Bear's Den have released four studio albums: Islands (2014), Red Earth & Pouring Rain (22 July 2016), So that you might hear me (26 April 2019), and Blue Hours (13 May 2022). Islands peaked at number forty-nine on the UK Albums Chart. The band has also issued six EPs: Agape (2013), Without/Within (2013), Only Son of the Falling Snow (2019), Christmas, Hopefully (2020), The Quiet Winter Light (2022), and First Loves (2023).
The band has been nominated for several music awards throughout their career, with "Above the Clouds of Pompeii" earning the band a nomination for the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2015. The band received two nominations at the UK Americana Awards in 2016, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "Agape".
Elysium
Bear's Den Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our souls will both collide
Some great Elysium
Way up in the sky
Free from our shackles, our chains, our mouths, our brains
We'll open all the gates
We will walk careless, straight into the light
I've never felt so enlightened
Every page I turn
I only find myself
Feeling more alone
Posing questions to a silent universe
My very thoughts are cursed
They just seem to multiply
Forever in my mind
Brother don't grow up
Brother please never grow up
Just hold out against the night
And guard your hope with your life
For the darkness, she will come
Oh and you have nowhere left to run
Oh but your eyes are wider than mine, but they'll never see?
Just hope that age does not erase all that you've seen
Don't let bitterness become you
Your only hopes are within you
Just hold out against the night
And guard your hope with your life
The lyrics of Bear's Den's song Elysium are a contemplation of life and death, and the existence of an afterlife. The song opens with a question to a friend: "Brother do you believe in an afterlife? Our souls will both collide". The singer is wondering if there is a place where souls unite after death, a place of eternal peace and happiness, "Some great Elysium, Way up in the sky."
The chorus repeats the idea of freedom from earthly limitations: "Free from our shackles, our chains, our mouths, our brains, We'll open all the gates, We will walk careless, straight into the light". The singer imagines a place where one can let go of all the worries and concerns of this world and simply embrace the light.
The second verse is more introspective as the singer reflects on his own life and his search for meaning. "I've never felt so enlightened, Every page I turn, I only find myself, Feeling more alone". He feels a disconnect between his thoughts and the universe's silence, and his thoughts seem to spiral out of control, "Posing questions to a silent universe, My very thoughts are cursed, They just seem to multiply, Forever in my mind". The song ends with a call to hold on to hope and not let bitterness take over, "Just hold out against the night, And guard your hope with your life".
Overall, Elysium is a thought-provoking reflection on life, death, and the afterlife. It encourages us to hold on to hope and not to let our inner demons take over.
Line by Line Meaning
Brother do you believe in an afterlife?
Do you have faith in an existence beyond our physical lives?
Our souls will both collide
Our spirits will unite and be one.
Some great Elysium
A heavenly paradise where our souls will dwell.
Way up in the sky
In a location believed to be above and beyond the Earth's atmosphere.
Free from our shackles, our chains, our mouths, our brains
Released from the burdens and limitations of our physical bodies, including our minds and speech.
We'll open all the gates
We will have unlimited access to everything we desire.
We will walk careless, straight into the light
We will live fearlessly in the presence of radiant, divine energy.
I've never felt so enlightened
I have never felt such a profound understanding of the world and spiritual realm.
Every page I turn
As I explore deeper into my mind and spirituality,
I only find myself
I discover that the answers I seek are already within me.
Feeling more alone
I sense my own isolation in my quest for spiritual truth.
Posing questions to a silent universe
Asking the unknown, unanswerable mysteries of the cosmos.
My very thoughts are cursed
I am burdened by my own relentless curiosity and search for deeper understanding.
They just seem to multiply
As I ponder the nature of existence, more questions arise, creating an endless cycle of inquiry.
Forever in my mind
These thoughts and questions will always be with me.
Brother don't grow up
Don't lose your innocence and sense of wonder as you age.
Brother please never grow up
Hold onto your youthful spirit and curiosity throughout your life.
Just hold out against the night
Stay strong and resolute in the face of hardships and challenges.
And guard your hope with your life
Protect your optimistic outlook on life and the belief that happiness is possible.
For the darkness, she will come
Dark times will inevitably arise in life.
Oh and you have nowhere left to run
You can't escape the harsh realities that life may bring.
Oh but your eyes are wider than mine, but they'll never see?
You may have a broader perspective on life, yet still not see certain truths.
Just hope that age does not erase all that you've seen
Hope that as you age, your life experiences and wisdom will not be forgotten or diminished.
