The group met while in high school at Kingston Collegiate Vocational Institute (KCVI) and all attended Queen's University in Kingston. They started as a cover band playing Rolling Stones and Doors covers, and were first represented by a local Kingston agent named Bernie Dobson.
They were first signed in 1987 after Bruce Dickinson, the then VP of A&R at MCA Records saw them perform live at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario. Later that year they released their debut EP The Tragically Hip, though they were largely unrecognized until 1989's Up To Here. Up To Here established them as one of the best and most influential bands in Canada. In 1992, they created the Another Roadside Attraction festival, which tours Canada to promote smaller, unknown emerging bands.
The band is immensely popular in Canada. Although they have never achieved great success in the United States, they have never specifically sought it and have enjoyed their warm Canadian reception. When touring in Canada they typically play to sold-out arenas; when touring in the United States they play smaller venues and clubs. Performances abroad are usually attended by Canadian expatriates. In Europe, The Hip perhaps have their greatest following in the Netherlands.
The band permits recordings of their performances, so an active trading community thrives. The tone and content of much of their music is a paean to the Canadian experience and touches on such themes as small-town life, geography, and hockey.
The Tragically Hip received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2002, and they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2005 Juno Awards. They have performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and played a three-song set at the worldwide broadcast Live 8 benefit concert on July 2nd, 2005 to help make poverty history for the poor African nations.
On April 7th, 2009, the band's twelfth album We Are The Same was being released in North America, and it immediately rose to Number 1 on the Canadian charts. The album features twelve diverse new recordings produced by Bob Rock who had produced 2007's World Container and is perhaps best known for his work with Metallica, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, The Offspring, Michael Bublé and Simple Plan. This album features songs that range from "levity and light to melancholy and anger" according to the band's website. Recorded primarily at The Bathouse Studio, band's recording studio located in a historical coach house west of their hometown, Kingston, Ontario, and its first single was "Love Is A First", which features the ironical addictive hook, 'love is a curse'.
Despite some side solo projects in the past couple of years, the band has completed a new studio album at The Bathouse Studio and in Toronto with Gavin Brown, who is perhaps best known for his work producing Metric, Three Days Grace, Barenaked Ladies and Billy Talent. The album is entitled Now For Plan A and it was released on October 2nd, 2012. This album's first singles were "At Transformation" and "Streets Ahead" and they are available on iTunes and through the band's website.
Man Machine Poem is the fourteenth studio album which is scheduled to be released June 17th, 2016. The album takes its name from a track on their Gold-selling 2012 release, Now For Plan A, and it was recorded at The Hip’s home studio The Bathouse, produced by Kevin Drew, founding member and producer of Broken Social Scene, Andy Kim (singer, songwriter and Arts & Crafts label co-founder) and Dave Hamelin, songwriter and producer from The Stills and Eight and a Half. Album pre-orders are currently available on either CD or Vinyl through the band's "Gift Shop" on their official website: www.TheHip.com or digitally through iTunes. “In A World Possessed By The Human Mind” and “Tired As Fuck" were its first singles, and both were made immediately available for digital download with the album's pre-order.
Early on May 24, 2016, The Tragically Hip announced via a post on their official website and through e-mail subscribers that its lead singer and primary lyricist, Gord Downie, is suffering from aggressive terminal brain cancer, and that the band will do one final national Canadian tour "For Gord". Concert dates for this final tour were available on-line through Ticketmaster, but sold out in minutes. There was a national outcry from devoted fans who claimed that scalpers had scooped up most of the tour's tickets using "bots". Petitions were filed to successfully encourage Canada's national television network, the CBC, to produce and air Live the final August 20, 2016 concert. Broadcast live from the band's hometown, at Kingston's Rogers K-Rock Centre, a national audience viewed The Tragically Hip's final tour show, The concert opened with "50 Mission Cap" and ended almost two hours later, after a third encore, with "Ahead By A Century". All proceeds from the tour were donated to The Gord Downie Fund, at the Sunnybrook Foundation for Brain Cancer Research. Donations can be sent to: http://sunnybrook.ca/foundation.
For the latest band details, please visit their official website: www.TheHip.com.
Long Time Running
The Tragically Hip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Long, long when I'm gone?
Who you talking to?
Is she telling you I'm the one?
