Totally agree with Rozrox’s analysis: this has got to be the FUNNIEST Tragically Hip song ever written!! And it all comes down to that line in the second stanza (because, hey, it makes MUCH more sense that Gord’s lyrics are divided into “stanzas” rather than “verses” - far from being a simple songwriter, he’ll always be Canada’s unofficial Poet Laureate.)
I just love how you can hear the desperation and the frantic nature in Gord’s voice when he tries to make sense of the pilot’s announcement. I’m not sure if he simply misheard the phrase “ 'I'll have you on the ground/In 25 minutes or less,” as “ 'I'll have you on the ground/In 25 minutes, unless…”, because he certainly plays around with that word “unless”. However, I always read the lyrics as meaning: “25 minutes…OR LESS???” - i.e., the only way we could be on the ground in LESS than 25 minutes is if we DROP OUT OF THE SKY!!!
You can see I’ve got a bit of hangup about flying myself…????!!!
However you interpret it, it’s a hysterical little ditty! And yes, the sheer terror infecting the INSIDE of the plane is totally juxtaposed with the moonlight literally caressing the outside shell of the aircraft. What a brilliant use of both lyrics AND his staccato vocals.
Incidentally, when I was a lot younger, I used to mix up this song with both “Silver Jet” (from “In Violet Light”) and “Vapour Trails” (from “Phantom Power”). I guess Gord just likes singing about airplanes!
Totally agree with Rozrox’s analysis: this has got to be the FUNNIEST Tragically Hip song ever written!! And it all comes down to that line in the second stanza (because, hey, it makes MUCH more sense that Gord’s lyrics are divided into “stanzas” rather than “verses” - far from being a simple songwriter, he’ll always be Canada’s unofficial Poet Laureate.)
I just love how you can hear the desperation and the frantic nature in Gord’s voice when he tries to make sense of the pilot’s announcement. I’m not sure if he simply misheard the phrase “ 'I'll have you on the ground/In 25 minutes or less,” as “ 'I'll have you on the ground/In 25 minutes, unless…”, because he certainly plays around with that word “unless”. However, I always read the lyrics as meaning: “25 minutes…OR LESS???” - i.e., the only way we could be on the ground in LESS than 25 minutes is if we DROP OUT OF THE SKY!!!
You can see I’ve got a bit of hangup about flying myself…????!!!
However you interpret it, it’s a hysterical little ditty! And yes, the sheer terror infecting the INSIDE of the plane is totally juxtaposed with the moonlight literally caressing the outside shell of the aircraft. What a brilliant use of both lyrics AND his staccato vocals.
Incidentally, when I was a lot younger, I used to mix up this song with both “Silver Jet” (from “In Violet Light”) and “Vapour Trails” (from “Phantom Power”). I guess Gord just likes singing about airplanes!