Jim Cuddy Commemorates Royal Wedding on Solo Album 'Skyscraper Soul'

'Everyone Watched the Wedding,' the lead-off single from Jim Cuddy's forthcoming solo release, 'Skyscraper Soul,' is a heartfelt ballad inspired by the recent royal nuptials of Kate Middleton and Prince William. Cuddy, who co-fronts Canadian titans Blue Rodeo, claims he's not usually much of a "royalist" but the song wrote itself.

"I was trying to write a rock song, and I know when it's not working, because I start to get sleepy," he tells Spinner. "I was about to give up and lay down then I picked up my new guitar and boom! The song was almost complete in about half an hour; it's very rare they come like that for me."

'Everyone Watched the Wedding' is classic Cuddy. But while the earnest ballad seems destined for countless wedding-day playlists, it's hard to imagine the track included on a Blue Rodeo release. It's not like Blue Rodeo shy away from sentimental songs, but Cuddy suspects his longtime bandmates would have balked at the subject matter.

"When I write for my own records, I don't censor myself as much, and I don't try to put something in that 'the big kids' will like," he says. "I don't think the song would have made it through my own filter if I had been writing for Blue Rodeo. It would have been, 'Royal Wedding, what the f---?'"

While Canadians have a longstanding relationship with the British monarchy -- Canada was once a British colony, is part of the Commonwealth and, as such, is ruled by the same Queen -- nowadays that relationship is tenuous. The Queen holds little authority in Canada; her likeness remains stamped on coins as a courtesy. But during the weeks leading up to the wedding, normally sovereign Canadians suddenly became loyal to the crown.

Cuddy, who admittedly wrote the song before the big day, was amongst the almost 12 million Canadians -- over two billion viewers worldwide -- who woke up dreadfully early on April 29, 2011, and crowded around the telly to witness two complete strangers tie the knot.

At its worse, he compares the event to the Super Bowl, but he can't deny that this manifestation of a fairytale still appealed to his romantic side.

"I'm not usually interested in that stuff, but I was entranced," he says. "It's not just the pageantry; at the heart of it are two people dedicating their lives to the nation. It's a very noble and beautiful thing to do."

Listen to Jim Cuddy's 'Everyone Watched the Wedding'