Editing Bruce Cockburn (section)

===1980s and 1990s===
Through the 1980s Cockburn's songwriting became increasingly urban, global and political as he became more involved with progressive causes. His political concerns were first hinted at on the albums: ''Humans'', ''Inner City Front'' and ''The Trouble with Normal''. They became more evident in 1984, with his second US radio hit, "[[If I Had a Rocket Launcher]]" (No. 88 in the US<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1985-02-16|title=Billboard Hot 100: February 16, 1985|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=February 13, 2021}}</ref>) from the ''[[Stealing Fire (Bruce Cockburn album)|Stealing Fire]]'' album. He had written the song a year earlier, after visiting Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico that were attacked by Guatemalan military helicopters. His political activism continues to the present. His internationalist bent is reflected in the many [[world music]] influences in his music, including [[reggae]] and [[Latin American music|Latin music]].

In 1991 Intrepid Records released ''[[Kick at the Darkness]]'', a tribute album to Cockburn whose title comes from a phrase in his song "[[Lovers in a Dangerous Time]]". It features the [[Barenaked Ladies]]' cover of that song, which became their first Top 40 hit and an element in their early success. This lyric was also referenced by [[U2]] in their song "[[God Part II]]" from their album ''[[Rattle and Hum]]''. Also in 1991, three of Cockburn's songs were listed in a Toronto Star survey among Toronto's top songs of all time.<ref>{{cite news|title=T.O.'s top songs of all time |newspaper=Toronto Star |author=Mackowycz, Bob |date=November 30, 1991 |page=K3}}</ref>

In the early 1990s, Cockburn teamed with [[T Bone Burnett]] for two albums, ''Nothing but a Burning Light'' and ''[[Dart to the Heart]]''. The latter included a song, "Closer to the Light", inspired by the death of songwriter [[Mark Heard]], a close friend of Cockburn and Burnett. Cockburn frequently refers to Heard as his favourite songwriter and he was one of many artists who paid tribute to Heard on an album and video titled ''[[Strong Hand of Love]]''.

[[File:Bruce Cockburn at Markham Jazz Festival 2014.jpg|thumb|Bruce Cockburn at Markham Jazz Festival 2014]]