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.
Fully Completely
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hang me long out in the sun
Exonerate me
Forget about me
I recommend measures for ending it
Lover, she simply slammed the door
She said, "You're going to miss me
Fully and completely
I ponder the endlessness of the stars
Ignoring said same of my father
Either it'll move me
Or it'll move right through me
Fully, completely
Bring me back in shackles
And hang me long out in the sun
Exonerate me
Then forget about me
Wait and you'll see
Just wait and you'll see
Fully, completely
Fully, completely
Fully, completely
The lyrics of Fully Completely by the Tragically Hip suggest a feeling of entrapment and a desire for freedom, while simultaneously acknowledging the possibility of being forgotten or left behind. The lines "Bring me back in shackles, hang me long out in the sun" convey a sense of being tied down or restrained, with the imagery of being "in shackles" suggesting imprisonment or punishment. The desire to be "exonerated", or cleared of wrongdoing, indicates that the song may be about feeling unjustly accused or held responsible for something. However, at the same time, the singer seems to be willing to accept being forgotten entirely or left behind ("Forget about me, Wait and you'll see/Fully and completely"), suggesting a sort of surrender or resignation to their situation.
The second half of the song takes a more introspective turn, with the singer reflecting on their place in the world and their relationship to those around them. The line "I ponder the endlessness of the stars/ignoring said same of my father" could suggest a sense of awe and wonder at the vastness of the universe, which contrasts with the singer's relationship to their father. This could imply a sense of distance or disconnection from their family or upbringing. The final lines "Either it'll move me/Or it'll move right through me" suggest a sense of uncertainty or ambiguity, leaving the ultimate meaning of the song unresolved.
Line by Line Meaning
Bring me back in shackles
Return me to a confined and restricted state of being
Hang me long out in the sun
Leave me exposed and vulnerable to the elements
Exonerate me
Clear me of any blame or accusation
Forget about me
Erase me from your memory and attention
I recommend measures for ending it
I suggest ways to bring about its conclusion or resolution
Lover, she simply slammed the door
My significant other abruptly ended our relationship
She said, "You're going to miss me
She predicted that I'll regret losing her
Wait and you'll see"
Just wait and observe the outcome
Fully and completely
Entirely and without reservation
I ponder the endlessness of the stars
I contemplate the infinite nature of the cosmos
Ignoring said same of my father
Disregarding my father's similar thoughts
Either it'll move me
It will either inspire or touch me
Or it'll move right through me
Or it will pass me by without a significant impact
Fully, completely
Entirely and without reservation
Bring me back in shackles
Return me to a confined and restricted state of being
And hang me long out in the sun
Leave me exposed and vulnerable to the elements
Exonerate me
Clear me of any blame or accusation
Then forget about me
Erase me from your memory and attention
Wait and you'll see
Just wait and observe the outcome
Just wait and you'll see
Have patience and the truth will reveal itself
Fully, completely
Entirely and without reservation
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@garymoen930
Favorite Hip song. The drive and groove of the rhythm section is just amazing.
@gregsovine4632
There will never be anyone else like Gord Downie or the Hip. .truly a shooting star. .so glad I got to see them. ..thanks for the memories boys.
@kem1kal
it'll grow on you, they all do. the tragically hip are the only band like that. all their songs are stellar, but you've gotta fall in love with them one song at a time
@mojoel1
Gives me goosebumps to hear the ad libbing that Gord does live. VARY COOL!
@MrImbadtothebone
The way he catches the microphone stand with his foot then improvs about it is amazing
@CarbonDoggie
This is by far my favorite version of the song. The energy that's in Gord is what makes it.
@Ehdubs
Four years before "Love Is A Curse" was released, he's already singing it!
@justafan14life36
Was only 18 months nov 2004-June 2006
@paradoxaltool679
I forgot how much I love this song to!... It rocks!!....Gives me chills watching it.....I've seen them 5 times in concert and they ROCK!....Check out "At The Hundredth Meridian" from this concert as well!.....AWESOME!
@frankbrazil7918
my two favorites 👍🏼