The band’s trademark fashion consists in wearing rather formal attire during live events and a use of orchestral instruments. When asked about the rumour that the band's name refers to a fire in an arcade, Win Butler replied: "It's not a rumour, it's based on a story that someone told me. It's not an actual event, but one that I took to be real. I would say that it's probably something that the kid made up, but at the time I believed him." Win Butler and his brother Will grew up in Texas.
Band formation
Arcade Fire formed around the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. Joining together as recently as mid-2003, the current line-up solidified in late 2003/early 2004, when their first full-length album Funeral was recorded. Before this an eponymous EP (often referred to by fans as the Us Kids Know EP) had been sold at early shows. The EP was subsequently remastered and given a full release once the band started becoming more prominent. Arcade Fire are known for their enthralling live performances, as well as its use of a large number of musical instruments. In addition to mainstays guitar, drums, and bass guitar, members play piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, keyboard, French horn, accordion, and harp. With several able musicians, the band take most of their instrumental diversity on tour and members switch instrumental duties throughout their shows. The number of instruments, along with a wide set of musical influences has provided a substantial number of resources on which to draw from during the recording process. The promise showed by the band in its live shows allowed it to land a record contract with Chapel Hill-based independent record label Merge Records.
Funeral
Without a major label backing, the success of the band and the album Funeral has been acclaimed as an Internet phenomenon. After a 9.7 rating from Pitchfork, Merge Records sold out their inventory of Funeral and it became the label's first album in the Billboard 200 chart. An early tip from David Bowie was also influential. The band booked small clubs for their 2004 tour but growing interest forced many venue changes, far beyond the band's expectations, and continued internationally into mid-2005. The MTV2 2005 Review hosted by Zane Lowe named Funeral Album of the Year, and NME named Funeral Number 2 in their list of 2005's best albums and "Rebellion (Lies)" the best track. By November 2005, Funeral had gone gold in both Canada and the UK and sold in excess of half a million copies worldwide, a phenomenal number for an independent release with minimal television or radio exposure. It has also surpassed Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea as the biggest selling Merge Records album to date.
Arcade Fire were featured on the April 4, 2005 cover of Time Magazine's Canadian edition, and hailed as a band who "helped put Canadian music on the world map". On April 2, 2006, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they received the Juno Award for Songwriters Of The Year for three songs from Funeral: "Wake Up", "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)". Arcade Fire then planned to begin recording a follow up to Funeral in the winter of 2005-2006, having bought an old church forty minutes from central Montreal which they converted into a studio.
Neon Bible
In mid-December 2006 www.neonbible.com went live containing nothing more than a phone number, 1-866-NEONBIBLE where people can listen to a new track called Intervention. Built in the style of customer support lines, the number has other features including a contest and a chance to talk to a live person at a specific time each week.
Then in January 2007, they finally announced that the new album Neon Bible would be released March 5th in UK, March 6th in US. The announcement was made with a video in the album's website, with guitarist Richard Reed Parry using a gramophone and a paper mask of Parry's own face, and sitting on Win Butler´s chair. After the announcement of the album´s release, the website was updated with a streaming version of "Black Mirror", new art and a few phone messages sounding like the band´s members.
The Suburbs
The band released their third album "The Suburbs" on August 2, 2010 in the UK and August 3, 2010 in the United States. It debuted at #1 in both countries. On February 13, 2011, the album won Album of the Year at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Arcade Fire recorded a song for The Hunger Games soundtrack (The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond), called "Abraham's Daughter". The song is featured in the movie's end credits. The soundtrack was released on March 20, 2012, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. It sold more than 175,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's the first theatrical film soundtrack to top the chart since Michael Jackson's "This Is It" debuted at No. 1 on the list. It is also only the 16th soundtrack to debut at No. 1 in the history of the Billboard 200 chart (those soundtracks include film, television, and straight-to-video efforts).
Reflektor
Arcade Fire and Mercury Records confirmed that they would release a fourth album in late 2013. In December 2012, the band's manager Scott Rodger confirmed that Arcade Fire was in the studio working with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. The official Arcade Fire pre-order website sets the release date on October 28, 2013. The band announced on January 18, 2013 that they were selling the church they had been using as a studio due to a collapsed roof. Throughout 2013, the band worked on the album in several different recording studios - including Murphy's DFA Records studio in New York. On June 22, 2013, Rolling Stone reported that new material from the album would be released on September 9, 2013.
Everything Now
Arcade Fire's first announced its fifth record, "Everything Now," on May 31, 2017 when it released the record's title track and lead single. The album's release came July 27, 2017. In the weeks leading up to the album's release, the band released three additional lead singles, "Creature Comfort," "Signs of Life," and "Electric Blue." Upon the week of its release, "Everything Now" reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the band's third-straight and third overall #1 record.
WE
On October 21, 2020, Butler was interviewed for the Broken Record podcast, where he commented about Arcade Fire's sixth album. The band had been writing for a year before the COVID-19 lockdown. In March 2022, fans received postcards marked with the band's logo; the postcards included the note "We missed you", musical notations, as well as an image of an eye with the word "Unsubscribe" written below. Those same images began to appear in signage around London as well as on the band's social media pages, indicating the earliest signs of a new album. On March 14, the band announced a new song titled "The Lightning I, II" would be released on March 17.
On March 17, 2022, Arcade Fire announced that the album would be titled WE and be released on May 6, 2022. Later that week, Will Butler announced he had amicably left the band in 2021 shortly after the completion of WE.
