Canada woke up sad this morning as The Tragically Hip shared news that lead singer Gord Downie has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
“We have some very tough news to share with you today, and we wish it wasn’t so,” opens a statement on the band’s Facebook page. “A few months ago, in December, Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He’s endured a lot of difficult times, and he has been fighting hard. In privacy along with his family, and through all of this, we’ve been standing by him.”
Despite going through an unimaginably difficult time, the band managed to find inspiration from the sad news in announcing a summer tour.
“This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us,” read the statement. “We’re going to dig deep, and try to make this our best tour yet.”
For many, Downie’s voice was not only the voice of the Hip, or every summer spent at the cottage, but of all of Canada.
“I love this country. I love my idea of this country,” he said in a 2012 interview with the CBC. “Where I go and the people I’ve met, underlying everything is that commitment to finding the common good.”
And it’s the spirit of that common good that the Tragically Hip’s lyrics have been blessing their fans with for over 30 years.
Details and dates of the upcoming tour will be released this week – making the Hip once again summer’s hottest ticket.
We wish you courage, Gord.
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