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.
Ocean Next
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Congratulations" you said, "you're allowed"
I think I'm all-feel today, you think, "You think, you stink"
Ten exits away, you just said, "oh, wow"
I'm so relaxed, little wistful perhaps
Ocean next
Just go and see the thousand pictures
That tomorrow is or will surely be
Read, read, read, receive, lose, receive
Be happy, it's all you leave
I'm so relaxed, little wistful perhaps
Ocean next
Ocean next
Ocean next
I'll turn my music up, listen don't guess
At the center of it, a little sadness
Ocean next, the thousand pictures
Better than sex or salt'n'vinegar chips
Ocean next
Ocean next
Ocean next
The Tragically Hip's song "Ocean Next" is a reflection on life, the passage of time, and the journey towards death. The opening lines of "I don't understand, I just live and do" reveal the uncertainty and confusion that often comes with life and its many complexities. The second line "Congratulations" you said, "you're allowed" can be interpreted as a commentary on society's expectations and the pressure to conform, as if just living and doing are not enough.
The song then transitions into a conversation between two people, with one person feeling relaxed and wistful, while the other person dismisses their sentiments with a cutting remark: "You think, you stink". This exchange is a reminder that people can have vastly different perspectives on life and what is meaningful. The chorus "Ocean next" is a reference to the vast unknown beyond this world, and a reminder that death is inevitable for everyone.
The song ends with an encouragement to live life fully and embrace the present moment: "Read, read, read, receive, lose, receive / Be happy, it's all you leave". The final lines of "Ocean next, the thousand pictures / Better than sex or salt'n'vinegar chips" suggests that life is a collection of experiences that are varied and often unpredictable, and it is our job to make the most of them.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't understand, I just live and do
I don't need to comprehend everything, I just keep going and living my life.
"Congratulations" you said, "you're allowed"
You are congratulating me for being allowed to do whatever I want.
I think I'm all-feel today, you think, "You think, you stink"
I feel emotional today, and you are amused by my exaggerated sentimentality.
Ten exits away, you just said, "oh, wow"
You suddenly express amazement about something you are seeing ten exits down the highway.
I'm so relaxed, little wistful perhaps
I'm feeling very calm, although there is a tinge of sadness or nostalgia lingering.
Ocean next
We are getting closer to the ocean, which is our next destination.
Just go and see the thousand pictures
Go and explore the many sights and experiences that are waiting for you.
That tomorrow is or will surely be
There are endless possibilities in the future that are yet to unfold.
Read, read, read, receive, lose, receive
Knowledge and information can be gained and lost repeatedly throughout one's life.
Be happy, it's all you leave
Ultimately, happiness is the only thing that matters in life and what we will be remembered for.
I'll turn my music up, listen don't guess
I will turn up my music and pay attention to the lyrics instead of trying to guess their meaning.
At the center of it, a little sadness
Even when surrounded by happiness, there is often a kernel of sadness at the center of it all.
Ocean next, the thousand pictures
We are about to arrive at the ocean, where there are countless sights and experiences to explore.
Better than sex or salt'n'vinegar chips
The ocean and all it offers is far more fulfilling and exciting than sex or even the tastiest chips.
Ocean next
We are almost there, the ocean is next.
Ocean next
We are almost there, the ocean is next.
Ocean next
We are almost there, the ocean is next.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GORDON DOWNIE, ROBERT BAKER, GORDON SINCLAIR, JOHNNY FAY, PAUL LANGLOIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind