His songs were rooted in the geography and history of the country. His lyrics evoked images of goalies standing alone at the “lonely end of the rink,” of “Jacques Cartier,” and of “thin and wicked prairie winds.” He wrote of men wrongfully convicted, and of a nation that “whispers, ‘we always knew that he’d go free’” of a night in Bobcaygeon, where he “saw the constellations / Reveal themselves, one star at a time ” and of a “goal everyone remembers. 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.