At a young age, Alexakis' father walked out on the family, leaving Alexakis, his mother, his brother, and his three sisters to fend for themselves. Not long after, financial difficulties forced Alexakis' mother to relocate the family to the Mar Vista Gardens housing projects in California, located in Los Angeles near Culver City (Mar Vista Gardens is near, but not in, the Mar Vista neighborhood).
There, Alexakis came in direct contact with the area's criminal and drug culture. Alexakis' brother George died of a heroin overdose when Alexakis was twelve. A lyric in the song "Heroin Girl" refers to his mother overhearing a police officer describing his brother's death as "just another overdose." About a year later, Alexakis' girlfriend OD'd. Not long after her death, Alexakis attempted suicide by getting stoned, filling his pockets with sand, and jumping off the Santa Monica Pier. He claims the voice of his brother George compelled him to survive.
Regardless, Alexakis' drug addiction continued. Over the next eight years, he was shuffled around between various family members all over the country. He spent a brief period in Houston, Texas, living with his father, and a period in Roseburg, Oregon, living with his sister, a born-again Christian, and her husband. Eventually, he returned to LA to live with his mother. He attended journalism school for a time, and worked as a music reviewer for The Evening Outlook, a small newspaper in Santa Monica. Eventually, a near-fatal cocaine overdose pushed him to quit drugs cold turkey.
After cleaning himself up, Alexakis briefly attended UCLA film school. While living in Los Angeles, he organized a band called Shakin' Brave. Shakin' Brave featured a rather rough rock sound, but never really rose above the sea of music in Southern California. Generally frustrated with the music scene in LA, Alexakis and his first wife Anita relocated to San Francisco.
While living in San Francisco, Alexakis stumbled upon a genre of music known as "cow-punk". The sound meshed together the two prevalent forms of music with which he grew up - Country and straight-ahead Rock-n-Roll. Inspired, Alexakis established Shindig Records. Much of this period is explicitly detailed in the album, Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun, which was originally intended as a solo album, but gradually developed into a group project under the name Colorfinger.
In 1992, within a single month, Shindig went bankrupt, Colorfinger disbanded, and Alexakis' girlfriend Jenny became pregnant. Seeking a change of scenery, Alexakis moved to Portland, Oregon. There, he married his girlfriend and had a daughter. Though less directly biographical, Everclear's second album, Sparkle and Fade, deals deeply with the themes of escape and redemption that pervaded his life upon leaving San Francisco.
The instability and personal turmoil Alexakis went through left him with a wide breadth of subject matter for his songs. "Father of Mine" and "Why I Don't Believe in God" described his difficult youth. "Heroin Girl" and "Color Pit" touched upon his drug addictions. [1]
In 2000, Alexakis testified before Congress in support of HR 1488, the Compassion for Children and Child Support Enforcement Act. He has also taped PSA's for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Alexakis has also been politically active. He was a delegate for the 2004 Democratic National Convention representing Portland's 3rd congressional district after campaigning for John Edwards during the 2004 Democratic Presidential primaries. He and the new Everclear recorded the Woody Guthrie standard This Land Is Your Land, which Alexakis performed at several political events.
On January 4, 2005, Alexakis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California. According to the filing, Alexakis owes a federal tax bill for the years 1999, 2001 and 2002 of $2.75 million, as well as nearly $230,000 to the Oregon Department of Revenue and more than $120,000 in credit card debt spread over several accounts.
On Saturday, May 6, 2006, Alexakis appeared on an episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide on Nickelodeon, cameoing playing the Everclear song "Rock Star" and playing the music teacher.
At The End Of The Day
Art Alexakis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Walking uptown
With the rain in the snow
When I saw you
It came without a warning
A face I had never seen
A feeling I had never known
Making love in the quiet of the day
The world was waiting to take us to a new place
We knew that we were changing
We knew that we would never be the same
I know
I would do it all over again
At the end of the day
When we are alone
I get that feeling when I see your face
And I know
You'll be there at the end of the day
Two years later we are living together
We built our dream house on a hill by the sea
We could see the shadows that were growing in the distance
We were hiding
We were blind to what we did not want to see
I know
I would do it all over again
At the end of the day
When we are alone
I get that feeling when I see your face
And I know
We will be together
5 years gone by, we have turned into strangers
We never talk since you went away
Now I find myself walking in circles
I keep looking for you everywhere
Keep waiting for the end of the day
I know
I would do it all again
At the end of the day
When I'm all alone
I get a feeling that I can't explain
If I knew then what I know now
Wouldn't change a thing, if I could somehow
I would do it all over
Over and over again
I hope and I pray
We can do it all over again
I know
We will be together someday
At the end of the day
We will be together
At the end of the day
We will be together someday
At the end of the day
We will be together
The lyrics to Art Alexakis's song At the End of the Day tell the story of a love affair that begins unexpectedly, grows strong and deep, and ultimately fades away. The first verse is set in the early morning, with the singer walking uptown in the rain and snow when they see the object of their affection for the first time. The feeling is intense and immediate, and they end up making love in the quiet of the day. The second verse jumps ahead two years, and the couple has built a dream house together by the sea. However, they're aware of the shadows growing in the distance, and they're hiding from what they don't want to see. The third and final verse reveals that five years have passed, and the couple has turned into strangers who never talk since one of them has gone away. The singer is walking in circles, searching for their lost love and waiting for the end of the day when they might be together again.
