"Ahead by a Century" is a song by Canadian rock band

the Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassi ...

. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, ''

Trouble at the Henhouse ''Trouble at the Henhouse'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, released in 1996. The song "Butts Wigglin'" appeared in the 1996 film '' Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy''. Commercial and critical performance The al ...

''. The song reached number one on Canada's singles chart, and is the band's most successful single in their native Canada. It was one of the 10 most-played songs in Canada in 1996. The song was nominated for "Best Single" at the

1997 Juno Awards The Juno Awards of 1997, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 9 March 1997 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum. Jann Arden was host for the major ceremonies which were broad ...

. The song was certified platinum in Canada in 2016. "Ahead by a Century" was the final song performed by the band at their final concert on August 20, 2016.

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

used the song for their highlight montage to close their coverage of the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. It subsequently was also used for the opening titles of the CBC/

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Anne with an E ''Anne with an E'' (initially titled ''Anne'' for its first season within Canada) is a Canadian television series loosely Literary adaptation, adapted from Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 classic work of children's literature, ''Anne of Green Gables' ...

''. On October 18, 2017, the day Tragically Hip lead singer

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its forma ...

's death was announced, "Ahead by a Century" was the single most played song on Canadian radio.

Background

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

New Orleans Is Sinking "New Orleans Is Sinking" is a song by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. It was released in November 1989 as the second single from the band's first full-length studio album, ''Up to Here''. The song reached number-one on the '' RPM'' Canadian ...

".Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''.

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

. . 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."In anticipation of the Hip playing "Ahead By a Century" in Vancouver tonight, here's Gord Downie talkin' about it"
''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...

'', July 24, 2016. 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 Brooklin is a community in the town of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, north of Central Whitby, at the south junction of Ontario Highways 12 and 7. Brooklin was located primarily in rural area about two decades ago, but it is now part of the urban Wh ...

. The music video won the award for Best Video at the 1996

MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio MMVAs were an annual awards show broadcast on Much to honour the year's best music videos that was last held in 2018. Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards, the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMu ...

. The video was also nominated for "Best Video" at the

Covers

In 2016,

Hey Rosetta! Hey Rosetta! is a Canadian seven-piece indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and led by singer/songwriter Tim Baker. Known for their energized live shows, the band created a large, layered sound by incorporating piano, viol ...

performed the song during their set at the

CBC Music Festival CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, altering some lyrics to reflect Downie's recent announcement of his diagnosis with terminal

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

. In the same year, the Toronto-based

Choir! Choir! Choir! Choir! Choir! Choir! is a Canadian musical choir, based in Toronto, Ontario.

dedicated a performance of the song to Downie following the diagnosis. On the January 1, 2017, edition of

CBC Radio 2 CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

's ''

The Strombo Show ''The Strombo Show'' is a Canadian radio show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, which has aired since 2005."Stroumboulopoulos just can't stopoulopoulos; New CBC Radio Show". ''National Post'', November 7, 2009. The show originated on Standard B ...

'', 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 Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

as a medley with the song "Chancellor" from Downie's solo album ''

Coke Machine Glow ''Coke Machine Glow'' is the first solo album released by Gord Downie, the singer for The Tragically Hip. It was released in 2001. Early copies of the album were released as a joint package with a book by Downie, also titled ''Coke Machine Glo ...

''. 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 Inuttitut, Inuttut, or Nunatsiavummiutitut is a dialect of Inuktitut. It is spoken across northern Labrador by Inuit, whose traditional lands are known as Nunatsiavut. The language has a distinct writing system, created in Greenland in the 1760s ...

-language version of the song, incorporating traditional

Inuit throat singing Inuit throat singing, or ''katajjaq'' ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᑲᑕᔾᔭᖅ), is a distinct type of throat singing uniquely found among the Inuit. It is a form of musical performance, traditionally consisting of two women who sing duets in a ...

, was released by the

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

-based folk music band

The Jerry Cans The Jerry Cans ( iu, ᐸᐃ ᒑᓚᖃᐅᑎᒃᑯᑦ, ''Pai Gaalaqautikkut'') are a band from Iqaluit, Nunavut who combine traditional Inuit throat singing with folk music and country rock. Their music is largely written in Inuktitut, the ...

. At her concert at Toronto's

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

during her ''

Native Invader ''Native Invader'' is the fifteenth studio album (twelfth of entirely original material) by American singer/songwriter Tori Amos. It was released on September 8, 2017, through Decca Records. Its lead single, "Cloud Riders", was released on July ...

'' tour, on October 30, 2017, two weeks after Downie's death,

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

performed the song.Suzanne Alyssa Andrew
"Tori Amos covered the Tragically Hip at Massey Hall"
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', October 31, 2017. 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 Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...

for its 100th anniversary television commercial.Chris Powell
"Canadian Tire’s ‘hip’ centenary celebration"
''The Message'', March 23, 2022.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 1996 songs The Tragically Hip songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles MCA Records singles Songs about children Television drama theme songs Songs written by Rob Baker (guitarist) Songs written by Gord Downie