Added: 4 years ago
From: TheTragicallyHip
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  • there is way too much jam on my sandwich ....to be continued

  • ''As those fingernails scratching on my hull'' I still get shivers from that lyric.

  • a real crowd pleaser

  • Fav Hip song of all time. Must listen to this cranked up to 11.

  • This is one of my all time favorite songs. :-)

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  • there could be a hip without Gord, just as there could be night without a day,colour without sight, and flowers without smell,but what would be the point? Gord is an amazing talent,like the finest of wines,scotch, and exotic cars, you make so proud and you make me think when I get lazy or I take thought for granted. thank you Gord and Rob,Paul and Johnny.Please don't stop

  • Fuck, I love their music but I can't stand his voice. Sometimes he sounds like a cat that's getting run over by a train...

  • Classic song, Favorite by the Hip.

  • What are all you people talking about?? This song is not about Dieppe, and certainly nothing to do with the Bismarck! It's about the RMS Lancastria sinking, over two years before Dieppe (think Dunkirk).

    And yes - certainly one of the most powerful songs of all time.

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  • @crgodsoe Thanks for posting.I just looked it up and it does fit completely with the song.

  • As much as I like the dieppe attack idea, and how well it fits for a canadian band. A band statement said that contrary to what is thought, the song is actually about the crew of the Bismarck. In which very few survivors were picked up in little lifeboats, most left in the water as the ships turned away and left them. To show that war is a horror for more than just the friendly side. I think its interesting of a band to show a controversial forgotten side.

  • @IJNNagato That's what I thought at first, but the survivors of the Bismarck didn't "head for home" . The song is about a ship for sure, but the lyrics can point towards any shipwreck off the coast of France.

  • @Doughfoot After the Bismarck was finally sunk a British ship approached the survivors, some of which clung to a single lifeboat. The British navy men cast out a line for the survivors to climb up but after several unsuccessful attempts at climbing over the slippery hull the British ship made the (oft criticized) move to leave the German survivors behind, and chugged away while (reportedly) the Germans cried out and were trying to grab onto the hull (hence the fingers scratching my hull line).

  • @OhEmGeeLoire sorry buddy but this song is based on the unsuccessful Canadian raid on Dieppe on the second world war.

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  • Such a haunting voice..

  • @MorbidReligion Eeven the solo has a haunting quality.... Totally one of the most impressive songs.

  • Very cool the way Gord says/expresses "here" after the "four thousand men died in the water". It's such strong emotion without much expression.

  • I always loved this song it brought goosebumps to me when I first heard it.I'm confused by the video though.I know it is remeberance of Dieppe but the video imgages of the people in the water look like passengers ot the Titanic? Great video and song still though.:)

  • FUCK YEAH! THE HIP FTW!

  • Emotional masterpiece

  • great song

    all free verse

  • this is one of my fav Gordie vocals

  • "HaUnTeD"

    ROK says hello

  • gordon downie sings with such emotion in every single song. much better band than rush imo

  • Dieppe always seems to get forgotten

  • "And the screaming filled my head all day" whatta fucking tune, one of the all time greats!! "off the coast of france, Dear!!"

  • The best song about PTSD ever written.

  • why doesnt this song have a 100 million views?????shame:(

  • @marcus8357 because there isn't 100 million Canadians

  • @TAG037 but there is a hell of alot more than 300k!!

  • one m0:00re time!!!!

  • @Mossman1117 ill take up your offer on that

  • The Hip was in Watertown NY last night, great concert, they did this song needless to say the live version is unbelieveable.

  • O CANADA OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND

  • i was amazed when i found out the lyrics in this song after the intro are almost entirely free verse. How they make it still sound like it all flows together is amazing

  • remember people! a border is just a line, a flag is just a picture and a name is just that, a name! WE ALL WALK THIS EARTH!

  • Hands down my favourite hip song.

  • Are you fucking retarded, try omaha, running at machine guns didnt work too well for ya eh? canadian military grunts are navy seals with less equipment, fucking americans, listen to more rush

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  • @killaz669 Canada FTW

  • you can tell these guys love making music

  • I AM CANADIAN!

  • Definitely their masterpiece. Totally awesome... OH YEAH

  • "Then the dream ends, when the phone rings" is the single most powerful lyric in music. So much meaning that everyone can relate to, not some bullshit about owning a fast car or whatever music is about now-adays. But the bottom line is, I while listen to this song 5,6,7 times in a row just to hear that one verse.

  • best tragically hip song ever

  • Truly the 'Hips' masterpiece--no question.

  • protip: this song is NOT about d day

  • wicked song

    

  • fucking ridiculously epic song!!!

