Taking their name from the number of Susans in the line up, Band of Susans released one EP - Blessing and Curse - on Poss's own Trace Elements label before being signed to Mute Records's Blast First imprint for their first album Hope Against Hope. After the release, Rogers, Lyall and Tallman quit to be replaced by Karen Haglof (guitar) and Page Hamilton (guitar). After a second album - Love Agenda - and a Peel Sessions EP the two new members quit (Hamilton to form Helmet) and were replaced by Anne Husick (guitar) and Mark Lonergan (guitar), forming the line up which made three more albums and one EP. On the band's final U.S. and European tours a young Jay Braun filled in for Mark Lonergan. The band's final production was a version of Wire's Ahead for a collection of Wire cover versions called Whore, released in 1996.
Musically, BoS organised their three guitarists into providing an overwhelming wail of feedback and guitar noise layered under more conventional song structures (Poss had worked with guitar enemble composer Rhys Chatham and was a big fan of The Rolling Stones - the latter resulting in covers of Child of the Moon and Paint it Black). Although pretty much unconnected with it, Band of Susans are generally included in the New York No Wave scene that produced Sonic Youth and Glenn Branca.
After the dissolution of the band, Poss and Stenger performed with Bruce Gilbert of Wire as GilbertPossStenger. Poss then concentrated on production and solo work whilst Stenger played live with The Creatures for a period. An open-ended promise to reform under a new name has yet to happen.
Silver Lining
Band Of Susans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sky is stained black and brown
The ships in the bay have crashed on the rocks
Their hulls bleed black and foul
We track this satellite as it crashes to the ground
Crawling through the landfills
Counting the gun racks
Drifting towards the falls
Running just ahead of the landslides
Looking past the silver lining
A few more shots in the dark
Try to swim back to shore away from the lies
Someday the strings will shine across the bridge of light
I'll be there to help you to burn the flag
Dreaming of you in a flash of light
Dreaming of the silver lining
The lyrics to "Silver Lining" by Band of Susans are open to interpretation, but one theme that stands out is the idea of destruction and chaos. The opening lines describe a scene of fire, black and brown skies, and crashed ships bleeding black and foul. There is a sense of hopelessness and despair in this image. The following lines suggest a journey through rough terrain, fraught with dangers such as landslides and gun racks. However, the singer still sees the possibility of a "silver lining" - a glimmer of hope, a brighter future. This is tempered by the acknowledgement that it may be difficult to see or reach that light.
The final lines of the song are a bit more abstract, but still tie in with the themes of destruction and hope. There is a sense of longing for a better world, a desire to burn the symbolic flag of the past and move on to something new. The mention of a "flash of light" and a dream suggests that this better world may not be entirely tangible, but it is still something to strive for.
Line by Line Meaning
The trees are on fire
The situation is in chaos and confusion. It is like the trees, which are burning and seem to be uncontrollable.
The sky is stained black and brown
The environment is severely affected as a result, and everything looks odd and ugly. The sky is no longer blue but stained brown and black, covered due to the fire.
The ships in the bay have crashed on the rocks
The accidents can happen anytime, the same way these ships crashed because of issues or human errors.
Their hulls bleed black and foul
The damage is pretty high, and no one can recover from such accidents fast. The hulls are now bleeding oil, which can create a more massive problem than current.
We track this satellite as it crashes to the ground
During the time of crisis, everyone is just tracking down things that could be helpful for them, and in the same way, they track the satellite that is coming down to the ground.
Crawling through the landfills
People are in search of something, yet they are only taking or crawling over the unnecessary, waste material.
Counting the gun racks
They are trying to find ways to defend themselves or trying to grab power by counting gun racks so they can make better decisions and strategies.
Riding past the windmills
People are now on a quest, racing towards protection or any reliable source of food or energy for their survival. They passed by giant windmills that can generate electricity.
Drifting towards the falls
No one is ready to fight back instead; people have become so hopeless that they are letting themselves drift towards the problematic areas full of falls or floods.
Running just ahead of the landslides
People are now always on the move, and the concept of stability does not exist anymore. They continuously run to avoid massive landslides or earthquakes.
Looking past the silver lining
Everyone is coming up with hopeless thoughts and only focusing on the dark side. They are unable to see the brighter side of the story or the good that is still present.
A few more shots in the dark
They are trying to make some more fear-based decisions even though they are entirely unaware of the consequences.
Try to swim back to shore away from the lies
One must try to have an honest perception of the ongoing situations and trying to stay away from any false information.
Someday the strings will shine across the bridge of light
One must try to stay positive as strings of hope will soon shine bright and take you towards the path of the bright and hopeful future.
I'll be there to help you to burn the flag
The singer will come and help in the revolt against the norms and the wrongdoings, and even be ready to take some strong steps like burning the flag to show their deep concern.
Dreaming of you in a flash of light
The singer is dreaming of a better world, in which people try to understand each other and move towards a brighter future.
Dreaming of the silver lining
The final thought of the song is still rehearsing that things may not be bright now, but if one keeps dreaming and finding a silver lining in all the chaos, brighter days will come soon.
Contributed by Matthew T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.