| The Tragically Hip – Courage (For Hugh Maclennan) Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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For me, the lyrics intertwine Gord Downie’s personal reflections with MacLennan’s existential themes. It becomes a song that is as much about overcoming the immediate challenges of performance as it is about the lifelong struggle to find meaning and courage in the face of fear and doubt. It's this duality that makes the song timeless and so profoundly relatable. The first verse describes the pressure young bands are under to play only covers. "Watch the band through a bunch of dancers / Quickly, follow the unknown with something more familiar" The opening lines evoke the band’s early days playing in bars, where the audience’s focus was more on having fun than truly listening to the music. The demand for "something more familiar" reflects the pressure to play cover songs to keep patrons engaged. I think it was Gord Sinclair that said the band would try to pass off original songs as covers of obscure songs by famous groups, such as the Doors or the Rolling Stones. In the second verse, Gord expresses a sense of alienation while out on the road. "Sleepwalk, so fast asleep / In a motel that has the lay of home" This is the disconnection and fatigue of life on the road. I have to think that after a while of being constantly on the road, the never-changing layout of motel rooms would start to feel like home. "Piss on all of your background / And piss on all your surroundings" I have two minds on this. The first is that it's a reference to frustrations being amplified on the road - and getting to the point of giving the world a big FU. But on the other hand, maybe this is about possession, and laying claim to everything. The Chorus is about the experience of facing stage fright and pushing through. "Courage, my word / It didn't come, it doesn't matter" The fear peaks before the show, but "it doesn't matter" because the band still performs. This line underscores resilience—the act of stepping on stage and delivering despite the fear. "Courage, it couldn't come at a worse time" What a line. It reflects the anticipatory nature of stage fright, which strikes at the worst possible moment — just before a performance. But once the show begins, fear can be transformed and replaced by the flow and energy of performing. The act of playing becomes its own form of courage. So courage does come, but not when it's needed most - when the fear is felt. The next section paraphrases a portion of Hugh MacLennan's novel, "The Watch That Ends the Night." And it alludes to a lot of the themes of the novel, weaving in Hugh's exploration of existential struggles, moral responsibility, and living with the consequences of one's actions. "The Watch That Ends the Night" explores existential questions, moral responsibility, and the weight of choices. In the song, Gord weaves this into the broader themes of perseverance and resilience. The beauty of "Courage" lies in its ability to resonate on multiple levels. Leaving out MacLennan’s influence, the song is a deeply personal reflection on the struggles of a young band - with unique pressures, anxiety, and a disorienting life of touring. With the literary layer added, the song also takes on a philosophical depth, connecting personal struggles to universal truths about resilience and the human condition. |
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| The Tragically Hip – The Bastard Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| The song is about the historical figure Billy Sunday. Went from professional baseball player in the National Leagues (1883 - 1890) to the most influential evangelist of the early 1900s. That's a bastard of a choice. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Family Band Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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This song is about the Hip. It's a retrospective of their formative years. Gord Sinclair and Rob Baker played with a band called the Rodents before joining with Johnny Fay and Gord Downie, hence the reference to rats and exterminators. The constant touring and harsh travel conditions (and years of crappy gigs) forged the band into a family. The song is complementary to another song on World Container -The Kids Don't Get It - which shares a lot of the same imagery and expands on the theme of dedication and hard work being the basis of the Hip's metamorphosis into Canadian icons. |
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| The Tragically Hip – Now The Struggle Has A Name Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| Honey Watson is really reporter Connie Watson. Gord misheard her name but really liked it. | |
| The Tragically Hip – It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| I always took this to be a reflection of the Hip on tour and how Band and crew become an island. One of the crew used to use the phrase when talking about touring. | |
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