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.
Montreal
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
smiles across crowded rooms to the only boy she ever loved
don't you worry her mama's going to make her look good
don't you worry her mama's going to make her look good
she didn't care for leopard coats or tall thin millionaires
kissing girls on new year's eve sitting up in leather chairs
won't you give me the chance the chance to explain?
oh well explain away
the snow is so merciless on poor old montreal
in spite of everything that's happened in spite of it all
because a coward won't die alone
because a coward won't die alone
alone with this fear
think of you alone
no when we're with you
The Tragically Hip's song Montreal is a melancholic tribute to a woman who, despite her obstinacy and haunting past, remains a captivating enigma to her admirers, possibly including the lead singer himself. The verses paint a picture of her distinct fashion sense with flowery language, suggesting her fondness for a certain boy, while also suggesting the influence of her mother. The chorus takes on a different tone, acknowledging the harshness of life and the inevitability of death. Montreal, where the characters in the song presumably reside, is personified as a merciless force, a place where one could easily become trapped, stuck in an endless cycle of fear and anxiety. The chorus ends on a somewhat ambiguous note, with the repeated phrase "because a coward won't die alone," hinting at the underlying meaning of the song.
The lyrics of Montreal are quite cryptic and open to interpretation, but some theories suggest that the song is about mental illness, possibly in the form of bipolar disorder. The woman described in the song could be going through manic episodes, which could explain her extreme attachment to the boy she loves, as well as her unique fashion sense. The chorus might then refer to the hopelessness and isolation that often come with mental illness. It could also allude to the power of love or human connection to help those who are struggling to find their place in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
she used to like lavender pantsuits long black velvet gloves
She had a fondness for eccentric fashion like lavender pantsuits and long gloves made of black velvet.
smiles across crowded rooms to the only boy she ever loved
She would exchange glances and smiles with the only boy she ever harbored romantic feelings for in large gatherings.
don't you worry her mama's going to make her look good
Her mother will ensure that she looks presentable and attractive, so there is no need to be concerned.
she didn't care for leopard coats or tall thin millionaires
She had no interest in wearing leopard-print coats or being involved with wealthy, lanky suitors.
kissing girls on new year's eve sitting up in leather chairs
She had shared romantic interactions with other females on New Year's Eve, in settings such as sitting on leather chairs.
won't you give me the chance the chance to explain?
Please allow me the opportunity to clarify the situation by altering or adding to the details.
oh well explain away
Go ahead and provide an explanation or justification for the situation.
the snow is so merciless on poor old montreal
The cold, snowy weather can be merciless to the city of Montreal.
in spite of everything that's happened in spite of it all
Despite any bad circumstances that occur, Montreal continues on with its existence.
because a coward won't die alone
A person who lacks courage will not perish without someone to share their fear with.
because a coward won't die alone
A person who lacks courage will not perish without someone to share their fear with.
alone with this fear
Being left in isolation with feelings of fear and anxiety.
think of you alone no when we're with you
When the singer is together with the person they are referring to, they no longer feel lonely.
Contributed by Camden L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
TheHipFan1984
Who’s still here loving The Hip??? ❤️🇨🇦
Colty77
everyday I die a little more inside when I think about Gordon being gone
GO LEAFS GO LEAFS GO
American boy, But Canadian as well so ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sherilyn Manly-Elliott
Will forever ♥️
David B
Of course .
3wheelslife longlivetheatc
Every Canadian is
Alex Torres
This song is an absolute banger. Love finally hearing it remastered and given the proper release it always deserved instead of a crackly bootleg. Love it
E Chase
Love old bootlegs!
Anon Ymous
That crappy bootleg is on the work playlist, as is radio show. Everybody stops to watch construction ;).
The Arkwright Loft Studio
I believe in one of the Saskadelphia promo videos Johnny said they had a studio version of this song, but after the UMG fire they couldn't find it. I think it was on the Facebook they also said that the fire is what caused them to start scouring the vault to begin with.
But thankfully it wasn't as bad as they feared.