it’s been a long time coming it’s well
worth the wait
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
tragically hip songs
[Music]
before we begin you publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’ve
chosen our entries based on a
combination of the artists fan favorites
and their most commercially successful
songs however we’re only choosing songs
that are by The Tragically Hip so tunes
from side projects like rob baker’s
strippers Union or Gore down a solo
career aren’t in the running
[Music]
number ten poets not only do we not know
what the poets are doing we don’t even
know who they are but as is the way when
Gord Downey’s involved everything is
about something
[Music]
released on 1998’s phantom power poets
first debuted in true hip fashion during
extended live jams throughout 1997
however the song didn’t really take
shape until guitarist Rob Baker later
developed the chorus and signature riff
the song was tightened up further in the
studio with co producer Steve Earle in
an instant fan favorite poets went on to
be number one in Canada for 12 straight
weeks and even managed to crack the top
40 of the mainstream Rock Tracks chart
south of the border as well
[Music]
number nine grace to
[Music]
it could be based on the 1944 film noir
Double Indemnity
it could be an attack on the UN’s modus
operandi or even about a hooker in her
extremely eager client mind you gore
Downey claimed the title came from a
teacher who had a canoe named grace to
whatever its origins the lead single
from the band’s fourth record hit number
11 on the Canadian charts when released
and number 19 when re-released 22 years
later bass heavy guitar rich lacking a
proper chorus and featuring the Irian
uncommitted backing vocals of guitarist
paul Langlois grace two is one of the
hips finest moments fellow kingston area
resident dan Aykroyd even introduced
their performance of the track when they
played it on Saturday Night Live my
honor to introduce to America my friends
that tragically have number eight wheat
kings
owing to or perhaps creating gordoni
status as the unofficial poet laureate
of Canada Wheat Kings tackles the
wrongful conviction and subsequent
release of David Milgard convicted at 17
for the rape and murder of Gail Miller
Milgard spent 23 years in prison until
being released in 1992 and was
eventually confirmed innocent once and
for all in 1997 by DNA evidence mill
guard actually passed up parole 20 times
as accepting parole would have met
accepting the conviction
not a protest song far from preachy and
not even mentioning him by name Wheat
Kings manages to tell Milgard story and
the emotional root of it without a hint
of melodrama or sappiness
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
number seven little bones written and
recorded in New Orleans little bones is
loaded with typically eclectic
references from Gord Downey trying upon
either the Timothy Finley novel the last
of the crazy people which features a cat
named little bones or a New Orleans cab
driver who Warren Downey not to choke on
the little bones of the chicken he was
eating the song also makes mentions of
the Kennedys and makes a passing
reference to William Shockley
Road apples second single meanwhile was
a top 20 hit in Canada and became a
radio and live show mainstay despite
Johnny favored ported Lee claiming as
early as 1998 to not remember how he
played the drums on it
[Music]
number 650 mission cap
yeah
Bilborough elko did indeed score the
Stanley Cup winning goal for the Maple
Leafs in 1951 but he went missing months
later following a fishing trip in the
James Bay area
the Leafs didn’t win another until 1962
just weeks before Borel COEs body was
finally found
this is a story gourd Downey stole from
a hockey card which is most likely the
number 340 from the 1991 NHL pro set
trading card series 50 mission cap lays
out the true story of Borel COEs
disappearance and the hockey card the
narrator kept under his hat
perhaps to keep the pique stiff while
working in the veteran Air Force cap
quite a hat-trick overall
[Music]
[Applause]
number-5 knott a gold disaster kicking
off with a haunting baseline from Gord
Sinclair locked in place by Johnny phase
drums and featuring guitar work as
frantic as the storyline nautical
disaster is another hip song that
doesn’t exactly tick most of the
conventional boxes lacking anything
remotely resembling a chorus and born
out of live versions of New Orleans is
sinking fans speculated that the song
was about the Battle of Dieppe during
World War two the sinking of the Titanic
or even the Lusitania
[Music]
according to Gord downy however it’s
actually about the sinking of the German
battleship Bismarck and the crew Lee
conducted partial rescue of its crew by
the British HMS Dorset sir
[Music]
number four courage for Hugh MacLennan
[Music]
a common question among at least casual
tragically hip fans is who is Hugh
MacLennan well Hugh MacLennan was a Nova
Scotian novelist and an English
professor at McGill University as for
why courage bears a dedication to him
who are down II had been reading
McClellan’s the watch that ends the
night and even inserted a few lines into
the song’s lyrics
[Music]
