The band formed in December of 1996, originally consisting of Skiba, Rob Doran (bass/vocals), and Glenn Porter (drums/vocals). 1997 saw the release of the band's first EP, Sundials. This was followed shortly after by the departure of Doran. He was replaced by Andriano, who had been the singer for Tuesday and bassist for the ska band Slapstick. The band released their second EP, entitled For Your Lungs Only, in 1998, which began to build them a sizable fan base in the American Midwest. Later that year, they released their first full-length album, Goddamnit, followed by Maybe I'll Catch Fire in 2000. Both were released on Asian Man Records. Also in 2000, the band released a collection of their previously-released EPs on a self-titled album.
Following the success of their Asian Man releases, Alkaline Trio signed to Vagrant. Joined by new drummer Mike Felumlee (previously of the Smoking Popes), From Here to Infirmary was released in 2001. It was their first album to see any interest from alternative radio and the mainstream media, with the semi-hit punk single "Stupid Kid" and the inclusion of the song "Armageddon" on the Tony Hawk's Underground as well as Tony Hawks American Wasteland video games. Their cover of "Over at the Frankenstein Place" was included in the compilation The Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show, an album made to pay tribute to the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
After the release, Felumlee left the band too and was replaced by Grant, previously of The Suicide Machines.
Their next full-length album was Good Mourning, released in 2003, with the album's launch single "We've Had Enough" seeing a considerable amount of commercial success. The album was a significant departure from earlier works, featuring greater production value and a noticeable move toward a more mainstream sound.
The band has also appeared on various compilation albums, notably Plea for Peace Vol. 1 and Rock Against Bush Vol. 1. Skiba and Andriano have both independently recorded split records, Skiba with Kevin Seconds on Asian Man Records and Andriano with Mike Felumlee on Double Zero Records, as well as jointly performing backing vocal duties on the album This is Unity Music by Common Rider. They have also recorded two split EPs with bands who are no longer together: one with Hot Water Music in 2000 and the other with One Man Army in 2004.
Alkaline Trio released their fifth studio album on Vagrant Records, entitled Crimson, on May 24, 2005, which featured the single "Time to Waste." The single for this song also included bonus tracks produced by Mass Giorgini. The tracks "Mercy Me" and "Burn" have also been released as singles from the album.
In 2004 Andriano became a member of The Falcon, a super-group of consisting of The Lawrence Arms' bassist/co-vocalist Brendan Kelly (with who he had played with in Slapstick), and Neil Hennessy, drummer from The Lawrence Arms. The band released a 5-song EP in 2004, and its first full-length Unicornography in September of 2006.
In 2006 Matt Skiba collaborated with Josiah Steinbrick for the band Heavens.
In 2008 Alkaline Trio released Agony & Irony on Epic Records. The album charted at #13 on the Billboard 200.
Alkaline Trio's 7th studio album, This Addiction,was released on February 23rd 2010. This was their first album under their own label, Heart & Skull, an offshoot of Epitaph, and the album debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest the band has ever charted to date.
Alkaline Trio's eighth studio album, Damnesia,, was released July 12, 2011. Consisting of "a selection of beloved fan favorites selected from the group's extensive catalogue and presented in an intimate semi-unplugged format", the album also included two new songs, "Olde English 800" and "I Remember a Rooftop", as well as a cover version of the Violent Femmes' "I Held Her in My Arms".
On April 2nd, 2013, Alkaline Trio released "My Shame Is True".
On August 31st, 2013, Alkaline Trio released "Is This Thing Cursed?".
On June 8th, 2023, longtime drummer Derek Grant left the band due to mental health reasons and intentions to pursue music production as well as graphic design. He was replaced by Atom Willard, formerly of bands such as Rocket from the Crypt and Against Me!. The band then released the single, "Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs" on October 17th, 2023, and announced an album of the same name due for a release date of January 26th, 2024.