Following the release of WE on May 6, 2022, Arcade Fire announced the group’s first world tour since 2018, starting in August 2022. They again appeared on Saturday Night Live on May 7, 2022, playing "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)", "The Lightning I, II", and "End of The Empire II" over the closing credits.
Windowsill
Arcade Fire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want the salesmen coming after me
I don't wanna live in my father's house no more
I don't want it faster, I don't want it free
I don't wanna show you what they done to me
I don't wanna live in my father's house no more
I don't wanna choose black or blue
I don't wanna see what they done to you
Because the tide is high
And it's rising still
And I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
Don't wanna give 'em my name and address
Don't wanna see what happens next
Don't wanna live in my father's house no more
Don't wanna live with my father's debt
You can't forgive what you can't forget
Don't wanna live in my father's house no more
Don't wanna fight in a holy war
Don't want the salesmen knocking at my door
I don't wanna live in america no more
Because the tide is high
And it's rising still
And I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
MTV, what have you done to me?
Save my soul, set me free
Set me free! what have you done to me?
I can't breathe! I can't see
World War III
When are you coming for me?
Been kicking up sparks
We set the flames free
The windows are locked now
So what'll it be?
A house on fire, a rising sea?
Why is the night so still?
Why did I take the pill?
Because I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
Arcade Fire's "Windowsill" is laden with themes of anxiety and disillusionment. The lyrics seem to express a deep sense of disillusionment with the system and the world at large. The singer opens with the desire to block out the "noises on TV" and avoid "salesmen" who are "coming after" him. He explicitly states that he doesn't want to live in his "father's house" anymore, suggesting that he doesn't want to be trapped in the same cycle as his father. He expresses a desire to avoid the complexities and consequences of modern life, rejecting the notion of "faster" and "free." The song's refrain, "Because the tide is high and it's rising still / And I don't wanna see it at my windowsill" encapsulates the song's central theme.
The song develops as the singer rejects various aspects of modern life, including America itself, which he claims, he does not want to live in. The refrain's imagery suggests a looming threat that grows more visible with each passing day. The singer no longer wants to deal with his father's debts or his past, and he certainly doesn't want to partake in any holy wars. The song's final section kicks up sparks as the singer imagines a "house on fire" or "a rising sea," both symbols of the impending doom that he feels, culminating with an ominous sense of dread and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wanna hear the noises on TV
I don't want to be influenced and affected by what is being shown and said on TV.
I don't want the salesmen coming after me
I don't want to be hounded by people trying to sell me things I don't need.
I don't wanna live in my father's house no more
I don't want to live in the same place and circumstances that my father did.
I don't want it faster, I don't want it free
I don't want to compromise on quality for the sake of speed and cost.
I don't wanna show you what they done to me
I don't want to reveal the harm and damage that has been caused to me by others.
I don't wanna choose black or blue
I don't want to be forced into a false dichotomy or binary choice.
I don't wanna see what they done to you
I don't want to witness and acknowledge the mistreatment and abuse inflicted on others.
Because the tide is high
And it's rising still
And I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
The societal and environmental issues are becoming more pressing and urgent, and I don't want them to directly affect and impact me.
Don't wanna give 'em my name and address
I don't want to provide my personal information to people, companies, or organizations that may misuse or exploit it.
Don't wanna see what happens next
I don't want to endure or witness the consequences and aftermath of negative events.
Don't wanna live with my father's debt
You can't forgive what you can't forget
Don't wanna live in my father's house no more
I don't want to carry the burden and responsibility of my father's financial and emotional debts and problems.
Don't wanna fight in a holy war
Don't want the salesmen knocking at my door
I don't wanna live in america no more
I don't want to be involved in religious or ideological conflicts and disputes, nor do I want to be bothered or pressured by pushy salespeople. Also, I am tired of living in America.
MTV, what have you done to me?
Save my soul, set me free
Set me free! what have you done to me?
I can't breathe! I can't see
World War III
When are you coming for me?
I am questioning the negative and detrimental impact of MTV on my life and worldview, and I am desperate to be liberated and unchained from it. Also, I am terrified of the possibility of a global war that will affect me.
Been kicking up sparks
We set the flames free
The windows are locked now
So what'll it be?
A house on fire, a rising sea?
We have been igniting emotions and conflicts that we can no longer contain or control. Our situation and options are limited and dangerous, so what kind of disaster will we face?
Why is the night so still?
Why did I take the pill?
Because I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I am wondering why everything is so quiet and stagnant, and why I chose to numb and escape from reality with a pill. Ultimately, I don't want to face the problems and challenges that are threatening me at my windowsill.
I don't wanna see it at my windowsill
I refuse to confront and experience the chaos, turmoil, and destruction that are looming and approaching outside my windowsill.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeremy Gara, Regine Chassagne, Richard R Parry, Tim Kingsbury, William Butler, Win Butler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@timmxnut
Criminally underrated song.
@peppinogatsumiyamoto4117
not by us fortunately !
@milesbenish8372
Hurts me how good it is
@user-wj5co6xb4x
This is a profoundly truthful set of lyrics - the accuracy is alarming
@TheTurkaderr
One of their greatest songs ever, from their best album IMO. An anthem to all of us with bad dads.
@FlamingZelda3
"I don't wanna choose black or blue" "I don't wanna live in america no more" The lyrics are about the USA from what I can tell.
@diegoudjm3042
Come to México, we miss Arcade Fire):
@salvadorflores951
Ojalá :(
@cwm8565
A masterpiece of a record
@ZacTBH
long live arcade fire <3