"Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)" 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), bassis ...

. It was released in February 1993 as the third single from their 1992 album ''

Fully Completely ''Fully Completely'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album was released in October 1992 and produced by Chris Tsangarides. The album produced six singles: "Locked in the Trunk of a Car", "Fifty Mission Cap" ...

''. The song's bracketed title references author

Hugh MacLennan John Hugh MacLennan (March 20, 1907 – November 9, 1990) was a Canadian writer and professor of English at McGill University. He won five Governor General's Awards and a Royal Bank Award. Family and childhood MacLennan was born in Glace B ...

, because lines from his 1959 novel ''

The Watch That Ends the Night ''The Watch That Ends the Night'' is a novel by Canadian author and academic Hugh MacLennan. The title refers to a line in Psalm 90. It was first published in 1958 by Macmillan of Canada. Plot summary George and Catherine Stewart share not on ...

'' are paraphrased in the song's final verse. The song was very successful, reaching number 10 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Singles Chart, and also charting well in the United States and the Netherlands. The song was nominated for "Single of the Year" at the 1994 Juno Awards. Between 1995 and 2016, "Courage" was the most played Tragically Hip song on rock radio stations in Canada.

Covers

In 1997, the song was covered by

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...

for use in the film '' The Sweet Hereafter'' and its soundtrack. The cover version was also used in the television series ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

''. Singer-songwriter

Justin Rutledge Justin Rutledge (born January 3, 1979) is a Toronto-based Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter signed to Outside Music. Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams. His influences, both ...

also covered the song for his 2014 album '' Daredevil'', an album consisting entirely of Tragically Hip covers."Justin Rutledge Ropes In Brendan Canning, Jenn Grant, Andy Maize for Tragically Hip Covers Album"
. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', January 30, 2014.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courage (For Hugh Maclennan) Songs about writers 1992 songs 1993 singles The Tragically Hip songs MCA Records singles Songs written by Rob Baker (guitarist) Songs written by Gord Downie