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In the early-to-mid-1970s, as Canada prepared to shift from imperial to metric measurements, the federal government launched a far-reaching education campaign to ease this transition. Out of this, and one of the most unexpected, and charming, outcomes of that effort was The Metric Song, a cheerful musical single released in 1975 by The Metric Commission .

Performed in a bright, upbeat style typical of the era, the song was aimed primarily at schoolchildren but aired widely enough to become a memorable part of the cultural landscape. With lyrics that explained metres, grams and litres in simple, catchy lines, it served as a melodic guide to a new way of measuring the world — at a time when understanding these changes was both a practical necessity and a national priority.

Distributed on 7-inch vinyl by Waterloo Music and promoted through educational programming, The Metric Song reflects a uniquely Canadian blend of bureaucracy and optimism — a moment where music, design, and messaging worked together to shape public behaviour. It stands today as an audio artefact of civic transformation: playful, sincere, and distinctly modern.

The Metric Song

Find out the way to know our metric system
Find out the way and use it every day
We know the way to use our metric system
Thousand millimetres or hundred centimetres
Is one metre

Find out the way how to measure water
Find out the way and use it every day
We know the way to use our metric system
Thousand millilitres or hundred centilitres
In one litre.

Find out your weight and use the metric system
Find out the way and use it every day
We know the way to use the metric system
Five hundred grams plus five hundred grams
Is one kilogram.

Find out the way to know your new thermometer
Find out the way and use it every day
We know the way to use our new thermometer
Zero when it’s freezing 100 when it’s boiling
In Celsius.

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