Ahead by a Century

Background

The song is one of several Tragically Hip singles which were developed from improvised bridge jams during live performances of one of the band's signature songs "New Orleans Is Sinking".

The song begins with an image of youthful romance, with a young boy and girl climbing a tree to talk and ponder all the possibilities that life holds for them. The original lyrics, which were performed at least once live before Downie rewrote them to their more familiar form, were more overtly sexual, with the boy and girl climbing the tree solely to touch each other's "cunt" and "cock". Downie subsequently explained that the intended theme was one of innocence — "It's two little kids, and they don't know what a cunt is and they don't know what a cock is—they just heard them called that" — but said that after he was convinced by the band's guitar technician that the audience would not hear that theme through the shock of the explicit terminology, he went through an intense but rewarding week-long process of rewriting the verse to communicate the idea in a more accessible way.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Eric Yealland and filmed on a small farm in Brooklin, Ontario. The music video won the award for Best Video at the 1996 MuchMusic Video Awards. The video was also nominated for "Best Video" at the 1997 Juno Awards.

Covers

In 2016, Hey Rosetta! performed the song during their set at the CBC Music Festival, altering some lyrics to reflect Downie's recent announcement of his diagnosis with terminal glioblastoma. In the same year, the Toronto-based Choir! Choir! Choir! dedicated a performance of the song to Downie following the diagnosis.

On the January 1, 2017, edition of CBC Radio 2's The Strombo Show, a tribute special organized to celebrate the Tragically Hip's 30th anniversary, the song was performed by both By Divine Right as a standalone song, and Barenaked Ladies as a medley with the song "Chancellor" from Downie's solo album Coke Machine Glow. Following Downie's death, Barenaked Ladies added "Chancellor/Ahead by a Century" to the setlists for several shows on their concurrent concert tour.

In 2017, an Inuttitut-language version of the song, incorporating traditional Inuit throat singing, was released by the Nunavut-based folk music band The Jerry Cans.

At her concert at Toronto's Massey Hall during her Native Invader tour, on October 30, 2017, two weeks after Downie's death, Tori Amos performed the song. She indicated in her introduction that she had not previously known the song at all, but learned it for her Massey Hall performance as a special gift to her Canadian fans.

In 2022, set to a children's choir rendition, it was used by Canadian Tire for its 100th anniversary television commercial.

On September 5, 2024, it was one of three songs, alongside "Bobcaygeon" and "Grace, Too", performed by Choir! Choir! Choir! in a public singalong following the premiere of the documentary series The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

References

1. "If Hip can win twice, Socan Shania".
2. "1997 Juno Awards". MetroLeap Media.
3. "Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip holds final show".
4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gowWDfltXJE CBC Rio 2016 Olympics Closing Montage – YouTube]
5. CBC Music, [http://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/18242/tragicallyhip-themesong-anne-cbcseries The Tragically Hip provide theme song to new ''Anne'' series], March 16, 2017.
6. Netflix, [https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-umbrella-academy-soundtrack-list Challenge Your Siblings to a Dance-Off with The Umbrella Academy Playlist], August 8, 2024.
7. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171023212810/http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/tragically-hip-album-sales-audio-streams-soar-after-gord-downie-s-death-1.3644907 "Tragically Hip album sales, audio streams soar after Gord Downie's death"]. [[CTV News]], October 23, 2017.
8. Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, ''[[Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995]]''. [[ECW Press]]. {{ISBN. 978-1-55022-992-9.
9. [https://www.straight.com/blogra/742251/anticipation-hip-playing-ahead-century-vancouver-tonight-heres-gord-downie-talkin "In anticipation of the Hip playing "Ahead By a Century" in Vancouver tonight, here's Gord Downie talkin' about it"]. ''[[The Georgia Straight]]'', July 24, 2016.
10. "Best Video Winners 1991–2003". [[MuchMusic]].
11. Howell, Peter. (September 20, 1996). "Morissette wins 4 more trophies at video awards". Toronto Star.
12. "1997 Best Video". junoawards.ca.
13. [http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/07/23/hey-rosetta-tragically-hip-tribute_n_11154514.html "Hey Rosetta!'s Tribute To The Tragically Hip Makes Fans Emotional"]. ''[[Huffington Post]]'', July 23, 2016.
14. {{usurped
15. {{usurped
16. [http://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_jerry_cans_share_inuttitut_cover_of_the_tragically_hips_ahead_by_a_century "The Jerry Cans Share Inuttitut Cover of the Tragically Hip's "Ahead by a Century"]. ''[[Exclaim!]]'', June 29, 2017.
17. Suzanne Alyssa Andrew, [https://nowtoronto.com/music/concert-reviews/tori-amos-paid-tribute-to-gord-downie-at-massey-hall/ "Tori Amos covered the Tragically Hip at Massey Hall"]. ''[[Now (newspaper). Now]]'', October 31, 2017.
18. Chris Powell, [https://the-message.ca/2022/03/23/canadian-tires-hip-centenary-celebration/ "Canadian Tire’s ‘hip’ centenary celebration"]. ''The Message'', March 23, 2022.
19. David Friend, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/tragically-hip-fans-belt-out-bands-classics-en-masse-as-tiff-gets-underway/article_0fd66fa9-55be-5449-ac2c-81b42d3c2f94.html "Tragically Hip fans belt out band’s classics en masse as TIFF gets underway"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', September 5, 2024.
20. (1996). "Ahead by a Century". [[Music Corporation of America.
21. (July 17, 2013). "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". [[Library and Archives Canada]].
22. (July 17, 2013). "RPM Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". [[Library and Archives Canada]].
23. (July 17, 2013). "RPM Year End Alternative Top 50". [[Library and Archives Canada]].
24. Lwin, Nanda. "Top 100 singles of the 1990s". [[Jam!]].