It is this last lesson of resilience that helps me put into perspective the incredible purpose of Gord Downie.ĭownie did not wait for things to happen he pushed himself to learn, to develop, to create. He went across Canada, suffering from the painful side-effects of a double craniotomy and chemotherapy, and delivered more than two hours of music over 15 different nights. He did not seek respite by curling up into the fetal position in a darkened room somewhere in cottage country, Ontario. It is all a bit overwhelming.ĭownie’s first inclination was to go out and tour Canada. You have also been informed you likely have no more than 24 months to live. You are sitting on a new album of music with your friends of more than 30 years. You are sitting on a project that might change the cultural landscape of First Nations for decades to come. The final example to highlight is Downie’s homage to resilience as part of his purpose.Īfter the final verdict of his terminal condition sunk in, Downie went to his bandmates in the Tragically Hip and said, “Hey, we just made a new album. It’s made me think how I want to leave this Earth, and what I need to do in advance to say thank you to those that have helped me with my journey, my purpose. It was made available ten days later, on October 27, 2017. The album, titled Introduce Yerself, was set to release after his death. His dog, the Hip, his four children, sisters and brothers, mom, dad, ex-wife, and of course his lifetime guardians, Dave “Billy Ray” Koster and Ricky Wellington, Downie didn’t choose to dwell on his plight or seek pity from his predicament, he went back to work and left the world with a treasure map of his relationships. Twenty-three poems set to incandescent yet straightforward bars of music, each was written for someone special in his life. Indeed, it was an LP of heartfelt love letters. His first act was to go back into the recording studio and record an album. To be struck by three-and the third being your own mortality-is arguably inhumane. Several months earlier Downie’s marriage had fallen apart. Just a few days before his diagnosis, Downie grieved the passing of his father. Subsequently, he and his brother initiated the Gord Downie | Chanie Wenjack fund to support the reconciliation process through awareness, education, and action.īut there are two more examples to highlight, two more situations where we might learn to never give up on the continued refinement of our purpose. It is but another example of his selflessness and his commitment to purpose. And so, the Secret Path came out a year after he was informed of his terminal condition. More important to him was the symbolism and attention that the project might garner if released on the 50th anniversary of Wenjack’s death. Unsure if he would still be alive, it didn’t matter that he might not be around for the release of the Secret Path project. He remained steadfast to redefine his purpose continually. That date was October 22, 1966, and thus the album-even though completed two years earlier-would not release until October 18, 2016.ĭownie demonstrated an uncanny ability. It remained locked in the vault, however, as Downie insisted the album release on the 50th anniversary of Wenjack’s death. Over the following few years, Downie wrote ten poems and eventually recorded music to those poems under the title, The Secret Path. His purpose was beginning to augment yet again. The article struck a nerve with the younger Downie. Written in 1967, the piece described the death of a 12-year-old boy, Chanie Wenjack, in his attempt to escape from one of Canada’s notorious residential schools for First Nations children. In 2012 before the cancer diagnosis, Downie’s older brother Mike sent him an article from Maclean's magazine. His newfound purpose was just getting started. Sure, Downie continued to make music with his Hip bandmates, but the ancillary projects were unrelenting. Several more alternative albums were released over the following years.
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