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.
Wheat Kings
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wheat kings have all treasures buried
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
Pushing around the weathervane Jesus
His Zippo lighter, he sees the killer's face
Maybe it's someone standing in a killer's place
Twenty years for nothing, well, that's nothing new
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let's just see what the morning brings
There's a dream he dreams where the high school's dead and stark
It's a museum and we're all locked up in it after dark
The walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
Hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers
Wheat kings and pretty things
Wait and see what tomorrow brings
Late breaking story on the CBC
A nation whispers, "We always knew that he'd go free"
They add, "You can't be fond of living in the past
'Cause if you are, then there's no way that you're gonna last"
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let's just see what tomorrow brings
Wheat kings and pretty things
Oh, that's what tomorrow brings
The Tragically Hip's song Wheat Kings tells an emotional story about a man who has been wrongly imprisoned for 20 years for a crime he did not commit. The setting is in a small town in the prairies of Canada, where the wheat fields and winds dominate the landscape. The first verse paints a picture of a desolate, rusting town with the wheat kings, who represent the residents who have all hidden their treasures underground. In the chorus, the singer suggests that nobody knows what the future holds, and it remains to be seen whether the morning will bring anything new.
The second verse continues the story by describing a recurring dream the singer has. It is a bleak and desolate place that symbolizes the end of hope and youth. The yellow, grey, and sinister walls are a metaphor for the imprisonment the singer has endured. The pictures of the prime ministers' line the walls, which indicates the past is behind. The final verse appears to be a reference to the real-life case of David Milgaard, a man wrongly imprisoned for 23 years in Canada. The CBC news story announces his release, and the nation is relieved. The singer suggests that living in the past is a recipe for disaster and that time needs to be focused on tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Sundown in the Paris of the prairies
The sun is setting in the city that is known as the Paris of the prairies.
Wheat kings have all treasures buried
The wealthy individuals in the area have hidden all their riches away.
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
The only sounds heard are the whistling sounds of the wind through the empty streets.
Pushing around the weathervane Jesus
The wind moves the weathervane with a depiction of Jesus on it.
His Zippo lighter, he sees the killer's face
He sees the presumed killer's face in the flame of his Zippo lighter.
Maybe it's someone standing in a killer's place
It's possible that someone else is taking the fall for the crime.
Twenty years for nothing, well, that's nothing new
Being falsely accused and serving a long prison sentence for a crime is not a new concept.
Besides, no one's interested in something you didn't do
No one is interested in hearing about your innocence if you have already been labeled as a criminal.
Wheat kings and pretty things
The wealthy individuals and their lavish belongings.
Let's just see what the morning brings
We'll see what the future holds.
There's a dream he dreams where the high school's dead and stark
He has a recurring dream where his old high school is lifeless and eerie.
It's a museum and we're all locked up in it after dark
He feels trapped within his own memories and the haunting feelings they bring.
The walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
The walls are discolored and add to the ominous atmosphere of the dream.
Hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers
The walls are decorated with portraits of the previous leaders of their country.
Late breaking story on the CBC
A news story was just released on the CBC.
A nation whispers, 'We always knew that he'd go free'
The general public always believed the accused would eventually be exonerated.
They add, 'You can't be fond of living in the past
However, dwelling on the past is not productive.
'Cause if you are, then there's no way that you're gonna last'
Focusing on the past will prevent one from moving forward in life.
Wheat kings and pretty things
The wealthy individuals and their lavish belongings.
Wait and see what tomorrow brings
We'll wait and see what the future holds.
Oh, that's what tomorrow brings
The future is unpredictable and can bring unexpected events.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@livelifebehappy118
here's some lyrics to my favourite song
Sundown in the Paris of the prairies
Wheat kings have all treasures buried
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
Pushing around the weathervane Jesus
His Zippo lighter, he sees the killer's face
Maybe it's someone standing in a killer's place
Twenty years for nothing, well, that's nothing new
Besides, no one's interested in something you didn't do
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let's just see what the morning brings
There's a dream he dreams where the high school's dead and stark
It's a museum and we're all locked up in it after dark
The walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
Hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers
Wheat kings and pretty things
Wait and see what tomorrow brings
Late-breaking story on the CBC
A nation whispers, "We always knew that he'd go free"
They add, "You can't be fond of living in the past
'Cause if you are, then there's no way that you're gonna last"
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let's just see what tomorrow brings
Wheat kings and pretty things
Oh, that's what tomorrow brings
@risipieces
Sundown in the Paris of the prairies
Wheat kings have all treasures buried
And all you hear are the rusty breezes
Pushing around the weathervane Jesus
In his Zippo lighter he sees the killer's face
Maybe it's someone standing in a killer's place
Twenty years for nothing, well, that's nothing new
Besides, no one's interested in something you didn't do
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let's just see what the morning brings
There's a dream he dreams where the high school's dead and stark
It's a museum and we're all locked up in it after dark
Where the walls are lined all yellow, grey and sinister
Hung with pictures of our parents' prime ministers
Wheat kings and pretty things
Wait and see what tomorrow brings
Late breaking story on the CBC
A nation whispers, "We always knew that he'd go free"
They add, "You can't be fond of living in the past
Cause if you are then there's no way that you're going to last"
Wheat kings and pretty things
Let's just see what tomorrow brings
Wheat kings and pretty things
Oh that's what tomorrow brings
@glencampbell7121
RIP David Milgaard. Thanks to The Hip for keeping his story alive.
@bobhowlett8216
RIP David Milgard , a life lost (his)a life stolen (his)...so sad
@brucebarber4686
Here's one more thing who wrote this tune...you know who I am
@clayton6899
RIP 🙏
@FishyFun57
I grew up with the Story of David Milgaard. I was 7 when it happened, it was a long battle for a little justice! Now maybe Gord and David are writing a different song in Heaven ✨✨✨
@GrantKanigan
RIP David Milgaard
@patriciapaquette1199
All I can say is >>>being a Canadian & living close by to where these wonderful dudes come from ... makes ME so proud & SO honoured to have had in my music life....RIP Gordie Baby XX - you will always live ON with me xxx
@podiumguy100
RIP DAVID MILGAARD
@davidcarr7436
RIP David
@shawndewar3065
The Hip. Bouncing at the Commodore, mucking it up at Clayquot Sound and rocking at Victoria Speedgrounds with the Oil. I kneel down when I hear them now. They are , were the absolute best, and we knew it then , as we do now.