(But) we're going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help.''Ībout two months later, Downie released the multimedia solo project "Secret Path,'' which recounted the life of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from a residential school in northern Ontario. It's maybe worse than it's ever been, so it's not on the improve. "He cares about the people way up North, that we were trained our entire lives to ignore, trained our entire lives to hear not a word of what's going on up there. Rest in peace my friend.- Justin Trudeau October 18, 2017 There will never be another one like you, Gord. "We're in good hands, folks, real good hands,'' Downie said in reference to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He used the national platform to call for more attention to the inequities faced by Indigenous Peoples, particularly in the North. "Thank you, people, for keeping me pushing and keeping me pushing,'' he said from the stage, which prompted a "Gordie!'' chant from the audience. and thousands of fans also attended public viewing parties across the country to experience the band's swan song.Īn impassioned Downie led the group through a nearly three-hour set and acknowledged the country's enthusiastic support. Despite conflicting with its coverage of the Summer Games in Rio, the CBC broadcast the last show of the tour live - in the Hip's hometown of Kingston, Ont. Interest was off the charts and tickets sold out nearly immediately. And he used the spotlight to focus more attention on the issues facing Indigenous communities in Canada. In the aftermath of the shocking May 2016 announcement that Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer the band said it would mount a tour - which many assumed would be the Hip's last. So my function in anything I do is to help bring people closer in.'' Cancer diagnosis shocked a nation That stuff doesn't interest me and I don't even know if I could write that if I tried because I don't really feel it.
"Nor have I written any pro-Canada lyrics, any kind of jingoistic, nationalistic cant. "I haven't written too many political lyrics,'' he said in an interview with The Canadian Press in 2014. While the Hip was frequently described as quintessentially Canadian, Downie had dismissed the suggestion that he set out to celebrate his homeland in song. No one.''ĭownie, one of Canada's most revered singer-songwriters, penned a steady stream of 1990s rock radio staples including "New Orleans Is Sinking,'' "Blow at High Dough,'' "Courage (For Hugh MacLennan),'' "Ahead By a Century'' and "Bobcaygeon.'' While Hip albums released in the 2000s didn't produce nearly as many hits, the band hung on to its unofficial status as Canada's favourite rock band. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. "As a musician, he lived 'the life' for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. "Gord said he had lived many lives,'' said the statement, which was attributed to the Downie family.
GORD DOWNIE INTERVIEW FULL
(Read the full statement below.)ĭownie spent the last chapter of his life raising funds for brain cancer research and advocating for the rights of Canada's Indigenous Peoples. "Gord knew this day was coming - his response was to spend this precious time as he always had - making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss. In the wake of his diagnosis with glioblastoma - an incurable form of cancer - the musician became a symbol of perseverance in the face of his mortality. He was 53.ĭownie died Tuesday night "with his beloved children and family close by,'' the band said in a statement on its website Wednesday morning. Gord Downie, the poetic lead singer of the Tragically Hip whose determined fight with brain cancer inspired a nation, has died.
0 kommentar(er)
