Beirut is an American indie-rock and world music band which was originally … Read Full Bio ↴Beirut is an American indie-rock and world music band which was originally the solo musical project of Zach Condon (born Zachary Francis Condon in Santa Fe, New Mexico) and later expanded into a band. The band's first performances were in New York, in May 2006, to support the release of their debut album, Gulag Orkestar.

Condon recorded before Beirut was established: when he was fifteen and under the name of Realpeople, he made an electronic record, fashioned after his love for The Magnetic Fields. Condon was a straight-A student until he dropped out at the age of 17 to travel Europe with his cousin in a drunken haze, cavorting and partying with the locals wherever he ended up. It was during one of these evenings that he was first exposed to Balkan music (notably including the Boban Marković Orkestar and Goran Bregović), blasting from the upstairs apartment. Condon ended up with the Serbian artists all night, going through albums country by country, note for note.

The first album under the Beirut moniker, Gulag Orkestar (2006), was the direct result of what he learned that night. While it may sound like an entire Balkan orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, the album was performed and recorded almost entirely by Condon alone. He did so on Pro Tools while skipping school in Albuquerque and at Sea Side Studios in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Jeremy Barnes added percussion and some violin overlays.

After recording, Condon formed a full band which at times varies in the number of members, from six to ten. Live he is accompanied by Perrin Cloutier (cello/accordion), Jason Poranski (guitar/mandolin/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums), Kristin Ferebee (violin), Paul Collins (organ/keys/tambourine/ukulele), Jon Natchez (baritone sax/mandolin/glockenspiel), and Kelly Pratt (trumpet/euphonium).

In November 2006 Condon was "briefly hospitalized for extreme exhaustion", the band's website said, and as a consequence the band cancelled the rest of the tour. They resumed performing in March 2007 and released their second album, The Flying Club Cup the same year on October 9th. Parts of the album were performed and recorded by Condon in his bedroom again, but others were recorded with the live band, which resulted in a more organic, live sound. While writing, Condon said he was inspired by French music, like Jacques Brel (whose song Le Moribond he covered on his Elephant Gun EP), and he moved to Paris for a while. During the extensive tour in support of The Flying Club Cup, Condon and the band more or less fell apart from exhaustion once again and disappeared from the radar in April 2008.

Condon took a long break and returned in 2009 with a double EP, March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland. The first was partly recorded in Mexico with the Mexican Band Jimenez and had a more South-American flavour to it than Condon's previous efforts. The second EP 'Holland' was credited to Condon's old name Realpeople and consisted of five electrotracks, once more in the vein of The Magnetic Fields.

The band's album "The Rip Tide" was released in 2011.

Albums
* Gulag Orkestar (May 9, 2006)
* The Flying Club Cup (October 9, 2007)
* The Rip Tide (August 2, 2011)
* No No No (September 11, 2015)
* Gallipoli (February 1, 2019)
* Artifacts (January 28, 2022)

EPs
* Lon Gisland EP (January 30, 2007)
* Pompeii (February 28, 2007)
* Elephant Gun (June 25, 2007)
* March of the Zapotec & Realpeople: Holland (February 17, 2009)
* East Harlem (June 7, 2011)
* The Berlin-Albuquerque Sessions (November 22, 2022)

Official website: www.beirutband.com

My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille
Beirut Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

and we believed her then
and we believed her then
and we believed her then
and we believed her then

and now outside you see the waves in her eyes
and I, I won't mind what you decide to swear by
and now oustide, you see the waves in her eyes

and I, and I won't mind what you decide to swear by

and now outside I see your eyes meet the sky
and I, I don't mind what you decide to swear by
and now outside, I see your eyes meet the sky
and I, I won't lie, I kept you here tonight

and I believed her then
and I believed her then

and I believed her then
and I believed her then

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Beirut's "My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille" are open to interpretation, as is typical of many of the band's songs. At the core, the song seems to explore themes of trust and perception. The repetition of "and we believed her then" and "and I believed her then" suggests that the singer of the song has been told something by the titular prostitute and takes her at her word. However, as the song progresses, the lyrics become less clear and more introspective.

The line "and now outside you see the waves in her eyes" could be interpreted as the singer seeing the truth behind the prostitute's words and realizing that she may not have been truthful. Similarly, the line "and now outside, I see your eyes meet the sky" could be the singer realizing the impact that the prostitute has had on his/her own perception and worldview.

Overall, the song seems to reflect on the ever-changing nature of truth and how we choose to perceive it. The repeated phrases in the lyrics serve to emphasize the themes of belief and trust, while the shifting imagery suggests a deeper exploration of the complex emotions and thoughts that make up our understanding of the world around us.

Line by Line Meaning

and we believed her then
We trusted her story at the time

and we believed her then
We were convinced by her words

and we believed her then
We had faith in what she told us

and we believed her then
We had no reason to doubt her

and now outside you see the waves in her eyes
You can see the emotions in her eyes when she's outside

and I, I won't mind what you decide to swear by
I won't object or judge you for your beliefs

and now outside, you see the waves in her eyes
Her emotions are evident while she's out there

and I, and I won't mind what you decide to swear by
I won't interfere with your beliefs or opinions

and now outside I see your eyes meet the sky
I can see you gazing at the sky while we're out here

and I, I don't mind what you decide to swear by
I don't care about what you choose to believe in

and now outside, I see your eyes meet the sky
You're looking up at the sky while we're outside