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.
Great Soul
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh and nothing works
I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas
Nothing works
Oh and nothing works
I tried nothing and I'm out of ideas
I was clear
That I forgot
To here
O great soul
From the india of my dreams
It follows
If I'm disappointing no one, I'm disappointing everyone
And I know life depends on scenes like this
That drove and drive us on
But if god walks with persons
Does he run, run, run, run, run?
I want you to enchant my days
Onward, daily, forward, away
So what's today's answer then?
Nothing, eternity, nothing?
And then?
What then, to resist?
To resist?
To resist?
To resist?
Nothing works
Oh and nothing works
I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas
The Tragically Hip's song Great Soul is a reflective piece that touches upon themes of disillusion, disappointment and the search for meaning. The lyrics "Nothing works, oh and nothing works, I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas" express a sense of being at a loss and unable to find a way forward. The repetition of this phrase emphasizes the feeling of helplessness and frustration. The stanza immediately following these lines, "I thought I was clear, that I forgot to hear, o great soul from the India of my dreams" alludes to the idea of seeking guidance and wisdom from a higher power, but feeling like it is out of reach.
The lyrics also touch on the struggle to find one's purpose and how it can be a source of disappointment to oneself and others. The line "if I'm disappointing no one, I'm disappointing everyone" speaks to the fear that one's own sense of unfulfillment will ultimately let down those around them. The reference to "scenes like this" and the repeated refrain "To resist?" suggests that the artist is grappling with the idea of whether to continue fighting or to give in to the hopelessness of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing works
I have tried everything I can think of, but nothing seems to solve my problems.
Oh and nothing works
I am frustrated because nothing I attempt is successful.
I tried nothing and I'm out of ideas
I have exhausted all options and ideas that I can think of, and I don't know what else to do.
I thought
I believed that I had everything under control.
I was clear
I thought that I had communicated everything effectively.
That I forgot
However, I overlooked an important detail.
To here
And failed to listen or pay attention.
O great soul
I am calling out to the higher power or God for help and guidance.
From the india of my dreams
I am seeking inspiration and enlightenment from a place of peacefulness and serenity.
It follows
I know that what comes next is a consequence of my actions and decisions.
If I'm disappointing no one, I'm disappointing everyone
I feel like nothing I do is enough, and I am consistently letting people down.
And I know life depends on scenes like this
I am aware that difficult situations and challenges are a necessary part of life.
That drove and drive us on
These adversities motivate and push us forward.
But if god walks with persons
If God is by our side and guiding us,
Does he run, run, run, run, run?
Why does it feel like we are still struggling and enduring pain?
I want you to enchant my days
I am longing for happiness and positivity in my life.
Onward, daily, forward, away
I want to continue to progress and move forward in life, day by day.
So what's today's answer then?
I am searching for solutions and guidance for the present moment.
Nothing, eternity, nothing?
Is there no solution or end to my problems?
And then?
What happens next?
What then, to resist?
What can I do to fight against my obstacles and hardships?
To resist?
How can I overcome these struggles?
To resist?
What actions can I take to push through these challenges?
To resist?
How can I persevere and come out stronger on the other side?
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GORDON DOWNIE, ROBERT BAKER, GORDON SINCLAIR, JOHNNY FAY, PAUL LANGLOIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
kat bellisle
Thanks for sharing, Dave!
DAVE MARTIN
glad you enjoy !