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At The Hundredth Meridian Lyrics

Me debunk an American myth?
And take my life in my hands?
Where the great plains begin,
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian,
Where the great plains begin

Driving down a corduroy road,
Weeds standing shoulder high
Ferris wheel is rusting off in the distance
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin

Left alone to get gigantic
Hard, huge and haunted
A generation so much dumber than it's parents came
Crashing through the window
A raven strains along the line of the road,
Carrying a muddy, old skull
The wires whistle their approval,
Off down the distance
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin

(At the hundredth meridian) At the hundredth meridian
(At the hundredth meridian) At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin

I remember, I remember Buffalo
And I remember Hengelo
It would seem to me I remember every
Single fucking thing I know

If I die of vanity, promise me, promise me,
They bury me some place I don't want to be,
You'll dig me up and transport me, unceremoniously,
Away from the swollen city-breeze, garbage bag trees,
Whispers of disease and the acts of enormity
And lower me slowly, sadly and properly
Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy,
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin

At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
At the hundredth meridian
Where the great plains begin
19 Meanings

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Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

Awesome song...."It would seem to me I remember every single fucking thing I know!"

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

I think that this song has absolutely nothing to do with the American musical landscape. If he was talking about that he would have referred to a parallel (e.g. 49th parallel). 100 degrees longitude runs through Canada and the U.S., and is an east-west divider, not a north-south. I think he is talking about the purest part of Canada, the "great plains" that are, for the most part, untouched by urban plight. He says that if he "dies of vanity" he should buried at the hundredth meridian, away from the overcrowed, overconsuming city. If he "dies of vanity", he will at least be buried where life is simple, and without the big city attitude.

@IvoKent

location 100 meridian is Canada province of Manitoba, where the great plains begin ,yes this is pur Canada proud Canadian band

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

Fav:" it would seem to me I remember every single fucking thing I know"...of course!

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

Ry Cooder is a blues artist That Gord Downie looks up to

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

The hundredth meridian (longitude) is where the plains begin.

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

Yep, the meridian of 100 degrees west runs pretty much smack through the middle (north-south) iof the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas, nips off the corner of Oklahoma then runs on down through Texas just west of San Antonio and is quite literally "where the Great Plains begin".

On the surface, this song looks like an evocative indictment of the rural American midwest. I can see how you'd go from that to drawing a parallel between the desolate nature of the landscape and the desolate nature of the culture, but I'm not totally convinced that's the intent.

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

Can someone tell me what the hell Gord Sinclair is saying in the backgroung during the chorus?????

@IvoKent your going miss me..... It's true

@IvoKent and we do... :(

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

That a bi Kenny. HAHA! Couldn't tell you what Gord S. is saying but it sounds good. Let's jam this song soon.

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

The Hundredth Meridian is the border between Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Cover art for At The Hundredth Meridian lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

IvoKent - if you still care - I think the final chorus goes like this:

GD: at the hundredth meridian GS: hundredth meridian GD: at the hundredth meridian GS: you're gonna miss me GD: at the hundredth meridian, where the great plains begin GS: at the hundredth meridian GD: at the hundredth meridian GS: at the hundredth meridian GD: at the hundredth meridian GS: you're gonna miss me GD: at the hundredth meridian, where the great plaiiiinnnnnnnnnnnsssssss....

 
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