Auf der Maur became friends with Billy Corgan after apologizing for a friend who threw a beer bottle at him during one of The Smashing Pumpkins' Canadian shows. Her band, Tinker, opened for The Smashing Pumpkins in Montréal in 1993. In 1994, when Hole was in need of a new bassist following the death of Kristen Pfaff, Corgan recommended Auf der Maur to Courtney Love. Auf der Maur originally turned down the job but reconsidered on advice from her father. She joined Hole two weeks before the band's appearance at the Reading Festival, and recorded the band's third album Celebrity Skin. She left on October 20, 1999 after the band's tours in promotion of the album.
In 1999, she joined The Smashing Pumpkins after the departure of D'arcy Wretzky, and remained with the band until they disbanded in 2000. After this, she collaborated with a number of artists. In 2001, she sang on Rufus Wainwright's album, Poses. In 2002, she sang with Nicola Sirkis on the French band Indochine's song "Le Grand Secret."
In 2004, she released her debut album, Auf der Maur. The singles "Followed the Waves", "Real A Lie" and "Taste You" garnered significant airplay on modern rock radio. Six years later, she released her long-awaited follow-up, Out of Our Minds, in 2010, which featured a more obscure approach to songwriting and featured an appearance from Glenn Danzig.
Follow The Map
Auf Der Maur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a broken heart
Good seamen
Turned to piracy
Turned to the sea
For opportunity
A good boy, men,
His sins,
His sins,
Oh he knows not where he's been
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Follow his heart back to the start
He's just a boy
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Follow his heart back to the start
Tell the mistress
He's just a boy
Broken man
With a leather heart
He turned to the sea
For opportunity
A pirate's grin
Overcoming him
His grin,
His grin,
Oh she knows not where she's been
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Follow his heart back to the start
He's just a boy
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Follow his heart back to the start
Tell the mistress
He's just a boy
Follow the map
Of his broken heart
Back to the start
Of his broken heart
Follow the map
Back to the start
Of his broken heart
Bury him at sea,
He'll never return to me
Forgive him all his sins
He knows not where he's been
Bury him at sea,
He'll never return to me
Forgive him all his sins
The mistress of the sea deceived him
Bury him at sea,
He'll never return to me
Follow his heart
Back to the start
He's just a boy
Follow his heart
Back to the start
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Lost at sea
Follow her heart
Back to the start
Follow the start
Back to the heart
Lost at sea
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Bury him at sea,
He'll never return to me
The mistress of the sea deceived him
Mistress of the sea deceived him
Mistress of the sea deceived him
The lyrics to Auf Der Maur's "Follow The Map" tell the story of a good boy turned to piracy out of desperation for opportunity. The song describes his leather skin and broken heart, and how he turned to the sea as a last resort. The singer asks for forgiveness for his sins and tries to warn others that he's just a boy, clearly not cut out for the life he's chosen. The chorus repeats the phrase "clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck" as a way of foreshadowing his tragic fate, and the repetition of "follow his heart back to the start" serves as a reminder that he was a good boy at heart, who made a mistake.
The second verse introduces a "broken man with a leather heart" who is also a pirate. This character is described as having a pirate's grin, which is overtaking him. The singer pleads with the mistress of the sea to forgive him all his sins, even though he doesn't know where he's been. The song comes full circle in the final verse, where the singer asks to bury him at sea and forgive him all his sins, while acknowledging that the mistress of the sea deceived him.
Overall, the song tells a heartbreaking story of a young man who goes to extreme measures to try and make a life for himself, only to end up lost at sea. The chorus is a powerful reminder that sometimes the best course of action is to follow our hearts and start again.
Line by Line Meaning
Leather skin
A man who has been toughened up by life's experiences and has become hard and emotionally unyielding
With a broken heart
Despite his tough exterior, he has been hurt and wounded by something or someone
Good seamen
Men who are skilled and knowledgeable when it comes to navigating the sea and sailing
Turned to piracy
These once respectable men have now resorted to a life of crime and theft at sea
Turned to the sea
These men have left their previous lives behind and have found a new sense of purpose at sea
For opportunity
They have turned to piracy as a means to pursue better economic opportunities and gain wealth
A good boy, men,
Despite their criminal ways, they were once innocent and decent men
Please forgive him
They are asking for forgiveness for their wrongdoings and bad choices in life
His sins,
The weight of his mistakes and missteps in life are taking a toll on him
Oh he knows not where he's been
He is lost and uncertain about his path in life, and his choices have led him down a dark road
Clear the decks, there's gonna be a shipwreck
Something catastrophic is about to happen, and they need to prepare for the worst
Follow his heart back to the start
He needs to go back to his roots and rediscover who he once was before he became a pirate
He's just a boy
Despite his hardened exterior and reputation as a pirate, he is still just a young and inexperienced person
Tell the mistress
They are addressing the Mistress of the Sea, who is believed to have control over sailors' fates
Broken man
The hardships of life have left him emotionally shattered and vulnerable
With a leather heart
Despite his emotional vulnerability, he has developed a tough exterior to protect himself from further heartbreak
A pirate's grin
He is taking pleasure in his newfound criminal ways and the wealth and power it brings him
Overcoming him
His joy and satisfaction in his newfound life as a pirate is starting to consume him and take over his true self
His grin,
His newfound pleasure and satisfaction in his criminal ways are starting to define who he is
Oh she knows not where she's been
His choices and actions have left him feeling lost and disconnected from his true self
Follow the map
He needs to chart a course for his life and rediscover who he is and who he wants to be
Of his broken heart
He needs to start the journey from the most vulnerable and hurtful part of himself
Bury him at sea,
He wants to be laid to rest at his true home - the sea that has given his life meaning
He'll never return to me
His true home is the sea, and he will always belong to it
Forgive him all his sins
He seeks forgiveness from those he has wronged and forgiveness for himself for the choices he made
The mistress of the sea deceived him
He believes that the Mistress of the Sea led him astray and away from his true self
Lost at sea
He is lost in his own life and on his own journey, but he finds comfort in the vastness of the sea
Follow her heart
The artist is shifting the focus to the Mistress of the Sea who holds great power and influence over the lives of sailors
Follow the start
They must go back to the beginning to truly understand where they went wrong
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Silent Hill Fan
Wow I love this song!!!! Love Melissa's vocals!:) and her bass playing!:) reminds me of her Malibu days with Hole:)
Junior Santiago
Perfeita ! Não sai da minha playlist !
Beatrice Le May
i think this is the song that sounds the most like her previous album!!! love it!
J C
A pop rock masterpiece
MAdM - The Angel on bass
One of my favourite songs in OOOM album !
Luminous
Yeah it sucks that this album isn't on Spotify.
Dottor Rock
I saw her in concert last night in Torino! wonderful!
xylotone0110
POWERFUL . Her album from 2004 is good , but this one is The S#IT Check out the ' Frippertronic ' type guitar at the end I hope this has won a Grammy by now . She's artist of the decade or century hands f**in down ... Finísima dama , finísima Greetings from Chile ...
drdevil6666
In 2021 still amazing 🤩
konichan1
for me this is the best song of the album