James Clark Jones

The Train From Airdrie Station

Society EN ↓ 16 episodes

A memoir of music, addiction, mental health, and resilience. An expat from small town Scotland to big city Toronto. "I write about the memories of a time in the 60’s, as a child immigrant to Canada, from a small town in Scotland. How the culture we found here affected us, and me ultimately, mostly through music. I write about my addiction, something that took hold of me for over thirty years, how I used alcohol (mostly) to deal with and mask my depression and mental health challenges. I write about how I came out the other side, alive, and still upright. Sobriety is when the real work starts...

Author

James Clark Jones

Episodes

A Musician's Note. 07.07.2026 19:34

A few thoughts after a lifetime in music. Value your work. The time and dedication it took to accomplish your professional chops. Respect yourself. Or no one else will. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Ego. 29.06.2026 22:56

"Don’t be too sure about anything, except your desire to find peace inside, and a quiet confidence. As a young man I would have laughed at myself for writing this. He was in a much different place then. But I never gave up searching for something better inside. And I read a library trying to get here." Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Bewitched. 22.06.2026 19:34

We were shielded as kids back in the 60's in many ways. During my lifetime however there have been some improvement in equality, rights, opportunity. And yet, it can all fade away again. I see thru the lens of a wee lad watching Bewitched, and again now in my 60's. Freedom is precarious. Support your local Endora. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Toronto. 15.06.2026 24:59

" Toronto provided me with opportunity. Canada, for a while it seems to me, was a bridge and a balance between European sensibilities and US bravado. Although co-opted into American culture through media and the sheer size of her population, Canadians kept separate in our own way. Cultures immigrating here were encouraged to keep their traditions rather than blend in as they might south of th...

Glasgow. 10.06.2026 25:32

I found my songwriting moment, on my final tour across the pond. In Glasgow. Of all places. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Airdrie Station. 01.06.2026 19:59

"I knew one thing now for sure now sitting on that platform, waiting for my train. You cannot live in the past. It was funny. What a revelation. I had travelled across the sky, across the ocean to sit in a place we once left to finally understand. You cannot live in the past." Send us Fan Mail Support the show

The End. 25.05.2026 25:27

The real work begins post-sobriety. And for the loners of the world, it has unique challenges. Be fully engaged in the life you were given. With grace, and gratitude. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Sober and Sixty. 11.05.2026 28:10

I got clean (finally) at 59. Sobriety is now the most important thing in my life. Never as a young man did I expect my path to lead me here. But in no way am I an expert in addiction. Find your own why. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Do You Know What I Mean? 09.05.2026 21:57

Mitigating circumstances. Putting in the work to come to terms with addiction and depression, and learning not to quit. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Stranger In The Homeland. 22.04.2026 21:07

At what point in leaving your place of birth for a new country, does one become a stranger, unable to return? Immigrant, citizen, or expat? One foot here, one foot there... Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Big Muskoka Moon. 17.04.2026 30:30

There are two gifts my father gave me. One was to bring me to Canada for a better life, and a better opportunity. The other is in our genes. He was a worker bee. Did what he needed to do. Always getting up. Son of a farmer. Never quit. You can’t ask for much more than that. With hard work, and acceptance, and the drive to learn, everything in your power. Everything is up to you. Send us Fan Mail...

The Days of Convenience. 12.04.2026 25:12

Great music inspired me, especially early-seventies rock. But at my peak as a guitar player, performing felt empty. Writing saved me, and my carefree highway years were gone. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Practice. 28.03.2026 24:01

Practicing to get better, through addiction and crazy times. Dedication over motivation all day long. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Wonder. 22.03.2026 23:42

Depression and mental health issues have less stigma now, but when I was a boy these things were unacknowledged. The scars remain, but hope beckons. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

1960. 17.03.2026 26:47

"Growing up in Toronto, we got a lot of American news. A lot of Vietnam coverage, and body bags coming off planes. Hippies. Riots. Civil unrest. Expo ’67, the political rise of Pierre Trudeau (one of my teachers had his poster up in our classroom), trouble in the Middle East, astronauts, the Cold War, and the last time the Leafs won a cup." Send us Fan Mail Support the show

The Art of Songwriting. 11.03.2026 25:00

We came to Canada in the mid-sixties. From small town Scotland to big city Toronto. My childhood filled with the sounds of radio and television. Living in a new place as immigrants, and ex-pats. One foot here, one foot there. Always a stranger. Read my work on Substack Send us Fan Mail Support the show