Mercy Me
Alkaline Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's been a long time since I felt so sick
I took a long walk straight back home
I could of walked back to San Francisco
I used to long for time alone
I used to long for a place of my own
And I'm losing faith in everything
I'm lost so lost, I'm lost at sea, you see
I used to long for broken bones
I used to long for a casket to call my own
I never had a problem facing fear
But I'm done, over and out, my dear
And oh, mercy me
God bless catastrophe
There's no way in hell
You'll ever live to see through this so
Drive yourself insane tonight
Its not that far away
And I just filled up your tank earlier today
Yeah
It's been a long day, living with this
It's been a long time since I felt so sick
I took a long walk straight back home
I could of walked back to Chicago
I used to long for time alone
I used to long for a place of my own
And I'm losing faith in everything
I'm lost, so lost, I'm fucked without you
Oh, mercy me
God bless catastrophe
There's no way in hell
We'll ever live to see through this so
Drive yourself insane tonight
It's not that far away
And I just filled up your tank earlier today
Yeah
So drive yourself insane tonight
It's not that far away
And I just filled up your tank earlier today
Yeah
Yeah
The Alkaline Trio's "Mercy Me" is a song about feeling lost, disconnected, and overwhelmed by negative emotions. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness, where the singer feels distant from the world around them and has lost faith in themselves and everything else. The opening lines suggest that there is something unpleasant and exhausting about the singer's life, as they have been living with an unidentified problem for a long time. The second line of the chorus, "God bless catastrophe," could be interpreted as a plea for something terrible to happen in order to shake up the mundane and intolerable circumstances.
The singer's longing for solitude and a place of their own suggests a yearning for control and independence, but ultimately, they feel too lost to even navigate their own sense of self. The line, "I'm lost at sea, you see," portrays a very bleak image of a soul adrift and at the mercy of the tides, without any hope of finding firm ground. The final lines of the song's chorus ("Drive yourself insane tonight, It's not that far away, And I just filled up your tank earlier today") could be interpreted as a plea to escape from reality in a self-destructive way, as if it's the only viable option left.
Overall, "Mercy Me" is a powerful and evocative song about the struggles of mental health and the difficulties of finding meaning and purpose in life. It reveals how loneliness, anxiety, and depression can push people to their limits and leave them feeling utterly helpless.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a long day, living with this
I've been struggling with something difficult all day long.
It's been a long time since I felt so sick
This situation has been hurting me for a while now and I'm not feeling well because of it.
I took a long walk straight back home
I needed to clear my head and the best way to do that was to walk home.
I could of walked back to San Francisco
I could have kept walking for a really long time because I needed that time alone.
I used to long for time alone
I used to want to be alone a lot and thought it was a good thing.
I used to long for a place of my own
I used to want my own space and a home I could call my own.
And I'm losing faith in everything
I'm starting to lose hope in everything in my life.
I'm lost so lost, I'm lost at sea, you see
I feel very lost and overwhelmed, like I'm adrift in the ocean with no direction.
I used to long for broken bones
I used to want to feel physical pain because I thought it would help me cope with emotional pain.
I used to long for a casket to call my own
I used to think about death and wished for my own space to be buried in.
I never had a problem facing fear
I never used to be afraid of anything and was always willing to take on challenges.
But I'm done, over and out, my dear
But now I'm feeling defeated and don't have the energy to keep fighting anymore.
And oh, mercy me
This situation is so bad that I'm begging for mercy.
God bless catastrophe
This terrible event has happened and I'm trying to find some good in it.
There's no way in hell
It's impossible to see how this situation could possibly turn out well.
You'll ever live to see through this so
You won't live long enough to see this situation get any better.
Drive yourself insane tonight
I'm encouraging you to do something crazy in order to forget about our problems for a little while.
It's not that far away
It wouldn't take much to escape reality and do something reckless.
And I just filled up your tank earlier today
I want you to go out and do something wild and I've even given you the means to do so by filling up your gas tank.
I'm fucked without you
I'm so dependent on you that I can't function properly without you.
It's been a long time since I felt so sick
This situation has been hurting me for a while now and I'm not feeling well because of it.
I took a long walk straight back home
I needed to clear my head and the best way to do that was to walk home.
I could have walked back to Chicago
I could have kept walking for a really long time because I needed that time alone.
Lyrics © CALDERWOOD, INC., BMG Rights Management
Written by: DANIEL MICHAEL ANDRIANO, DEREK R. GRANT, MATTHEW THOMAS SKIBA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind