 1971. He then switched to Island Records for the US release of In the Falling Dark which was sustained through Further Adventures Of. Millennium Records agreed to handle the release of his records in the United States beginning with Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws. Cockburn switched over to Gold Mountain Records for The Trouble with Normal, which was not officially released in the US until 1985. Nothing but a Burning Light in 1991, Columbia Records began handling the releases of Cockburn's albums outside of Canada.

Several of Cockburn's albums have received certifications from Music Canada, with his Christmas album being certified 6x platinum.

Albums

Studio albums

Title Peak chart positions Certifications
CAN
GER
US
Bruce Cockburn (1970) 65 – – MC: Gold
High Winds, White Sky (1971) 26 – – MC: Gold
Sunwheel Dance (1972) 19 – – MC: Gold
Night Vision (1973) 14 – – MC: Gold
Salt, Sun and Time (1974) 24 – –
Joy Will Find a Way (1975) 34 – – MC: Gold
In the Falling Dark (1977) 44 – – MC: Gold
Further Adventures Of (1978) 65 – –
Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws (1979) 22 – 45 MC: Platinum
Humans (1980) 32 – 81 MC: Gold
Inner City Front (1981) 20 – – MC: Gold
The Trouble with Normal (1983) 14 – – MC: Gold
Stealing Fire (1984) 12 – 74 MC: Platinum
World of Wonders (1986) 7 48 143 MC: Gold
Big Circumstance (1989) 15 – 182 MC: Gold
Nothing but a Burning Light (1991) 30 – – MC: Gold
Christmas (1993) – – – MC: 6× Platinum
Dart to the Heart (1994) 27 – 176
The Charity of Night (1997) 70 – 178 MC: Gold
Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu (1999) – – –
You've Never Seen Everything (2003) – – –
Life Short Call Now (2006) – – –
Small Source of Comfort (2011) – – –
Bone On Bone (2017) 34 – –
Crowing Ignites (2019) – – –
O Sun O Moon (2023) – – –
The Blood of Others (2026) – – –

Live albums

Title Year Peak
chart
positions
Can
Circles in the Stream 1977
Deluxe edition reissued 2005
91
Bruce Cockburn Live 1990
Deluxe edition reissued with additional track 2002
47
You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance 1997 –
Bruce Cockburn—Live on World Cafe 2002
bonus disc from Borders Books and Music
–
Slice O Life—Solo Live 2009 –

Compilations

Title Year Can
US
Resume 1981
US only
– 174
Mummy Dust 1981
originally released in Canada only
43 –
Rumours of Glory 1985
Germany only
– –
Waiting for a Miracle: Singles 1970–1987 1987
Canadian version is two discs, US version is one
18 –
If a Tree Falls 1990
Australia only
– –
Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979–2002 2002 – –
Speechless 2005
instrumental compilation; includes 3 new recordings
– –
Greatest Hits 1970-2020 2021
no new material was released on this album
– –
Rarities 2022
Collection of unreleased tracks and remastered tracks
– –

Videos

Title Release date Media Publisher
Bruce Cockburn Live - Rumours of Glory 1984 VHS, Beta Cineplex Corp.
Bruce Cockburn Full House 1986 Hamburg TV show 2005 DVD
Bruce Cockburn Pacing the Cage: The Feature Documentary 2013 DVD True North Records

Other releases

Chart singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
CAN
CAN
AC

AUS
GER
US Hot 100
US
Mainstream Rock

US
Modern Rock

1970 "Going to the Country" — 4 [1] — — — — — Bruce Cockburn
"Musical Friends" — 26 — — — — —
1971 "One Day I Walk" 64 — — — — — — High Winds, White Sky
1972 "It's Going Down Slow" — 12 — — — — — Sunwheel Dance
"Up on the Hillside" — 21 — — — — —
1973 "Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long" — — — — — — — Night Vision
1975 "Burn" — — — — — — — Joy Will Find a Way
1977 "I'm Gonna Fly Someday" — — — — — — — In the Falling Dark
1978 "Laughter" — — — — — — — Further Adventures Of
1979 "Wondering Where the Lions Are"[2] 39 6 92 — 21 — — Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws
1980 "Tokyo" 44 36 — — — — — Humans
1981 "Rumours of Glory" — 36 — — 104 — —
"Fascist Architecture (I'm Okay)" — 1 [3] — — — — —
"The Coldest Night of the Year" 42 — — — — — — Mummy Dust
1982 "You Pay Your Money and You Take Your Chance" — 19 — — — — — Inner City Front
1983 "The Trouble With Normal" — — — — — — — The Trouble with Normal
1984 "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" 25 8 — — — 56 — Stealing Fire
"Making Contact" 74 — — — — — —
"If I Had a Rocket Launcher" 49 — — — 88 16 —
1985 "Peggy's Kitchen Wall" 88 — — — — — —
1986 "People See Through You" 37 4 — — — — — World of Wonders
"Call It Democracy" — — — — — — —
"See How I Miss You" 81 — — — — — —
1987 "Waiting for a Miracle" 50 12 — — — — — Waiting for a Miracle
1989 "If A Tree Falls" 8 — 41 — — — 20 Big Circumstance
"Don't Feel Your Touch" 43 — — — — — —
"Shipwrecked at the Stable Door" 92 22 — — — — —
1991 "A Dream Like Mine" 16 5 175 87 — — 22 Nothing but a Burning Light
1992 "Great Big Love" 27 12 — — — — —
"Mighty Trucks of Midnight" 67 12 — — — —
"Somebody Touched Me" 49 8 — — — — —
1994 "Listen for the Laugh" 18 9 — — — — — Dart to the Heart
"Scanning These Crowds" 42 21 — — — — —
1995 "Someone I Used to Love" — 36 — — — — —
1997 "Night Train" 25 10 — — — — — The Charity of Night
1999 "Last Night of the World"[2] — 28 — — — — — Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn Announces Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set - True North Records". True North Records. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  2. ↑ "True North Into Albums" (PDF). Billboard. July 17, 1971. p. 44. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Cockburn Celebrates U.S. release with NYC debut" (PDF). RPM. March 19, 1977. p. 10. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ Holden, Stephen (January 1981). "Bruce Cockburn's Quiet Optimism" (PDF). High Fidelity. p. 84. Retrieved October 13, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Millennium to release Bruce Cockburn in U.S" (PDF). RPM. January 12, 1980. p. 34. Retrieved October 5, 2026.
  6. ↑ Ruhlmann, William (April 3, 1992). "A Burning Light and All the Rest". Goldmine. p. 20.
  7. ↑ Erskine, Evelyn (December 15, 1991). "Bruce Cockburn rides a breeze out of the creative doldrums". Ottawa Citizen. pp. D1. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "Top Albums/CDs". Collections Canada. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "GfK Chart Detail". Offizielle Deutsche Charts (in German). Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Bruce Cockburn Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Gold & Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  14. ↑ Steve Huey. "Bruce Cockburn". AllMusic. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Canadian Top Singles". Collections Canada. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Canadian Adult Contemporary". Collections Canada. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn ARIA chart history 1988 to 2025". ARIA. Retrieved June 6, 2026 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  18. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. November 8, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved September 29, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn Album & Song Chart History: Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn Album & Song Chart History: Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Bruce Cockburn Adult Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2026.