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Medicine Hat Lyrics
There will be droughts and days inundated
Unveilings free from saturation
Departures raised with no masquerading
There will be teachers that die by their own hand
Pundits that push headlong for atonement
Friends and followers devoted to living
There will be watchers that ply for new confines
Those committed to society's circles
Unwary cogs with no cadence of virtue
There will be right
There will be wrong
Drop of the hat, and it's already started
Just like that, and the deed is done
What I'd give for that hat to be medicine
The time is now to be on the run
There will be machinations unforeseen
Sleepwalking sense from a bad dream
No promenade walk in the parkway
There will be catchwords filled with infection
Circulars to prop up occasion
No golden mean to prop up the footsteps
There will be levels on high hills that appraise
There will be unchanging certainties
Barometers that follow the stampede
There will be right
There will be wrong
There will be signposts of indication
Semaphore go signs and warnings
Hailstone halos and country-blues wailings
There will be strains that break out of straight time
To pave with grace different roads to the same place
No consequence to repay what's been given
There will be layers of means to an end
Drawn-out days before resolution
Dregs will rain down from all directions
There will be right
There will be wrong
Unveilings free from saturation
Departures raised with no masquerading
There will be teachers that die by their own hand
Pundits that push headlong for atonement
Friends and followers devoted to living
There will be watchers that ply for new confines
Those committed to society's circles
Unwary cogs with no cadence of virtue
There will be right
There will be wrong
Just like that, and the deed is done
What I'd give for that hat to be medicine
The time is now to be on the run
Sleepwalking sense from a bad dream
No promenade walk in the parkway
There will be catchwords filled with infection
Circulars to prop up occasion
No golden mean to prop up the footsteps
There will be levels on high hills that appraise
There will be unchanging certainties
Barometers that follow the stampede
There will be right
There will be wrong
Semaphore go signs and warnings
Hailstone halos and country-blues wailings
There will be strains that break out of straight time
To pave with grace different roads to the same place
No consequence to repay what's been given
There will be layers of means to an end
Drawn-out days before resolution
Dregs will rain down from all directions
There will be right
There will be wrong
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It's a song about the end of days. The lyrics describe, at least for me, just how bad this world will be before it gets any better. My father warned me about these things, but he died 15 years before this song was written, so for me, it reads like a prophecy. I think the song is brilliantly written, and I truly wish i'd been the songwriter. Jay Farrar is a lyrical genius. I looked up the term "medicine hat," and as it turns out, it's a place in northern canada. In the middle of God's nowhere, so when he says that he wishes that hat could be in medicine, I get it. Love this song. Favorite line is the song: "Unwary cogs with no cadence or virtue." I know people like this, they do damage without even realizing it. Whether it be from sheer stupidity, or just a lack of character, I've never found an answer.
thanks! I think you nailed it.
thanks! I think you nailed it.
@DavidRainz I was just in Medicine Hat yesterday. It's a nice little city. Got this from the City of Medicine Hats website:
@DavidRainz I was just in Medicine Hat yesterday. It's a nice little city. Got this from the City of Medicine Hats website:
Our History In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) stopped to build a bridge across the South Saskatchewan River and a tent town was born. With the arrival of the railroad came the Northwest Mounted Police. They maintained law and order among the railway workers and First Nation's people of the area and made Medicine Hat a law-abiding town.
Our History In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) stopped to build a bridge across the South Saskatchewan River and a tent town was born. With the arrival of the railroad came the Northwest Mounted Police. They maintained law and order among the railway workers and First Nation's people of the area and made Medicine Hat a law-abiding town.
In the CPR's search for water, their drills accidentally struck gas west of the town, heralding the exploration that mapped...
In the CPR's search for water, their drills accidentally struck gas west of the town, heralding the exploration that mapped out one of the largest gas fields in North America. In the latter part of 1903, City Council embarked on a program to supply all residents with gas, the beginning of a City-owned utility. In 1906, Medicine Hat was incorporated as a City.
In 1905, Alberta was incorporated as a province and Medicine Hat was the largest community in southeastern Alberta. Its residents were using natural gas as an inexpensive source of energy.
Legend behind Medicine Hat Medicine Hat inherited its name from the native word "saamis" which means medicine man's hat. A number of legends tell the story of how this city was named. One of these legends is beautifully depicted in a sculptured brick mural at City Hall.
'The Saamis' by James MarshallThe legend tells of a winter of great famine and hardship for the Blackfoot nation. The elders of the Council chose a young man to save his tribe from starvation. Setting out with his new wife and favourite wolf dog, he journeyed down the ice-bound South Saskatchewan River. After many arduous days they made their way to the “breathing hole” an opening in the ice, located on the river between what is now Police Point and Strathcona Park in Medicine Hat. This location was a sacred place to the First Nations' people: a place where the water spirits came to breathe.
They made camp and summoned the spirits to appear. A giant serpent rose from the misty waters and demanded the sacrifice of the woman in exchange for a “Saamis” or “holy bonnet” which would endow the owner with special powers and great hunting prowess. The young man tried to trick the serpent by throwing the body of his dog into the river, but the serpent was not fooled, and finally reluctantly, the woman was thrown into the frigid waters.
The man was told to spend the night on the small island (Strathcona) and “in the morning when the sun lights the cut-banks, go to the base of the great cliffs and there you will find your Medicine Hat”. And so, aided by the magic of his Saamis, the young hunter located the much-needed game, saved his people, and eventually became a great Medicine Man.