Tragically Hip tour: Ahead By A Century lyrics adorn Gord Downie's shoes

All eyes will be onGordDownie'sbrightly coloured metallic suits andherky-jerkydance moves when The Tragically Hip play Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in Toronto,butwhat you won't see is what he's got etched on the soles of his shoes:some of the lyrics to Ahead By A Century, the band'shighest-charting single in Canada.

"First thing we'd climb a tree and maybe then we'd talkor sit silently and listen to our thoughts" and "with revenge and doubt, tonight we smoke them out" were laser etched in old typewriter font on the soles of the flamboyant showman's boots by Toronto shoemakers Jitterbug Boy.

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Jitterbug Boy owner Jeff Churchill told CBC News he hasalways liked the song, which he said was running through his head while he worked on the shoe.

The footwear company, which has been making "custom made shoes and boots for the arts" for the last 11 years, was contactedlast summer byIzzyCamilleri, a Toronto-based clothing designerwho collaborated withDownieto create the funky suits he's wearing on tour.

"She asked if I could design some shoes for (Gord)," Churchill said, "I was completely buried bywork so I had to take a pass and ended up kicking myself after. SowhenI heard the Hipwere doing one final tour, I got back in touch withIzzyand said, 'If you guys need the boots, let me know andI can free up my schedule for it.'

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"They did, I did, and a couple of weeks later, therewere a pair of boots for him," he added. "They're really simple, classic black ankle boots with a leather sole. I wanted to make them really unique, reallyGord,so I started working through some details that are really subtle that no one would see but him. That was important for me."

Churchill, who listened to the Hip while working on the shoes, told CBC News"the thought of being able to make a pair of boots for this iconic Canadian ...and being a tiny part of Canadian music history" really appealed to him.

KarynRuizechoed Churchill's sentiment.

The owner of Lilliput Hats, a custom hat maker located in Little Italy, was also contacted byCamilleri to craft hats that Downie would rock on the current tour.

"I like to feel there's a piece of me up on stage," she told CBC News. "It was really emotional when I first saw him wearing the hats and receiving these really eloquent texts from him telling me he loved them."

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Lilliput made six hats for Downie, who Ruizdescribes as having "a particular aesthetic."

She says the Hip's frontman "was very involved in the creative process, he was really excited by the amount of choices we gave him andhow flexible we were. At one point, he was like, 'Just use your imagination and go for it.'"

Ruizdescribed the opportunity to make the hats as "bittersweet, given the nature of the tour."

But, she added, "it's their last tour but it's hardly a farewell.

"It feels like a big Canadian hug, like a big love letter to the country."