![]() Downie’s gift was his ability to find inspiration and beauty in the smallest and most Canadian of moments. The Tragically Hip is among the pantheon of great Canadian musical acts, but it never broke big in the United States. He used his final months to create the Secret Path project, a ten song album and accompanying graphic novel created with graphic artist Jeff Lemire, that shone new light on the tragic legacy of the residential school system.Īs he sung of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve-year-old boy who died in 1966 trying to escape from Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School, we wept for all those who were lost.Īt that farewell concert in Kingston, Downie used his national platform to demand justice for Indigenous peoples, and to challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to effect real, positive change in Canada’s Indigenous communities.įor his tireless efforts to educate Canadians about the historic injustices committed against Indigenous peoples, Downie was honoured by the Assembly of First Nations, which gave him the Lakota spirit name Wicapi Omani, which translates as “Man who walks among the stars.”Ĭan there be a more fitting tribute to a man whose musical legacy lifted us all so high? That he would so publically rage against the dying of the light, and do so in such a searing, public way, inspired a nation.Īs his time grew short, Downie hastened to bring as much attention as possible to the plight of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. We all knew - his family, his friends and bandmates and fans - that his death would come soon. It was almost as if Downie knew that we all needed that moment to prepare for the inevitable. I remember mouthing the words “Oh my God.” It was all that I could say or do. Throughout the song, my wife and I sat, breathless as we watched at home. It was a guttural, intimate, private and public all at the same time. Standing starkly in his silver lamé outfit, tears streaming down his face, Downie literally howled with emotion for several minutes. Canada's History Youth Committee MembersĪmid an evening of unforgettable moments, none was more powerful or emotionally wrenching than the performance of “Grace, Too,” where, near the end, the emotional and physical and mental weight of Downie’s cancer threatened to engulf him on stage.The John Bragg Award for Atlantic Canada.It looks like it’s going to be a powerful album. Directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, it features a clip of Downie singing a new song that, though very brief, shows off all the music’s essential qualities: sparse and stately, poetic and specific (and specifically Canadian). Like Secret Path, the album is produced by Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, who also co-wrote a number of the new songs.Ĭheck out the trailer for Introduce Yerself below. The music was recorded quickly and spontaneously, over two four-day sessions in January 2016 and February 2017, with many of the songs recorded as first takes. In Downie’s words, “Each song is about a person.” Introduce Yerself will be out October 27 on Arts & Crafts and is available for pre-order on Friday, September 29 via Arts & Crafts and Gord Downie. Today, Downie announced Introduce Yerself, a new double album with a whopping 23 songs. Downie also released the 2016 solo album Secret Path, which shone a light on Canada’s shameful history of residential schools.Īnd that’s not it. There’s already been the 2016 Tragically Hip album Man Machine Poem, its accompanying tour, which was a national celebration, and Long Time Running, the documentary about it which premiered at TIFF. Gord Downie has been impressively prolific since his terminal illness was diagnosed.
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