Lyrics for 38 Years Old as interpreted by black_cow_of_death

38 Years Old Lyrics
twelve men broke loose in seventy-three
from Millhaven maximum security
twelve pictures lined up, across the front page
seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage
the chief told the people they had nothing to fear
said, "the last thing they wanna do is hang around here"
they mostly came from towns with long french names
but one of the dozen was a hometown shame

same pattern on the table
same clock on the wall
been one seat empty, eighteen years in all
freezing slow time, away from the world
he's 38 years old, never kissed a girl

we were sitting around the table, heard the telephone ring
father said he'd tell em if he saw anything
heard the tap on my window in the middle of the night
held back the curtain for my older brother Mike

see my sister got raped, so a man got killed
local boy went to prison, man's buried on the hill
folks went back to normal when they closed the case
but they still stare at their shoes when they pass our place

my mother cried, "the horror has finally ceased!"
he whispered, "yeah, for the time being at least"
over her shoulder, on the squad car megaphone
said, "let's go Michael, son, we're taking you home."

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bosco9
05-05-2002

Rated 0 
america isn't ready for the tragically hip. gordie and co. make music that is far too intelligent and good for the simple minded, pop-grubbing jackasses that pollute the u.s. the hip rocks.

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Katydid
05-09-2002

Rated 0 
*LMAO* I won't comment on that....just nod my head in agreement..heh
The Hip are gods

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flatline_7
05-26-2002

Rated 0 
I for one am an American and friggin LOVE the Tragically Hip. Gord is the most intelligent and talented songwriter in this day and age...if not in any day and age. I have been a fan since I heard "New Orleans Is Sinking" on CFNY. I think that "Day For Night" has to be the quintessential album - well balanced, thought provoking, and lyrically rich. Of course, I AM from a border town (Niagara Falls, NY) so maybe the Canadian-ness has leaked over the border...

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grrrlskout
06-02-2002

Rated 0 
i, too, love the tragically hip. this song (as well as, you know, every other song by tth) is simply amazing.

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canadianJAY
06-07-2002

Rated +1 
I once heard GORD introduce this song in the following Manner (parapharsing)
"This is a totally fictional story about a totally fictional town, but the people there think it's true, so it's true"


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Katydid
06-12-2002

Rated 0 
On a radio show that aired in the Toronto area in 1989 Gord Downie said that only the first line is based on fact. The rest is just him imagining what it would be like if a family member went to the big house and broke out and came home for dinner and then maybe out to a movie later ((http://www.highwaygirl.com/hipfaq.html))

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narte31
06-18-2002

Rated 0 
wow this song has some of the best lyrics ive ever heard, i hate how the hip get no respect here in the states, but then again it only makes me appreciate them more. luckily im from buffalo so they stop here on every tour

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Katydid
06-22-2002

Rated +1 
Got my tickets to see them on July 12th for the second time. -Very- excited! They are the Canadian gods of music! Esp. Gordie....love him.

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trlgrl20
08-04-2002

Rated 0 
i am american, and their music was introduced to me by a canadian. since then, i have become an avid fan, and their lyrics are so intelligent and awesome. i love how they write. their sound is freakin' great, and definitely irreplacable. their song concepts are so bizarre and well thought up. i love them!

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sara_blue_shoes
09-05-2002

Rated 0 
this is one of my fave Hip songs! Pity I've never seen them do it live. (But then again, you can't be at every show, eh?)

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BigHeadJed
04-30-2003

Rated 0 
Icant get enough of the hip. although the earlier albums are my favorits i still love the fact that they write about all sorts of stuff. BTW im happy to see that its not just Canadians that love the hip!

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TJE_Drummer_11
06-20-2003

Rated 0 
The first line is fact, Milhaven Maximum security penitentary is about 100 yards away from me., in Millhaven, Ontario. There are probably about 400 people who live in millhaven, and 2,000 who live in Bath where I live, which is right beside it. Anyways, it is one of the worst prisons in Canada, and there was a famous young inmate there who was on his way out of prison when a riot broke out and a guard was killed, somehow he got laid with the murder charged and spent the next 30 years or so locked up for something he didn't do. I can't remember the name off hand of the guy but he eventually got out. Anyway the hip are from nearby Kingston so there wrote about this story. Thats what the song is about.

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xArcanum
06-02-2004

Rated 0 
Your kind of right, the USA isnt ready for the Hip...but it's also something else....The Hip are a VERY Canadian band...alot of their lyrics have stuff about Canada interwoven into them, so the USA just has'nt picked them up...which makes them even better in my opinion...they are truly canada's band

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ThatOtherGuy
09-24-2004

Rated 0 
Um... I guess we have learned that they need sex ed. class in Australia... but the hip are a great band, but I find I can never listen to their new stuff. It always takes until the song is no longer on the charts (and the radio is being saturated with it) for me to enjoy it.

