Tragically Hip Songs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fifty-Mission Cap

This song describes the disappearance of Bill Barilko, a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs who scored the winning goal for the team during the Stanley Cup Finals in 1951. A few months after, he went on a fishing trip with a friend and the plane they were flying in mysteriously disappeared.

The plane wreckage, with his body, was discovered 11 years later by a helicopter pilot. Bill Barilko's disappearance story wasn't well known at all until the band told it in this song. As a result of that, the story was shared in a book about The Toronto Maple Leafs and a short documentary film was made that was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award.

Answer: Little Bones

The Tragically Hip are incredibly famous in Canada and there are multiple cover bands, including one called "Little Bones" hailing from Ottawa.

"Little Bones" was the lead single for the band's second album "Road Apples." Did you know though, that the term "road apples" is actually slang for horse manure left on the road?

Answer: Bobcaygeon

This song is named after a small town in Northern Ontario and tells the story of a cop who works in the city and finds his job stressful and difficult. One of the things he has to deal with in the city is a riot fueled by racism and anti-semitism. He contemplates quitting and is only able to unwind when he travels back to the small idyllic town where his loved one waits for him. "Bobcaygeon" won the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 2000.

Answer: Ahead by a Century

This is one of several songs that began as improvisation during one of the band's most popular songs, "New Orleans is Sinking". During the bridge of that song, lead singer Gord Downie would improvise and come up with all kinds of interesting lyrics and stories. Gord Downie tragically died of brain cancer in October 2017 and the day after his death was announced, "Ahead by a Century" was the song most played on Canadian radio.

Answer: Grace, Too

The band played on "Saturday Night Live" in 1995 because fellow Canadian Dan Aykroyd, who was a huge fan of the band, was the host and brought them along. One of the songs they played was "Grace, Too". During live performances of the song, lead singer Gord Downie would often change the first line from "He said I'm fabulously rich" to "He said I'm Tragically Hip" and that's what he did that night as he introduced the band to an American audience.

Answer: New Orleans is Sinking

"New Orleans is Sinking" is arguably the signature song by the band. Live performances of this song were always extremely long and so entertaining to experience because Gord Downie would improvise during the bridge section and tell these meandering, funny and interesting stories to the audience. One of the most famous stories that Downie shared came to be known as "Killer Whale Tank" about a guy who worked as a cleaner in the killer whale tank of an aquarium.

This story always started with the line "I had a job before this..." and the audience knew they were in for a great tale.

This story became so popular that it was included as a B side on the CD single release for "Long Time Running."

Answer: Music at Work

The video for this song features the band performing under the name "The Filters" and was directed by Bruce McCulloch, a Canadian actor and comedian who starred in "Kids in the Hall" and was a writer on "Saturday Night Live." McCulloch won Best Director at the 2000 MuchMusic Video Awards for this video.

Answer: Escape is at Hand for the Travellin' Man

This is one of my favourite all time songs. "The Hip" as they are familiarly known to fans, write songs that not only tell a story but originate from experiences that are sometimes relatable, sometimes sad but always interesting. This song is about the experiences bands have as they tour and end up meeting up with other bands as they travel around.

There is one singer that really made an impression on the band, and that's a guy named Jim Ellison, from the band Material Issue who really hit it off with the band. Ellison was found dead in his garage in 1996, having died from carbon dioxide poisoning and after that, The Hip lead singer Gord Downie would dedicate this song to him when they performed it live.

Answer: Wheat Kings

This song is about David Milgaard, who was accused and found guilty of raping and murdering a woman when he was 16 years old. He served 23 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. The band helped to get signatures for a petition to re-open the case and raise funds for his defense and his conviction was eventually overturned. This song was written after he was freed.

Answer: Poets

This song was a favourite one for the band to perform live and they played it during their performance at Woodstock 99 as well as at the Live 8 concert in 2005 where actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd joined them on stage and played harmonica. The song reached number one on Canada's Alternative music chart and stayed there for 12 weeks, which was longer than any other song in history.