The song first aired on October 11, 1979, as the opening and closing music of the revived Canadian series The Littlest Hobo. That series followed a stray German shepherd who drifted from town to town. Terry Bush, a Toronto jingle writer, sang it. He wrote it with his friend John Crossen.
The credits are clear. Bush and Crossen wrote the song, and Bush sang the original. Bush has said that Crossen wrote the words. As Bush told BC Living, he was asked to write a theme and “asked a writer friend of mine, John Crossen” to supply the words.
A jingle writer takes the job
Bush was working on jingles when the show’s producer, Simon Christopher Dew, approached him around 1978. Bush says he and Crossen had already been writing songs together, and “Maybe Tomorrow” was what they came up with.
The first response was not kind. Bush recalls that the people in charge disliked it. They brought in a New York jingle writer to produce something jazzier. According to a 2015 retrospective, the television executives were unhappy with that result and went back to Bush’s original song to rework it. The version that aired was a short spot of about 53 seconds, which Bush says was never released as a record in that form.
What the song is about
The song suits the series closely. It is told from the viewpoint of a wanderer who prefers the open road and makes friends in each place he passes. He invites others to travel light and join him for a while, and he leaves the idea of settling down for another day. That restless but friendly mood matches the dog hero of the show, who always moved on after helping someone.
From television theme to full recording
The show ran for six seasons and was later syndicated in many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. The song’s biggest second act came in Britain. Bush learned around the turn of the millennium that National Westminster Bank was using it in advertising. The UK had been a strong export market for the series. The song had become familiar enough to be sung along to in pubs at closing time.
That discovery led to a proper release. Bush has said that in April 2000, he and Dew decided to put out the song sung by its original singer. He re-recorded the theme with an added verse by Crossen, keeping to the original arrangement and sound as closely as he could. Sources differ on the album’s release date. One database lists August 12, 2000, while others give 2005. The album carries the song’s title and is billed as the theme from the TV series.
Covers and lasting reach
Bush has spoken warmly of the many covers. He named the UK group Scooch, a folk version by Vancouver’s Reid Jamieson, and a soft version by the folk group F&M. Cover versions have also come from The Overtones, who released one on July 28, 2017, and from Kate Rusby. Scooch’s version is listed with a release date of April 24, 2000. Bush has noted that many videos online credit Scooch, even ones showing his own picture.
The song’s standing in Canada has been recognized in the press. It was included in a Huffington Post review of the 100 best Canadian songs, and a BC Living feature said it easily ranks among the best tunes ever linked to television. Bush told the same feature that he was humbled by how widely it was received. Even now, amateur musicians post their own covers of it, and the theme reaches new listeners through syndication and online video.
Bush is the son of the Canadian painter Jack Bush. He became a professional musician in 1964. One of his other records was a song for the Council on Drug Abuse that he says became a hit. Today he lives in Ajax, Ontario, in retirement. He still receives letters from people who found the show in reruns or online.