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  • @running42k YOU ARE A LIAR! Your account IP shows you sent that from CANADA. Wow, I am so embarrassed to be Canadian. We have such an inferiority complex in regards to Americans ...something to do with them being more popular with tourists and immigrants (see population), more powerful, etc. But, honestly, this whole flag-waving Canadian jingoism over the Tragically Hip is a disgrace! The Hip are NOT nationalistic and hold disdain for this sort of things. Sahme on you, Canadian!

  • @WalkwithmeNY i am a new yorker who spent the winter in edmonton. it was a truly special trip. i love your country but i'm not canadian. wouldn't be so bad if i were. so relax. you live in an awesome country and you have good reason to be proud of it. just relax and be happy. don't get all 'youtube crazy'.

  • @WalkwithmeNY Many Americans live in Canada...

  • one of the hip's most underrated songs! amazing tune

  • i think he should grow some hair back and start writing some good music again.

  • My mothers uncles died on a troop ship sailing to Europe. Both of them. The Hip remember them in this song. I have photos of them both...young and strong ready for anything. Bless you Gord.

  • @damage98 I just read an article recently that this song is actually about the German Battleship Bismarck. Some people believe it was about the Titanic but the Titanic didn't sink off the coast of France, the Bismarck did.

  • @spookespook I think its just a generic story meant to help us absorb our grief. Certainly not about the bismarck.

  • @damage98 I can send you the link that I read the article. I'm telling you, it's apparently about the Bismarck.

  • thats very tipical, bring americas name into it like your the center of the world. cant you just acept that we are a nation of good people that are not influenced by usa in any means and could care less about what is going on there and listen to our good music.

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  • @TheQuentin1979 Are you talking about my post? The troop ship was Canadian. My uncles were from Nova Scotia.

  • EVERYTIME I WATCH THIS I AM BLACKOUT DRUNK, BEST SONG EVER, GORD DOWNIE FOR PRIME MINISTER, DRINK TO THAT, YEEHAW GIT GIT

  • The 7 people who dislike this are Nickelback fans...This song is beautiful, how can you not like it?

  • i love how this song is just a story. there really is no verses, no chorus, no bridge. gord's just tellin it.

  • @srhmusic13 It seems like that but the phrasing of the verse shifts with the chord progression, a bit confusing, but fun to play

  • @dappawap it is fun to play. used to play this in my old band and there is so much emoton in this song, you couldnt help but really get into it. the true hip fans love this one. not the fairweather ones who just like new orleans is sinking.

  • @srhmusic13 Ya, I like the part when it gets quiet in the middle with Em, D then you get to whack the G loud to come back in

  • I AM A MUSICIAN. I MAKE ELECTRO MUSIC BUT THIS SONG MAKES ME WISH THERE WAS NO ELECTRO MUSIC ANYMORE. NO MORE SYNTHESIZERS,PEDALS AND CRAZY KEYBOARD SOUNDS. JUST A GUITAR, A BASS,DRUMS, AND A SINGER WITH RAW MEANINGFUL VOCALS AND PASSIONATE LYRICS. THIS IS A WORK OF ART AND NOT MANY MORE SONGS MAKE ME FEEL THE WAY THIS ONE DOES. THE TRAGICALLY HIP ARE TRUE MUSICIANS AND GENTLEMEN.

  • That was supposed to be a heart 

  • <3

  • geez this song gives me the chills....love it!

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  • @BriannaRae1102 As those fingernails scratching on the HULL... not heart.

    They were in the water, clawing away, and trying to get into his lifeboat that was designed for 10 (and 10 only).

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  • epicness

  • AND its not the Bismarck ..thats for sure

  • WHAT ship is on that painting he is holding up at the start of " A light house on some rocky socket" ...

    Gord plays with that shit in vids...

    Anyone can name the ship let me know

  • Yes, It's about the Bismark. "Gord Downie told the authors of the Can-Rock tome Have Not Been The Same that the songs nautical theme is in fact based on the doomed German battleship Bismarck. " That's from the Hip Museum site.

  • Best song ever written.

  • Best.fucking.song.ever.

  • Gord Downie is my Father in Music

  • i love music that means something. unlike mainstream music they try and shove in our face today.

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  • GOD DAMN THIS IS A GREAT FUCKING SONG!!! The emotion in this song gives me chills. Amazing.

  • @MrJay132 me too, chills down your spine that's when you know you're listening to good music!

  • There are to many inconsistencies to say this about the raid on Dieppe ..... those men died on the beaches .... not in a sinking . The closest Nautical Disaster is most likely the sinking of the RMS Lancastria ....... which Churchill covered up in 1940.

  • @rukkee22 its about the sinking of the Bismark

  • @tyweed04

    While i cant say for sure what it's about ..... The Bismark had a crew of 2200 . The numbers don't add up .

  • @rukkee22 Actually, the raid of Dieppe had men dying in the water too. While on the coast the Allies were spotted by a German convoy. Many had died there as well.

