Van Laere began his career as quite a reasonable tennis player. The story goes that he was standing in front of the mirror one day and turned his racket around into a guitar. Van Laere withdrew into the oeuvre of Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Hank Williams and taught himself to play the guitar and the piano. As a musician, he took the name of Admiral Freebee, from On the Road, the novel by Jack Kerouac.
Belgium got its first extensive taste of Admiral Freebee during Humo’s Rock Rally 2000, the most important rock competition in the Low Countries. Backed by a bass player and a drummer, The Admiral won the silver medal and the price awarded by the public. When performing live, Admiral Freebee is versatility itself. Whether he performs solo and acoustically or with a well-oiled rock machine, the audience can only do one thing - according to fans: listen, see and be silent, only to shout out in admiration in the end.
In 2003 his debut album Admiral Freebee appeared, a record that met the high expectations. In the 12 songs Van Laere shows that he can just as easily come up with a moving country/pop ballad (see for instance the phenomenal single Rags 'n' Run) as a stadium rocker (Ever Present), and that he can just as effortlessly melt the two together into one song (There's a Road (Noorderlaan)) without turning it into a gimmick.
March 2005 Admiral Freebee’s second album was released. It was called Songs and it included 13 of them. Two of them were released as a single: Oh Darkness and Carry On – more to follow. The album was recorded live over the course of five days at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. John Hanlon (famous for his work with Neil Young & Crazy Horse) sat at the mixing board. The sparing overdubs – backings and solos – took place in the Shangri-La Studio a bit further down the road. The Admiral was called 'The Talent'; whenever he was ready to record, the band recorded.
Studio lineup :
* Guitar/vocals/’Songs’: Tom Van Laere
* Guitar: Jesse Tobias (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Morrissey, Alanis Morissette, The Twilight Singers)
* Bass: Ric Markmann (Chris Cornell)
* Drums and backing vocals: Dean Butterworth (Morrissey, Ben Harper)
* Backing vocals: Tommy Funderburk (Toto)
* Production and technique: John Hanlon (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
His latest album, Wild Dreams of New Beginnings, has been released to positive critical acclaim in November 2006.
Fools Like Us
Admiral Freebee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fools like us
Fools like us
Lo-fi angel
All is forgiven
Let's do some loving
Let's do some living
And go find a shovel
To bury our trouble
Lo-fi angel
All is forgiven
And each one gets the honey
Each one gets the knife
But fools like us, baby
Always survive
Fools like us always survive
Fools like us always survive
Fools like us always survive
Survive
Survive
And each one gets the honey
Each one gets the knife
But fools like us, baby
Always survive
Fools like us always survive
Fools like us always survive
Fools like us always survive
Survive
Survive
Fools like us always survive, always survive, always survive
Fools like us always survive
Fools like us always survive
Survive
Survive
The Admiral Freebee song "Fools Like Us" is a lamentation of the challenges and hardships that lovers face. The lyrics convey the idea that even though each partner gets both the sweetness and the pain of the relationship ("Each one gets the honey / Each one gets the knife"), foolish people, like the singer and his partner, always survive. The singer addresses his partner as a "lo-fi angel" and suggests that they bury their troubles and enjoy their lives together. The repetition of the phrase "Fools like us / always survive" reinforces this idea, as if saying that despite everything, they will make it through anything that comes their way.
The imagery in the song is interesting, as it lays bare the struggles and difficulties of relationships while also highlighting the resilience of the human spirit. The idea of burying troubles with a shovel is not only visceral but also highlights the idea that the singer and his partner are willing to put in the work to make things right. The use of honey and a knife as metaphors for the joys and pains of love is also a powerful image, showing that even when things are good, there can be a bitter edge to it.
Overall, "Fools Like Us" is a song that speaks to the struggles and joys of love, the ups and downs of relationships, and the power that foolishness has to help people overcome anything. It's a song that offers hope and encouragement for those facing difficulties in love and life.
Line by Line Meaning
Fools like us
People like us, who might be considered foolish by others
Lo-fi angel
A person who is not perfect or polished, but still has good qualities
All is forgiven
Mistakes and past wrongs are forgiven and forgotten
Let's do some loving
Let's show affection and care for each other
Let's do some living
Let's enjoy life to the fullest
And go find a shovel
Let's take action and solve our problems
To bury our trouble
Let's leave our troubles behind and move on
Each one gets the honey
Each person gets something good in life
Each one gets the knife
Each person also experiences pain or hardship
But fools like us, baby
Despite being considered foolish, we still have the ability to persevere
Always survive
We always manage to overcome difficult situations
Fools like us always survive
People like us, who are often underestimated, are resilient and able to survive
Survive
We are able to overcome challenges and emerge victorious
Contributed by Sadie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.