Ben Jorgensen created Armor for Sleep in 2001 and Nash Breen and PJ DeCicco later joined the band after leaving fellow New Jersey band Prevent Falls. He stated that the name of the band comes from his early experiences of writing music and not being able to sleep. After distributing demos Albany, New York-based indie label Equal Vision signed the band and released their first two concept albums: Dream to Make Believe, released in 2003, and What to Do When You Are Dead, released in 2005.
What to Do When You Are Dead spawned the popular singles "Car Underwater" and "The Truth About Heaven," receiving lots of airplay with their music videos. Each song on the album tells the story of the protagonist's suicide as well as his journey through the afterlife. The story goes through moments of personal introspection at the positive and negative aspects of his life while he quietly visits important locations of his past life without disturbing anyone. Analyzing the lyrics of each track, you can see him progress through the Kübler-Ross 5-stage model of grief management as he initially denies his situation, then wishes for a reversal, and finally accepts his fate. The album ends with the character finally coming to grips with his decision, and his spirit continues on, having completed his business in this life. Initial copies of the CD came with a bonus DVD that featured live footage of the band as well as the music videos for "My Town" and "Dream to Make Believe," both from Dream to Make Believe. It also included a making-of documentary and a small booklet titled "What to Do When You Are Dead: A Comprehensive Guide to The Afterlife" which featured satirical ways to cope with death should you unexpectedly perish. A remix by Machine Shop of "Remember to Feel Real" was featured on Snakes on a Plane: The Album in August 2006. A new song, "End of the World," was featured on Transformers - The Album. That song would be on their third and final album, Smile for Them, released through their new label Sire/Warner Bros..
Armor for Sleep released their first single from Smile for Them, "Williamsburg," on September 18, 2007, through iTunes. "Hold the Door" also received indie radio airplay. They played on Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour in 2008 on the US leg Revolution Stage to promote the album.
The band's final release, The Way Out Is Broken, was an EP released digitally on September 5, 2008. Fans were able to purchase download cards during the band's run on Projekt Revolution to use to download the EP on the release date.
On October 28, 2009, it was officially announced that Armor for Sleep would disband. Ben Jorgensen wrote a statement on AltPress.com informing fans of the inevitable, after the band had been inactive and not performing for over a year. Ben Jorgensen has since taken on a solo project and was associated with God Loves a Challenge with Sierra Shardae. PJ DeCicco has also moved on playing in Love Automatic with former Senses Fail bassist Mike Glita.
The band has embarked on multiple reunion tours, and played multiple reunion shows, the first of these being at Bamboozle 2012. They played three more shows following the festival appearance and then disbanded again. The band then announced an eight city tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album What To Do When You Are Dead. On February 24, 2020, the band announced they would be reuniting for a summer tour with nineteen tour dates to celebrate the 15th anniversary of What To Do When You Are Dead. The tour was later postponed due to COVID-19, and later in year postponed dates for 2021 were announced.
Armor For Sleep officially returned with their new single How Far Apart on July 7, 2022. The band has signed back on to Equal Vision Records and are set to release their fourth full length album The Rain Museum in early September 2022.
Stay On The Ground
Armor for Sleep Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But then I stopped 'cause I don't care
I'm feeling bored of feeling numb
So now I'll stop 'cause I don't care
I started lookin' out for myself today
But then I stopped 'cause I don't care
I'm feeling bored of feeling numb
So get it, get it, get it right
I'm not holding onto a thing here
Get it, get it, get it right
I'm not holding on and I can't say no
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
I started feeling bad for myself today
But then I stopped 'cause I don't care
I'm dreaming less and sleeping more
But I sold my soul for the dream you stole
So get it, get it, get it right
I'm not holding onto a thing here
Get it, get it, get it right
I'm not holding on and I can't say no
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
I've got fifty years left of just waiting around
Put your heart on your sleeve and watch me pull it down
I've got fifty years left of just waiting around
Put your heart on your sleeve and watch me pull it down
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
Holding your head up
Is hard when you just want
To stay on the ground
To stay on the ground
The lyrics of "Stay on the Ground" by Armor for Sleep delve into the complexity of emotions and the existential crisis that many people may experience at some point in their lives. The song speaks about the struggle of dealing with self-pity and apathy, and the inability to break free from that cycle. The opening lines describe how the singer began to focus on themselves, but quickly lost motivation and simply stopped because they didn't care enough to continue. The repetition of the growing numbness through the lines "I'm feeling bored of feeling numb/ So now I'll stop 'cause I don't care" highlights the theme of emotional detachment.