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OpinionHead
02-09-2005

Rated 0 
This is a sad song even though it's fictional. It makes one wonder whether all criminals are really that hardened. But who knows, you did the crime so you do the time. I am a huge Hip fan and I thought I was the only Hip in my city, but it turns out two guys who live above me like these guys just as much. To me, Up To Here and Road Apples are their best albums. I like their earlier rock stuff because it's well-produced and not far from their original formula. The Hip are one of the best bands in the world and they even have an entry on MTV.com and the website asks why they haven't come down here. I would have to say for many of the abovementioned reasons. I don't think they'll ever pull a U2 and make their own "Joshua Tree" because they don't want to be known as sell-out group. I can't honestly blame them, the only reason they would probably play down here is because they're Canadians down here. They should come down here because a boatload of denizens from The Peg (yes I know what The Peg is) and surrounding communities shop and go to college down here. Have they ever played in the center of North America? I don't know for sure but I can find out, but I don't foresee them ever making a big splash on the American music scene. If they did that, all hell would break loose and freeze over simultaneously. Before I end my piece, here's the uninformed reporters article from MTV.com

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1455483/20020628/tragically_hip_the.jhtml

Canada does not suck and never will suck!

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SighGuy
02-21-2005

Rated 0 
Hey man, american right here, and I think the Hip kick ass. So does one of my friends who knows them.

No one else really knows about the Hip.

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buildatree
02-23-2005

Rated -1 
i could never make out what gord was screaming at the end but when i finally did i got a new meaning to the song. i now think its about a pimp trying to recruit a new girl, but she’s having her doubts. the song is a conversation between the two. Anyway this is my analysis

//he said I'm fabulously rich
//C'mon just let's go
->The pimps saying this, he’s like common baby I have money for you, plus I got this john ready to go

//She kinda bit her lip
//Geez, I don't know
->She’s not sure if she wants to or not

//But I can guarantee
//There'll be no knock on the door
//I'm total pro that's what I'm here for
->He’s trying to reassure her that everything will be ok, he’ll be right behind the door

//I come from downtown
//Born ready for you
//Armed with will and determination
//and grace, too
-> She’s still debating whether or not she’ll go through with it, but she feels that she’s better than this

//The secret rules of engagement
//Are hard to endorse
//When the appearance of conflict
//Meets the appearance of force
-> This is Gords interpretation of the situation. He’s basically saying that it’s hard to endorse prostitution because conflicts are settled by force, the pimp gets what he wants

//But I can guarantee
//There'll be no knock on the door
//I'm total pro
//that's what I'm here for
-> The pimps still trying to convince her

//I come from downtown
//Born ready for you
//Armed with skill and it's frustration
//And Grace, Too
->She’s still debating with herself, but this line hints that she might have did this before

//Him here now no
//Him here now no
->This is her final say. Gord screams this in such a desperate way at the very end of the song. She does not want to do this

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buildatree
02-23-2005

Rated 0 
POOO that wasnt for this song POO

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imetthehip
03-06-2005

Rated 0 
Anyways, it is one of the worst prisons in Canada, and there was a famous young inmate there who was on his way out of prison when a riot broke out and a guard was killed, somehow he got laid with the murder charged and spent the next 30 years or so locked up for something he didn't do.



I though this was Wheat Kings.


"No one is interested in something you didn't do"

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imetthehip
03-06-2005

Rated 0 
Anyways, it is one of the worst prisons in Canada, and there was a famous young inmate there who was on his way out of prison when a riot broke out and a guard was killed, somehow he got laid with the murder charged and spent the next 30 years or so locked up for something he didn't do.



I though this was Wheat Kings.


"No one is interested in something you didn't do"

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Fully__Completely
03-21-2005

Rated 0 
in a live Recording I once heard Gord Downie introduce this song by saying "This is a song about me locking my younger brother in a barn and then lighting it on fire"

Gotta love his humor

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imetthehip
03-26-2005

Rated 0 
A good intro I like of his to Wheat Kings is "It's a good thing we don't have capital punishment in a very rough angry sound, it's hilarious" another one for Nautical Disaster he was like, "No Canadian band is complete without a song of a Nautical Disaster, this is a song about a nautical disaster, and it's called Nautical Disaster"

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imetthehip
03-26-2005

Rated 0 
A good intro I like of his to Wheat Kings is "It's a good thing we don't have capital punishment in a very rough angry sound, it's hilarious" another one for Nautical Disaster he was like, "No Canadian band is complete without a song of a Nautical Disaster, this is a song about a nautical disaster, and it's called Nautical Disaster"

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krock
04-12-2005

Rated 0 
haha ohh millhaven.
the hip are amazing.
gord is crazy hilarious.
rob was in jesus christ superstar you should go see it.
everyone is amazing i love them all.
i love the hip.

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rammsteingirl
07-30-2005

Rated 0 
this song is very sad, i love it. The guy went to prison for killing a guy who raped his sister? i would kill anyone who raped my sister, no question i would hunt them down. But go to jail for revenge? He deserved it i say! I guess law doesnt see it the same way, they feel that people should leave punishments to the police, that is if the police are even able to catch the scum. I also hate the end where they're like "lets go michael son, we're taking you home"

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