After two weeks of listener submissions and voting, CBC Radio 2 has posted the top 49 songs from North of the 49th parallel that arguably are meant to define our nation to U.S. President Barack Obama,

More than 130,000 votes were cast for the final list of songs, which cover a range of genres and both official languages, and mix some of Canada’s most lauded artists with a few that might suprise you. Voters chose songs from a top-100 shortlist in four categories.

Highlights include:

-  Oscar Peterson’s civil rights anthem “Hymn to Freedom: was the runaway
favourite in the Jazz section.

-  In classical, Glenn Gould’s recording of “Goldberg Variations” moved
out to an early lead with voters and never looked back.

-  There was a tight race for the top voted song in the general pop/country
category, with Rush’s “Closer to the Heart” narrowly edging out Gordon
Lightfoot’s “Canadian Railroad Trilogy”. Go figure!

-  On the Francophone list, the number one song was Gilles Vigneault’s
timeless anthem “Mon Paysd”.