"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), bassi ...
. 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 ...
''. 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 Ba ...
,
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 ...
'' 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 dimension ...
''
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 ...
,
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''. Singer-songwriter
Justin Rutledge 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