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
Rhineland
Beirut Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No, but I know, but I know
I would have nowhere to go
No, but there's nowhere to go, to go
"Rhineland" by Beirut is a melancholic song with a wistful tone. The lyrics seem to revolve around the idea of feeling out of place but still finding comfort in the present moment. The opening line, "Life, life is all right on the Rhine," suggests that the singer finds solace in the beauty of the Rhine River, yet at the same time, there's an undertone of sadness. The next lines, "No, but I know, but I know/ I would have nowhere to go" imply loneliness, as if the singer has no one and nowhere to turn to. The repetition of "No, but there's nowhere to go, to go" strengthens this idea of the void and the lack of direction or purpose.
The song then surprises with the second verse, where the singer admits to having once known a place to belong, but it's no longer an option. "There was a land and diamonds in the sea/ I'll never forget when you came to me/ Ah, but I know that it's over now." The transition from the first verse to the second is seamless, as if the singer traveled back in time in their thoughts. In that past place, there were "diamonds in the sea," a metaphor for the richness and beauty of a place that was once home. But it's clear that the singer can't go back there, it's all just a memory now.
The song continues in this vein, bittersweet and wistful, with a sense of resignation. The repeating refrain of "No, but there's nowhere to go, to go" serves almost as a mantra, as if to remind the singer--and the listener--that sometimes, there's nowhere to go back to.
Line by Line Meaning
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
Living on the Rhine is a good life
No, but I know, but I know
Although I may not have experienced living on the Rhine, I am still aware of its reputation
I would have nowhere to go
If I were to leave my current home, I would have no specific destination or plan
No, but there's nowhere to go, to go
Even if I had a specific destination in mind, it may not be any better than where I currently am
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ZACH CONDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
arkadashh
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
No, but I, no, but I want an island for your heart, la la la la la
And I, I would have nowhere to go
No, but there's nowhere to go, I was at home
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
No, but I, no, but I want an island for your heart, la la la la la
Marcelo Duarte
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
No, but I know, but I know
I would have no where to go
No but there's nowhere to go, to go
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
No, but I know, but I know
I would have no where to go
No but there's nowhere to go, to go
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
No, but I know, but I know
Life, life is all right on the Rhine
No, but I know, but I know
I would have no where to go
No but there's nowhere to go, to go
İnsanca pek İnsanca
Bu şarkıyı ilk dinlediğimde çok mutluydum ikinci dinlediğimde ölmekle yaşamak arasındaki artı eksilerimi yazmıştım intihar etmemek için şimdi canım eşim biricik karımla dinliyorum beraber Antep’ten diyarbakıra gidiyoruz otobüsümüz Urfa’da şu an ordan belki Mardin’e gideriz ordan da Üsküdar’a eve döneriz yaşamak çok güzel şu an keşke kendimi çok üzmeseydim zamanında ...
diyeceğim o ki hayat bu yaşamaya değer
burak
Aga iyi dedin ama para yok
İnsanca pek İnsanca
@burak Valla kendimi bildim bileli bende de yok
Halil Çekiç
Umarim son cümleyi bir gün ben de kurabilirim
dedededededededede
Ne mutlu
Meeeliff
Ölecek gibi hissettiğim anda tanıştım bu parçayla sonra sizin yorumunuza denk geldim iman olmasa yaşamak asla isteyeceğim bir şey değil .. sizin adınıza çok sevindim , umarım benim ve benim gibiler içinde hayat yaşanılacak mutlu edecek günler gösterir
Semiha Özbek
Hüzün ile huzur arasında gidip geldiğim bir şarkı. Dinlerken ne hissedeceğimi bilemediğim ...
Biologia com Samuel Cunha
Showw!!!
have a good day anam
Cenaze marşım ✌ Bu şarkının tüm hayranları davetlidir, akrabalarım ağlayarak helva yerken sizler bu şarkıyla gönüllerini eyleyin 🥰 Teşekkürler
Mahmut Sami
Değişik bir şekilde, şarkının içinde hüzün olduğu kadar ümit de var. Her ikisini birden aynı anda hissettiriyor. Birde, şarkıyı ilk kez dinlerken bile (belki de daha önce dinlemişimdir) hep çok tanıdıktı ve bir kez dinlemeye başlayınca, dinlemeyi asla bırakamadım