Fifty Mission Cap
| "Fifty Mission Cap" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Tragically Hip | ||||
| from the album Fully Completely | ||||
| Released | January 1993 | |||
| Recorded | Battery Studios (London) | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Writer(s) |
Rob Baker Gordon Downie Johnny Fay Paul Langlois Gord Sinclair | |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Tsangarides, Piye | |||
| The Tragically Hip singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Fifty Mission Cap" is a song by Canadian rock group The Tragically Hip. It was released in January 1993 as the second single from the band's third full-length album, Fully Completely.
Background
The song is a tribute to Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Bill Barilko, reintroducing Barilko's story to a younger generation,[1][2][3] and is among The Tragically Hip's most popular songs.[4][5]
The song's influence on public awareness of Barilko's story was such that the band is devoted an entire chapter in the 2004 book 67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire.[1]
Content
The song's lyrics describe the mysterious disappearance of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player Bill Barilko.[6] Barilko scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal for the Leafs over Montreal Canadiens in the 1951 cup finals.[6][7] Four months and five days later, Barilko departed on a fishing trip in a small, single-engine airplane with friend and dentist, Henry Hudson.[5] The plane disappeared between Rupert House and Timmins, Ontario, leaving no trace of Barilko or Hudson.[6]
Eleven years later, on June 7, 1962, helicopter pilot Ron Boyd discovered the plane wreckage roughly 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Cochrane, Ontario (about 35 miles off-course). Barilko was finally buried in his home town of Timmins, the same year that the Maple Leafs won their next Stanley Cup.[6]
The song's lyrics also reference the World War II style U.S. Army Air Corps, or U.S. Air Force officer's cap, mentioned in the song's title. The fifty mission cap was a cloth cap with visor issued to U.S. Army officers in World War II that developed a particular crush from the headphones that the bomber crews wore.
Charts
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart[8] | 40 |
References
- 1 2 Woolsey, Garth (2004-12-12). "The sad decline". Toronto Star (Pay-per-view).
- ↑ Pagan, Ken (2005-05-31). "In Barilko's honour" (Pay-per-view). Toronto Star. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ↑ Hunter, Paul (2004-10-26). "Leaf legend's star on the rise again" (Pay-per-view). Toronto Star. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ↑ Ross, Sherry (2006-10-15). "THE TRAGEDY OF BILL BARILKO". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- 1 2 Hornby, Lance (2004-10-26). "The legend lives on". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- 1 2 3 4 "Leafs pay tribute to Barilko". CBC Sports. 2001-05-01. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ↑ "Tragically Hip's Downie auditions for TV role". CBC News. 2005-02-17. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 57, No. 3, January 30 1993". RPM. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
Further reading
- Cox, Damien; Stellick, Gord (2009-12-14). 67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire. John Wiley and Sons.