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.
We
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a room full of nothing
You never know
It could be one of those
Poignant evenings
Museum's locked
And it's long since past closing
You cannot not know
What you're knowing
What can you do?
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
The curtain climbs
Over me every morning
I don't know why
I'm so immunized
Against reforming
To coldly slap
At a face full of nothing
You never know
It could've been one of those
Looks of longing
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
We'll go too
We'll go too
We'll go too
We'll go too
The Tragically Hip's song "We" is a complex and nuanced meditation on the human condition, exploring themes of isolation, mortality, and the difficulty of finding meaning amidst the chaos of life. The opening lines set the stage for the song's exploration of uncertainty and the potential for transcendent moments in mundane circumstances, as the singer finds themselves clapping boldly in a room filled with nothing. This sense of possibility is immediately tempered by the acknowledgement that such moments are rare, and that we can never truly know when they will occur or how they will impact us.
The second verse shifts in tone, describing a closed museum as a metaphor for the inevitable passage of time and the fleeting nature of human experience. Despite our best efforts to hold onto what we know, we can never truly grasp the enormity of the universe or the brevity of our own existence. The chorus reinforces this sense of inevitability, as the singer asks what can be done in the face of mortality and the impermanence of all things.
The song ends on a note of resignation, as the singer acknowledges that "they've all gone and we'll go too." This refrain is repeated several times, underscoring the song's central message that life is fleeting and that we are all ultimately powerless to change that fact.
Line by Line Meaning
To boldly clap
Boldly expressing oneself in a room full of nothingness, hoping that someone will hear.
In a room full of nothing
Being in a place where there seems to be nothing happening or no one around.
You never know
Life is unpredictable and anything can happen at any moment.
It could be one of those
This could be one of those rare, life-changing moments.
Poignant evenings
Emotionally powerful experiences that can leave a lasting impact.
Museum's locked
Being in a place of beauty and inspiration, but not being able to access it.
And it's long since past closing
This moment is gone and can never be experienced again.
You cannot know
There are some things in life that cannot be fully understood or explained.
You cannot not know
Even though you may not fully understand something, you cannot deny its existence or impact on your life.
What you're knowing
The knowledge or understanding that you have gained from an experience, whether fully understood or not.
What can you do?
Feeling helpless in the face of something you cannot change or control.
They've all gone and we'll go too
All things, good and bad, ultimately come to an end.
The curtain climbs
Another day has begun, with new opportunities and challenges.
Over me every morning
Starting anew each day with a sense of detachment, as if nothing from the previous day can affect you.
I don't know why
Feeling uncertain or unaware of the reasons for one's own actions and motivations.
I'm so immunized
Being resistant to change or reform, possibly as a way of self-preservation or protection.
Against reforming
Refusing to change or adapt despite recognizing the need for change.
To coldly slap
Reacting harshly or without empathy to something that could have been significant or meaningful.
At a face full of nothing
Reacting strongly to something that seems insignificant or meaningless.
It could've been one of those
This could have been a significant moment that was missed or overlooked.
Looks of longing
Expressions of desire or yearning for something that feels out of reach or unattainable.
We'll go too
Eventually, we too will leave the world and all its experiences behind.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Robert Baker, Gordon Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gordon Sinclair
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paul Dunay
Sheer Bloody Poetry. Yes we'll go, too. Party now.
--------------------------------------
To boldly clap
In a room full of nothing
You never know
It could be one of those
Poignant evenings
Museum's locked
And it's long since past closing
You cannot know
You cannot not know
What you're knowing
What can you do?
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
The curtain climbs
Over me every morning
I don't know why
I'm so immunized
Against reforming
To coldly slap
At a face full of nothing
You never know
It could've been one of those
Looks of longing
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
What can you do
They've all gone and we'll go too
We'll go too
We'll go too
We'll go too
We'll go too
WolfeSpeider
This is one of the earliest songs I remember hearing when I was young. Thank you for the memories, Gord. I won't forget you.
Kevin Hubbard
I love this song.... I used to jam it full blast on my hi tech CD player when I used to fly 200,000 miles a year. I'd just throw my headphones on when I got on the flight after the pilot would allow use of devices and rock
Robbass C
Just saw my 7th hip show in the states in Wash DC...can't get enough of this band! Gord is wacked out genius!
Grant Olsen
Kicking upbeat song about death. Way to go Gord, with style.
Tom Nelson
One of my All Time Favorite Hip Tunes!
Mike Bowers
"to boldly clap in a room full of nothing, you never know, it coul be one of those poignant evenings...." Love how they start off the song. LOVE THE HIP!!
hoprabbitbunny
Great Hip riff from Paul and Robert! Downie is a madman genius!
Chris Smith
Nice to be among folks who recognize his genius. Cheers, man.
Drew Peterson
So many underrated gems on this album
RocKN JB InDaD
Michigan is praying for you Gord. You are a gift from God