Fred Eaglesmith (born as Frederick Elgersma on July 9, 1957 in Caistor Centre, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Some of his albums have been credited to Fred J. Eaglesmith. Eaglesmith was one of nine children of an immigrant family from the Dutch province Friesland and raised in rural Southern Ontario. As a teenager, he hopped a freight train out to Western Canada, and began writing songs and performing. He is known for writing songs about machines or vehicles