Athletics is an Ambient/Indie Rock band that formed in the fall of 2008 in… Read Full Bio ↴Athletics is an Ambient/Indie Rock band that formed in the fall of 2008 in Oneonta, NY. The band started when Garrett Yaeger and John Cannon left The Cast Before The Break. Garrett started Athletics as a solo project but it quickly became a full band endeavor when he enlisted John Cannon, Howie Cohen and Jimmy Boyce

As a band they wrote enough material to record a five song EP entitled "Sleep Comes In Interludes," which was recorded in Oneonta and produced by TJ Foster who was their former bandmate in The Cast Before The Break.

After releasing the EP, Athletics continued to write more material, until a cohesive group of songs were ready to record a full length record. The band recorded their debut full length record in Oneonta, NY over the course of a few months in the winter and spring of 2010. The tracks were produced by Moving Mountains' Greg Dunn, and later released on Deep Elm records as the album "Why Aren't I Home?" on October 26, 2010.

Speaking For Everyone
Athletics Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Take my heart.
Take everything,
and throw it in the well.
Even the surface holds no safety.
So when the sun fails to rise in the East,
I won't see
anything that I need.
Have mercy on everyone but me.

Have mercy on everyone but me.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Athletics's song Speaking For Everyone seems to be talking about a person who has experienced heartbreak and betrayal in their life. The opening line "Take my heart" signifies that the person is willing to let go of everything they hold dear, including their emotions, and throw it away in a well. The next lines "Even the surface holds no safety" is a metaphor that represents the person's belief that even the most apparent and secure things in life can also result in disappointment and betrayal.

The following lines "So when the sun fails to rise in the East, I won't see anything that I need" indicates that the person has lost faith in life and has given up on finding happiness. They have become emotionally numb and are not looking for anything to satisfy them. The repetition of the line "Have mercy on everyone but me" is an expression of the person's resentment and jealousy towards people who seem to have found happiness while they are still stuck in their pain.

Line by Line Meaning

Take my heart.
Give it your all and be vulnerable.

Take everything,
Give everything you have, offer your all.

and throw it in the well.
Trust without reservation, take a leap of faith.

Even the surface holds no safety.
Don't rely on appearances, there may be danger even in the expected.

So when the sun fails to rise in the East,
When things don't go as planned, don't despair.

I won't see
I won't be affected by what's happening around me.

anything that I need.
I don't cling to material possessions or external validation.

Have mercy on everyone but me.
Even though I may have been selfish, please protect everyone else.

Contributed by Nicholas C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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TRACKS