The song captures the ebb and flow of a romantic relationship, with its moments of intense passion, periods of comfort and security, and inevitable challenges and uncertainty. The singer's journey from initial attraction to deep connection to longing and loss is richly evoked by the lyrics and the haunting melody. At the same time, the song's structure suggests a deeper level of meaning, as it moves from the present moment in the first verse to a future dream in the second verse to a sense of loss and regret in the final verse. This journey mirrors the arc of a human life, with its cycles of growth, transformation, and inevitable decline. Thus, the song becomes a meditation on the passage of time, the fragility of human connections, and the persistence of hope and longing even in the face of disappointment and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
5 AM on a Sunday morning
It's early Sunday morning and the singer is outside.
Walking uptown
The singer is walking towards the city.
With the rain in the snow
It's snowing and raining at the same time, which is unusual.
When I saw you
Suddenly, the artist sees someone they've never seen before.
It came without a warning
The artist was not expecting to see this person and it has taken them by surprise.
A face I had never seen
The person had an unfamiliar face.
A feeling I had never known
The singer had never felt this way before.
Moving slow in the early morning
The artist is taking their time and moving slowly in the early hours of the day.
Making love in the quiet of the day
The artist and their partner are having intimate time during the peaceful, early daytime.
The world was waiting to take us to a new place
There were changes coming that would take them to a new place in their lives.
We knew that we were changing
The singer and their partner knew that their relationship was evolving and shifting.
We knew that we would never be the same
The artist and their partner knew that things would never be as they were before.
I know
The singer is certain about what they are going to say.
I would do it all over again
The singer would make the same choices and decisions regarding their relationship if given the opportunity to go back in time.
At the end of the day
When everything is said and done, at the end of the day.
When we are alone
When the artist and their partner are the only ones in each other's company.
I get that feeling when I see your face
The artist experiences an intense emotion when they look at their partner's face.
And I know
The singer is sure of what they are about to say.
You'll be there at the end of the day
The singer's partner will be with them no matter what happens in their lives.
Two years later we are living together
Two years have passed and the artist and their partner are now living together.
We built our dream house on a hill by the sea
The artist and their partner have constructed their ideal home by the ocean on a hill.
We could see the shadows that were growing in the distance
There were potential difficulties approaching in the future that they could sense.
We were hiding
The singer and their partner were trying to avoid confrontation or vulnerabilities.
We were blind to what we did not want to see
They refused to face issues or problems that they didn't want to acknowledge.
5 years gone by, we have turned into strangers
Later on, after five years have lapsed, the couple are no longer connected and have grown apart.
We never talk since you went away
The singer and their partner haven't communicated since the breakup.
Now I find myself walking in circles
The singer is aimlessly moving in circles with no clear direction or purpose.
I keep looking for you everywhere
The artist is constantly searching for their ex-partner.
Keep waiting for the end of the day
The artist is hopeful that their ex-partner will come back and they'll be together again.
If I knew then what I know now
The singer is contemplating what they would have done differently if they had all the information they currently do.
Wouldn't change a thing, if I could somehow
The singer wouldn't change what happened in the past even if they hypothetically could.
I hope and I pray
The artist is hopeful that something will change for the better.
We can do it all over again
The artist wants to experience their relationship again.
We will be together someday
The artist believes that they and their ex-partner will be united again one day.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ARTHUR ALEXAKIS, MARION RAVEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kwonchis
Wow, thanks for the subs!!! This is a very beautiful song. And Marion's voice is outstanding!!
(2:44 "When I'm all alone...")
Aero Genin
Hehehe, I didn't had good software or computer when I made this video, otherwise it would have been at least 720p.
Terry Jerin
Such an amazing song by two very gifted performers. Thanks for sharing