The group met while in high school at Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute (KCVI) and all attended Queen's University in Kingston. They started as a cover band playing Rolling Stones and Doors covers, and were first represented by a local Kingston agent named Bernie Dobson.
They were first signed in 1987 after Bruce Dickinson, the then VP of A&R at MCA Records saw them perform live at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario. Later that year they released their debut EP The Tragically Hip, though they were largely unrecognized until 1989's Up To Here. Up To Here established them as one of the best and most influential bands in Canada. In 1992, they created the Another Roadside Attraction festival, which tours Canada to promote smaller, unknown emerging bands.
The band is immensely popular in Canada. Although they have never achieved great success in the United States, they have never specifically sought it and have enjoyed their warm Canadian reception. When touring in Canada they typically play to sold-out arenas; when touring in the United States they play smaller venues and clubs. Performances abroad are usually attended by Canadian expatriates. In Europe, The Hip perhaps have their greatest following in the Netherlands.
The band permits recordings of their performances, so an active trading community thrives. The tone and content of much of their music is a paean to the Canadian experience and touches on such themes as small-town life, geography, and hockey.
The Tragically Hip received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2002, and they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2005 Juno Awards. They have performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and played a three-song set at the worldwide broadcast Live 8 benefit concert on July 2nd, 2005 to help make poverty history for the poor African nations.
On April 7th, 2009, the band's twelfth album We Are The Same was being released in North America, and it immediately rose to Number 1 on the Canadian charts. The album features twelve diverse new recordings produced by Bob Rock who had produced 2007's World Container and is perhaps best known for his work with Metallica, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, The Offspring, Michael Bublé and Simple Plan. This album features songs that range from "levity and light to melancholy and anger" according to the band's website. Recorded primarily at The Bathouse Studio, band's recording studio located in a historical coach house west of their hometown, Kingston, Ontario, and its first single was "Love Is A First", which features the ironical addictive hook, 'love is a curse'.
Despite some side solo projects in the past couple of years, the band has completed a new studio album at The Bathouse Studio and in Toronto with Gavin Brown, who is perhaps best known for his work producing Metric, Three Days Grace, Barenaked Ladies and Billy Talent. The album is entitled Now For Plan A and it was released on October 2nd, 2012. This album's first singles were "At Transformation" and "Streets Ahead" and they are available on iTunes and through the band's website.
Man Machine Poem is the fourteenth studio album which is scheduled to be released June 17th, 2016. The album takes its name from a track on their Gold-selling 2012 release, Now For Plan A, and it was recorded at The Hip’s home studio The Bathouse, produced by Kevin Drew, founding member and producer of Broken Social Scene, Andy Kim (singer, songwriter and Arts & Crafts label co-founder) and Dave Hamelin, songwriter and producer from The Stills and Eight and a Half. Album pre-orders are currently available on either CD or Vinyl through the band's "Gift Shop" on their official website: www.TheHip.com or digitally through iTunes. “In A World Possessed By The Human Mind” and “Tired As Fuck" were its first singles, and both were made immediately available for digital download with the album's pre-order.
Early on May 24, 2016, The Tragically Hip announced via a post on their official website and through e-mail subscribers that its lead singer and primary lyricist, Gord Downie, is suffering from aggressive terminal brain cancer, and that the band will do one final national Canadian tour "For Gord". Concert dates for this final tour were available on-line through Ticketmaster, but sold out in minutes. There was a national outcry from devoted fans who claimed that scalpers had scooped up most of the tour's tickets using "bots". Petitions were filed to successfully encourage Canada's national television network, the CBC, to produce and air Live the final August 20, 2016 concert. Broadcast live from the band's hometown, at Kingston's Rogers K-Rock Centre, a national audience viewed The Tragically Hip's final tour show, The concert opened with "50 Mission Cap" and ended almost two hours later, after a third encore, with "Ahead By A Century". All proceeds from the tour were donated to The Gord Downie Fund, at the Sunnybrook Foundation for Brain Cancer Research. Donations can be sent to: http://sunnybrook.ca/foundation.