It's a grave mistake and I'm wide awake
Drive-in's rained out
Weatherman wet-fingers the sky
He don't know why
It's the same mistake
It's been a long time running
It's been a long time coming
It's well worth the wait
We don't go anywhere
Just on trips
We haven't seen a thing
We still don't know where it is
It's a safe mistake
It's been a long time running
It's been a long time coming
Well, well it's all the same mistake
Dead to rights and wide awake
I'll drop a caribou, I'll tell on you
I'll tell on you, I'll tell on you
You've got a boat-load of nerve
But I would say you've been told
You work me against my friends
And you'll get left out in the cold
It's the same mistake
It's been a long time running
It's been a long time coming
It's been a long, long, long time running
It's well worth the wait
It's well worth the wait
It's well worth the wait
It's well worth the wait
The Tragically Hip's "Long Time Running" is a powerful lyrical journey that explores the themes of loss, betrayal, and perseverance. Beginning with the lines "Does your mother tell you things? Long, long when I'm gone?", lead singer Gord Downie alludes to the idea that his ex-partner may be speaking ill of him to others after their relationship ended. The song continues to reflect on the false promises made by the weatherman and the emptiness of seemingly exciting trips that fail to bring any lasting meaning. The refrain "it's been a long time running, it's been a long time coming" acts as a somber reminder that life is full of challenges and hardships that we must face head-on, even when it seems like we've been running for a long time.
The next verse is a direct address to the ex-partner who is accused of working against the singer to "get left out in the cold". The final verse of the song uses a metaphor of hunting and wilderness to suggest that the singer will not hesitate to hold the betrayer accountable for their actions. The concluding lines "It's well worth the wait" serve as a final rallying cry for perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity, even when that persistence seems to be going on for a long time.
Line by Line Meaning
Does your mother tell you things?
Do you receive any advice or warnings from your mother?
Long, long when I'm gone?
Would you remember my words and apply them when I'm not around?
Who you talking to?
Who are you discussing me with?
Is she telling you I'm the one?
Is your mother encouraging you to pursue a relationship with me?
It's a grave mistake and I'm wide awake
I am aware of the potential consequences and the seriousness of the situation.
Drive-in's rained out
There's no point in following our original plan.
Weatherman wet-fingers the sky
The meteorologist is guessing as to what the weather will be like.
He pokes it out, he pulls it in
He is trying to make a choice.
He don't know why
He is unsure of the outcome.
It's the same mistake
We are repeating the same unwise decision.
It's been a long time running
We have been pursuing this goal for a long time.
It's been a long time coming
We have been expecting this event to happen for a long time.
It's well worth the wait
The result will be worth all the time and effort we put into it.
We don't go anywhere
We don't make any progress towards our goal.
Just on trips
We stay in the same place, doing the same things.
We haven't seen a thing
We don't learn anything or gain any new experiences.
We still don't know where it is
We are still clueless about where to find what we seek.
It's a safe mistake
Even though it's risky, we always make the same mistake.
Well, well it's all the same mistake
We fail to learn from our mistakes and keep repeating them.
Dead to rights and wide awake
I am completely aware of the situation and can't avoid it anymore.
I'll drop a caribou, I'll tell on you
If necessary, I will inform on you and betray you.
You've got a boat-load of nerve
You have a lot of audacity to act like that.
But I would say you've been told
You have been warned about the consequences of your actions.
You work me against my friends
You are turning me against people I care about.
And you'll get left out in the cold
If you continue like this, you will be left with nothing.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Gordon Downie, Gordon Sinclair, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Robert Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Havoc2305
This song definitely makes me reflect on my past and my drug addiction. The toll it has taken on my family and myself. Even if you manage to kick the habit, you still have so much work to do. It's been a looooonnnngg time running. I hope everyone gains something from this masterpiece. Thanks The Hip' for always being there when I needed you. RIP Gord.
@jayryan1460
Your so right mate. 18 months clean. Not a single easy day yet. My addiction will follow me for life even if i have broken the cycle. Lucky for me i was told im going to be a dad and 3 weeks before she was born i managed to give up. Worth. Every. Second.
@jayryan1460
And id like to share my other band that helped. City and colour. Thank me later
@m2g133
This is my moms favourite song. And my dad who both were lost to drug over dose. This Friday we are finally welcoming home my 10 year old bro back home from children services. This song has gotten me thru a lot
@dirtyburger7528
What a nice thing to say. All the best to you
@isaacjiron3372
13 y clean. But yeah.. same
@chrissmith256
Gordie was so Canada. He loved it. You guys up there were so lucky to have him. One of thee greatest musicians in the world. Not to mention the greatest, by far, rhythm sections in the world. Pennsylvania loves the Hip!!!
@markradan896
27 years ago I lost my BEST friend in a car accident in Florida.....I forced the hospital to release me to attend the funeral back in Toronto....this song....was his favourite....was playing as I made my way to his coffin....it makes me breakdown every time I hear it...but knowing what this song meant to him when nobody else did or does even to this day....makes me look up at the sky and thank him for blessing me with his friendship....I miss you Paul
@Reidkrish
awesome story bud
@sk9807
Thanks for this.