Fringe members of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, and the only band to of… Read Full Bio ↴Fringe members of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, and the only band to officially release a full-length on the label, Beulah originally formed in San Francisco in 1996 when mail-room colleagues Miles Kurosky (main songwriter, lead vocals, guitar), and Bill Swan (trumpet, guitar, vocals) got together to make music. Together they recorded a 7", A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm, released in 1997. The same year, Anne Mellinger joined the band and their debut LP, Handsome Western States was released on Elephant 6.

The three were subsequently joined by Steve LaFolette (bass & vocals), Pat Noel (keyboards & guitar), Steve St. Cin (drums), and Ana Pitchon, who toured as Beulah in 1998, before recording When Your Heartstrings Break. Bill Evans (keyboards) then joined the band to play live. Steve St. Cin left the band to be replaced by Danny Sullivan, before The Coast is Never Clear was released in 2000. Bill Evans and Steve LaFolette then left, to be replaced by Pat Abernathy and Eli Crews respectively. Beulah went on to record 2003's Yoko, then toured North America and Europe before a goodbye show on August 5th 2004, in New York.

A DVD, A Good Band is Easy to Kill was released in 2005 and features documentary footage from Beulah's 2003 tour.

A Man Like Me
Beulah Lyrics

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With your arms stretched
Defenseless and alone

So try
Try lifting all your weight
For a man
A man you're grown
And try

Try wasting all your days
On a man
A man like me

I taste you on my fingers
And I smell you on my lips
I don't know where you're going
But you're going to slip
Hey honey better save yourself
You're never gonna make it
Hey honey, honey better save yourself
You're never gonna make it

So try
Try lifting all your weight
For a man
A man you're grown
And try
Try wasting all your days

On a man
A man like me

Overall Meaning

The song "A Man Like Me" by Beulah is a cautionary tale of a man warning a woman that he is not the right person for her to be with. The song opens with the man acknowledging the woman's vulnerability, but still telling her that she needs to try and lift her own weight instead of relying on him. The man then goes on to describe how he can still taste and smell her, but he knows that she is inevitably going to slip if she continues to stay with him. He tells her to save herself and that she will never make it with a man like him.

The lyrics in this song are powerful and direct, delivering a message of self-sufficiency and independence. The man recognizes the woman's need for protection and care, but he also knows that she is capable of more than just relying on him. He urges her to try and lift her own weight and not waste her days on a man like him, who is not the right fit for her.

Overall, "A Man Like Me" is a bittersweet sign of love and honesty, offering an eye-opening perspective on the dangers of settling for less and refusing to strive for the kind of relationship you truly deserve.

Line by Line Meaning

With your arms stretched
In a vulnerable position with no protection

Defenseless and alone
Without any weapons or support and by oneself

So try
Attempt

Try lifting all your weight
Take on all the burdens and responsibilities

For a man
For the sake of finding a partner

A man you're grown
As an adult, you should be able to handle it

And try
Attempt

Try wasting all your days
Spend all your time on something meaningless

On a man
On finding a partner

A man like me
A person who may not be worth the effort

I taste you on my fingers
I still have traces of you on me