The band began in the bedroom of Justin Kennedy who, in his early days, played with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) in the Seattle band Pinwheel. Having relocated to Los Angeles after Pinwheel broke up, Kennedy began focusing on his new project and started assembling members for Army Navy. Multi-instrumentalist Louie Schultz joined swiftly after hearing Kennedy’s home demos. Without a permanent sticks man at the time of recording the first album, Army Navy’s album boasted drumming by the legendary Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, who had been a longtime fan of the band. Army Navy soon found their permanent drummer Douglas Randall.
Army Navy released their first (Lasus produced) album on their own Fever Zone Label in 2008. CMJ called it “..some of the brightest pop released this year”. The quartet’s first single “My Thin Sides” was paired with a video featuring Paul Scheer of Human Giant. The second single “Saints” which Blender Magazine called “a lovely indie-rock swoon” was the Single Of the Week on iTunes Australia and was released on the UK’s Fierce Panda’s Club Fandango Label. Stateside, it gained radio rotation on tastemaker stations like KEXP and KNRK and satellite radio’s indie-leaning XMU station.
The band featured on Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. They also featured in the Shrek Forever After theatrical trailer, Beastly Film and Soundtrack, The Bachelor ABC TV commercial, and shows like: Weeds, The OC, Numbers, Greek, and many more.
On tour the band has supported such groups as: The Lemonheads, Arctic Monkeys, The Dodos, The Soft Pack, The Like, and Cut Copy; as well as explosive shows at SXSW and CMJ and the UK’s Truck festivals. The band was asked to be musical guests on the short-lived Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.
In 2010 the band self-financed the recording of their second album. They once again called upon producer and engineer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Helium). The album is The Last Place.
Their third full-length album, The Wilderness Inside, was released on July 15, 2014.
My Thin Sides
Army Navy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Remember that she dropped you in the brine
I don't mind if I ever stop believing
Let it go
And in my mind I'm swung by drunk persuasion
Met my bed and lonely I will lie
I would mind if I never get to see you
In the end you might regret forever
I'm really sure she used up all of her lives
I don't mind of your heart it has stop breathing
Let it go
You will you see me as I'm always wrong
I'll believe it if you come back home
You'll always be the one that wakes my tired eyes
Always be the one to shy away
You'll always be the one that feeds my thin sides
Always be the one to drive away
And when the babies breath has gone sour
It's lugging and she sickens by the day
But you didn't given me time to make it right
You wouldn't put the time in
All of the doctors put the rise and then you smiling
Come to see me as I am always wrong
I will leave you and delete your songs
You'll always be the one that wakes my tired eyes
Always be the one to shy away
You'll always be the one that feeds my thin sides
Always be the one to drive away
In the canyon coyotes seek the kittens
And this is just what they do just to survive
Hear their cries
And let them die
You'll always be the one that wakes my tired eyes
Always be the one to shy away
You'll always be the one that feeds my thin sides
Always be the one to drive away (x5)
The lyrics of "My Thin Sides" by Army Navy portray the feelings of someone who has been betrayed by a loved one. The first verse speaks of a woman who abandoned the singer and left him stranded. The singer contemplates whether or not to hold onto his belief that things will get better or let it go. Moving onto the second verse, the singer describes feeling intoxicated by the memories of this person and the loneliness that he experiences without her. The singer is now unsure whether he will ever be able to see his loved one again and feels as if he's been left in the dark.
The chorus of the song repeats the same lyrics four times and shifts its focus onto the loved one being addressed. The words speak of this person being the one who wakes his "tired eyes" and feeds his "thin sides" but also the one who seems to be driving him away. In the final verse, the lyrics take a darker turn as the singer talks about coyotes hunting kittens in the canyon. The words symbolize the harshness of life and how the singer has been left to face it all alone.
Line by Line Meaning
Next time when I'm pulling it together
The next time I try to get my life back on track
Remember that she dropped you in the brine
Remember that she left you in a bad situation
I don't mind if I ever stop believing
It's okay if I lose faith in something
Let it go
Release the negative emotions and move on
And in my mind I'm swung by drunk persuasion
My thoughts are clouded with the influence of alcohol
Met my bed and lonely I will lie
I'll be alone and sad in bed
I would mind if I never get to see you
It would bother me if I never saw you again
I've gone blind
I can no longer see clearly
In the end you might regret forever
You could potentially regret this forever
I'm really sure she used up all of her lives
She has exhausted all of her second chances
I don't mind of your heart it has stop breathing
It doesn't bother me if your heart stops beating
You will you see me as I'm always wrong
You view me in a negative light
I'll believe it if you come back home
I'll accept your criticisms if you return to me
Always be the one that wakes my tired eyes
You'll always be the one to get me out of bed
Always be the one to shy away
You'll always be the one to avoid confrontation
Always be the one that feeds my thin sides
You'll always be the one to enable my unhealthy habits
Always be the one to drive away
You'll always be the one to leave
And when the babies breath has gone sour
When things have gone sour in a relationship
It's lugging and she sickens by the day
It becomes heavy and painful to endure
But you didn't given me time to make it right
You didn't give me a chance to fix things
You wouldn't put the time in
You didn't make an effort
All of the doctors put the rise and then you smiling
Everyone else is moving forward but you're still holding on
Come to see me as I am always wrong
You always see me in a negative light
I will leave you and delete your songs
I'll end the relationship and erase any reminders of you
In the canyon coyotes seek the kittens
In harsh times, predators prey on the weak
And this is just what they do just to survive
They do this to stay alive
Hear their cries
Witness their pain
And let them die
Allow them to suffer their fate
Always be the one that wakes my tired eyes
You'll always be the one to get me out of bed
Always be the one to shy away
You'll always be the one avoiding confrontation
Always be the one that feeds my thin sides
You'll always be the one enabling my unhealthy habits
Always be the one to drive away (x5)
You'll always be the one who leaves me
Contributed by Thomas T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Brandon Castillo
dioss me encanta esta banda!!! tengo 14 y soy fan de ustedes!!! amo el indiee(L)..i love them from:argentina
natasha moore
I love this song and the video is just awesome
manicalhippieboy
I LOVE THIS SONG It reminds me of the Beatles.
Mitchell Houlbrooke
Your lead singer has a really good voice tone. And great video concept.
Jaime Alfaro
the best song of 2008!!
aeshir
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO BE REALLY HAPPY OR REALLY SAD
dougedart
Wow. Kind of a modern Let's Active. Funny video too. Congratulations!
Michael Harary
love this shit
Brandon Pringle
love these guys
NCKYG2X3
love itttt