For the latest band details, please visit their official website: www.TheHip.com.
38 Years Old
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From Millhaven maximum security
Twelve pictures lined up across the front page
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage
Well, he chief told the people they had nothing to fear
Said, "the last thing they wanna do is hang around here"
They mostly came from towns with long French names
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty, eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
We were sitting around the table, heard the telephone ring
Father said he'd tell 'em if he saw anything
Heard the tap on the window in the middle of the night
Held back the curtains for my older brother Mike
See my sister got raped, so a man got killed
Local boy went to prison, man's buried on the hill
Folks went back to normal when they closed the case
They still stare at their shoes when they pass our place
My mother cried, "the horror has finally ceased"
He whispered, "yeah, for the time being at least"
Over his shoulder on the squad car megaphone
Said, "let's go Michael, son, we're taking you home"
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty, eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
The Tragically Hip's song "38 Years Old" tells a story of a man who has spent the last 18 years of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit. The song starts with a reference to a real event that happened in 1973, where twelve prisoners escaped from Millhaven maximum security prison in Ontario. The lyrics mention that the man in question was one of the dozen but was actually from the same hometown as the band members. This twist of fate creates an emotional connection between the listener and the man in question.
The chorus of the song recites the same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall, one seat empty, while slowing down the passing of time for the man, creating a powerful sense of isolation, which also reflects the grief and confusion of the family members. The lyrics describe the heartbreak of the man’s life, having never experienced innocence and love alongside the pain his mother feels for having raised a son who never got to enjoy those precious moments.
The final verse recounts the incident that led to the man's imprisonment. The young woman, who was the singer's sister, was raped, and her assailant was killed by her older brother. The singer is falsely accused of the murder and is subsequently imprisoned. Although the crime may have been solved, the family had to bear the weight of the tragedy for their entire lives. The song ends with the singer's release, but the scars from wrongful imprisonment are bound to linger forever.
Line by Line Meaning
Twelve men broke loose in seventy-three
In 1973, a group of twelve prisoners escaped from Millhaven maximum security prison.
From Millhaven maximum security
The prison from which the twelve men escaped.
Twelve pictures lined up across the front page
The media extensively covered the story of the prison break and had pictures of each of the escapees on the front page.
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), also known as the Mounties, were actively engaged in tracking down the escaped prisoners.
Well, he chief told the people they had nothing to fear
The police chief reassured the public that they were safe despite the prison break.
Said, "the last thing they wanna do is hang around here"
The escaped prisoners were unlikely to stick around the area where the prison was located.
They mostly came from towns with long French names
Many of the escaped prisoners were from towns with French names.
But one of the dozen was a hometown shame
One of the escaped prisoners was from the same town where the singer is from and it brought shame to the community.
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
The singer is in the same room where he grew up and everything looks the same as it did when he was younger.
Been one seat empty, eighteen years in all
One of the people who used to sit around the table with the singer's family has been absent for eighteen years.
Freezing slow time, away from the world
The singer feels like time in this room has stopped and he is isolated from the rest of the world.
He's thirty-eight years old, never kissed a girl
The singer has never had a romantic relationship with a woman despite being thirty-eight years old.
We were sitting around the table, heard the telephone ring
The singer and his family were gathered around the table when they received a phone call.
Father said he'd tell 'em if he saw anything
The singer's father promised to alert the authorities if he noticed anything suspicious.
Heard the tap on the window in the middle of the night
Someone tapped on the singer's window in the middle of the night.
Held back the curtains for my older brother Mike
The singer's older brother, Mike, went to investigate the person tapping on the window.
See my sister got raped, so a man got killed
The singer's sister was raped and someone killed the perpetrator.
Local boy went to prison, man's buried on the hill
The person who killed the perpetrator went to prison and the perpetrator is buried on a nearby hill.
Folks went back to normal when they closed the case
Once the case was solved, the people in the community resumed their normal lives.
They still stare at their shoes when they pass our place
However, people still avoid the singer's family because of the violent incident that happened there.
My mother cried, "the horror has finally ceased"
The singer's mother was relieved that the traumatic experience was over.
He whispered, "yeah, for the time being at least"
The singer whispered that he wasn't sure how long the peace would last.
Over his shoulder on the squad car megaphone
A police officer spoke into a megaphone on the back of his car.
Said, "let's go Michael, son, we're taking you home"
The police were taking the singer's brother, Michael, back to their family home.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bradgearly
Twelve men broke loose in seventy three
From Millhaven Maximum Security
Twelve pictures lined up across the front page
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage
Well, the chief told the people they had nothing to fear
Said, "The last thing they want to do is hang around here"
They mostly came from towns with long French names
But one of the dozen was a hometown shame
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
We were sitting round the table, heard the telephone ring
Father said he tell them if he saw anything
Heard the tap on my window in the middle of the night
Held back the curtain for my older brother Mike
See my sister got raped so a man got killed
Local boy went to prison, man's buried on the hill
Folks went back to normal when they closed the case
They still stare at their shoes when they pass our place
My mother cried, "The horror has finally ceased"
He whispered, "Yeah, for the time being at least"
And over her shoulder on the squad car megaphone
Said, "Let's go, Michael, son, we're taking you home"
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
@austinhubbartt695
This isn't even a story about Gord's actual sister but he sings it like it is. His voice has an amount of pain in it that would lead you to believe it was a true story about his own sister and brother. Amazing vocalist and lyricist. RIP Gord Downie.
@fuckyouallthx
Fuck Gord Downie
God dam ruining the education system with his music
@eddiemuise4791
When I have rough days I come and listen to The Tragically Hip absolutely love their music
@JacksonEspFender
If you don't get chills when Gord sings, "See my sister got raped, so a man got killed" , there's something wrong with you. It's not just the power in those words on its own. It the powerful way that Gord sings those words. He puts you right in their shoes
@jabishop86
Absolutely 💯
@bradgearly
Twelve men broke loose in seventy three
From Millhaven Maximum Security
Twelve pictures lined up across the front page
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage
Well, the chief told the people they had nothing to fear
Said, "The last thing they want to do is hang around here"
They mostly came from towns with long French names
But one of the dozen was a hometown shame
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
We were sitting round the table, heard the telephone ring
Father said he tell them if he saw anything
Heard the tap on my window in the middle of the night
Held back the curtain for my older brother Mike
See my sister got raped so a man got killed
Local boy went to prison, man's buried on the hill
Folks went back to normal when they closed the case
They still stare at their shoes when they pass our place
My mother cried, "The horror has finally ceased"
He whispered, "Yeah, for the time being at least"
And over her shoulder on the squad car megaphone
Said, "Let's go, Michael, son, we're taking you home"
Same pattern on the table, same clock on the wall
Been one seat empty eighteen years in all
Freezing slow time, away from the world
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
He's thirty eight years old, never kissed a girl
@_VanHelsing
I just read the lyrics for the first time and fucked mya up before a job interview. God dammit I'm crying hahaha
@charitydavison7135
Their music is timeless, I never would have guessed this is song from the 80s
@parknasty9400
Learning this on guitar tomorrow! One of my favorite songs ever, I’m only 25 but I’m an old soul🤟
@leeham6230
Song is about a man who killed his sister's rapist for revenge at just 20 years old. 18 years later, he escapes prison, and goes back to his house to see his family. His dad calls the cops, and he goes back to prison.
He had 1 chance to go anywhere in the world to escape and be free, but he chose to go back home, as he was just a boy after all; home is all he knows of this world. He never left home to experience all that life has to offer; he hadn't even kissed a girl.
One thing that comes to mind is family. He threw his whole life away for his family (avenging his sister), and then the threw away his one chance at freedom just to be at home with them for a while.