  • In my perfect world this is the kind of music that would be winning awards for talent and song writing ability not the likes of Justin Bieber and all that other crap that is simply an game for record companies to make money.

  • Yea if your Canadian and dont know who the Hip is I think its time to GTFO!

  • CANADA!! :D

  • Man I Love This Song. I also love -grace too -greasy jungle -thugs -courage -the 100th meridian -looking for a place to happen -pigeon camera -locked in the trunk of a car -we'll go too -50th mission cap -wheat kings -ahead by a century -little bones -twist my arm -3 pistols -bring it all back -fight -fiddlers green -blow at high dough -new Orleans is sinking -38 years old -poets -so hard done by -Bobcaygeon -boot or heart .......................Thats just about it
  • This suck is so good. Americans should really appreciate it because the Dieppe Raid was very important, and taught the Allies how to land for D-Day. Long live The Hip.

  • love the hip, but CHRIST VEVO!!!

    I WATCHED THE SAME SUCKING COMMERCIAL 5 TIMES IN A ROW!!!

    before i found not vevo.

  • love the hip, but CHRIST VEVO!!!

    I WATCHED THE SAME SUCKING COMMERCIAL 5 TIMES IN A ROW!!!

  • The hip never really got play time here in the states. But the border towns like buffalo, detroit, we get to hear the canadian stations over the airwaves. So where they actually get airtime in the states, they have a loyal following.

  • @joeybognar good too hear, im canadian and i know the hip dont get much air time in the states and its nice to see that they are as liked where they are played in the states as they are in canada

  • I'm a Canuck. i first saw the hip in 1988 (maybe 1989) at the Horseshoe in Toronto. It was unreal. I sat right in front of Gord. Years later, 'Nautical' was very different for me. It was a real progression for the band I think. Cordelia, Locked in a Trunk, 100 foot Ceiling, New Orleans - all great, but Nautical was really a poem written, then sung, with music added, so it seems.

    'As parasites might, in your blood'. It doesn't get better than that.

  • Too heavy to lift and too important to not attempt.

  • @ggergg30 well said bro, well said indeed

  • My favorite song for years.

  • The Dieppe Memorial is on Beach Blvd. in Hamilton, ON.

  • such a great song....

  • The greatest song they ever made.

  • By far the beat band in the SOLAR system....

  • Pretty sure about 12000 of those 212000 views are mine.

  • This is real Canadian music. None of these garbage, modern bands represent Canada well. The Hip, Rush, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, The Guess Who and so many others are what Canadian music should be identified by.

  • such an amazing bassline, gord sinclair is a god

  • Who's the guy with a full head of hair?

  • @bigginskie Paul Langois!..... "The archetypal father, Mr. Paul Langois" .. Props to who knows when Gord sang that live.

  • thank you sweet loving god for the tragically hip. Greatest canadian band ever!

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  • These lyrics are created by someone who READS BOOKS. 

  • Probably the best song ever written by a Canadian

  • Try to find something as thought-provoking as this nowadays...

  • gdi hip rock

  • I doubt it's about the Bismarck, the survivors were not taken home, but instead to prison camps in Britain and eastern Canada. I think it was an Allied sinking, or even a sinking that wasn't involved with the war at all. Sinking is sinking right? No matter what you've been brought down by chaos still dominates.

    Anyways great song, to each their own with the meaning.

  • may the souls that were lost find refuge in the silent and calming waters of the ocean forever

  • explain why this song can almost bring me to tears??

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  • @jeffk31th Im a Girl YOU STUPID DICKHEAD!!!, HAHAHA go crwl in a corner AND DIE lmao

  • @ufciceman32 You can a pussy if your girl. It's not a literal meaning.

  • @jeffk31th well literally you have a tiny cock LMAO

  • Maybe because you're a pussy.

  • I'm confused, somone says its about a German ship sinking... why would he write a song about Nazis sinking?

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  • @zciweiksim To begin with, if it was about the Bismarck it would be about the humans in the disaster, not about their political/geographical loyalties. But it's not, in fact none of the details noted in the song correspond with any past nautical disaster, however the closest to the details listed would be the RMS Lancastria I suppose. He is telling his (ex)girlfriend about a nightmare that was or is really a metaphor for their relationship.

  • @pryto That is possible, I don't know the details; however, I know that Gord Downie is heavily into Canadiana, and I think it's good that they're spreading awareness about the veterans, especially at this time of year.

  • Whats this song about exactly??

  • @zciweiksim a survivor on the bismark with survivors guilt. he is actually singing a post from a actual book in the begining

  • 6 people dislike this...

    Greatest fkn song ever.. Love it.

  • I love this band - no one sounds like them, they have so much power. Great track.

  • I been searching for this song for years,I finally found it again, YES!!!!

  • The image of 1000's of sailors drowning, while the narrator watches helplessly (even having to fight off some of the desperate souls as they try to forcefully claw their way into his overcrowded life boat) is over-powering. The "systematic" brutality of the scene is incomprehensible. However, that is when the song twists. The entire song has been a metaphor explaining the feelings of a man who is sitting there listening to the phone ring, knowing that it is his ex, and not picking it up.

  • @tobelg Whatever works for you! This song plays out differently for me. "Susan" can try to reach him all she wants, but he has survivor's guilt and PTSD.

  • My favourite song. Chills my spine.

  • This is my fave Hip song. It never, ever gets old. I must have listened to it 100 times.

  • yo amo a la cadera tragica

  • song gives me major chills EVERY time i hear it

  • His voice is amazing, top 5 best all time.

  • It's funny how most people don't know this song is about Dieppe. A nightmare where thousands of Canadians were landing on the beaches of France, getting ripped apart by machine gun fire. It;s funny how us Canadians were always used by the Brits to test the strength of the Germans.

  • @BlazenCuz

    Not only that BlazenCuz, but most don't know that Canada had it's own beach on D Day (Juno) and that we have spent more time fighting for democracy in the two world wars than the Americans, who showed up late for both.

  • @running42k many also forget how fearfull many of the germans were of canadian forces in both world wars

  • @spitfireace7 GO CANADA!!!

  • @running42k canadians were asked, as a part of the commonwealth, to attack the european mainland at dieppe where they were slaughtered by the germans. they also took immense losses on d-day. i'm an american, love canada and canadians, but i hope ur not just thumbing up comments bc they poke holes in america's stature.

  • @saadmiral nope , I just like the sound of the tune. I always liked Americans for their love of music (but not for their beer.)

  • @saadmiral @running42k YOU ARE A LIAR! Your account IP shows you sent that from CANADA. Wow, I am so embarrassed to be Canadian. We have such an inferiority complex in regards to Americans. Something to do with them being more popular with tourists and immigrants (see population), more powerful, etc. But, honestly, this whole flag-waving Canadian jingoism over the Tragically Hip is a disgrace! The Hip are NOT nationalistic and hold disdain for this sort of things. Shame on you, Canadian!

  • @WalkwithmeNY I am embarrassed to be Canadian because right now you are representing me. Please shut up, the Tragically Hip made this song for flag wavers, to remind them of the UK fail battle of dieppe.

    Shame on you.

  • @saadmiral I'm in the Canadian Army. My unit was at Dieppe. Mass Casualties. 80% dead or captured. I've met a few of the vets from the raid. That just added a whole new level of depth to this song. Means a lot to hear that bro.

  • @saadmiral yo dude, appreciate your comment, seems like you know whats goin on

  • @saadmiral you poke holes in ours bud.. we got resources we dont need you guys lol.. cheers!.. I love US my self but I wish together we could find a way to figure out our economical issues and come up with something sensible.

  • @BlazenCuz And we passed that fucking test. The only country that successfully completed their mission during WW2.

  • @BlazenCuz i think people write songs based on a feeling sometimes even a dream and then decide to say it means something or not.

  • @BlazenCuz well said

  • @BlazenCuz Nope, its about the German ship The Bismark. according to Gord Downie.

  • @constantboo The numbers don't add up. 1,995 crew died from the Bismark. The casualties from the Dieppe raid included 3,367 Canadians killed, and 275 British commandos, also The Royal Navy 550 dead. Gord Downie is Canadian, why would he sing a song about being a German Bismark surviour?

  • @BlazenCuz You can read it in the book "Canrock 1985-1995"  I am guessing he means 4000 total naval deaths in the waters off the coast of France. He is comparing the sinking of the Bismarck with a failed relationship with a girl named Susan. Gord is the one in the water.

  • @BlazenCuz Gord has always been elusory about the meaning of his lyrics (at least with this song). That said, yeah, Canadians and New Zealanders always got the dirty jobs during both wars. My dad was RCAF aircrew. Better the Germans than the fucking Americans shooting at him tho.

  • @BlazenCuz This sang is about the sinking of the Bismarck, survivors would have been able to swim to the beach.....not be left in the water, or have a need or the time to deploy a life boat. And the allies didn't retreat, so no survivor would have been left. The survivors of the Bismarck however were left to die by the the allies after failed rescue attempts....kicked off our pant legs

  • @higgs17 I asked Gord Downie at a concert in Halifax about 2 years ago. He said this song was about Dieppe and also some personal stuff he was going through at that time.

  • @psi2hi then I stand corrected...if your telling the truth

  • @higgs17 Thats pretty much his exact words. He also confirmed for me that the song Wheat Kings is partially about David Milgaard. He's a cool guy. He and my father were friends in Kingston.

  • Gord is GOD.  Canadas Best!