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.
It Was There That I Saw You
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Lyrics
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And it was there that I came
As evening sighs,
Rises up against the sky-line
Let me come and have my leis
You were fair and fey as a sun that evil day
We were bold and life was great
I wondered what was wrong
I wondered what became of you
Let me hold you in my arms dear
And let me melt in the heat of your gaze
And let the clock strike one,
Time and mind go marching on
Let our sense of selves decay
It was there that I saw you
In the heat of a summer's embrace
But as time went on
I wondered what went wrong
The opening lines of the song "It was there that I saw you, and it was there that I came" creates a vivid sense of time and place that demands attention. The lyrics are shrouded in mystery and romanticism about the ethereal nature of the person being referred to. The second line, "As evening sighs, rises up against the skyline, let me come and have my leis", paints a picture of two people meeting at a particular moment, with a hint of uncertainty in the air. The connection between the two people seems inevitable, and the rest of the song simply expands on the strength of that connection.
The song builds upon themes of nostalgia, memory, loss, and desire. The lyrics narrate a love that was faded by time and distance. The line "You were fair and fey as a sun that evil day" speaks to the idea of first love, where everything is perfect, but reality sets in with time. The line "But as time went on, I wondered what was wrong, I wondered what became of you" reflects the feelings of regret, the desire to go back and relive it all, but knowing it's impossible. The lines "Let me hold you in my arms dear, and let me melt in the heat of your gaze" expresses the longing to be with the person once more and relive the same moments.
In summary, the song is a poetic, introspective ode to the influence of the past in the present, the power of nostalgia, and the yearning desire to relive the beauty of a moment long gone by.
Line by Line Meaning
It was there that I saw you
The singer is reflecting on the moment when they first saw the person they are addressing
And it was there that I came
The singer is reminiscing about a time when they were in the same place as the person they are addressing
As evening sighs,
The singer sets the scene with imagery of the evening, which suggests a time of transition or change
Rises up against the sky-line
The artist describes the sunset, which is the transition point from day to night
Let me come and have my leis
The artist is expressing desire to enjoy a carefree and relaxed moment with the person they are addressing
You were fair and fey as a sun that evil day
The singer compliments the appearance of the person they are addressing, using poetic language
We were bold and life was great
The singer recalls a time when they and the person they are addressing were feeling confident and optimistic
But as time went on
The artist acknowledges that things have changed since they last interacted with the person they are addressing
I wondered what was wrong
The artist expresses curiosity about why their relationship with the person they are addressing deteriorated
I wondered what became of you
The artist is nostalgic and misses the person they are addressing, but is unsure of their current situation
Let me hold you in my arms dear
The singer expresses desire to physically embrace the person they are addressing
And let me melt in the heat of your gaze
The artist describes the intensity of their attraction to the person they are addressing
And let the clock strike one,
The singer is using time as a metaphor, implying that they want to get lost in the moment and forget about everything else
Time and mind go marching on
The singer acknowledges that time keeps moving forward and reality must be faced eventually
Let our sense of selves decay
The singer expresses a willingness to lose their sense of self and surrender to their attraction to the person they are addressing
It was there that I saw you
The song ends with the artist repeating the opening line, emphasizing the importance of that moment and the person they are addressing
In the heat of a summer's embrace
The artist emphasizes the warmth and passion of the moment when they first saw the person they are addressing
But as time went on
The singer repeats their earlier acknowledgment that things have changed over time
I wondered what went wrong
The song ends with the singer still reflecting on what caused their relationship with the person they are addressing to falter
Contributed by Alyssa H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.