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A bittersweet goodbye to a Canadian icon

It took me a long time as a young person to develop a love of music. My dad thought anything other than religious music was a waste of time, and pop songs singing about love, loss and life were, if not just garbage, indeed the work of the devil.

It took me a long time as a young person to develop a love of music. My dad thought anything other than religious music was a waste of time, and pop songs singing about love, loss and life were, if not just garbage, indeed the work of the devil.

However, my best friend growing up enjoyed listening to Canadian music of the times in the ‘90s, and chief among her loves was Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip.

So I listened and I learned. And of all of them, I could see why she loved them - The Tragically Hip was something different. It wasn’t just through the force of Downie’s showman personality, his on-stage flamboyance and heart-striking lyric poetry, although there was that too. It was also that they were a Canadian band through and through – their music is of Canada and carries us along the beaten tour track from one shore to another.

Whether it was: “At the Dire Wolf’s Crest, the Newfoundland paused; Desolate’s best was gotten across,” or the story of wrongly-accused David Milgaard in Wheat Kings, or the escape of 14 inmates from a Kingston jail, The Hip were inspired by stories and places of this country, and in turn, they inspired us. I know it’s thanks to them that someday I want to make my way to Bobcaygeon just to see the constellations reveal themselves, one star at a time.

So when the band recently revealed that Downie was facing terminal brain cancer, it was not a surprise they did what they’ve done for the past 32 years – they played to Canadians across the country, ending off with a show-stopping, emotional goodbye concert in their hometown in Kingston on Saturday night. And again in that nod to the fact this is a Canadian band, the words The Tragically Hip were emblazoned on a Canadian flag, with the concert even beginning with the audience singing O Canada. Downie even took a moment during the concert to urge better for the future of Canadians, reminding everyone we must do better for our First Nations and Inuit people of the north.

For so many, death comes like an unexpected thief. Yet Downie knows the end may be near and showed us he is staring down death with - yes, I’m going to say it even though everyone else already has – courage. I’m no musical expert, but I do know what heart looks like. It looks like Gord Downie, doing what he loves on what could very well be his final tour. When he howling out the end of Grace Too with everything he had, despite having to take a moment to collect himself, he showed us just what Dylan Thomas meant when he exhorted us to, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

We can’t undervalue the importance of supporting Canadian arts and music. In the face of our behemoth neighbours to the south, the spread and dominance of American culture globe-wide, we need to support our Canadian artists like The Hip. Like we saw on Saturday night, these musicians can become more than just a band. For The Hip is an icon, an institution in music, formative in our identity with the way that can’t be underestimated or put a price tag on.

Towards the end of the concert, Downie held his hand out and sang to the audience directly from the song Scared - “I got to go, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

For us, it’s been more than a pleasure Gord. It’s been our honour. Even after it looks like you’ve left the stage, we know the encore continues – you and your music will be with us forever.




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