Photo Credit Huffington Post Canada

Yesterday on my Facebook page I made a comment about how so many Canadians would be in front of their televisions watching The Tragically Hip. A non-Canadian friend asked me to clarify and maybe write a blog post about it, specifically for the Canadianly-challenged. I instantly thought that I don’t have enough to say about the topic, but upon further reflection, it turns out I do.

I woke up this morning in the South of France to the sound of The Hip coming from the living room. As I rolled out of bed, rubbing my eyes, I found my husband with coffee in hand, accompanied by two pink princesses in super-hero capes, catching up on what all of Canada was engrossed in while we were asleep.

Gord Downie, the musical poet of our time, singing his heart out while Canada sang along from the concert venue, living rooms, backyards, and garages across the nation.

I probably can’t be called a “die-hard” Hip fan, but you can be sure that I’ve got their music sprinkled through my playlists to this day. I also have a husband who has lost track of how many times he’s seen them in concert.

So when my friend asked me to explain what The Tragically Hip concert last night meant for Canadians it got me thinking. What did it mean to me?

It meant high-school. If there was ever a good-looking boy sitting around a campfire with a guitar in his hands, you could guarantee there would be Hip lyrics to follow.

It meant memories of being under-age and using a fake ID to sneak into one of the most popular, yet dingy, bars in Thunder Bay, where the ceiling would drip down on you while you danced. I was rocking out to ‘Blow At High Dough’ on the dance floor, only to bump into my oldest brother who was doing the same. It was where we moved from siblings to friends and we still rock out whenever we happen to be out and hear that song.

It meant road trips. It meant adolescence. It meant friendship. It meant growing up in Canada.

What does it mean in our house today?

It means that no matter what continent we live on, and we’ve lived on a few, The Hip is one of the few bands that can be played in our home where neither party feels like they’re making an acoustic sacrifice.

This may have been the last Tragically Hip concert for Canadians, but Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip will live on in our heart and homes for years to come. They were the sound track of our youth and the lyrics of our generation.