Having released How would you like to be spat at in January 2005, they managed to prove, not only to themselves but also to the attentive masses, they stand securely with both feet on the ground in an experimental, tentative world of pitch-black music. The drastic development this band has undergone over the years clearly indicates their uniqueness when it comes to experimentation and alteration, musically as well as personally. In hope to inspire and enthuse, The Provenance incessantly continues to pound the shape of uniform, homogeneous and narrow-minded conceptions of the music scene at large. The Swedes have always embraced the notion of artistic exploration and development and consistently return with a fresh musical approach incomparable to each and every one of their previous releases, including the awe-inspiring work of 2001's 25th hour; bleeding, 2003's Still at arms length and 2005's How would you like to be spat at.
Leaving Scarlet Records behind in 2005, the band strives onward with their fourth full-length release Red flags, due 2006 on Peaceville Records so the bands future looks brighter than ever before.
Through various hardships and ordeals, in the face of mundane everyday life intrusions, this dark and restless quintet has constantly stuck together. They have stood and delivered, year by year, album by album and thus, unsurprisingly, the number of followers has steadily increased. With Red flags the band makes perfectly clear they will stand even taller, see even clearer and speak even louder. There is definitely an undeniable straightforwardness in correlation with Red Flags and the lyrics and music portray the aggressive, heartbroken and cynical insights of what life may and most frequently does bring. It is time to put up a fight and stare the wretchedness and cruelty of mankind dead in the eye. Pull yourselves together and let us take this final step together and collectively walk into the mouth of oblivion. Raise your flags people, for revolution will come and the leaders have already been appointed.
So, to all devotees of dim and expressionistic music, no matter in what casing; this is The Provenance of 2006, reluctant to look back. This is The Provenance, the official sponsors of the end.
At the Barricades
The Provenance Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What should have been flooded
The best years of my life down the drain
So I'm on the bed
I hate the heart for pumping
Things will never be the same
Wish I was dead and no one cared
Wish I was dead and that I cared
Off to fight despair
Truthfully I really should have been aware
I clench my fist
So I bite down hard, I won't go out like this
Yes, you'll find me there at the barricades
I'll see you at the barricades
Meet you there at the barricades
So I'm at the front
I hate my heart for pumping
Things will always be the same
It always ends like this
Always has and always will
You're all the same
Wish I was dead and no one cared
Wish I was dead and that I cared
Wish you were dead and no one cared
Wish you were dead and that I cared
I'll see you at the barricades
Meet you there at the barricades
The song "At the Barricades" by The Provenance is a bleak and introspective look at the singer's feelings of hopelessness and desperation. The first verse speaks to the feeling that the best years of the singer's life have been wasted or lost, as if they had been washed down the drain. The singer then expresses a wish for death, both for himself and for others.
The second verse finds the singer resolved to fight despair, though he acknowledges that he should have seen it coming. He clenches his fist and refuses to go out without a fight. But ultimately, the song seems to suggest that the battle is futile and that things will never truly change. The singer is resigned to his fate and accepts that he will remain at the barricades, fighting a losing battle.
The repeated line "I hate my heart for pumping" suggests a deep self-loathing and an inability to escape the feelings of despair that plague the singer. The final lines "I'll see you at the barricades/Meet you there at the barricades" suggest that this sense of hopelessness is shared by many others and that they will continue to fight together, even when there seems to be no hope.
Overall, "At the Barricades" is a powerful meditation on feelings of hopelessness, despair, and the struggle to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless world.
Line by Line Meaning
So it's a fact now
I have come to accept the truth
What should have been flooded
What was supposed to be overwhelming
The best years of my life down the drain
My prime years are wasted and gone
So I'm on the bed
I am lying down in despair
I hate the heart for pumping
I cannot stand my own heartbeat
Things will never be the same
My life will never be as it was
Wish I was dead and no one cared
I desire death without anyone mourning me
Wish I was dead and that I cared
I want to care about my own life but death still seems appealing
Off to fight despair
I am determined to battle hopelessness
Truthfully I really should have been aware
I ought to have known better
I clench my fist
I grip my hand tightly in anger
So I bite down hard, I won't go out like this
I endure the pain to prevent myself from giving up
Yes, you'll find me there at the barricades
I will be present when the conflict arises
So I'm at the front
I am positioned at the forefront
It always ends like this
This event always concludes in the same manner
Always has and always will
This is how it has been and will continue to be
You're all the same
Everyone is indistinguishable from one another
Wish you were dead and no one cared
I wish for your death without anyone lamenting your loss
Wish you were dead and that I cared
I wish to have the capacity to care about you but still yearn for your demise
I'll see you at the barricades
I will encounter you in the midst of the conflict
Meet you there at the barricades
I will join you in the confrontation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EMMA JOANNA HELLSTROM, JOAKIM ALEXANDER ROSEN, JOEL LINDELL, JONNIE TALL, TOBIAS MARTINSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind