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Three Pistols Lyrics
All right
Well Tom Thomson came paddling past
I'm pretty sure it was him
And he spoke so softly in accordance
With the growing of the dim
He said, "Bring on the brand new renaissance
'Cause I think I'm ready
Well I've been shaking all night long
But my hands are steady
Three pistols came and three people went, on their way
Three pistols strong and three people spent
Well he found his little lonely love
His bride of the northern woods
But, she took me to the Opera House
Like she said she would
Then she sighed and she fell from the balcony
Shakespeare's bent to touch
She never had any time for me
'Cause I didn't protest enough
Three pistols came and three people went, on their way
Two pistols strong and three people spent
All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, woo
Little girls come on Remembrance Day
Placing flowers on his grave
She waits in the shadows 'til after dark
Just to sweep 'em all away
I say, bring on the brand new renaissance
'Cause I think I'm ready
I've been shaking all night long
But my hands are steady
Three pistols came and three people went, on their way
Three pistols strong and three people spent
Three pistols came and three people went on their way
One pistol strong and three people spent
Woo yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah oh, all right, woo
Well Tom Thomson came paddling past
I'm pretty sure it was him
And he spoke so softly in accordance
With the growing of the dim
He said, "Bring on the brand new renaissance
'Cause I think I'm ready
Well I've been shaking all night long
But my hands are steady
Three pistols strong and three people spent
His bride of the northern woods
But, she took me to the Opera House
Like she said she would
Then she sighed and she fell from the balcony
Shakespeare's bent to touch
She never had any time for me
'Cause I didn't protest enough
Two pistols strong and three people spent
All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, woo
Placing flowers on his grave
She waits in the shadows 'til after dark
Just to sweep 'em all away
'Cause I think I'm ready
I've been shaking all night long
But my hands are steady
Three pistols strong and three people spent
Three pistols came and three people went on their way
One pistol strong and three people spent
Song Info
Submitted by
black_cow_of_death On Jan 26, 2002
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Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I agree about the Tom Thomson part, however i think that there`s also more to the song than that, like the bit about the Opera house. Does anyone know what that means?
When Tom Thomson died he was courting Winnifred Trainor who was allegedly pregnant with his child, she left for Philadelphia after Thomsons death with her mother, returning after Easter the following year. This might be the "Bride of the Northern Woods" as Trainor lived at her parents cottage on Canoe Lake.
@icemachine @edge24 I don't know for sure but I sounds like an allusion to 3 men
@icemachine @edge24 I don't know for sure but I sounds like an allusion to 3 men
I heard an interview about the meaning of all the songs on Road Apples and they said the song meaning has changed over time, but that it was mainly referring to a menage a trois (threesome). They also said it was inspired by a sign they passed on the road which read, "trois pistoles". This may have been a sign for the town in Quebec alluded to by kitakillerz.
no matter the situation it is a good song
This song is about Tom Thomson, who was an influential Canadian artist in the early 1900's. He was an influential icon for the famous Group Of Seven and died under mysterious circumstances in Algonquin Park on a fishing trip. He was found dead in the lake - "Tom Thomson came paddling past" - but due to bodily harm, it is unknown whether or not he was murdered. This fact just adds to Thomson's mystique and thus The Tragically Hip decided to put his story to song.
It sure feels like murder, doesn\'t it? It\'s intentionally surreal, so there are moments of magic, like the lover who waits by his grave to destroy the tributes of other girls. Trois Pistoles is a town in Quebec a day\'s drive away from Canoe Lake, where Tom Thompson died, so that\'s not a thing. Also, The group of 7 were a renaissance of a sort in their day though time has passed and they\'re now symbolic of establishment painting in Canada.
The Opera House is a venue in Toronto
so what's the 3 pistols part about?
I'm just guessing, but there's a small town near mine, called 3 Pistoles (Quebec, Canada). I don't know if this has any link or something, but every thime I pass in front of this village, I put this song on my radio.
I'm just guessing, but there's a small town near mine, called 3 Pistoles (Quebec, Canada). I don't know if this has any link or something, but every thime I pass in front of this village, I put this song on my radio.