Thievery Corporation is on the Eighteenth Street Lounge record label named after the DC club owned by Eric Hilton, but several of their singles and EP's appear on the 4AD and !K7 labels.
Formed in the summer of 1995 at D.C.’s Eighteenth Street Lounge. Rob Garza and Lounge co-owner Eric Hilton bonded over club life, dub, bossa nova and jazz records, then decided to see what would come of mixing all these in a recording studio. From this, the duo was born and their self started label Eighteenth Street Lounge Music began to emerge on an international level.
The duo caught the ears of underground DJ’s with their first two 12" offerings, Shaolin Satellite and 2001: a Spliff Odyssey. Their 1997 debut LP, Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi began to both define a new genre of electronic music and connect with an international community of like-minded souls. Though the terminology has varied (downtempo, chill out, left field and a myriad of other permutations), they have maintained their unique musical standards for the duration of their popularity.
In 2002, they released The Richest Man in Babylon on their ESL label. This fifteen track album is similar in sound and timbre to their earlier 2000 release, The Mirror Conspiracy, and features performances by vocalists Emiliana Torrini, Pam Bricker, and Loulou.
In 2005 they released The Cosmic Game, which has a darker, more psychedelic sound than The Richest Man in Babylon. The album also featured more high-profile guest singers on it, including Perry Farrell, David Byrne, and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.
In 2006, the group released Versions, a selection of remixes done by Thievery Corporation for other artists and toured the United States, playing at Lollapalooza.
The group released their fifth studio album, Radio Retaliation, on 23 September 2008.
The language of the group's lyrics are as diverse as English, Spanish, French, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian and Hindi. This reflects the group's global feel and collaborative structure.
They were the opening act on August 1, 2009 for Sir Paul McCartney at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
On July 27, 2010, Babylon Central, the cinematic directorial debut of founding member Eric Hilton, was released. Set (and shot) in Washington, D.C., the film follows tripwire events in the interconnected lives of its characters, each influencing power brokers' schemes to manipulate international currencies.
In June 2011, Thievery Corporation released their sixth album, Culture of Fear.
In January 2012, Thievery Corporation launched a remixes contest in conjunction with Dubspot.
Lebanese Blonde
Thievery Corporation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Too high to wonder why
I've touched this place before
Somewhere in another time
Now I can hear the sun
The clouds drifting through the blinds
A half a million thoughts
Are flowing through my mind
A satellite recalled your voice
Sent me round the world again
All the night you've dreamt away
Sent me round my heart again
One touch upon my lips
And all my thoughts are clear
I feel your smoky mist
Up to the stratosphere
Too low to find my way
Too high to wonder why
I've touched this place before
Somewhere in another time
Now I can hear the sun
The clouds drifting through the blinds
A half a million thoughts
Are flowing through my mind
Too low to find my way
Too high to wonder why
I've touched this place before
Somewhere in another time
Now I can hear the sun
The clouds drifting through the blinds
A half a million thoughts
Are flowing through my mind
Too low to find my way
Too high to wonder why
I've touched this place before
Somewhere in another time
Now I can hear the sun
The lyrics to Thievery Corporation's song "Lebanese Blonde" seem to be about being caught between two worlds or states of being - too low to find one's way and too high to question why. The singer describes feeling a sense of deja vu, as if they have touched this place before in another time. They are overwhelmed by their thoughts, with "a half a million thoughts flowing through [their] mind."
The verse about a satellite recalling the singer's voice and sending them around the world again seems to suggest that technology can connect us across vast distances, perhaps even across time zones and continents. The final verse uses the same lines from the beginning, emphasizing the singer's feeling of being stuck in a liminal space between two states of being. However, the reference to hearing the sun and seeing the clouds drifting through the blinds suggests a sense of calm and appreciation for the small things in life.
Overall, the lyrics to "Lebanese Blonde" seem to be a meditation on the human experience of feeling caught between two worlds - perhaps between the physical and the spiritual, or between the mundane and the transcendent.
Line by Line Meaning
Too low to find my way
I am feeling lost and unable to navigate through the challenges in my life
Too high to wonder why
Despite feeling lost, I am also disconnected and detached from the world around me
I've touched this place before
This sense of being lost and disconnected is not new to me, and I've experienced it before
Somewhere in another time
This feeling of déjà vu, of having been lost and detached before, makes me think of a distant past or alternate reality
Now I can hear the sun
Despite feeling disconnected, I am beginning to sense the beauty and energy of the world around me, and can hear the warmth of the sun on my skin
The clouds drifting through the blinds
I am aware of the transient nature of life, and the constant movement and change happening around me
A half a million thoughts
I am overwhelmed with the intensity of my own thoughts and emotions, struggling to process everything
Are flowing through my mind
These thoughts and emotions are consuming me, and I am struggling to find clarity
A satellite recalled your voice
Something in the world, perhaps a memory or an external force, triggered a recollection of someone I care about deeply
Sent me round the world again
This recollection has taken me on a mental journey through my own past experiences and emotions
All the night you've dreamt away
The person I am thinking of has also been dreaming, and perhaps they have been dreaming of me
Sent me round my heart again
These thoughts and emotions remind me of the depth of my feelings for this person, and how they have the power to move me deeply
One touch upon my lips
Even a small reminder of this person, such as their voice or a simple touch, can spark intense emotions in me
And all my thoughts are clear
This person has the power to give me clarity and perspective on my own thoughts and emotions
I feel your smoky mist
I am enveloped by a sense of mystery and depth when I think of this person, as if they are a complex, elusive figure
Up to the stratosphere
These intense emotions and thoughts have a kind of otherworldly, ethereal quality to them
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Richard Hilton, Roberto Garza
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind