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.
Don't Look Down
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You caught me on the ground
Promise don't look down
I have a picture of us
I wanted you to smile
Now I don't know why
The nights we raced around
The nights we owned this town
I have another set of eyes
That I use to disguise the part of me that died
I have another set of lives
That I use to describe the part that's still alive
I try to picture you now
Were we ever more than friends?
If so, I don't know when.
That part of me you don't know anymore
Each time I try to recollect the people we were then
Ah, do you recall
That night that made us cry
And now I don't know why
On the plane you fly
You lost me on the ground
Promise don't look down
"Don't Look Down" by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is a melancholic song that talks about a past relationship that feels more like a memory than a reality. The opening lines of the song, "On the plane you arrive, you caught me on the ground, promise don't look down," suggests distance and a sense of detachment from the person the singer is addressing. The singer is apprehensive and is urging the other person not to look down, meaning not to lose focus or give up on what they once had.
The chorus of the song is filled with nostalgic reminiscences of the time they spent together, "Do you recall the nights we raced around, the nights we owned this town?" The singer is trying to relive the moments they shared, but it is becoming increasingly difficult since they now feel like a distant memory. They talk about trying to picture the other person now and wonder if they were ever more than friends. The song gradually reveals the emotional distance between the two individuals, and the attempts to remember and recollect what they once had.
The lines, "That part of me you don't know anymore, each time I try to recollect the people we were then," show that the singer is struggling to reconcile who they are now with who they were when they were with the other person. The final lines of the song, "On the plane you fly, you lost me on the ground, promise don't look down," suggests that the singer and the other person are now living separate lives, indicating an impasse.
Line by Line Meaning
On the plane you arrive
As you enter my life, you do so in a very different plane of existence
You caught me on the ground
I was down on Earth, consumed with the realities of daily life, when you began to influence me
Promise don't look down
Please don't let your perception be affected by the negativity and hardships of life
I have a picture of us
I hold onto the image of our connection, a reminder of what we shared
I wanted you to smile
I was driven to bring you joy and show you the beauty in the world
Now I don't know why
However, I am now unsure of why I felt that way and the meaning behind it
Ah do you recall
Can you still remember
The nights we raced around
The times we spent carefree and wild, exploring the world together
The nights we owned this town
When we felt free to do as we pleased and the world was ours to conquer
I have another set of eyes
There is a hidden part of me that I use to shield myself from the pain of loss
That I use to disguise the part of me that died
I mask the part of myself that has been hurt and scarred, so that I may seem whole to others
I have another set of lives
I have alternative paths and potential existences that I may pursue
That I use to describe the part that's still alive
I use these possibilities to define the part of myself that still has hope and potential
I try to picture you now
I attempt to remember your face and your presence, but it is difficult
Were we ever more than friends?
I question whether our connection was deeper than simply being companions
If so, I don't know when.
However, I do not remember when or how that connection may have been formed
That part of me you don't know anymore
The version of me that you knew and connected with no longer exists
Each time I try to recollect the people we were then
Whenever I attempt to remember the memories we once shared, I struggle
That night that made us cry
The painful experience that brought us both to tears
And now I don't know why
However, now I am unable to recall why it was so hurtful and impactful
On the plane you fly
As you leave, you ascend to a new level of experience and perception
You lost me on the ground
I remain rooted in the physical, everyday aspects of life and cannot reach your level
Promise don't look down
Please do not forget our connection and the beauty in the world, despite how difficult it may be
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Conrad Keely
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steven Denny
On the plane you arrive
You caught me on the ground, promise don't look down
I have a picture of us
I wanted you to smile, now I don't know why
Oh, do you recall the nights we raced around?
The nights we owned this town
I have another set of eyes
I use to disguise the part of me that's died
I have another set of lives
I use to describe the part that's still alive
I try to picture you now
Were we ever more than friends? If so, I don't know when
That part of me you don't know anymore
Each time I try to recollect the people we were then
Oh, do you recall that night that made us cry?
And now I don't know why
I have another set of eyes
I use to disguise the part of me that's died
I have another set of lives
I use to describe the part that's still alive
On the plane you fly
You lost me on the ground, promise don't look down
That part of you I don't know anymore
Each time I try to recollect the people we were then
Oh, do you recall that night that made us cry?
(And) now I don't know why
You lost me on the ground, promise don't look down
You lost me on the ground and if you promise, don't look down
666lenn
I'm happy you guys are still around after all these years. You can't imagine how important your music is and has been in my rocky life.
Adrian Musat
i dont know them for long but i love you for this comment!!!!
BobbyF
Awesome comment and totally true
Joe Smith
Quickly approaching 50 and all that still rings true.
Alexis Arrizon
Amen to this I've been a fan since Madonna came out years ago and I love them tremendously ❤❤❤❤
iwouldprefernotto
@Alexis Arrizon Fellow fan since Madonna here! I'm torn between sadness that they never went truly stratospheric and thankfulness that that means I don't have to share them with the rest of the world.
Marc F.
Hands down, this is far better than 99% of the crap that is released these days, especially "the charts". We NEED this, this kind of music, this feeling that is created here. Please go on.
Rangda Rangda
I've been a fan since 2002, i still remember buying Worlds Apart, taking it out of the packaging, putting it in my CD Walkman and hearing Will You Smile Again for the first time whilst walking around. Trail of dead are a wonder.
P C
I remember buying worlds apart too that same year or so
EtymologyFreak
Worlds Apart was my walking around campus album for a good month or more. Good memories.