The Littlest Hobo

Most of my Canadian counterparts who watched television in the 80s are familiar with this blog's title. The Littlest Hobo is a Canadian TV series filmed in British Columbia starring a German shepherd (whose real name was London). In each episode, this smart, friendly, wandering dog "saves the day". And despite the great friends he makes in each episode, the show always ends with him wandering off by himself, in search I suppose of other people who are in trouble and in need of his heroic acts.

Although I did watch and enjoy this show as a child, I always associated the show with sadness. The theme song is quite powerful - I always ended up feeling lonely/depressed/sad at the end. All I could think about was the "lonely dog" [who in retrospect probably wasn't lonely at all].

Back when Glenn and I lived with the whole downhere gang in a house in Tennessee, I was often subject to the music of the wandering minstrel [AKA Marc Martel]. I distinctly remember one Saturday when I just couldn't shake a feeling of depression/sadness/loneliness. I finally realized it was because Marc had been wandering the house playing his guitar and singing the theme song of The Littlest Hobo. When I let Marc in on that, he was amused, and occasionally to this day, will pull that one out of his sleeve to bug me. At least, I think so - but he's impossible to read. Is he trying to torture me, or is he just randomly playing something that's running through his head? Or maybe my presence reminds him of the song, consciously or subconsciously?

So anyway, this morning we convinced Jonah to climb in bed with us and watch TV so we could sleep a little longer. And guess which show we found while flipping through the channels? The Littlest Hobo! Glenn convinced me to let Jonah watch it.

We got through the initial opening - the theme song accompanied by various shots of the littest hobo wandering and saving the day. Then Jonah said in a sad and concerned voice, "That doggie doesn't have anybody to be with." And he decided that the dog was sad.

Jonah IS sensitive like me!

He made it through the show, enjoying the heroic acts (e.g., the dog pulling a large bin on wheels full of plants so that a man falling off a roof would have a soft landing), but then came the theme song. Jonah again switched into his concerned/sad voice and said "That doggie doesn't have anybody to BE with."

It IS a powerful melancholy theme song.

There's a voice,
that keeps on calling me.
Down the road, is where I'll always be.

Every stop I make, I'll make a new friend.
Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll wanna settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Down the road, that never seems to end,
where new adventure, lies just around the bend.

So if you wanna join me for a while,
just grab your hat, come travel light,
that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,
until tomorrow, the whole world is my home.

So if you wanna join me for a while,
just grab your hat, come travel light,
that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want want to settle down,
until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,
until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

There's a world, that's waiting to unfold,
a brand new tale, no one has ever told,
we've journey'd far but, you know it won't be long,
we're almost there and we've paid our fare, with the hobo song.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,
until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

So if you wanna join me for a while,
just grab your hat, come travel light,
that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow I'll find what I call home,
until tomorrow, you know I'm free to roam.

What do YOU remember about The Littlest Hobo? Do you have any feelings associated with it?