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.
Scared
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not prepared, but if I have to
He said, I can make you scared, it's kind of what I do
If you're prepared, here's what I propose to do
You're in Russia and more than a million works of art
Are whisked out to the woods
When the Nazis find the whole place dark
I can make you scared, if that's what I do
If you're prepared, and if I have to
If I make you scared, and you pay me to
That's the deal, now here's what I can do for you
Now there's a focus group that can prove
This is all nothing but cold calculation
Tests have shown that suspicious are hostile
Their lives need not be shortened
Truth be told, they can live a long, long while
Tickled to death by their importance
If you can make me scared, if that's what you do
If I'm unclear, can I get out of this thing with me and you
If you feel scared, and a bit confused
I got to say, this sounds a little beyond anything I'm used to
There's a precious few that can prove at the root
This is all nothing but cold calculation
Clearly entranced, you're leaving back now
Defanged destroyer limps into the bay
Down at the beach it's attracting quite a crowd
As kids wade through the blood out to it to play
Okay, you made me scared, you did what you set out to do
And I'm not prepared, you really had me going there for a minute or two
He said, you made me scared too, I wasn't sure I was getting through
I got to go
It's been a pleasure doing business with you
The Tragically Hip's "Scared" is a song filled with complex and thought-provoking lyrics. The first verse of the song appears to be spoken from the perspective of a con artist or manipulator: "I could make you scared, if you want me to / I'm not prepared, but if I have to / He said, I can make you scared, it's kind of what I do / If you're prepared, here's what I propose to do." The singer is almost taunting the listener, as if daring them to challenge their power.
The following verses shift between seemingly unrelated vignettes, such as when the lyrics depict the evacuation of artwork from a museum during Nazi occupation: "You're in Russia and more than a million works of art / Are whisked out to the woods / When the Nazis find the whole place dark / They'll think God's left the museum for good." The song then takes a turn into more modern concerns, such as discussions of focus groups: "Now there's a focus group that can prove / This is all nothing but cold calculation."
The verses shift rapidly, creating an intense and disorienting tone. The final verse appears to suggest that the manipulator has finally met their match: "Okay, you made me scared, you did what you set out to do / And I'm not prepared, you really had me going there for a minute or two / He said, you made me scared too, I wasn't sure I was getting through." Overall, "Scared" is a smart and deeply evocative song that explores themes of power, fear, and manipulation.
Line by Line Meaning
I could make you scared, if you want me to
I have the power to instill fear in you, should you desire it
I'm not prepared, but if I have to
While I am not ready to do so, I will if necessary
He said, I can make you scared, it's kind of what I do
The singer claims to be able to induce fear, as it is their specialty
If you're prepared, here's what I propose to do
If you are ready, I can offer you my services
You're in Russia and more than a million works of art
Setting the scene with an image of Russia and over a million works of art
Are whisked out to the woods
The art is hidden away in the forest
When the Nazis find the whole place dark
If the Nazis come and find everything missing and the museum closed
They'll think God's left the museum for good
They will assume that a higher power has removed the art from the museum permanently
I can make you scared, if that's what I do
The artist reiterates their ability to create fear in people
If you're prepared, and if I have to
Once again, stating the condition for their services
If I make you scared, and you pay me to
Should the singer instill fear in you and you pay them for their services
That's the deal, now here's what I can do for you
The artist summarizes the agreement and offers their services
Now there's a focus group that can prove
Introducing a focus group that has evidence to support something
This is all nothing but cold calculation
Calling the scheme a calculated and unemotional plan
Tests have shown that suspicious are hostile
Evidence reveals that those who are suspicious tend to be hostile
Their lives need not be shortened
The lives of suspicious people do not need to be cut short
Truth be told, they can live a long, long while
In fact, they can live a long time
Tickled to death by their importance
These people will be pleased to think they are important
If you can make me scared, if that's what you do
The singer wonders if the person they are talking to can instill fear in them
If I'm unclear, can I get out of this thing with me and you
If I don't fully understand, can I back out of this deal we have made?
If you feel scared, and a bit confused
Should the person being spoken to feel fear and confusion
I got to say, this sounds a little beyond anything I'm used to
The person expresses their discomfort with the situation
There's a precious few that can prove at the root
Another group is introduced that has proof of something
This is all nothing but cold calculation
Once again calling the plan a calculated and unemotional scheme
Clearly entranced, you're leaving back now
The singer observes that the listener is fully engaged
Defanged destroyer limps into the bay
A defanged ship comes into the harbor
Down at the beach it's attracting quite a crowd
People are gathering to see the ship
As kids wade through the blood out to it to play
Children are even playing in the water, despite the ship's bloody history
Okay, you made me scared, you did what you set out to do
The artist admits the other person succeeded in instilling fear in them
And I'm not prepared, you really had me going there for a minute or two
The singer reveals they were caught off guard and not ready to be scared
He said, you made me scared too, I wasn't sure I was getting through
The person being spoken to admits they were also scared and unsure if their message was received
I got to go
The artist is ready to leave
It's been a pleasure doing business with you
A polite end to the interaction
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jamie McConnell
I could make you scared, if you want me to
I'm not prepared, but if I have to
He said, I can make you scared, it's kind of what I do
If you're prepared, here's what I propose to do
You're in Russia and more than a million works of art
Are whisked out to the woods
And when the Nazis find the whole place dark
They'll think God's left the museum for good
I can make you scared, if that's what I do
If you're prepared, and if I have to
If I make you scared, and you pay me to
If that’s the deal, now here's what I can do for you
Now there's a focus group that can prove
This is all nothing but cold calculation
Tests have shown that suspicious or hostile,
Their lives need not be shortened
Truth be told, they can live a long, long while
Tickled to death by their importance
If you can make me scared, if that's what you do
If I'm unclear, can I get out of this thing with me and you?
If you feel scared, a bit confused
I gotta say, this sounds a little beyond anything I'm used to
Now there’s a precious few that can prove, that at the root
This is all nothing but cold calculation
Clearly entranced, you're leaning back now
Defanged destroyer limps into the bay
Down at the beach it's attracting quite a crowd
As kids wade through the blood out to it to play
Okay, you made me scared, you did what you set out to do
And I'm not prepared, you really had me going there for a minute or two
He said, you made me scared too, I wasn't sure I was getting through
I gotta go,
It's been a pleasure doing business with you.
Lord Barrister Timsh
This is a beautiful song, with symbolism, esoterica, poetry, and composition all great in equal measure. I personally heard this song for the first time when I watched "Trailer Park Boys : The Movie" some years ago. I thank the Trailer Park Boys and The Tragically Hip immensely for the music and the memories. RIP Gord Downie RIP John Dunsworth. Thank you for the memories.
Conrad Stone
Correct chaos theory
gianthairysasquatch
This brought me here, too!
outtabody 23
Real shit right there
Brad Kriebel
Right on!
Charles P
Same here.
🌸Corrie🌸
Still gives me goosebumps when I hear this song. Loved it since I was a little girl. Now the fact I can never see Gord alive again, I cry hearing him. RIP 😭
Kallavs
Love you GORDY/GORDON
Elle O
He was an amazing amazing man. I loved seeing him. Thank god we have the internet and can see him forever.
🌸Corrie🌸
@Elle O that's true and at least a lot of us had a chance to see him sing before he passed 💕