Beat logo

Remembering Gord Downie Through His Lyrics

(One Year Later)

By Ronalee HutchingamePublished 5 years ago 5 min read
Like
The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie in the summer of 2016

One year ago, on October 17, 2017 a country went into mourning. Our Canadian son, an activist, poet, and proudest of proud Canadians, Gord Downie, passed into his next life. He had spent the past year and a half fighting a very public battle with Glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, and tragically lost his fight on that day.

The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie could have made the easier choice, and quietly gone off to fight his terminal diagnosis with his family by his side, spending his precious remaining months with them. He could have put 100 percent of his focus and energy into winning this battle, but he didn’t. He shared with his fans and countrymen his diagnosis in May of 2016, while almost simultaneously announcing a final farewell concert series across the country that he and his bandmates would be performing that summer.

Gord gave us time to accept his fate, and he went out swinging with that grueling summer-long final farewell to his fans, ending on August 20th in a nationally-televised farewell concert from his hometown of Kingston, Ontario. It was a Canadian tour de force, and it perfectly showcased exactly why his band had become such a beloved staple in Canadian culture from coast to coast over the past 25 years.

On that August 20th night in 2016, one that I will never forget, an entire country came together. All of Canada was at that final concert, watching live on CBC from our living rooms. Through Facebook and Twitter, we shared our love of our favorite Canadian band, and our favorite musician Gord Downie. We reminisced about more carefree days starting when we were in our late teens and twenties, where the Tragically Hip always played in the background of our memories. Every town and big city coast to coast took part in the bittersweet celebration, and we drank, sang, danced and cried. Lord, did we cry.

Gord Downie chose to bravely confront death head-on with the public announcement of his terminal brain cancer, and in doing so raised awareness to his causes and his cancer, so that those that survived him could have the chance to live that he would not.

He showed Courage, and Grace, Too; but instead of privately fading away, he brought us along on his journey to the other side. He continued to educate us and set an example to live up to, and a fight to continue in his absence in indigenous communities. I imagined, with a heavy heart, that he would meet his maker in picturesque Bobcaygeon, surrounded by family and bandmates, a bittersweet ending to a life fully lived and realized.

As a Canadian, I am gratefully unsurprised that The Hip remained a Canadian band. People wonder why they didn’t “catch on” in the United States. I do not wonder; forgive my Canadian bias, but I feel strongly that I know why. I could be wrong, and I could be slammed for saying this, but Gord Downie’s lyrics were complex. Not in a difficult-to-understand way, but in the sense that they invoked introspection and taught us lessons in Canadian history, to those who chose to delve deeper into their true meaning. Through his music, he taught us about the injustices of our country’s past, opined about war, and gave well-reasoned commentary about inequalities too numerous to mention. Almost every song has a reference to our past, and with them, a lesson to learn in the present, to carry into the future.

When I would go to any of the many Hip concerts I attended over the years, I would sometimes come across Hip fans from outside of Canada. When I did, I would instinctively embrace them, and welcome them into the family of Gord Downie’s fans. For any follower of the Tragically Hip, no matter their country of origin, they were instantly given status as an honorary Canadian.

Gord Downie was a man who was so proud of his great country and of being Canadian. He showcased its beauty in his band’s music videos, and his pride and love for Canada made us all love our country even more. One couldn’t help it. His views and his passion were infectious. Gord Downie was a charitable, caring man unafraid to show his love for his bandmates, and openly displayed his affection for them in his hugs and kisses, and we loved him for it.

In the 17 months he gave us from the time of his terminal cancer announcement to the day of his death, Gord gave us the time to grieve, accept his fate, and perhaps live the remainders of our own lives on braver, more courageous terms in tribute to him. Death is everyone’s eventuality, and in 2016 especially, where we all saw the headlines stating the demise of so many beloved celebrities, Gord Downie showed us the real lesson to learn—to live life Fully, Completely.

Death is only to be feared for those who have not fully lived the gift of life they have been given. That is the only real tragedy in death. Glioblastoma—Now the Struggle Has a Name. Gord left us with a Gift Shop of memories in his music to last us a lifetime.

The Times Are Passing Us By, but When the Weight Comes Down, Gord had a Great Soul, and the Wherewithal, As Makeshift As We Are, to show us that life is A Beautiful Thing.

Gord faced the Inevitability of Death with Courage. As much as he would have loved to Stay, Escape Is At Hand for the Travellin’ Man.

We are all just Killing Time, but It’s a Good Life (if you Don’t Weaken).

Gord won’t be canonized, but Little by Little, will be Lionized. We all may feel at times that we are On the Verge, or So Hard Done By, but life is a Greasy Jungle full of Fireworks.

You Are Everywhere, Gord, and your music and message will live on in each of us. And will continue through our children, and their children.

Gord Downie was truly the Last of the Unplucked Gems, and as much as we all wanted to say Baby Please Don’t Go, we all understood the Impossibilium of the situation.

A year after Gord’s death, I want to say thank you to him. Thank you for allowing us to say goodbye. Thank you for opening yourself up to us and allowing us to share in your journey. Thank you for allowing us to reflect together as a country, on why exactly it is that our country is truly one of the greatest on the planet. It is because of great Canadians like you, Gord. God bless you always. You are truly, Ahead by a Century.

A poet, a historian, an activist and an educator. That was destined to be Gord Downie’s legacy as he drifted with Courage into the sweet hereafter.

90s music
Like

About the Creator

Ronalee Hutchingame

I am a former military wife, now a happy single mom to my 10 yr old daughter.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.