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.

One Wrong Door
A Silent Film Lyrics

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There's a small hole in the back of your shirt
Oh tell me; what have they done
To the only one I have ever loved?
And there's a small groan from the back of your throat
As a halo of rouge surrounds us both
Oh how my heart does hurt

By my knees

On the tarmac there lay
A bullet with my name
There was a bullet with my name

Rain falls on the back of my neck
My arms are as weak as you are faint
Oh don't leave me now
To such a cruel fate

It was one night out of a hundred or more
It was the one wrong turn
Through that one wrong door
To the one wrong hollow man
With the gun in his hand
And he silenced you with that shattering bang
Bang
Bang
Bang

By my knees
On the tarmac there lay
In the pouring rain
My lover slain
By a bullet with my name
There was a bullet with my name

Bullet with my name
There was a bullet with my name

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of A Silent Film's song "One Wrong Door" tell a story of love and loss, tragedy and fate. The first verse describes the singer's observation of a small hole in the back of his beloved's shirt and their pain at what has been done to her. The second verse introduces the element of danger and foreshadows the tragic ending that is yet to come. The singer hears a small groan from the back of his beloved's throat and notices the halo of rouge that surrounds them both, indicating that she has been wounded, possibly fatally. The third verse reveals the moment of tragedy, where the singer and his beloved are confronted by a man with a gun who ultimately kills her with a shattering bang. The last verse reflects on the aftermath of the tragedy and the singer's pain as he remembers his lover slain by a bullet with his name.

The song is a powerful example of how music can tell a story and evoke emotions in the listener. The use of imagery in the lyrics paints a vivid picture of the scene and the emotions that the characters are feeling. The repetition of the line "there was a bullet with my name" serves as a haunting reminder of the victim's fate and the inevitability of tragedy.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a small hole in the back of your shirt
There is a small tear in your shirt behind your back

Oh tell me; what have they done
Please tell me, what has happened to you?

To the only one I have ever loved?
To the person whom I have loved the most

And there's a small groan from the back of your throat
You let out a small moan from your throat

As a halo of rouge surrounds us both
We are both surrounded by a red glow

Oh how my heart does hurt
My heart is in great pain

By my knees
Down on my knees

On the tarmac there lay
There lay on the pavement

A bullet with my name
A bullet intended for me

Rain falls on the back of my neck
Rain is falling on the back of my neck

My arms are as weak as you are faint
My arms are as weak as you are feeling faint