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.
The Dark Canuck
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it goes on and on and on
When nothing seems to do
For when the doubtless and the wrong
Ask; 'can I help you?'
In that way that says, 'I can't'
Or claim we're all the same
Just inconsistent
Turned out to be pretense
Then pretend the pretense of understanding
How long does it take depends
You can cast your doubts
Turn em inside-out
Hang em upside-down
Til their art falls out-the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out-the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Til your art falls out-the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out
Summon up your power
If you need a good connection for drugs
Or a strong tolerance for alcohol
Too little religious education
Some pain threshold
If from the outside
There's no demand for what you do
And inside there's an army waiting
For their marching orders for you
Come sit on my swing-seat
Come sit on my porch
After Ten at night, smoke your cigarettes
If you like, of course
You can cast your doubts
Turn em inside-out
Hang em upside-down
Til their art falls out- the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out- the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Til their art falls out- the short answer's; forty-eight hours
Let your heart all out
Summon up all your power
And it goes on and on and on
If we ever get home
Let's don't compare
Let's relinquish all our holidays
And Drive-In Premieres
If we ever get home
Gonna have me three children
Apple, Zippo, and Metronome
That's what I'm gonna name them
And get celebrity skin
The illusion of tough
I'm gonna talk about nothing
Til nothing's enough
If we ever get home
And the subject comes up
This War isn't for children
War is nothing's enough
O' in the clouds of blood at the end of JAWS
In the misted cars honking their applause
At the Drive-In Double Feature
At the heart of dark enough
O' it's JAWS and The Dark Canuck
Should we stay for The Dark Canuck?
Yea.Everyone, hands up!?
Who's for 'The Dark Canuck'?
I think we relinquished enough
And it's still dark enough
And it goes on and on and on
In "The Dark Canuck," The Tragically Hip tells a story about feeling lost and alone, and looking for a way out. The first few lines of the song serve as a sort of dedication or homage, "this one is for you," to someone or something unknown. The repeated phrase "it goes on and on and on" emphasizes the feeling that this situation has been ongoing and never-ending. The song talks about people who offer their help, but not in a way that is actually helpful. The line "Or claim we're all the same, just inconsistent" is a commentary on how people's actions don't always match their words. The song advises to let out your doubts and anxieties, as well as your heart, but warns that it'll take time and effort.
The next part of the song talks about different things that people might need help with, like drugs, alcohol, religion, or pain. The song talks about feeling like no one appreciates your talents or skills, but also feeling like there's an army inside of yourself that's waiting for a cause. The last few lines of the song mention the movie "Jaws" and a lesser-known Canadian movie called "The Dark Canuck," which both deal with darkness and fear. Despite the darkness, the song ends with a sense of continuation, "and it goes on and on and on."
Line by Line Meaning
This one is for you
The song is dedicated to someone
And it goes on and on and on
The song has no end
When nothing seems to do
When nothing seems to work
For when the doubtless and the wrong
For when people who are doubtful or wrong
Ask; 'can I help you?'
Offering to help with the situation
In that way that says, 'I can't'
Offering help without being able to actually provide assistance
Or claim we're all the same
Saying that everyone is equal
Just inconsistent
Having inconsistencies
Or pretend all understanding
Pretend to understand
Turned out to be pretense
In reality, pretending to understand
Then pretend the pretense of understanding
Pretending to understand that pretending to understand is fake
How long does it take depends
The answer depends on different factors
You can cast your doubts
Question your own doubts
Turn em inside-out
Examine your doubts thoroughly
Hang em upside-down
Look at your doubts from a different perspective
Til their art falls out-the short answer's; forty-eight hours
It takes about two days to fully explore your doubts and fears
Let your heart all out
Express your emotions fully
Summon up your power
Use all of your inner strength to overcome your doubts
If you need a good connection for drugs
If you are looking for drugs
Or a strong tolerance for alcohol
If you have a high tolerance for alcohol
Too little religious education
If you lack religious education
Some pain threshold
If you have a high tolerance for pain
If from the outside
If people judge you from afar
There's no demand for what you do
If no one wants what you have to offer
And inside there's an army waiting
If you have many inner qualities that go unnoticed
For their marching orders for you
For you to take charge and lead them
Come sit on my swing-seat
Come sit with me
Come sit on my porch
Come relax with me
After Ten at night, smoke your cigarettes
Come over to smoke cigarettes with me after 10 pm
If you like, of course
If you want to
And if we ever get home
In the event that we make it safely home
Let's don't compare
Let's not compare our lives with others' lives
Let's relinquish all our holidays
Let's forget about holidays
And Drive-In Premieres
And watching movie premieres at the Drive-In
Gonna have me three children
I want to have three children
Apple, Zippo, and Metronome
I have these names picked out already
That's what I'm gonna name them
I have decided their names already
And get celebrity skin
To have flawless skin like a celebrity
The illusion of tough
Appear to be tough, even if you are not
I'm gonna talk about nothing
I will discuss anything and everything
Til nothing's enough
Until we have talked enough
And the subject comes up
When the topic of war is mentioned
This War isn't for children
This war is not suitable for children
War is nothing's enough
War does not solve anything
O' in the clouds of blood at the end of JAWS
The visual scenes from the ending of the movie JAWS
In the misted cars honking their applause
Other people celebrating at the drive-in after JAWS ended
At the Drive-In Double Feature
A night at the drive-in watching two movies
At the heart of dark enough
In a place that is mysterious enough to be interesting
O' it's JAWS and The Dark Canuck
These are the two movies playing at the drive-in
Should we stay for The Dark Canuck?
Should we stay to watch the second movie?
Yea.Everyone, hands up!?
Inquire about who wants to watch 'The Dark Canuck'
I think we relinquished enough
We have given up enough
And it's still dark enough
It is still early enough in the night
And it goes on and on and on
The night continues indefinitely
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Raymond Hanson
Gord goes on and on and on..
I can't express how much I adored these guys, from my very first listen in 89.. seen them 9 times over the years.. each show it's own gem.. each album pushing their music, and Gords lyrics to greater lengths . I felt like they hit their collective sweet spot with this album.. and this show in particular was magnificent.. so glad I got to see them in such intimate settings here in the Twin Cities.. They remain my very favorite band, and only a few people on this side of the boarder are aware they existed..
Sad in a way... Not for the band.. but for music lovers who never had the opportunity to discover them.. I still get choacked up thinking I won't get to see that magnificent crazy rambling, dancing bastard on stage again.. What an absolute treat it was to be in the presence of pure genuine genius..
Kylan Warriner
This is about me. The dark lore Christian...kylan
Sam Coon
Wow, I've had this great album since it came out and this is one of my favorite TH songs.
I finally looked up the lyrics....today.....
Towards the end where it says "And the misted cars honking thier applause."
I always thought it said "And the misfit tires of hawking thier applause."
Ha ha ha
FruitsCSamurai
Was great to see this live with you bro. Miss you 15 years now. Glad you "let your heart all out"
Jacob
Amazing song.
Kerry Mack
Awesome: Ask can I help you in that way that says I can't.
R T
"If from the outside there's no demand for what you do...then inside there's an army waiting for their marching orders from you."
aut0mat0r
Best song on the album.
Sarah Crookall
Anyone else feeling that this is a great quarantine song?
FatGuyGoesNutzoid
@Fred Easy Fred!