Manchester Orchestra has released several extended plays and six studio albums: I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child (2006), Mean Everything to Nothing (2009), Simple Math (2011), Cope (2014) (as well as its accompanying acoustic version, Hope), A Black Mile To The Surface (2017), and The Million Masks of God (2021). They are signed to independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, which is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment, and Loma Vista Recordings.
Manchester Orchestra originated in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. They are named after the English city Manchester, a place rich in musical history (The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, Oasis, New Order, Happy Mondays). Feeling increasingly alienated at his "small-town-Georgia, Christian high school", Hull became so frustrated that he spent his senior year studying at home. Early in their career, the band recorded an album entitled Nobody Sings Anymore. However, it was never released due to the shift in the band's musical direction and personal changes undergone following its recording. The band stated that "the band that made the record was different to the band now." Some of the tracks written for the album were released instead on the EP You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor.
Following You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor, Manchester Orchestra recorded and released their debut album I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. This album gained the attention of the music industry, and eventually led to their signing with Canvasback. The album was released nationwide July 27, 2007. Guitarist Robert McDowell did not appear on this album. The song Wolves At Night was featured in the video game NHL 08.
In October of 2008 the band recorded their second EP, Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind, with producer Dan Hannon and engineer Brad Fisher. It was released October 7, 2008.
In early September 2008, the band announced on their Myspace blog that they had begun recording their second album entitled Mean Everything to Nothing with producer Joe Chicarrelli (The Shins, My Morning Jacket). On February 4, 2009, the band posted a link to a free download of the single I've Got Friends and performed an acoustic version at The Fly’s In The Courtyard Sessions. The album was released April 21, 2009.
On January 26, 2010, the band released a digital split EP with Kevin Devine entitled I Could Be The Only One. Following the release of the Manchester Orchestra/Kevin Devine split EP, it was announced that Kevin Devine would record a full-length album along with the members of Manchester Orchestra later that year, with half the album written by Devine and half by Andy Hull. On April 10, 2010, it was announced the new project's name was Bad Books, and that the album would be released under that moniker, and not "Manchester Orchestra + Kevin Devine" as previously speculated. The self-titled full-length Bad Books album was digitally released on October 19, 2010, and on CD on November 9, 2010.
On March 2010, in an interview with the Dallas Observer, Hull mentioned that the band had begun work on a follow up to 2009's Mean Everything to Nothing tentatively entitled Let Go of Your Sorrowful Groaning. He also said that the band have around 34 songs they are demoing and that in writing this album he was imagining a "spiritual miscarriage". Later that year in an interview with Rip It Up magazine, the band announced that they were in the middle of recording their third full-length album. Although without a title, they explained that the album was completely different to anything they had released in the past. The album was being recorded with Dan Hannon and balanced between Blackbird Studios (Nashville, TN) and their own Favorite Gentlemen Studios (Atlanta, GA).
On October 23, 2010, during an appearance at Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia, following a Bad Books show in support of their recently released self-titled debut album, Manchester Orchestra debuted an acoustic version of the title track of their new album, Simple Math. Originally scheduled for release in March 2011, the band announced in January of 2011 that their third full-length studio album, Simple Math, would be released on May 10, 2011, as well as announcing the album's tracklist and revealing that the album was set to be a concept album.
For more info, check out their official site: http://www.themanchesterorchestra.com/ca/home
The Gold
Manchester Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've become my ceiling
I don't think I love you anymore
That gold mine changed you
You don't have to hold me anymore
Our cave's collapsing
I don't wanna be me anymore
My old man told me
"You don't open your eyes for a while
You just breathe that moment down"
Forty miles out of East Illinois
For my old man's heart attack
I believed you were crazy
You believed you love me
I don't wanna bark here anymore
Black Hills, the colly
Wasn't really dangerous for us
We just catch you coughing
What the hell are we gonna do?
Black mile to the surface
I don't wanna be here anymore
It all tastes like poison
You can't open your eyes for a while
You just breathe that moment down
Forty hours out of Homestake
And I'm trying to translate you again
I believed you were crazy
You believed you love me
You and me, we're a day drink
So lose your faith in me
You can't open your eyes for a while
You just breathe that moment down
You can't open your eyes for a while
You just breathe
I believed you were crazy
You believed you love me
You and me, we're a day drink
So lose your faith in me
Lose your faith in me
Oh, lose your faith in me
The lyrics of Manchester Orchestra's song, "The Gold," describe a relationship that has changed and deteriorated over time. The singer acknowledges that they once loved their partner, but now the partner has become their "ceiling," something that is holding them back or keeping them in place. The partner's obsession with a "gold mine" has changed them, and the singer no longer feels the same love towards them. The line "I don't wanna be me anymore" suggests a desire for change, but also a despair that change is not possible. The reference to the singer's "old man" and his advice to "breathe that moment down" suggests that the singer is struggling with a family history or trauma, adding to the weight on their shoulders. Overall, the song is a haunting meditation on love and the toll it takes.
Line by Line Meaning
Couldn't really love you anymore
I have reached the maximum amount of love that I can give you
You've become my ceiling
You are hindering my progress and growth
I don't think I love you anymore
I have fallen out of love with you
That gold mine changed you
The pursuit of wealth has corrupted and changed you
You don't have to hold me anymore
Our relationship is over and you no longer need to cling onto it
Our cave's collapsing
Our relationship is crumbling and falling apart
I don't wanna be me anymore
I am unhappy with who I am and want to change
My old man told me
"You don't open your eyes for a while
You just breathe that moment down"
My father taught me to take the time to appreciate and live in the present moment
Forty miles out of East Illinois
For my old man's heart attack
I was far away when my father had a heart attack in East Illinois
I believed you were crazy
You believed you love me
We had different ideas about our relationship and the love we shared
I don't wanna bark here anymore
Black Hills, the colly
Wasn't really dangerous for us
We just catch you coughing
I don't want to continue living in this area and the coal mining lifestyle is causing health problems
What the hell are we gonna do?
Black mile to the surface
We are in a difficult situation with no easy way out
It all tastes like poison
Everything in our relationship feels toxic and harmful
You can't open your eyes for a while
You just breathe that moment down
Forty hours out of Homestake
And I'm trying to translate you again
Take the time to live in the moment and I am trying to understand and interpret your actions
You and me, we're a day drink
So lose your faith in me
Our relationship is temporary and fleeting, so it is better to stop believing in us
You just breathe
I believed you were crazy
You believed you love me
You and me, we're a day drink
So lose your faith in me
Lose your faith in me
Oh, lose your faith in me
Take a moment to breathe and reflect on our relationship. We have different perceptions of love and our relationship is not sustainable, so it is better to let go
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Written by: John Andrew Hull
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind