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Downie 'nationalism" quotes... - Printable Version

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Downie 'nationalism" quotes... - Stephen Dame - 01-28-2005

I'm looking for any good quotes where Gord references or rips on nationalism, either from print or stage. Anybody recall any off the top of their head?

- emperor penguin - 01-28-2005

Canada Day 2004, at the start of Grace Too, "I feel so patriotic, I could dance all night, just give me some light......" a very small reference but a reference nonetheless

- Roy-at-tth - 01-28-2005

i belive he said something along the lines of nationalism being inherently racist. Something i don't quite agree with, but a fair statement nonetheless.

- patiodweller - 01-28-2005

Gordie said on Much Music in 1999 in regards to Canada, "I like our gun laws..Nationalism sometimes gets in the way of healthy skeptisism."

- Stephen Dame - 01-28-2005

I need them to toss into some copy for a project I'm doing. Here's some rough points that I'm tossing around, I'll eventualy chop this down into one or two coherent paragraphs which should flow better than this... stuff. I guess I'm trying to find something that illustrates the paradox of Gord hating nationalism (And all the damage nationalism has done throughout history) and the Hip having become Canada's Band.

1) ...what I like to call negative nationalism. Now, there’s nothing new about a Canadian identity rooted in subtle anti-Americanism, but it’s rise has coincided with a renewed interest in all that makes “us” different. Sadly, instead of reading about Vimy Ridge and swelling with pride, the Negative Nationalist feels the need to add “and the Yanks didn’t even join the war ‘till 1917.” It always seems as if the Negative Nationalist’s can’t build themselves up without trying to knock the Americans down. It’s Big Brother syndrome to be sure, but there are segments of HipHeads who both practice this neveau chic nationalism as well as preach it (usually up front in the pit, and usually after a few litres of Molson’s.) Yet, far from cater to this type of thinker, the Hip have stayed far away from fist-pumping comparisons and clichés. Rather than simply writing Hockey or Prarie songs for their own sake, the band references such aspects of the Canadian fact through historical reference and allusion. Their songs touch on events and individuals who represent both the positive and negative marks on our history. There is not a sterilized Dudley Do-Right impression of Canada within the music, but a reflection of a constantly developing diverse and dispersed nation. The band invites the listener to discover that Yes; there are truths and myths and magical aspects of Canada that don’t begin with “compared to them.” No; we’re not a cultural empire, but we are a rich cultural community. The music of the Tragically Hip reminds us that we shouldn’t be afraid to explore that culture, to celebrate our stories, and to do it in a simple way that says ‘this is who we are, we’re proud of it, and that’s good enough.’

2) - The negative nationalism often anchors on differences between the U.S and Canada. These aren’t always so easy to spot when two nations share a continent, are forged from the same wars and watch the same television. But in the realm of politics, some differences do exist, and it is often these differences which lead off any Negative Nationalists ‘we’re-better-than-them’ rant. Pierre Berton, as usual, said it best in a single response to Macleans writer Will Ferguson: “We have to preserve the fabric of our nationhood through things like Medicare and the gun laws, and all the stuff that is different. Our history is different, our geography is different.” While Berton doesn’t specifically write ‘who’ or ‘what’ we are different from, it’s a safe bet he wasn’t speaking of Paraguay. Living next to the Elephant has it’s benefits and it’s bothers, but most of us wouldn’t have it any other way. We must find some merit in celebrating Canada for Canada, finding what makes her great all on her own. Berton continued: “We have to write our own songs and create our own heroes and dream our own dreams, or we wont’ have a country at all.” Certainly, if you had to name one band who fits the latter half of Berton’s quote, and one group of fans who are willing to heed his warning, it would have to be The Tragically Hip.

3) - Pierre Berton: “A country has to have a mythology. There has to be a rich fabric and background that tells us what kind of people we are.” Like Berton, The Hip have successfully spun such tales onto the public record. The band has so genuinely and unpretentiously reminded us of the historic and ongoing fabric of Canada, that they themselves have become part of the patchwork of Canadian culture. When Peter Mansbridge referred to the band as “the musical chroniclers of our times,” perhaps the anchorman was unaware that for so many, The Tragically Hip have been their only chronicle of Canadianna. Before Heritage Minutes, before beer companies used grainy footage of Paul Henderson to sell their brews, and before the Negative Nationalism had really picked up speed, the Hip turned many of us on to Hugh McLennan, Tom Thompson and Canadian folk lore in general. When you grow up next to a cultural Levithan, when your media, schools and role models lack any in-depth reference to home, it’s the little things Canadian, perhaps anything Canadian, which stand out.

