Big Head Todd and The Monsters – singer-guitarist Todd Park Mohr, bassist-singer Rob Squires, drummer-singer Brian Nevin and keyboardist-guitarist-singer Jeremy Lawton -- could have begun resting on their laurels back in 1993, when their Top 10 singles “Bittersweet,” “Broken Hearted Savior,” “Circle” and “It’s Alright” pushed the album Sister Sweetly to platinum certification. However, Mohr says, “I’ve fought throughout our career not to be a one-trick pony, to be the kind of band that has depth and diversity in its catalogue. I’m a fan of this band, and I’m constantly looking forward to what comes next.”
The essence of Big Head Todd and The Monsters – a rootsy, emotionally direct variety of rock ’n’ roll that lends itself particularly well to a live setting – has been winning fans since Mohr, Rob Squires and Brian Nevin started playing together in high school (Jeremy Lawton joined in 2004). Needless to say, the three never expected to be in the same band at this late date, but, as Mohr points out, “It was a really fortunate combination of musical personalities, and we’re still partners in every sense of the word.”
The band spent seven years developing their chemistry and amassing a following, boosted significantly by the independent releases Another Mayberry (1989) and Midnight Radio (1990), before being “discovered” by the listening public at large with 1993’s Sister Sweetly. After a major-label stint (Sister Sweetly, 1994’s Stratagem, 1997’s Beautiful World), during which the trio increasingly found itself frustrated artistically, they reclaimed their independent status (2001’s Riviera, 2004’s Crimes of Passion). “If it were not for our ability to do things for ourselves, we would have disappeared a long time ago,” Mohr allows.
Tangerine
Big Head Todd and the Monsters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I only find it slips away to gray
And the hours, they bring me pain
Tangerine, Tangerine
I live in reflection of a dream
I was her lover, she was my queen
I'm now a thousand years between
Thinking how it use to be
Does she still remember times like these?
To think of us again
And I do
Tangerine, Tangerine
I live in reflection of a dream
I was her lover, she was my queen
I'm now a thousand years between
In "Tangerine," Big Head Todd and the Monsters sing a poignant song about longing for lost love. The opening lines immediately set the tone of the song, describing the fleeting nature of summer days slipping away into gray. The singer feels the pain of the passing hours, suggesting a sense of mourning for something lost. The chorus, with its repetition of the word "Tangerine," seems to signify a connection to past memories, invoking a sense of nostalgia for a sweeter time long gone.
The verses continue to delve into the singer's feelings of loss and yearning. He reflects on a past love, remembering a time when he was her lover and she was his queen. The use of the past tense highlights the impossibility of recapturing what was lost. The singer wonders if his former love remembers their shared moments, and admits his own thoughts frequently drift back to their time together.
Overall, "Tangerine" presents a poignant and relatable meditation on the power of memory and the struggle to come to terms with what has been lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Measuring a summers day
Reflecting on the passing of time during a sunny day
I only find it slips away to gray
Feeling that the brightness of the day is fleeting and giving way to a dullness
And the hours, they bring me pain
Feeling pain from the passage of time
Tangerine, Tangerine
Calling out to an ex-lover named Tangerine
I live in reflection of a dream
Living in the memory of a dream-like past
I was her lover, she was my queen
Recalling a past relationship where the singer was deeply in love
I'm now a thousand years between
Feeling as though a great amount of time has passed since the relationship ended
Thinking how it use to be
Reflecting on how the relationship used to be
Does she still remember times like these?
Wondering if the ex-lover still thinks about the happy times they had together
To think of us again
Desiring to relive the past relationship
And I do
Confirming the desire to revisit the past
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James Patrick Page
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bison17timechamps
This song is like a warm bath.. so good and soothing
Jeff Sartain
Carry me back to the youth of the 1990's. Pure gold.
dirty deedz maine cultavator
love this cover man helped me keep my shit together in Afghanistan ✌🍻🇺🇲 thanks man
OVRLXND
So glad they've brought this back! I saw them around 2005 and they asked for requests. I screamed out Tangerine and they were like, "Oh...uh...we just learned it for that album and I don't think we remember how to play it now. How about Broken Hearted Savior?"
Heather Carlson
Love this song, especially the rendition done on the Live album from years ago with the steel guitar.
Erin B
love it
cruiser
there's not a song they put out that I don't like.
so damn underrated though.
Steve Mullin
chr
big Hess Todd and the monsters bittersweet album
chris allen
@cruiser You know this a Zeppelin song right? they covered this on the Encomium tribute album to Zeppelin in the 90s
William Barnes
They played this at their Hermosa Beach, California show, and I saw it as they live streamed it on Facebook! 8-19-2018 I was also at this Red Rocks show, 1st time at Red Rocks. I have now seen 5 RR's shows