The Tragically Hip are kind of masters of the album track. I almost feel bad for focusing in on 'Daredevil', because the beloved Canadian band has a habit of crafting their albums more or less perfectly; almost every song on any given album has its place, and many of these songs are stand-outs in and of themselves (go and listen to 'Cordelia', 'The Wherewithal', and 'Heaven Is a Better Place Today' for just a very small selection of the kind of songs I'm talking about).
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| The Tragically Hip's 'Daredevil' is ostensibly about plunging over Niagara Falls in a barrel. |
Why 'Daredevil'? In contrast to the three songs just mentioned, the track isn't as beloved as the first, doesn't appear on the Hip's most-celebrated album like the second, and doesn't have the touching back-story of the third. The short answer is that I happen to have been listening to Day for Night lately and I've been enjoying this song a lot. But I also want to highlight it because, more than the other Hip tracks I've mentioned, I feel like 'Daredevil' needs highlighting.
Listening to it, you might be surprised that 'Daredevil' never enjoyed single status. It's more energetic and less enigmatic than lead single 'Grace, Too', and more muscular than, say, 'Greasy Jungle'. Sonically, the song pulls off feeling loose and spacious even as it propels itself ever forward, like its subject "plunging over the falls". Meanwhile, the rhythmic muscle is complemented by a melody that releases and reintroduces a palpable tension with almost every phrase.
Nevertheless, there are some distinctly 'album track' qualities here. The most obvious is the endearing bit of quirkiness which opens the track. And the wah-laden crescendo that culminates the song sounds like something other bands might place near the end of an album, as part of an epic finish. As it happens, 'Daredevil' is track number two on Day for Night.
Lyrically, the song is as much a poetic masterpiece as anything else lyricist Gord Downie has written. Like the other Hip material, the song can be superficially seen as another bit of nostalgic Canadiana - a remembrance of Niagara Falls' famous history with thrill-seekers. But Downie's lyrics have never been that simple, and here the subject matter is used as a conduit to explore existential themes:
Curious and grim we wrestle at the rim
We wonder all about him and the point of it all
....
And the real wonder of the world is that we don't jump too
The lyrics paint a picture that goes all too well with the vocal melody's jagged harmony, and the ever-intensifying guitars. One can imagine the confused but zealous daredevil tossed around in the water as the drop over the falls comes closer and closer. And then, when the drop comes, the exposed daredevil is reflected in each member of the watching crowd - all experiencing the same existential uncertainty, but none ready to make the same leap of faith.
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