A Silent Film is an alternative rock band which formed in Oxford, England i… Read Full Bio ↴A Silent Film is an alternative rock band which formed in Oxford, England in 2005. The band consists of Robert Stevenson (vocals, keyboards), Karl Bareham (guitar), Ali Hussain (bass) and Spencer Walker (drums). The band has released two albums, "The City That Sleeps" (2008) and "Sand & Snow" (2012).

“The first time we drove into New York we were all crammed in a tiny rental car. We came out of the Lincoln Tunnel and 'You Will Leave a Mark' was playing on the radio,” A Silent Film vocalist/pianist Robert Stevenson says, recalling hearing his group’s career-opening single scoring a powerful moment of its inaugural 2010 U.S. tour. The Oxford quartet had just released its debut of epic and ambiently anthemic indie rock, The City That Sleeps, on Bieler Bros. Records, a Florida-based indie with an incongruously niche heavy rock profile. Despite the curious association, A Silent Film had an impressive American welcome. The group became the longest charting band on Sirius XM’s Alt 18 Countdown, shifted 200K downloads as iTunes’ Discovery Download, and sold 75K digital singles.

“Never in my dreams could I imagine the songs I wrote in my bedroom as someone else's soundtrack to the skyline of New York City. It was only three and a half minutes but it opened my eyes to the greater possibilities of sharing our music,” Robert says. The American tour was a transformative experience for A Silent Film and the group decided to relocate to Arizona and record their sophomore album in the rustic environs of the West. The band’s latest, Sand & Snow, released June 5th, 2012 is a snapshot of the fevered creativity inspired by an impulsive tryst with Americana. “Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan are massive inspirations to me. I felt like I always had a kinship with America; as soon as I could experience it, and I didn’t have to read it in a book anymore, I needed it for writing,” Robert says of the creative necessity of the move. “Previously I had written everything in Oxford, but as soon as I saw America, it changed my process; I wanted to live and breathe it.”

In addition to Robert Stevenson, A Silent Film is rounded out by Karl Bareham (guitar), Ali Hussain (bass) and Spencer Walker (drums). A Silent Film formed in 2005 and has garnered favorable comparisons to Coldplay, The Killers, and Snow Patrol. Its new offering is aligned with its formative poetic and expansive pop-rock aesthetic but there is a freshly confident depth and distinction evident in the writing. Sand & Snow is searchingly hopeful with emotive hooks and romantically purposeful lyrics.

Feather White
A Silent Film Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Feather white in morning light you
Cut a shape into the ice you
Walked out so far I could not reach you
I remember losing sight of you

You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon
You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon

We got on well, did not argue
No alarm bells, no escape chute
But that morning you walked out so far
Through the ice fell into freezing water

You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon
You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon

Policeman 1: 'We've got a young woman trapped under the ice in the lake, looks like she's been down there a couple of days.'
Policeman 2: 'Should I bring the axe?'
Policeman 1: 'That's a negative, but bring a palette and easel, in twenty-five years I've never seen anything so beautiful.'

Days are long now, I hear you call me
Your fading heartbeats
Feather white in, you walked out so far
Through the ice fell, into freezing water

You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon
You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon

Overall Meaning

In "Feather White," A Silent Film describes a tragic scenario of a loved one losing their life after falling through the ice on a frozen lake. The song begins with the imagery of the light of the morning shining on the ice, and the loved one walking so far out onto the frozen surface that the singer was unable to reach them. The chorus ominously repeats the phrase "You will all be sleeping with the fishes soon," foreshadowing the bleak ending of the story. The verse paints a picture of an otherwise happy relationship, where the couple never argued nor had any "alarm bells" or "escape chutes." However, one fatal morning turned everything upside down, when the loved one walked too far out on the ice and fell through.

Line by Line Meaning

Feather white in morning light you
You were as gentle and delicate as a feather and glimmered like snow in the morning light

Cut a shape into the ice you
You made a mark on the ice as if leaving a trace of your existence

Walked out so far I could not reach you
You went too far away, and I was unable to keep up with you

I remember losing sight of you
I remember how you disappeared from my sight

You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon
You will face the consequences of your actions

We got on well, did not argue
We had a smooth relationship with no conflicts or disagreements

No alarm bells, no escape chute
There were no warning signs or ways out of a difficult situation

But that morning you walked out so far
However, that morning you went too far away

Through the ice fell into freezing water
And you fell through the ice and into the freezing water

Policeman 1: 'We've got a young woman trapped under the ice in the lake, looks like she's been down there a couple of days.' Policeman 2: 'Should I bring the axe?' Policeman 1: 'That's a negative, but bring a palette and easel, in twenty-five years I've never seen anything so beautiful.'
A conversation between two policemen highlights their admiration for the beauty of the situation, despite the tragic circumstances

Days are long now, I hear you call me
The days feel longer now, and I imagine hearing you call my name

Your fading heartbeats
The sound of your heartbeat slowly disappearing

Feather white in, you walked out so far
You were like a light, airy feather, but you walked too far away

Through the ice fell, into freezing water
And you fell through the ice and into the freezing water

You, will all be sleeping with the fishes soon
You will suffer the consequences of your actions, possibly even death

Contributed by Isaiah T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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