The band is best known for their heavy yet anthemic music and their tendency to destroy their equipment at the end of their performances (a rock and roll tradition usually associated with The Who). According to the band's website, the name "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" is taken from both an ancient Mayan ritual chant and an Egyptian burial text. Band members have also claimed that they made it up because it sounded cool and discovered the association after the fact.
The chief creative element of the band consists of Jason Reece and Conrad Keely. The two switch between drumming and lead vocals and guitar, both on their records and during their shows. (On some songs, [former] bass player Neil Busch sings lead vocals). Keely and Reece have been friends since their youth, meeting originally in Hawaii. They each formed their first band in 1993 soon after moving to Olympia, Washington. Keely started a band called Benedict Gehlen that only lasted a year. Nancyville was Keely's next project, though it also was short lived. Reece started with Honeybucket and then formed Mukilteo Fairies while living in Olympia. Dissatisfied with the northwest, the two ventured south to Austin, Texas and started playing as a duo under the moniker, "You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead". The band expanded to include guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch. They then officially changed their name to "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" (adding the conjunction and then the ellipsis for effect). The band is also known by the shorter name "Trail of Dead".
By 1998 they had issued their first release (a live cassette on local Golden Hour Records), followed by a self-titled full-length on Trance Syndicate. In early 2002, Trail of Dead released Source Tags & Codes to immediate critical acclaim, and made numerous critics' year-end top 10 lists.
In 2003, an EP named The Secret of Elena's Tomb followed up, which included amongst others "Mach Schau", which was the first recording of a song the band had written in their early days, as well as "Intelligence", a song with dominant electronic sounds, which was pulled from Jason Reece's electro side-project called A Roman Scandal.
In 2004, Neil Busch left the band due to health issues and was replaced by Danny Wood of The Rise. Together with additional drummer Doni Schroader (ex-Forget Cassettes) and keyboarder David Longoria (The Black), a revamped Trail of Dead embarked on an extensive worldwide tour in 2004-2005, which covered USA and Canada, and cities throughout Europe to promote their album Worlds Apart, which was finally released in January 2005 after some annoying issues with the label's corporate policies.
After the tepid critical and commercial reception of Worlds Apart, Conrad Keely became very frustrated and considered quitting the band altogether. Luckily, the band regrouped to record an EP, but the group's creativity blossomed, resulting in enough material for an album. Their latest full-length album, X: The Godless Void and Other Stories, was released on January 20th, 2020.
Another Morning Stoner
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are you in a dream?
The copper shades of a morning
Distant lights beckon and fade
Unwritten songs of another day
I fear that you would never be
Every song in the world for me
You cursed the worlds I longed to save
Is heaven to you a perfect place?
The look of sorrow on a sufferer's face
A field of lives to sow and to reap
That some of us will never see?
And why is it I didn't feel the same?
Are my longings to be blamed
For not seeing heaven like you would see?
Why is a song the world for me?
What is forgiveness?
It's just a dream
What is forgiveness?
It's everything
The lyrics of "Another Morning Stoner" by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead speak of a sense of disconnection between the singer and the person they address. The opening lines, "Are you asleep? Are you in a dream?" suggest a distance between the two, as if the singer is questioning whether the other person is even present. The following lines, "The copper shades of a morning/Distant lights beckon and fade/Unwritten songs of another day," establish a sense of fleetingness and impermanence, as if the moments of connection between the two are fleeting and will soon be gone.
The next lines reference the idea of longing and disappointment in relationships. The singer declares, "I fear that you would never be/Every song in the world for me/Took your hand, led you astray/You cursed the worlds I longed to save." Here, they suggest that they had hoped for a kind of connection that the other person was unable to provide, and that as a result, their own ambitions and desires had been thwarted. The following lines ask a series of questions about the nature of heaven and forgiveness, ultimately concluding that forgiveness is everything, even if it is just a dream.
Overall, the lyrics of "Another Morning Stoner" are introspective and contemplative, exploring themes of longing, disappointment, and impermanence in relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you asleep?
Are you not fully aware of reality?
Are you in a dream?
Are you in a state of illusion or fantasy?
The copper shades of a morning
The orange hues of sunrise, a new day dawning
Distant lights beckon and fade
Faint signals of hope or promise appear, then disappear
Unwritten songs of another day
Opportunities or experiences that have yet to be created or seized
I fear that you would never be
I'm afraid you'll never realize your true potential
Every song in the world for me
Everything I experience or feel is like a song
Took your hand, led you astray
I guided you down the wrong path
You cursed the worlds I longed to save
You rejected my dreams and aspirations
Is heaven to you a perfect place?
Do you believe paradise is a flawless, idealized realm?
The look of sorrow on a sufferer's face
The display of pain or distress on an afflicted individual's countenance
A field of lives to sow and to reap
A plentiful array of opportunities and challenges to face
That some of us will never see?
But some people won't have access to these experiences
And why is it I didn't feel the same?
Why don't my thoughts or emotions align with yours?
Are my longings to be blamed
Is my intense yearning responsible for my different perspective?
For not seeing heaven like you would see?
For not sharing your vision of paradise?
Why is a song the world for me?
Why do I perceive everything in life as music or melody?
What is forgiveness?
What is the act of pardoning or letting go?
It's just a dream
It may not be a tangible reality
What is forgiveness?
What does the idea of absolution truly entail?
It's everything
It holds immense significance and has transformative power
Lyrics © 2004 STEAL OUR MUSIC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nervouskeith
I've been waiting my whole adult/teen life to meet someone who knows this bloody song...
@alienalibi2382
Good luck, I'm looking for someone that love Mr. Bungle, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Modest Mouse, QotSA.. Yeaaaaah. At least one good band so I can seduce them to even greener fields.
@lisaanderson8194
Seen them 13 times live.....best damn band ever!!
@blanerampart4986
Nice to meet you. Seen them 3 times. Fucking awesome band. So that's four of us you've met now :)
@thesteeez
meeeeee
@birchmahogany2718
Right. Their song writing influences mine big time but I don't know any of their songs either. Someone did a good guitar cover of 'crowning of a heart', look it up.
@thesilvershining
That bassline... the vocals... those drums... the guitar riffs... god I love this band. Found them in college 2003 and was immediately haunted forever!
@michaelgeorge5197
Same here but prob 2004. I needed a new album, went to small shop. Remembered a talented indie loving friend said they were good and it had cool art so I ended up leaving with them. Turns out I had names wrong. Friend had never heard of them. Cd grew and grew on me
@shakazulu6512
16year old me walked into record store 20 years ago and asked the guy behind the counter what is the music in the background. I decided to spend all my pocket money on this album straight away.
@pashedmotatos
One of the greatest guitar riffs ever conceived.