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.
Fire in the Hole
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You had immunity to kill
You had your dreams fulfilled
And I love you still
But there's a power beyond control
There's a fire in the hole
Ah, the nights are getting cold
All your secrets will be told
As long as you can dig up proof
As cold as water through the roof
Brutal as depicted truth
That kid's a fuckin goof
Turn your lanterns low
But there's a power beyond control
There's a fire in the hole
Yeah, the nights are getting cold
All his secrets will be told
Turn your lanterns low
Alright
I'd like to stand up soon and show
I'd like to let some people know
I'd turn my bucket over
I'd turn my lantern low
But there's a power beyond control
There's a fire in the hole
Yeah, the nights are getting cold
All my secrets would be told
Turn your lanterns low
Alright, alright
The song Fire In The Hole by The Tragically Hip is a song about power and control. The song talks about someone who has triumphed over their will, has the immunity to kill and has had their dreams fulfilled. The person is loved still, but there is a power beyond control that is represented by the fire in the hole. This power could burn everything down and the nights are getting colder, indicating a sense of warning.
The song shifts focus to another person, this time depicting them in a negative light. The lyrics talk about turning the lanterns low, which could be seen as a way of hiding secrets. As long as there is proof and truth, the person is depicted as a "fucking goof". The lyrics talk about the power beyond control again and the fire in the hole, indicating that destruction could be caused if this power is not controlled. The singer talks about how they would like to stand up and show their true self, but they feel held back by this power.
Overall, the lyrics of Fire In The Hole are quite cryptic, but they seem to be warning against the dangers of unchecked power and control. The fire in the hole is a symbol of this power, which could burn everything down if it is not controlled.
Line by Line Meaning
You triumphed over will
You succeeded against your own desire
You had immunity to kill
You had the ability to cause harm without consequence
You had your dreams fulfilled
You achieved your aspirations
And I love you still
My affection for you persists
But there's a power beyond control
There is an uncontrollable force
There's a fire in the hole
There is imminent danger
Ah, the nights are getting cold
The situation is becoming unfavorable
All your secrets will be told
Your private information will be revealed
Turn your lanterns low
Hide your intentions
As long as you can dig up proof
There is punishment if there is confirmed evidence
As cold as water through the roof
Something is harsh and unpleasant
Brutal as depicted truth
The truth is difficult to handle
That kid's a fuckin goof
That individual is foolish and inept
I'd like to stand up soon and show
I want to prove myself
I'd like to let some people know
I have an important message
I'd turn my bucket over
I would expose everything
Alright, alright
Ending remark
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind