California-based Anticon producer Alias had never heard about New York-base… Read Full Bio ↴California-based Anticon producer Alias had never heard about New York-based Rona "Tarsier" Rapadas before he got a letter from her one day in 2003, shortly after the release of his instrumental-based album Muted, telling him how much she liked his work, if he would listen to her band (Brooklyn indie electronica outfit Healamonster & Tarsier), and if he would ever consider remixing Muted with her vocals. Alias was so impressed by her samples that he immediately sent Tarsier four beats, asking her to choose one and to add her own vocal track to it. Thus began a 21-month-long email relationship in which the two parties sent each other music, never meeting face-to-face until shortly before their debut album, Brookland/Oaklyn, and the EP compilation Plane That Draws a White Line were both released in 2006.

Rising Sun
Alias & Tarsier Lyrics

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memoirs of a world where the elements

have been modified
i cannot lie with this paper face
it was built up from the inside

we're so conditioned to believe

when there's darkness at sea
the same words the same faces
but my instincts are sharp

like an insect's nest,
i stay abreast ready to swarm

what is your way when the fires have multiplied?

no one lives here
all that remains is the promise of a rising sun
and the memoirs are gone

when all you know has changed
the promise of a rising sun is all that remains

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Alias & Tarsier's "Rising Sun" convey a message about change and its aftermath. The singer describes a world that has been altered by humans; a world so different from what it used to be that the very elements have been modified. Despite this, the singer still expresses skepticism of those who would have them believe that everything is okay, and that they can trust in the same words and faces. The singer's instincts are sharp like an insect's nest, ready to swarm at any moment.

The chorus of the song brings to light the main message of the lyrics. The singer asks what one's way would be when the fires have multiplied. The fires might symbolize the problems that arise after change. The next lines of the chorus reveal the answer to this question, and that is the promise of a rising sun. The singer acknowledges the devastation that has taken place and that nobody lives there anymore. However, they are hopeful that the promise of a rising sun will be fulfilled.

Overall, "Rising Sun" is a song that encourages people to hold onto hope in the face of adversity. Change can be difficult, but it is important to believe that things will get better over time.

Line by Line Meaning

memoirs of a world where the elements
Recollections of a realm where the fundamental constituents of nature

have been modified
have been altered from their original state

i cannot lie with this paper face
I cannot deceive with this thin and frail disguise

it was built up from the inside
It was constructed inwardly, emerging from within

we're so conditioned to believe
We're so accustomed to accept without questioning

when there's darkness at sea
When the ocean is obscure

the same words the same faces
Uniform phrases and identical personas

but my instincts are sharp
Nevertheless, my intuition is astute

like an insect's nest,
Resembling a dwelling made by small invertebrates

i stay abreast ready to swarm
I stay informed and prepared to act suddenly and together

what is your way when the fires have multiplied?
What is your course of action when the blazes have proliferated?