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.
Naked Sun
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a naked sun
I have no clouds to conceal me
I have not one
Maybe someday I'll forget
To rise up but it hasn't happened yet
I've got you sunburnt now
And say I'm number one
In the evening cry when I'm leaving
And the day is done
Maybe someday I'll confess
A love once warm gone cold like all the rest
I've got you sunburnt now
I'm a naked sun, see right through me
I'm a naked sun
I'm not the moon you thought you left me
So bright have I become
Maybe someday I'll accept
Your faults, 'til then I'll curse the day that we met
I've got you sunburnt now
I'll burn a way out
The lyrics of "Naked Sun" by...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, are open to interpretation. The opening line, "I'm a naked sun, see right through me," suggests the singer is in a vulnerable, exposed state. They have no "clouds," or defenses, to hide behind. The repetition of "I'm a naked sun" reinforces this imagery, with the singer emphasizing their nakedness and lack of protection.
The reference to rising suggests the cyclical nature of life, and how the singer is always exposed and vulnerable, even when they're at their peak ("say I'm number one"). The line "In the evening cry when I'm leaving" suggests a relationship that is ending, and the pain that comes with it. Perhaps the singer is blaming their own vulnerability for the breakdown of the relationship, with the line "Your faults, 'til then I'll curse the day that we met" implying a lack of acceptance of the other person's flaws, and a certain level of bitterness.
Overall, "Naked Sun" is a song that deals with themes of vulnerability, exposure, and the pain that comes with these emotions. The singer is struggling to accept their own nakedness, and is possibly punishing themselves for it. The song's imagery is powerful and evocative, creating a sense of rawness and emotion that is hard to shake.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a naked sun, see right through me
I am open and exposed, with nothing to hide.
I have no clouds to conceal me
I have no way of masking my true self.
Maybe someday I'll forget
To rise up but it hasn't happened yet
I may eventually lose my power, but for now I remain strong and dominant.
I've got you sunburnt now
I have the ability to leave a lasting impact on those who come into contact with me.
In the morning rise up to greet me
And say I'm number one
People depend on me for their survival and hold me in high esteem.
In the evening cry when I'm leaving
And the day is done
People fear losing me and feel sad when I disappear from their lives each day.
Maybe someday I'll confess
A love once warm gone cold like all the rest
I may one day reveal my true feelings, which have turned from love to indifference, just as others have done before.
I'm not the moon you thought you left me
So bright have I become
I am not the small and insignificant object you believed me to be; I have grown and become much more powerful.
Maybe someday I'll accept
Your faults, 'til then I'll curse the day that we met
I may learn to forgive your shortcomings, but for now I am angry and resentful towards you.
I'll burn a way out
I have the ability to destroy anything that stands in my way.
Contributed by Parker S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@EvanescenceVampire95
I'm in this video! I'm the boy in the purple with the purple string too! :D
@jazzsonic
yeah! i was searching for this video so long! high quality. I love it!
@Bringmeoneofthosechickens
Should have kept the ending of this song. Where he keeps saying burn a way out
@indipendentism
youth beat oldness
@matej1769
where is the coda!!!!
@borregoimages8117
This was not my favorite Trail of dead album musically but it is hands down Conrad's best performance from a vocal aspect.
@tafferski
It was my first trail of dead album. There's something magical about it.
@borregoimages8117
@@tafferski Source Tags was my first time discovering them.
@alexisarrizon6083
Conrad Keely can do no wrong Madonna was my first album from them way back when I still live for them❤
@stupidsurfer
not the song from the clay mazo just add water trailer.....