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 Lonely End Of The Rink
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
just sitting there all alone
holding your fist in the air
like, if you need me you're on your own
You drove me home through a snowy tomb
I fell asleep in my seat
I had the dream of having no room
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
Oh to join the rush
as the season builds
I hear your voice ‘cross a frozen lake
a voice from the end of a leaf
saying, ‘you won't die of a thousand fakes
or be beaten by the sweetest of dekes'
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, the lonely end of the rink
Oh to join the rush
as the season builds
Jump into the rush
as the seasons build
You drove me home through a snowy gloom
and I fell asleep in my seat
then I had the dream of having no room
you were there just staring at me
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
At the lonely end of the rink, the lonely end of the rink.
The Tragically Hip's "The Lonely End Of The Rink" is a song that can be interpreted in a few different ways. At its core, it tells a story of two people who are in a sort of limbo, both physically and emotionally. They are at the lonely end of the rink, with no one else around, and seem to be searching for something, even if they're not quite sure what it is. The first verse sets the stage for this, with the singer seeing someone holding their fist in the air, as if to say they're ready for anything, but also alone and isolated.
The second verse is a bit more cryptic, with a dream sequence in which the singer is driving home with this same person and falls asleep. The dream is of having no room, which could either mean a literal lack of space or feeling mentally suffocated due to their isolation. The presence of the other person brings a sense of comfort but also a sense of unease, as they're not sure what this other person represents or why they keep showing up in their dreams.
The chorus of "Oh to join the rush as the season builds" could be interpreted as the desire to break out of this emotional and physical limbo and join the excitement of life, perhaps not just in hockey, but in general. The final verse provides a glimmer of hope, with the voice from the end of a leaf offering reassurance that the singer won't be beaten by the challenges they face.
Line by Line Meaning
I looked up and you were there
I saw you suddenly, unexpectedly.
Just sitting there all alone
You were seated all by yourself.
Holding your fist in the air
You raised your fist as if wanting to be called upon.
Like, if you need me you're on your own
Your gesture suggests that you are willing to help, but only if asked.
You drove me home through a snowy tomb
You drove me back through a very wintry landscape.
I fell asleep in my seat
I became sleepy in the car.
I had the dream of having no room
I had a nightmare in which I felt confined.
You were there just staring at me
You were present in my surreal dream, observing me.
At the lonely end of the rink, you and me
We were isolated by ourselves at one end of the ice skating rink.
Oh to join the rush
Oh, how I'd love to be in the midst of the action.
As the season builds
As the athletic season grows in intensity.
I hear your voice 'cross a frozen lake
I hear your voice across a body of water that is iced over.
a voice from the end of a leaf
Your voice is whispering to me from a faraway, remote location.
saying, 'you won't die of a thousand fakes
You reassure me, saying that I won't perish from a barrage of phony moves.
or be beaten by the sweetest of dekes
You also tell me that even the most devious moves won't throw me off balance.
At the lonely end of the rink, the lonely end of the rink
We are stuck at the neglected part of the rink for far too long, feeling lonesome.
Jump into the rush
Encouragement to charge headfirst into the activity and games.
You drove me home through a snowy gloom
You took me home as the darkness settled in and the snow continued to fall.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@OneLove-ij2ss
Gord once said that this song was written for his father Edgar. Whenever his Dad took him to his hockey games Edgar would always quietly stand behind the net when Gord was goaltending. Such an amazing tune. Love you forever Gord!!
@fabfore4
Intense and beautiful. Just like hockey
@raphaelschannel
RIP Gord. There's a substantial part of me that was undeniably forged by you. Part of me died today, and that's not hyperbole. Thankfully you leave behind such a massive body of work. It's hard to listen to it today, but in time I'll play it again and you'll still be here with all of us. At the lonely end of the rink.
@markedwards4321
I've been listening to a lot of Hip lately...love you Gordie! Final Concert+CBC Radio+Camping and fire with friends. Truly a magical time. I hope my 3.5 year old daughter remembers even a glimpse of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
@kelligula
RIP Gord Downie... missed forever, forgotten never!
@PhantomS75
Darren Berrecloth!!!! SEASONS!
@rogerfeere2438
Still think a about you everyday
@frankfryer8493
Just found out Gord was a huge goalie on the ice! Makes the song's perspective even that much deeper!
@quincee3376
Yes. And I believe his uncle is Harry Sinden. Great Boston Bruins coach and GM. Not sure if it's uncle but almost positive he's related to him.
@quigsplays5914
This was the first hip song I ever heard