Before his suicide in March 2010, Linkous created many albums of beauty and discord and much of Sparklehorse's music has an introspective, melancholy feel, which Linkous credited to a chemical imbalance. His lyrics are full of odd imagery: Joe Tangari describes Linkous' songs as "defiantly surrealist... with all manner of references to smiling babies, organ music, birds, and celestial bodies... In fact, some of the lyrics are so surreal that it's hard to imagine they're even metaphors for anything."
Musically, Sparklehorse were not far removed from alt country, though there are as many differences as similarities between that genre and Sparklehorse: Linkous was fond of incorporating obsolete musical instruments or technologies (such as woozy mellotrons, scratchy, distorted wire recordings of his own voice, or cheap, tinny drum machines), in ways reminiscent of some of Tom Waits' music. As an extension of this style, Sparklehorse was a pioneering voice in dream country. Sparklehorse offered a few full-throttle hard rock numbers, as well, such as "Some Day I Will Treat You Good" or "Happy Man".
Sparklehorse's first album was the confoundingly-titled Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995). The record was a modest success, mainly on college radio. The supporting tour, however, found Linkous overdosing on valium and antidepressants. As a result, Linkous passed out in his London hotel room and remained unconscious with his legs pinned beneath him for almost fourteen hours.
This caused a buildup of potassium which was released when he was moved, causing his heart to stop for two to three minutes. He was hospitalized for weeks afterwards (nearly losing both legs), enduring numerous painful surgeries.
Good Morning Spider (1999) was recorded following this incident, and with mournful songs such as "Painbirds", many critics have mistakenly conjectured that Linkous's near death experience inspired the somber, yet hopeful tone of the album. However, Linkous has stated that much of the material on GMS was written prior to 'the incident'. One song which did result from it is "St. Mary", which is dedicated to the nurses at the hospital of the same name where Linkous recuperated.
2001 saw the release of It's A Wonderful Life and features appearances by Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Nina Persson and Dave Fridmann, the pre-eminent producer of indie music at the time. Whereas much of "Vivadixie..." and "Spider" were recorded solely by Linkous in his "Static King" studio on his farm in rural Virginia, "Wonderful Life" was more of a formal effort, largely recorded by Fridmann after Linkous was asked by his label to retain an outside producer for the project.
Aside from his own music, Linkous has also become a sought-after record producer, and has helmed works such as Nina Persson's solo record, "A Camp", and Daniel Johnston's "Fear Yourself". Linkous has been one of the most ardent supporters of Johnston, an outsider artist who has had a long battle with mental illness. In 2004, Linkous curated and produced "Discovered Covered: The Late Great Daniel Johnston", a tribute album to the still-living Johnston featuring acts such as Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Vic Chesnutt, Tom Waits and Bright Eyes. It also includes a collaboration between Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips on the track "Go".
In 2003, Sparklehorse opened some concerts for R.E.M.
Linkous relocated his "Static King" studio to a remote mountaintop in North Carolina. Several years ago, he purchased a vintage recording console built by the near-mythical Daniel Flickinger. His fourth album has been delayed due to his own health problems as well as the necessity of overhauling the temperamental recording desk. Recently, Linkous has been carrying out promotional work for a new album Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain - collaborating with Danger Mouse and other notables including Christian Fennesz and Steven Drozd, and a release date of 25th September 2006 accompanied by US and UK tours was officially announced. Some of the newly released songs appeared at the time of It's A Wonderful Life as b-sides or demos, but there is a different feel to the album, thanks to stripped down production that has only been hinted at in previous albums. The ten minute long finale, with same title as the album, suggests a contemplative movie soundtrack rather than a song. Linkous has since realised his own ultimate song, remaining only now in music.
On March 6, 2010, Linkous committed suicide with a shotgun blast to his heart in the backyard of a friend's house in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 47 years old. A retail version of his delayed collaboration with Danger Mouse, "The Dark Night of the Soul", was released in July 2010.
http://www.sparklehorse.com
Piano Fire
Sparklehorse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Circus people with hairy little hands
Come on boys strike up the army band
I got sunburnt waiting for the jets
How do you feel?
How do you feel?
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
Fiery pianos wash up on a foggy coast
Squeaky old organs have given up the ghost
Fire them up and kill the pianos
There's creaky old organs burning on the coast
How do you feel?
How do you feel?
I can't seem to breath with a rusted metal heart
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
The lyrics to Sparklehorse's song "Piano Fire" are, on the surface, rather fragmented and nonsensical. However, upon closer inspection, the meaning of the song becomes a bit clearer. The opening lines describe waiting for jets to land, but being left with a sunburn instead. This seems to be a metaphor for waiting and hoping for something important, only to be let down and left with pain. The mention of "circus people" with "hairy little hands" adds to the sense of surrealism, perhaps suggesting that the thing being waited for is not of this world.
The chorus, with its repeated question "How do you feel?" seems to be directed at the person who is waiting, implying that they are not feeling good. The line "I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes" suggests a feeling of being stuck or trapped, unable to see a way out of the situation at hand. The second verse takes the surrealism to new heights, with fiery pianos washing up on a coast and creaky old organs burning. This could represent a sort of artistic destruction, with older ways of making music being replaced by new and more dangerous ones. The final line, "I can't seem to breathe with a rusted metal heart," drives home the sense of despair and isolation that runs through the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I got sunburnt waiting for the jets to land
The singer waited eagerly for planes to arrive and got a sunburn in the process
Circus people with hairy little hands
Strange people with hairy hands were also waiting for the planes
Come on boys strike up the army band
The singer urged someone to start playing music
I got sunburnt waiting for the jets
The artist repeats their sunburn as a result of waiting for the planes
How do you feel?
The artist asks someone how they're feeling
How do you feel?
The singer repeats their question about how the person is feeling
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
The singer can't see well and feels like their eyes are made of unyielding marble
Fiery pianos wash up on a foggy coast
Burning pianos appear mysteriously on a foggy shoreline
Squeaky old organs have given up the ghost
Old organs that were once noisy have died or stopped working
Fire them up and kill the pianos
Someone suggests starting a fire to get rid of the pianos
There's creaky old organs burning on the coast
The old organs are now burning alongside the pianos
How do you feel?
The artist again asks how someone is feeling
How do you feel?
The singer once again repeats the question about how the person is feeling
I can't seem to breath with a rusted metal heart
The singer feels like their heart is a rusty piece of metal and can't breathe well
I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes
The singer repeats their previous line about not being able to see well
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARK LINKOUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind