"Fireworks" is a song by Canadian rock band
The Tragically Hip. It was released in November 1998 as the third single from their sixth studio album, ''
Phantom Power''. The song was very successful in Canada, peaking at number 9 on Canada's ''
RPM''
Singles chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
.
Content
The song makes references to the
1972 Summit Series
The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (french: Série du siècle, Séries of the Century), was an eight-game ic ...
(particularly the famous game-winning goal of the series), hockey legend
Bobby Orr, and the fitness test administered via the
Canada Fitness Award Program The Canada Fitness Award Program was a national fitness test and evaluation program operated by the Government of Canada department Health and Welfare Canada from 1970 to 1992. It was a successor to the Centennial Athletic Awards Program, and was re ...
.
The narrator appears to be a middle-aged individual, speaking to an unnamed spouse about the history of their relationship. This relationship began on the last night of the Summit Series, and continued through a time-period partly contemporaneous with the remaining years of the Cold War.
The underlying theme of the recollections is that the couple's relationship has managed to survive for a significant number of years, unaffected by, and perhaps even serving as a defense against, external pressures.
Charts
Year-end charts
Pop culture
The song was featured on the season 5 episode 19 of ''
Corner Gas'' entitled "Final Countdown."
References
1998 singles
The Tragically Hip songs
1998 songs
Universal Music Group singles
Songs based on Canadian history
Songs written by Rob Baker (guitarist)
Songs written by Gord Downie
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