Don't let bitterness become you
Don't allow disappointment or negativity to define you.
Your only hopes are within you
The key to happiness and fulfillment lies within your own being.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Andrew Donald John Davie, Johannes Egenberg Refsdal, Kevin Jones
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fraser Jones
Taken from NPR:
"Sometimes music and life intersect in ways beyond words. Filmmaker James Marcus Haney set out to do two things, make a music video for the British trio Bear's Den and capture the last days of his little brothers carefree college days with friends.
What he wound up with is tragic and poignant. Shortly after arriving in Seattle to film, a campus shooting occurred. Haney relayed his story to me via email. He's as good with words as he is with imagery. I'm going to let him tell the story.
"'Elysium' was one of those tracks that became very personal to me very quickly. It made me think about my younger brothers and their transition from kids to adulthood — how they are carving out their individuality and quickly leaving youth, innocence, and wide eyes behind. "Brother don't grow up.... /Just hope that age does not erase all that you've seen/Don't let bitterness become you/Your only hopes are within you." With the video, I wanted to capture elements of that transitional experience in my brother, Turner's, life. I wanted to film him and his real friends doing actual things that they normally do. I wanted to document the actions and emotions of people at this age — the highs, the lows, the noteworthy and the mundane. I wanted to get inside what it feels like to be a teenager today. On a personal level, I wanted to freeze the last remnants of youth still left in my brother — to record him in this tender, fleeting age of early college years.
"Soon after I arrived in Seattle to begin filming, an armed man walked onto Turner's college campus and shot four students. One of them died. I was staying on my brother's couch in his campus dorm room, living amongst sixty or so sophomore boys. The name of the slain student was not released, and no one knew when it would be. As hours passed by into night time, one student was still left unaccounted on my brother's floor, four rooms down from us. One of the dorm-mates decided to sleep in the hallway just outside the elevator to wait for the missing student, so that he would wake up when the missing student came home. Others followed suit until the entire dorm floor hallway was filled with mattresses and students unable to sleep, all waiting for the elevator door to open.
"When the victim's name was released the next day, the fears were confirmed. Turner's friend and dorm-mate, Paul Lee, was dead. With the music video as a last priority, I was thankful just to be with my brother — to support him, to be near him. In his dorm room, he played the song 'Elysium' over and over. A few of the other kids played it a lot too, and sent it around. While in the midst of a dormitory full of very broken and lost students, I couldn't stop listening to the song either — it took on a whole new weight and meaning.
"That weekend, my brother and his friends wanted to finish the video, in honor of Paul. The end result is a video that depicts real friends, real teenagers, experiencing something far too real."
The song "Elysium" will be on a new record from Bear's Den coming in the fall."
rasp berry
Brother do you believe in an afterlife
Where our souls will both collide
In some great Elysium
Way up in the sky
Free from our shackles, our chains
Our mouths, our brains
We'll open all the gates
And we will walk careless
Straight into the light
I've never felt so enlightened
With every page I turn
I only find myself feeling more alone
Posing questions to a silent universe
My very thoughts a curse
They just seem to multiply
Forever in my mind
Brother don't grow up
Brother please never grow up
Hold out against the night
Guard your hope with your life
For the darkness, she will come
Oh and you will have nowhere left to run
Oh but your eyes are wider than mine
And help me to sleep
I just hope that age does not erase
All that you see
Don't let bitterness become you
Your only hopes are all within you
Hold out against the night
Guard your hope with your life
Skate&KeepPushing
Oh my god.... that has got to be by far, one of the most powerful music videos I've ever seen. I can't express the magnitude to how much I love music and how it hits you like that. "Wow" is not enough to suffice... that was incredible and beyond.
우주와의왈츠 : Waltz with Universe
Skate&KeepPushing thought the same. appreciate your comment. thank you.
Secrets from a Gorl
came back here after years and years and this video still makes me tear up
Solar Vox Studio Official Channel
I´m a almost 50 years old guy, I grew up surfing with my friends, playing music in bands with them and leaving the life full of hope and dreams. We really see beauty in this world and we feel at the times that everything will be possible and we, all of us, belongs to something real, something that means. We were young's, most of us were artists, musicians, and I can say we were a bunch of very alive kids, strongly attached to nature, to the sea, to life and we were so close each others, we feel like we were true brothers. But for circumstances of life, massive exodus, exile, war, political violence and also in other cases just guided by our curios and traveler spirits, and following our own nomad nature,some of us just move very faraway. Also I truly believe one of the mainly reasons of our separation was because the enormous pressure society and adult life put on our shoulders, we ended being separated and barely in contact trough the coming years.
