The song refers to the geographic region of Canada known as The Canadian Shield. The region's settlement by Europeans came largely as a result of the Gold Rush. It's talking about the idea of major cities still there today that exist because of the greedy obsession of people from generations past, as well as the idea that cities still exist in places where the original settlers had no intentions of making a permanent settlement. Their plans were to get the gold and get out.
The song refers to the geographic region of Canada known as The Canadian Shield. The region's settlement by Europeans came largely as a result of the Gold Rush. It's talking about the idea of major cities still there today that exist because of the greedy obsession of people from generations past, as well as the idea that cities still exist in places where the original settlers had no intentions of making a permanent settlement. Their plans were to get the gold and get out.