but perhaps there’s more McLennan like
the hip was never afraid to openly write
about the world around him or to be up
front with his Canadian Asst even if his
publishers saw no money in it and if
critics accused him of being Canadian
for the sake of being Canadian
so it’s possible Downey saw a kindred
spirit in the arts
[Music]
number three New Orleans is sinking
a basic requirement for all Canadian
cover bands New Orleans the sinking was
recorded not in Canada or New Orleans
but in Memphis Tennessee the song name
checks Hank snows and later Elvis
Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker and
at least one theory has it that New
Orleans was a steamboat and not the city
but beyond that it’s anyone’s guess
[Music]
since 1989 New Orleans is sinking has
become a forum for onstage jamming and
has seen David Bowie’s China girl and
the Beach Boys don’t worry baby mashed
in it’s also the song that birthed both
nautical disaster and ahead by century
to say nothing of the infamous killer
whale rest
[Music]
number two Bobcaygeon left your house
this morning
[Music]
like wheat Kings Bobcaygeon is a gentle
acoustic number with a sinister
underbelly moving past a sly reference
to marijuana via Willie Nelson
the bulk of Bobcaygeon is believed to
deal with the Christie pits riot of 1933
[Music]
breaking out after a baseball game the
riot saw Toronto Jewish residents throw
down against thugs from various swastika
clubs and damaged hog towns then
pristine image despite all this Gord
downy would later claim it’s a love song
about to gay couples can and it rhymed
with constellation a favorite among both
diehard and casual hip fans it was
awarded the Juno single of the year in
2000
before we unveil our number one pick
here are some honorable mentions
[Applause]
[Music]
number one ahead by a century ahead by a
century had a bumpy ride on the way to
becoming the song we know and love today
originally bass heavy the songs various
elements were retooled by the band
members with Pauling wah adding his come
and go backing vocals
[Music]
as it began to look increasingly single
worthy poor Danny reworked the lyrics
removing a pair of C words specific to
each gender while its parrot album
debuted at the top of the Canadian
charts the alternative rock track also
became a number-one single
eventually achieving platinum status in
its home country the song also has the
bittersweet distinction of being the
hips last live song capping their final
show on August 20th 2016
[Music]
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo
and subscribe for new videos every day
worth the wait
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
tragically hip songs
[Music]
before we begin you publish new videos
every day so be sure to subscribe for
more great content for this list we’ve
chosen our entries based on a
combination of the artists fan favorites
and their most commercially successful
songs however we’re only choosing songs
that are by The Tragically Hip so tunes
from side projects like rob baker’s
strippers Union or Gore down a solo
career aren’t in the running
[Music]
number ten poets not only do we not know
what the poets are doing we don’t even
know who they are but as is the way when
Gord Downey’s involved everything is
about something
[Music]
released on 1998’s phantom power poets
first debuted in true hip fashion during
extended live jams throughout 1997
however the song didn’t really take
shape until guitarist Rob Baker later
developed the chorus and signature riff
the song was tightened up further in the
studio with co producer Steve Earle in
an instant fan favorite poets went on to
be number one in Canada for 12 straight
weeks and even managed to crack the top
40 of the mainstream Rock Tracks chart
south of the border as well
[Music]
number nine grace to
[Music]
it could be based on the 1944 film noir
Double Indemnity
it could be an attack on the UN’s modus
operandi or even about a hooker in her
extremely eager client mind you gore
Downey claimed the title came from a
teacher who had a canoe named grace to
whatever its origins the lead single
from the band’s fourth record hit number
11 on the Canadian charts when released
and number 19 when re-released 22 years
later bass heavy guitar rich lacking a
proper chorus and featuring the Irian
uncommitted backing vocals of guitarist
paul Langlois grace two is one of the
hips finest moments fellow kingston area
resident dan Aykroyd even introduced
their performance of the track when they
played it on Saturday Night Live my
honor to introduce to America my friends
that tragically have number eight wheat
kings
owing to or perhaps creating gordoni
status as the unofficial poet laureate
of Canada Wheat Kings tackles the
wrongful conviction and subsequent
release of David Milgard convicted at 17
for the rape and murder of Gail Miller
Milgard spent 23 years in prison until
being released in 1992 and was
eventually confirmed innocent once and
for all in 1997 by DNA evidence mill
guard actually passed up parole 20 times
as accepting parole would have met
accepting the conviction
not a protest song far from preachy and
not even mentioning him by name Wheat
Kings manages to tell Milgard story and
