Wheat Kings

Our 'Wheat Kings' art print offers Tragically Hip fans a visual interpretation of their classic song from the 1992 Fully Completely album, recently voted in No. 1 by fans on CBC Radio's all-time Hip song list.

The story behind our 'Wheat Kings' Art print

A photo of a dark, looming, Saskatchewan prairie sky at dusk sets the mood to the song's opening lyric‚"Sundown on the Paris of the prairies". The ghostly figure of a derelict grain elevator references the lyric‚ "And all you hear are the rusty breezes". Prairie grain elevators are also typically named for their town and the opening lyric seemed a perfect fit for this. The facing wall features a 'Wheat Kings' logo, inspired by the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool logo, to give the print its namesake. The night sky is filled with a photo I took of Gord Downie singing Wheat Kings during the band's 2016 farewell tour. Thousands of fans sang in unison and swayed to the lyrics with their cellphones alight. It was as is if they were recreating the distant shimmering city lights of Saskatoon from a cold January night. By sheer coincidence an eerie figure stood high in an arena doorway that night, looking on as if David Milgaard (wrongfully convicted for the 1969 murder of Gail Miller) was there to witness one last version of the Hip's power anthem written for him.

Design Features

• Powerful photo of a Saskatchewan stormy prairie sky
• The background photo was taken by me of the stadium during the Hip's performance Wheat Kings on August 18, 2016, in Ottawa