- hotmetal401 - 01-29-2005

"I've been hit in the nuts by nationalistic fevor -- that flag was so depthly thrown" -- Grace Too, London UK, 2000

I believe he prefaced on a song by saying "this is called nationalism kills'

Cheers

Pat

- direwolf74 - 01-29-2005

"Canada day is a tool of oppression the man uses to keep us down!"

-High Sierra Festival, July '95

- Chris Tanz - 01-29-2005

"Happy Stupid Day" -- Canada Day 1994 at Molson Park Barrie (because of bottle throwing at Daniel Lanois)

"We've come here to study you. But it's us that learn the most. We're getting a message from beyond. Like exiles from the Canada of your soul." -- Woodstock 1999

"If it's not a Canada of a pain ..." -- Train Overnight

Stephen, don't know if you know Spirit of the West at all, but they've got two songs that might be of interest to you: "Far Too Canadian" and "Our Ambassador".

ct

- Stephen Dame - 01-29-2005

Chris Tanz Wrote:"Happy Stupid Day" -- Canada Day 1994 at Molson Park Barrie (because of bottle throwing at Daniel Lanois)

"We've come here to study you. But it's us that learn the most. We're getting a message from beyond. Like exiles from the Canada of your soul." -- Woodstock 1999

"If it's not a Canada of a pain ..." -- Train Overnight

Stephen, don't know if you know Spirit of the West at all, but they've got two songs that might be of interest to you: "Far Too Canadian" and "Our Ambassador".

ct

Downloading now... thanks.

And thanks everybody.

- direwolf74 - 01-29-2005

Chris Tanz Wrote:Stephen, don't know if you know Spirit of the West at all, but they've got two songs that might be of interest to you: "Far Too Canadian" and "Our Ambassador".


Good choices. I know that "Our Ambassador" was written specifically about a drunken, unruly Canadian flag-wearing Hip fan who got a little out of hand during one of their shows opening for the Hip in the U.S.

- borgs - 01-29-2005

there's a great one i've heard... can't remember the date but it's something along the lines of...

"the love of you're country is only exceded by the volume of your voice"

... amazing, there's also an interview that gord did on much music where he was walking through an art gallery (the AGO i imagine) and the interviewer (can't remember her name) asks gord if he's a nationalist and he replies that he isn't because that would mean that you're blind to positive changes that should happen or something like that... don't remember it so well but it seems appropirate for you're purposes...

last one i can think of that takes a bit of a different spin is at MM during the M@W show when someone asks gord about the biggest myth about canadians and he says something like "that we're not patriotic"...

cool thread, cool project

- longseason - 01-29-2005

"I'm not pissing on my surroundings ... I was watching as nationalism began to metamorphose into something creepy and affiliated."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1494/is_n5_v111/ai_18483403

Re: Downie 'nationalism" quotes... - thipfan73 - 01-29-2005

Stephen Dame Wrote:I'm looking for any good quotes where Gord references or rips on nationalism, either from print or stage. Anybody recall any off the top of their head?

I've got an interview on my HD where he talks about nationalism. I'll transcribe it for you.

Have you ever thought that he is just making shit up when he's on stage?

- thipfan73 - 01-29-2005

Jan 99 from Much Music

MM: Do you consider yourself a nationalist?

GD: No.

MM: No?

GD: No. That would seem to denote a certain, um, sense of superiority, um. over

others. Kinda ah unfortunately dilutes What I think is, ah , is required which is healthy skepticism. It's almost like saying don't bother thinking about what needs being changed ya know, just be proud of who you are and where you're from and, um, let everyone know it.

it sounds hokey and everything but for some odd reason it's just like you know, you hear your place name or you hear about where you're at or you relate to it somehow and it's like YAH it just stays with you it's indellible.

I just love it when he uses big words :lol:

- thedarkcanuck - 01-29-2005

"your love of your country is only surpassed by the volume of your voices" came from a show in sweden i believe...gino?