The only words that coming to my mind to describe the pain and the immense sadness and loneliness I feel when I lose, my home, my family and one by one all of my friends trough the years is like been expelled from paradise and leave it alone in a desolated and confusing desert...Despite that we continued our lives, founded our own families, some of my friend died, some others like me survive and see all the rest depart, and just now after 25+ years of exile, my closest friends and me, we talk again. Nowadays that I´m a father and I lived all these years and walk all that steeps, I can tell you that this song is a masterpiece and the video is an amazing human creation, I can´t find words to tell you how deep is the message behind the lyrics and how accurate is that image in my mind seeing the ^Wide Open Eyes^ of the younger, full of life and innocence, all of those like my son, that they just started this long journey, and seeing on them a portrait of myself when I still keep my innocence intact,and was very great to find It frozen in a beautiful song like this one, that was a beautiful, emotional and powerful moment to me.
Is just an amazing and beautiful gift ... So I just can tell everybody be grateful and recognized the art and the beauty of songs and a videos like this ones... Only when we became older we understand the magnitude and the gift that this years of innocence are to us, and only when It disappeared is when we realize their beauty and we start to try to soften the sharp edges of life to help, the youngest to enjoy the best years of their life's when they are young's and full of hope and life.
system2
You guys deserve so much more credit for this song and video. I've been coming back to it for years and they are both so powerful. It truly baffles me every time I come back that it hasn't blown up more.
Fraser Jones
Taken from NPR:
"Sometimes music and life intersect in ways beyond words. Filmmaker James Marcus Haney set out to do two things, make a music video for the British trio Bear's Den and capture the last days of his little brothers carefree college days with friends.
What he wound up with is tragic and poignant. Shortly after arriving in Seattle to film, a campus shooting occurred. Haney relayed his story to me via email. He's as good with words as he is with imagery. I'm going to let him tell the story.
"'Elysium' was one of those tracks that became very personal to me very quickly. It made me think about my younger brothers and their transition from kids to adulthood — how they are carving out their individuality and quickly leaving youth, innocence, and wide eyes behind. "Brother don't grow up.... /Just hope that age does not erase all that you've seen/Don't let bitterness become you/Your only hopes are within you." With the video, I wanted to capture elements of that transitional experience in my brother, Turner's, life. I wanted to film him and his real friends doing actual things that they normally do. I wanted to document the actions and emotions of people at this age — the highs, the lows, the noteworthy and the mundane. I wanted to get inside what it feels like to be a teenager today. On a personal level, I wanted to freeze the last remnants of youth still left in my brother — to record him in this tender, fleeting age of early college years.
"Soon after I arrived in Seattle to begin filming, an armed man walked onto Turner's college campus and shot four students. One of them died. I was staying on my brother's couch in his campus dorm room, living amongst sixty or so sophomore boys. The name of the slain student was not released, and no one knew when it would be. As hours passed by into night time, one student was still left unaccounted on my brother's floor, four rooms down from us. One of the dorm-mates decided to sleep in the hallway just outside the elevator to wait for the missing student, so that he would wake up when the missing student came home. Others followed suit until the entire dorm floor hallway was filled with mattresses and students unable to sleep, all waiting for the elevator door to open.
"When the victim's name was released the next day, the fears were confirmed. Turner's friend and dorm-mate, Paul Lee, was dead. With the music video as a last priority, I was thankful just to be with my brother — to support him, to be near him. In his dorm room, he played the song 'Elysium' over and over. A few of the other kids played it a lot too, and sent it around. While in the midst of a dormitory full of very broken and lost students, I couldn't stop listening to the song either — it took on a whole new weight and meaning.
"That weekend, my brother and his friends wanted to finish the video, in honor of Paul. The end result is a video that depicts real friends, real teenagers, experiencing something far too real."
The song "Elysium" will be on a new record from Bear's Den coming in the fall."
Jennifer Pollock-Mason
This is a gem! Thx!
Luis Eduardo Sampaio
That, right there, is one of the most beautifiul and emotional music videos I've ever seen in my life. Proud of the band, proud of the acting and the way they got over the loss. Masterpiece
Aize Tolsma
Prachtige diepgaande tekst. De verwondering te leven zo mooi vastgelegd in deze video! Subliem. Ik ben er stil van.
Bren Bataclan
What a beautiful song. My favorite line, "Don't let bitterness become you."