the emotional root of it without a hint
of melodrama or sappiness
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
number seven little bones written and
recorded in New Orleans little bones is
loaded with typically eclectic
references from Gord Downey trying upon
either the Timothy Finley novel the last
of the crazy people which features a cat
named little bones or a New Orleans cab
driver who Warren Downey not to choke on
the little bones of the chicken he was
eating the song also makes mentions of
the Kennedys and makes a passing
reference to William Shockley
Road apples second single meanwhile was
a top 20 hit in Canada and became a
radio and live show mainstay despite
Johnny favored ported Lee claiming as
early as 1998 to not remember how he
played the drums on it
[Music]
number 650 mission cap
yeah
Bilborough elko did indeed score the
Stanley Cup winning goal for the Maple
Leafs in 1951 but he went missing months
later following a fishing trip in the
James Bay area
the Leafs didn’t win another until 1962
just weeks before Borel COEs body was
finally found
this is a story gourd Downey stole from
a hockey card which is most likely the
number 340 from the 1991 NHL pro set
trading card series 50 mission cap lays
out the true story of Borel COEs
disappearance and the hockey card the
narrator kept under his hat
perhaps to keep the pique stiff while
working in the veteran Air Force cap
quite a hat-trick overall
[Music]
[Applause]
number-5 knott a gold disaster kicking
off with a haunting baseline from Gord
Sinclair locked in place by Johnny phase
drums and featuring guitar work as
frantic as the storyline nautical
disaster is another hip song that
doesn’t exactly tick most of the
conventional boxes lacking anything
remotely resembling a chorus and born
out of live versions of New Orleans is
sinking fans speculated that the song
was about the Battle of Dieppe during
World War two the sinking of the Titanic
or even the Lusitania
[Music]
according to Gord downy however it’s
actually about the sinking of the German
battleship Bismarck and the crew Lee
conducted partial rescue of its crew by
the British HMS Dorset sir
[Music]
number four courage for Hugh MacLennan
[Music]
a common question among at least casual
tragically hip fans is who is Hugh
MacLennan well Hugh MacLennan was a Nova
Scotian novelist and an English
professor at McGill University as for
why courage bears a dedication to him
who are down II had been reading
McClellan’s the watch that ends the
night and even inserted a few lines into
the song’s lyrics
[Music]
but perhaps there’s more McLennan like
the hip was never afraid to openly write
about the world around him or to be up
front with his Canadian Asst even if his
publishers saw no money in it and if
critics accused him of being Canadian
for the sake of being Canadian
so it’s possible Downey saw a kindred
spirit in the arts
[Music]
number three New Orleans is sinking
a basic requirement for all Canadian
cover bands New Orleans the sinking was
recorded not in Canada or New Orleans
but in Memphis Tennessee the song name
checks Hank snows and later Elvis
Presley’s manager Colonel Tom Parker and
at least one theory has it that New
Orleans was a steamboat and not the city
but beyond that it’s anyone’s guess
[Music]
since 1989 New Orleans is sinking has
become a forum for onstage jamming and
has seen David Bowie’s China girl and
the Beach Boys don’t worry baby mashed
in it’s also the song that birthed both
nautical disaster and ahead by century
to say nothing of the infamous killer
whale rest
[Music]
number two Bobcaygeon left your house
this morning
[Music]
like wheat Kings Bobcaygeon is a gentle
acoustic number with a sinister
underbelly moving past a sly reference
to marijuana via Willie Nelson
the bulk of Bobcaygeon is believed to
deal with the Christie pits riot of 1933
[Music]
breaking out after a baseball game the
riot saw Toronto Jewish residents throw
down against thugs from various swastika
clubs and damaged hog towns then
pristine image despite all this Gord
downy would later claim it’s a love song
about to gay couples can and it rhymed
with constellation a favorite among both
diehard and casual hip fans it was
awarded the Juno single of the year in
2000
before we unveil our number one pick
here are some honorable mentions
[Applause]
[Music]
number one ahead by a century ahead by a
century had a bumpy ride on the way to
becoming the song we know and love today
originally bass heavy the songs various
elements were retooled by the band
members with Pauling wah adding his come
and go backing vocals
[Music]
as it began to look increasingly single
worthy poor Danny reworked the lyrics
removing a pair of C words specific to
each gender while its parrot album
debuted at the top of the Canadian
charts the alternative rock track also
became a number-one single
eventually achieving platinum status in
its home country the song also has the
bittersweet distinction of being the
hips last live song capping their final
show on August 20th 2016
[Music]
do you agree with our picks check out
these other great clips from watch mojo
and subscribe for new videos every day
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