"38 Years Old" | ||||
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Single by The Tragically Hip | ||||
from the album Up to Here | ||||
Released | April 1990 | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Length | 4:18 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Songwriter(s) |
Rob Baker Gordon Downie Johnny Fay Paul Langlois Gord Sinclair |
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Producer(s) | Mark Howard | |||
The Tragically Hip singles chronology | ||||
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"38 Years Old" is a song by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. It was released in April 1990 as the fourth single from the band's first full-length studio album, Up to Here. The song peaked at No. 41 on the Canadian RPM singles chart. Though it is one of The Tragically Hip's most popular songs, the band seldom played the song live.
The song was written in Memphis during their recording of the album.
It is a fictional account of the real-life escape of 14 inmates from Millhaven Institution near the band's hometown of Kingston, Ontario on July 10, 1972. The date of the event and the number of escapees mentioned in the song are historically incorrect ("12 men broke loose in '73..."). This was done for the purpose of meter, and for rhyming with the next line of the song ("...from Millhaven maximum security.")