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.
Lionized
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know a lack you've got and it makes a strong case for art
Billboard breasts, they don't have a face
I know that fact you've got no girl could ever trace
Lionized, lionized
Smoking just a little too violently
Stupid, stoned, cause and effect
I know a lack you've got and you don't even lack it yet
Lionized, lionized
Lionized, lionized
Tableau vivant
Roman a'clef
I can't draw but I can trace
I know a lack I've got, an abundance of extra space
Cold wind blowing over your private parts
I know a lack you've got is to make a strong case for art
Lionized, lionized
Lionized, lionized
Tableau vivant
Roman a'clef
Tableau vivant
The Tragically Hip's song Lionized contains cryptic lyrics that require adept interpretation. The lyrics describe a number of observations about someone's appearance, attitude and behavior that the singer has. The opening line about cold wind blowing over their private parts implies a sense of vulnerability or discomfort. The next few lines imply that the subject has a quality or a presence that is worthy of celebration, hence the idea of being lionized. However, the subject may be lacking other qualities that go unnoticed. The line "I know that fact you've got no girl could ever trace" suggests that the singer notices things about the subject that go unnoticed by others, making their appreciation of the person unique.
The lyrics then segue into a discussion about smoking, stupidity, and single-mindedness, but still return to the idea of lionization as a central theme. The lines "I can't draw but I can trace, I know a lack I've got, an abundance of extra space" suggest that the singer has their own vulnerabilities, but they have found a way to celebrate themselves despite these flaws.
Overall, the themes in Lionized seem to be about recognizing and celebrating the qualities that make us unique, even if some of those qualities aren't immediately apparent to others. The song also seems to acknowledge that our own perceptions of ourselves are often colored by our insecurities.
Line by Line Meaning
Cold wind blowing over your private parts
I understand that you're exposed and vulnerable, and that vulnerability can be the driving force behind creating art.
I know a lack you've got and it makes a strong case for art
Your perceived inadequacies and struggles can serve as inspiration for artistic expression and creative output.
Billboard breasts, they don't have a face
Physical beauty alone cannot sustain a relationship or attraction - there must be a deeper connection beyond superficial appearances.
I know that fact you've got no girl could ever trace
Your innermost thoughts and feelings are uniquely personal and impossible for anyone else to truly comprehend or replicate.
Lionized, lionized
The idolization of certain individuals or concepts can be problematic and can lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointment.
Smoking just a little too violently
Engaging in risky behaviors and pushing boundaries can be thrilling, but it's important to recognize the potential consequences and dangers involved.
I know that fact I've got and I know it single-mindedly
Despite the risks involved, the pursuit of certain experiences can be all-consuming and difficult to resist.
Stupid, stoned, cause and effect
Making impulsive decisions under the influence can lead to negative consequences and a lack of control over one's actions and behaviors.
I know a lack you've got and you don't even lack it yet
Sometimes we're so caught up in our own perceptions of ourselves and others that we fail to recognize or acknowledge the inherent strengths within ourselves.
Tableau vivant
A tableau vivant is a still image or scene created by a group of people posing as characters in a story or narrative.
Roman a'clef
A roman a'clef is a literary work in which real people or events are portrayed under the guise of fiction or fictional characters.
I can't draw but I can trace
I may not possess the inherent artistic talent of others, but I can still derive inspiration from their work and use it to inform my own.
I know a lack I've got, an abundance of extra space
Despite feeling inadequate or lacking in certain areas, there is still an abundance of opportunity and potential to be explored and harnessed.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind