At The Hundredth Meridian
The Tragically Hip Lyrics

Me, debunk an American myth?
Do you really think I could destroy a long-standing belief that is so deeply ingrained in the American psyche?

And take my life in my hands?
And risk everything, including my own life?

Where the great plains begin
At the point where the vast expanse of grasslands that characterize the American West first appear.

Driving down a corduroy road (crashing through the window)
Riding over a bumpy road that feels like it's made of corduroy, perhaps breaking through the car window in the process.

Weeds standing shoulder-high (through the window)
Tall, thick vegetation that grows so high it almost obscures the landscape when viewed from the car window.

Ferris wheel is rusting off in the distance
In the distance, an amusement park ride sits abandoned for so long that it has begun to rust.

Left alone to get gigantic
Left to grow on their own, the land and everything on it become enormous and powerful.

Hard, huge and haunted
The land is difficult and intimidating, on a massive scale and full of ghosts and secrets.

A generation so much dumber than its parents
The current crop of young people is not as smart or wise as the previous generation that came before them.

Came crashing through the window (through the window)
Bursting in uninvited, possibly with malice or chaos in mind.

A raven strains along the line of the road
A bird that is traditionally seen as an ill omen follows the path of the road.

Carrying a muddy, old skull
Holding in its beak an old, weathered skull that seems to portend death and decay.

The wires whistle their approval
The power lines that stretch across the landscape seem to hiss and hum in agreement with the raven's ominous presence.

Off down the distance
Fading into the distance ahead.

I remember, I remember Buffalo
I recall the city of Buffalo, likely as a symbol of the urban decay and environmental destruction that have scarred the Great Plains.

And I remember Hengelo
I also remember the town of Hengelo, possibly acknowledging the toll that industrialization and modernization have taken across the world.

It would seem to me, I remember every single fucking thing I know
It feels to me like I've seen and experienced everything in my life, that there's nothing left to surprise me anymore.

If I die of vanity, promise me, promise me
If I am foolish enough to die of my own pride and ego, I ask you, please promise me one thing:

They bury me some place I don't want to be
Don't lay me to rest in some awful or inappropriate location.

You'll dig me up and transport me, unceremoniously
Instead, take me away from there, even if it's not a dignified or respectful way to move my remains.

Away from the swollen city-breeze, garbage bag trees
Take me away from the polluted air and trash-filled environment of the city, where even the trees are made of discarded rubbish.

Whispers of disease and the acts of enormity
Away from the hushed whispers of sickness and contamination, and the vast scale of human destruction that comes with it.

And lower me slowly and sadly and properly
When my body is finally interred, do so in a way that respects my life and my contributions to the world.

Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy
And if I ever have a chance for a proper sendoff, bring in someone like musician Ry Cooder to play a respectful and fitting tribute to me.

Where the great plains begin
Reminding us back to the point where the landscape opens up into the vast, rolling terrain that is the hallmark of the Great Plains.