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.
An Inch An Hour
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Full of freaks and disenfranchised punks
No amount of hate, no load of junk
No bag of words, no costume trunk
Could make me feel the same way
An inch an hour, two feet a day
To move through night
There's this fuckin' band you gotta see
They used to scare the living shit outta me
No frothing dog, no cool insanity
No rock 'n roll, no Christianity
Makes me feel the same way
An inch an hour, two feet a day
To move through night with very little else to say
But I'm helpless less with the people than the space
No struggle town, no bemused Trudeau
No solitary walks through vacant lots in moon glow
Tonight, the winter may have missed its mark
You can see your breath in Springside Park
Coffee-colored ice and peeling birch bark
The sound of rushing water in the dark
Makes me feel the same way
An inch an hour, two feet a day
To move through life with very little else to say
But I'm helpless more with the people than the space
I mean, I'm helpless less with the people than the space
You see, I don't know Neil, I don't know Neil
The lyrics of The Tragically Hip's song "An Inch An Hour" paint a picture of someone longing for something that will intoxicate them, not through drugs or alcohol, but through pure artistic expression. The singer desires a book that will make them feel out of step with the world - full of freaks and disenfranchised punks. They feel that no external stimulant can make them feel as alive as art can. The song's chorus uses the imagery of moving slowly, yet purposefully, through life. An inch an hour, two feet a day; the singer feels that this is the most fashionable way to navigate through life.
The second verse goes on to describe a dangerous rock band that the singer has discovered. Despite their provocative nature, the singer is not intimidated by them. The music and vibe of the band make the singer feel the same way that they would if they were reading the perfect book. The song's second chorus repeats the idea that moving slowly through life is the best way to experience it. The singer feels comfortable alone in space but out of place in social settings.
The final verse describes a winter evening where the singer finds beauty in the world around them. They take in the sight of Springside Park where they can see their breath in the air, and peeling birch bark covers the trees. The sound of rushing water in the dark creates a sense of peace, and the singer finds themselves feeling the same way as they do when they encounter great art. The final repetition of the chorus brings the song to a close, with the singer still searching for a book, music or art that can intoxicate them.
Line by Line Meaning
I want a book that'll make me drunk
I want a book that'll transport me to another world.
Full of freaks and disenfranchised punks
Full of non-conformists and people who don't fit in.
No amount of hate, no load of junk
No amount of negativity or baggage.
No bag of words, no costume trunk
No amount of flowery language or superficiality.
Could make me feel the same way
Nothing can compare to that feeling.
An inch an hour, two feet a day
Slowly making your way through life.
To move through night
To make your way through the darkness.
In this most fashionable way
In your own unique style.
There's this fuckin' band you gotta see
This band is a must-see.
They used to scare the living shit outta me
They used to terrify me.
No frothing dog, no cool insanity
No acts of desperation or superficiality.
No rock 'n roll, no Christianity
No stereotypes or cliches.
Makes me feel the same way
It evokes that same feeling.
An inch an hour, two feet a day
Slowly making your way through life.
To move through night with very little else to say
To exist in the moment with no need for words.
But I'm helpless less with the people than the space
I feel more at home in the environment than with people.
No struggle town, no bemused Trudeau
No political allegiances or drama.
No solitary walks through vacant lots in moon glow
No introspective journeys through abandoned areas at night.
Tonight, the winter may have missed its mark
The winter may not have been as harsh as expected.
You can see your breath in Springside Park
The air is cold and visible outside.
Coffee-colored ice and peeling birch bark
The environment is made up of natural elements like ice and trees.
The sound of rushing water in the dark
The soothing sound of water is present in the blackness.
To move through life with very little else to say
To exist in the moment with no need for words.
But I'm helpless more with the people than the space
I feel more vulnerable around people than in the environment.
I mean, I'm helpless less with the people than the space
I feel more at home in the environment than with people.
You see, I don't know Neil, I don't know Neil
I don't personally know Neil, the person being referenced.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Robert Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gordon Sinclair
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind