After playing in New York and touring the US and Europe from 2009–2010, in the summer of 2010 McMahon released the Murder Dull Mind EP, a collection of the apartment recordings made while in Beijing, on Sacred Bones. This past January, he began recording for his second full length, Through Donkey Jaw, his first proper recordings in almost five years. Where Murder Dull Mind was sparse, mostly acoustic and almost all first-take improvisation, this new work contains many more fully-realized sounds and songs; it is very much the winter to Murder Dull Mind’s summer.
Blue Rose
Amen Dunes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't get down a mile away
When evening comes I go call up the band
We play religious music
Don't think you'd understand, man
Well hear me call, I will stick around
Give me eighteen days, they speak another tongue
Well they left me there but the dead man had no fun
Should've stop my father, your love came over me
Dear, dear, if love's war then you've got war in me
They looked at me straight and told him I'm in town
Now, now I feel a good son
Deep, deep down you'd stick around
For love son, I need you back now
Feel my God
I can hardly change
If you don't like that you told me not to brag
But I said
Yeah, hear me Paul, and I'll fight aboveground
Yeah, they left me there, fill me up when I'm down
Dear, he loved my father
Yeah love came over me
Dear, dear, if you want war
Then you've got war with me
Well, I was brought up and we were told things never to tell
Bitter, beaten down, stop they don't know kick 'em down
Fate, for I had no way out yeah, yeah
Not now, not now
Catch it now
They said that I should move on from here
Come on, go ahead and start it out, in my dreams took half a drag
Can't tell my poor mind to leave me yeah I can't catch a break
Said you weren't much a man to me but you're the only one I've ever had
The lyrics of Amen Dunes's song Blue Rose seem to be about a man who works hard to earn a living but also spends his free time playing music with his band. The first line of the song, "I've got money because I work all day," suggests that the singer is a hard worker who earns his money honestly. He then talks about calling up the band when the evening comes to play religious music, something that he feels the listener wouldn't understand. The next few lines, "Well hear me call, I will stick around, I'm the baddest, stoniest thing in town," indicate that he is proud of himself and his abilities and is not going anywhere soon.
The lyrics then introduce a new character, a dead man who didn't have any fun. It's unclear whether the dead man was involved with the band or the singer, but the tone of the song takes a sad turn as the singer says he should have stopped his father and that love has taken over him. The next few lines talk about the singer being in town and feeling like a good son, but he also talks about being bitter and beaten down. He then says that he can't catch a break and that the only person he's ever had is the person who wasn't much of a man to him.
Overall, the song's lyrics seem to touch on themes of hard work, pride, love, and regret. The song is open to interpretation, as Amen Dunes often leaves his lyrics up in the air for listeners to interpret as they please.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got money because I work all day
I have money because I work hard all day long
Don't get down a mile away
I don't get discouraged easily
When evening comes I go call up the band
In the evening, I call up my band for a gig
We play religious music
Our band plays spiritual music
Don't think you'd understand, man
I doubt that you'd be able to comprehend it
Well hear me call, I will stick around
Listen to me, I'll be staying for a while
I'm the baddest, stoniest thing in town
I'm the coolest and most rebellious person in town
Give me eighteen days, they speak another tongue
If you give me eighteen days, I'll travel to a foreign land
Well they left me there but the dead man had no fun
When they abandoned me there, I was bored out of my mind
Should've stop my father, your love came over me
I should've stopped myself but your love took hold of me
Dear, dear, if love's war then you've got war in me
If love is a battle, then I will fight for you
They looked at me straight and told him I'm in town
They looked at me and told him that I'm around
Now, now I feel a good son
Now, I feel like a good son
Deep, deep down you'd stick around
You would stay with me if it were your deepest desire
For love son, I need you back now
I need your love and presence right now
Feel my God
Experience the godly energies around me
I can hardly change
I'm trying hard but I find it difficult to change myself
If you don't like that you told me not to brag
If you don't appreciate my behavior, then you shouldn't have encouraged it
But I said
However, I replied
Yeah, hear me Paul, and I'll fight aboveground
Listen closely, Paul, and I'll fight with all my might
Yeah, they left me there, fill me up when I'm down
Yes, they abandoned me there, but support me when I'm feeling low
Dear, he loved my father
My father was deeply loved
Yeah love came over me
I was overcome by love
Dear, dear, if you want war
If you desire a conflict
Then you've got war with me
Then you'll get a fight from me
Well, I was brought up and we were told things never to tell
I was taught to keep certain things to myself
Bitter, beaten down, stop they don't know kick 'em down
Unpleasant, defeated, ignored; kick them when they're down
Fate, for I had no way out yeah, yeah
It was destiny; I had no other path
Not now, not now
Not at the present moment
Catch it now
Grasp it immediately
They said that I should move on from here
They advised me to leave this place
Come on, go ahead and start it out, in my dreams took half a drag
Come on, begin the journey; I took a puff of a cigarette in my dreams
Can't tell my poor mind to leave me yeah I can't catch a break
I can't force my mind to give me peace; I can't find any relief
Said you weren't much a man to me but you're the only one I've ever had
You weren't the greatest lover to me, but you're the only one I've ever been with
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Damon McMahon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gabriel Ese Erre
Lyrics
I've got money because I work all day
Don't get down a mile away
When evening comes
I go call up the band
We play religious music
Don't think you'd understand, man
Well hear me call
I was ignorant
I'm the baddest, stoniest thing in town
Give me eighteen days
They speak another tongue
Well they left me there
But the dead man had no fun
Should stop my father
Yeah love came over me
Dear, dear, If you love war
Then you've got war with me
They looked at me straight
And told me I'm in town
Now, now
Feel good son
Deep deep down
You'd stick around
For love
Son, I need you back now
Feel my god
I can hardly change
If you don't like that
You told me not to brag
But I said he gave me
[?]
He left me there
Fill me up when I'm down
Dear, he loved my father
Yeah love came over me
Dear, dear, if you want war
Then you've got war with me
Well, I was brought up
And we were told things
Never to tell
Beaten up, beaten down, stop
They don't know kick em down
But I have no way out of heaven
Not now, not now
[?]
They said that I should move on from here
Combed out my hair and started out
And my dreams took half a drag
Can't tell my poor mind to leave me
Yeah I can't catch a break
Said you weren't much a man to me
But you're the only one I've ever had
Matthew Ryan
One of the best modern indie songs I've ever heard. And I know a whole lot of indie
Sean
Like the race track? Indie doesn't mean anything
Sean
Alternative, grunge, all gay names.
Madison Sparks
Oh yeah? Name one other indie song
Effortless Qigong
I think so too
Redst100
Ive listened to this song over a thousand times and Ive cried every single time.
Owen Grover
Same. Always hits.
Sarah Frier
This album is absolutely crushing me. If I could crawl into it and live there I would. ❤️🔮
Elyad G.
Beautiful tune and voice! It is really a lifetime experience listening to this song high, while laying and watching the sunset.
harsha reddy
Most underrated artist.