Half Japanese is a lo-fi indie rock band formed by brothers Jad Fair and Da… Read Full Bio ↴Half Japanese is a lo-fi indie rock band formed by brothers Jad Fair and David Fair in their Uniontown, Maryland bedroom around 1975 - 1977. Like The Shaggs, the Fair brothers were self-taught and thoroughly unconventional musicians; their early raw, unvarnished sound careened between naïvely amateurish-sounding canoodling and avant-garde experimentation.

Their quirky song lyrics often deal with monsters and the supernatural (especially as influenced by campy "creature feature" and scifi movies), in addition to more conventional themes, such as the visceral thrills of crushes and infatuations. They have stated that all their songs are either "love songs or monster songs."

Fans of Half Japanese include Penn Jillette, who helped the band release some of their albums on his ad hoc 50 Skidillion Watts label, and the late Kurt Cobain, who had them open for Nirvana's 1993 tour. Over time David Fair became less involved, ultimately quitting the band in favor of married life, and Jad brought in more outside musicians who have contributed to an increasingly coherent and organized sound.

They have worked with the Orthotonics, Moe Tucker, Teenage Fanclub, Daniel Johnston and John Zorn, among others.

The band's history and influence was chronicled in the 1993 fan documentary Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King by Jeff Feuerzeig.

Paint it Black
1/2 Japanese Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You wore out your welcome, like you wore me, to the bone.
Outside the mood is absent and silence provides no solace.
I offer no shelter from the dead night air.
Just a tomb to call your own.
In this falling fortress.
Awake me from this broken dream.
Your god won't lead you tough today.
He only hears your cries as a chorus to a lullaby.

Your faith has fallen before your eyes.
A mindless cage that keeps you suffocated and on your knees, lonely, wanting more.
He preaches another love song, temporarily blinded by lies.
You taken beauty from these words.
Rewrite your own mind in this war.
You wore out your welcome like you wore me down.
You are an image without form.
...And in this moment my heart collapsed...
You smashed it apart.
He preaches another love song, temporarily blinded by lies.
Everything you hold in your heart is frail.
Everything you love will pass away.

Everything you hold in your heart is frail.
It will perish in a wall of flames.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to 1/2 Japanese's song Paint It Black convey the pain of being used and taken advantage of. The singer compares their weariness to that of someone who has overstayed their welcome, emphasizing the damage done to them. There is a sense of hopelessness in the mood outside, and no comfort or refuge is offered. Instead, the singer describes a falling fortress that cannot provide security. The lines "Your god won't lead you tough today, he only hears your cries as a chorus to a lullaby" suggest a disillusionment with religion and the idea of an all-knowing, all-powerful deity. The use of the word "mindless cage" implies that the singer feels trapped and oppressed by their circumstances.

The second half of the song takes a more confrontational tone, with the singer warning against falling prey to false promises and shallow love. They urge the listener to rewrite their own mind and reject the lies they have been told. The repetition of the lines "He preaches another love song, temporarily blinded by lies" reinforces the idea that the singer sees through the facade of insincere affection. The final lines of the song are bleak, with a warning that everything the listener holds dear is ultimately fragile and fleeting, destined to be destroyed.

Overall, the lyrics to Paint It Black explore themes of betrayal, disillusionment, and the difficulty of finding meaning and security in an uncertain world.

Line by Line Meaning

You wore out your welcome, like you wore me, to the bone.
You overstayed your welcome to the point of exhaustion, draining me of everything until I couldn't handle it anymore.

Outside the mood is absent and silence provides no solace.
The environment around me lacks any kind of positive ambiance and being silent does nothing to ease my inner turmoil.

I offer no shelter from the dead night air.
I can't provide any protection from the cold, empty darkness of the night.

Just a tomb to call your own.
All I can offer you is a grave, a space to rest your soul in peace.

In this falling fortress.
Within this crumbling structure, everything around me is disintegrating and giving way to destruction.

Awake me from this broken dream.
I plead for someone to wake me up from this shattered, hopeless reality that I find myself in.

Your god won't lead you tough today.
The deity you believe in won't guide you through the struggles you face in the present moment.

He only hears your cries as a chorus to a lullaby.
Your pleas for help are nothing more than background noise to the deity, who sees your suffering as a small, insignificant part of a bigger picture.

Your faith has fallen before your eyes.
You have lost all faith in the things you once believed in, as they no longer hold any meaning or value to you anymore.

A mindless cage that keeps you suffocated and on your knees, lonely, wanting more.
You are trapped in a loveless and empty existence that suffocates you, leaving you lonely and desperate for something more meaningful.

He preaches another love song, temporarily blinded by lies.
The deity preaches about love, though their words are only temporary and based on falsehoods and misrepresentations.

You taken beauty from these words.
You have taken away all beauty and meaning from the words spoken, reducing them to empty phrases devoid of any significance.

Rewrite your own mind in this war.
You must take control of your own thoughts and emotions in the midst of this battle, redefining your mindset to overcome the obstacles in your way.

You wore out your welcome like you wore me down.
You became a burden that was too great to bear, exhausting me to the point of no return.

You are an image without form.
You exist as a shapeless and empty image, lacking any substance or tangible qualities.

...And in this moment my heart collapsed...
This moment of despair and hopelessness caused my heart to crumble and fall apart.

You smashed it apart.
You were the one who caused my heart to fall apart and break into pieces.

He preaches another love song, temporarily blinded by lies.
The deity continues to preach about love, despite being blinded by lies and unable to see the true meaning of it all.

Everything you hold in your heart is frail.
Everything that you cherish and hold dear is fragile and at risk of disappearing or falling apart at any moment.

Everything you love will pass away.
Everything that you care for deeply will eventually fade away, leaving you with nothing but memories of what once was.

Everything you hold in your heart is frail.
All the things that you hold close to your heart are delicate and can easily be broken or destroyed.

It will perish in a wall of flames.
It will all come crashing down in a fiery inferno, leaving nothing behind but ashes and rubble.

Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: KEVIN ROBERT CAMERON, SEAN ROBERT KENNEDY, JOSEF JOHN W PETERS, JONA WEINHOFEN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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