The chorus of the song speaks about the difficulties of holding one's head up high, when all they want is to be grounded, to stay on the ground. The phrase "Holding your head up is hard when you just want to stay on the ground," is repeated several times, emphasizing the pull to remain stagnant in a state of disengagement rather than trying to progress forward. There is also a sense of self-deception and betrayal in the lyrics. The line "But I sold my soul for the dream you stole" may suggest that the singer gave away their sense of self to someone else’s dream, hoping that it would lead them to happiness. The song concludes with the singer acknowledging the continuous waiting and the need to break free from the cycle that is keeping them stuck.
Line by Line Meaning
I started lookin' out for myself today
I tried to be self-sufficient today
But then I stopped 'cause I don't care
I quickly gave up because I'm indifferent
I'm feeling bored of feeling numb
I'm tired of feeling empty and emotionless
So now I'll stop 'cause I don't care
I'll just give up entirely because I don't care
So get it, get it, get it right
Understand what I'm saying and don't misinterpret it
I'm not holding onto a thing here
I'm not attached to anything or anyone
I'm not holding on and I can't say no
I can't resist temptation, even if I try
Holding your head up
Staying positive and optimistic
Is hard when you just want
It's difficult when you desire something else
To stay on the ground
To stay stagnant and not progress
I started feeling bad for myself today
I started feeling sorry for myself today
But then I stopped 'cause I don't care
But I stopped feeling sorry for myself because I don't care
I'm dreaming less and sleeping more
I'm losing interest in achieving my dreams and sleeping more instead
But I sold my soul for the dream you stole
But I gave up everything for a dream that was taken from me
I've got fifty years left of just waiting around
I have a lot of time left to waste
Put your heart on your sleeve and watch me pull it down
Be vulnerable and I'll tear you apart
Holding your head up
Staying positive and optimistic
Is hard when you just want
It's difficult when you desire something else
To stay on the ground
To stay stagnant and not progress
Holding your head up
Staying positive and optimistic
Is hard when you just want
It's difficult when you desire something else
To stay on the ground
To stay stagnant and not progress
Holding your head up
Staying positive and optimistic
Is hard when you just want
It's difficult when you desire something else
To stay on the ground
To stay stagnant and not progress
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Ben Jorgensen, Nash Breen, Peter James Decicco, Anthony Diionno
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ruffiØ
God this song is my everything. And I just found it again. Life never let me forget
R Law
I used to listen to this in 2005/06 every day as it really resonated. Totally forgot about it (and the band) until now. Taken me right back there.
Kyle Harrington
Top 3 best complete albums ever constructed. More than that, creativity and everything coinciding in one piece. Deja entendu and hold on by name taken. Best of the best. Thank you guys for what you do for music. Inspiring beyond belief. Hopefully maybe see you guys once again in SF, "the city". Much love. I used to manage Break The Sky back in fresno. Did everything I could to hook up a gig with you guys
Kyle S
Dude is spot on with those 3 albums.
Daniel Esslinger
Deja was good but the devil and god are raging inside of me is my favorite album!!!
Raging Brainer
I'll always come back here for this album it's so underrated
Grant Wiley Esq.
I used to be obsessed with this song! Still jams!
Julian Lefler
Been listening for well over a decade
stone2717
Ugh... I'm gonna be that guy, I got to see them back when I was in high school, they were touring with The Starting Line. Amazing show.
Ima
@Därk Cløud hahaha remember bearshare lol