Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band which formed in Brooklyn, New Y… Read Full Bio ↴Bishop Allen is an American indie rock band which formed in Brooklyn, New York, United States in 2003. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musicial collaborators. Currently the band consists of Justin Rice (vocals, guitar), Christian Rudder (guitar), Darbie Nowatka-Rice (keyboards, violin), Keith Poulson (bass) and Michael Tapper (drums). Tapper is a former member of the indie rock band We Are Scientists.

The band takes its name from Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the two lived together after college and has released three albums, "Charm School" (2003), "The Broken String" (2007) and "Grrr..." (2009).

Charm School (2003)

Charm School was Bishop Allen's first record. Recorded in fits and starts over two years, it grew song-by-song as Rice and Rudder wrote and played in their spare time. They recorded all the instruments on the album's 13 songs themselves, using drum loops to hide the fact that neither is a drummer, and almost everything on the record was recorded one track at a time in an ordinary bedroom. Backing vocals by Bonnie Schiff-Glenn and Kate Dollenmayer and supplementary drums by Coll Anderson, all added in the album's final stages, completed the songs.

The EP Project (2006)

In 2006, Bishop Allen recorded and released an EP every month of the year. Each record was titled for the month of its release (January, February, and so on), and, with the exception of August, which was a 14-song live disc, each contained four new studio songs.

The Broken String (2007)

In November 2006, Bishop Allen signed to Dead Oceans, a new sister label to Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar, for a modest advance. They began recording a new record that January, at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, Oklahoma, and delivered it two months later. This is Bishop Allen's first true studio recording and was released by Dead Oceans on July 24, 2007.

Grrr.... (2009)

Released in March 2009, this doesn't stray from Bishop Allen's specific brand of lovely indie pop.

Walk On By
Bishop Allen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Who is the captive soldier?
Who bargains for his life?
Who trades him for the rockets?
And who lets the rockets fly?

I wanna walk all over you, jesus
Jesus, will you walk on by?

And who is this teenager?
With martydom on his mind?
Whose gonna ride the bus today
And who helps him to decide?

I wanna walk all over you, jesus
Jesus, will you walk on by?

I'm over you, jesus
You ain't no friend of mine

And who is the Sunday pilgrim?
Praying at the foot of your shrine
Between there and the hotel room
He hardly even opens his eyes

I wanna walk all over you, jesus
Jesus, will you walk on by?

And who made the walls to tumble?
And bury them all inside?
Just like the walls of Jericho
Rubber at the end of the night

I wanna walk all over you, jesus
Jesus, will you walk on by?

I am over you, jesus
You ain't no friend of mine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Bishop Allen's song Walk On By seem to be questioning the power and the role of Jesus in the world. The first verse asks who the captive soldier is and who is bargaining for his life. It questions who is willing to trade a human life for rockets and who is responsible for the rockets flying. The second verse asks about a teenager with martyrdom on his mind who is contemplating riding a bus. It questions who helps him make his decision. The third verse questions the Sunday pilgrim who prays at the foot of a shrine without even opening his eyes, and who is hardly attentive. Finally, the song asks who made the walls tumble and who buried them all inside, in a reference to biblical stories like the walls of Jericho. Overall, the lyrics seem to be questioning the use of religion and Jesus in particular, and suggest that he is not a friend of the singer.

One interpretation of the lyrics is that they represent the disillusionment of the singer with the power and the promises of religion. The different scenarios and questions raise doubts about the role of Jesus in people's lives and the world in general. The captive soldier and the rockets are a reminder of the violence and destruction that is often justified in the name of religion or political power. The teenager and the pilgrim suggest how everyday people struggle with faith and the lack of direction or guidance they may receive.

Another interpretation may be that the song is a criticism of those who use religion as a tool for their own interests or who blindly follow religious dogma. The singer's statement of being "over you, Jesus" suggests a rejection of traditional beliefs and the call to challenge the established order.

Line by Line Meaning

Who is the captive soldier?
Who is the unfortunate soldier held captive?

Who bargains for his life?
Who negotiates for his release?

Who trades him for the rockets?
Who exchanges him for the weapons?

And who lets the rockets fly?
Who allows the rockets to be fired?

I wanna walk all over you, jesus
I want to dominate or control you, Jesus

Jesus, will you walk on by?
Jesus, will you ignore or not intervene?

And who is this teenager?
Who is this young person?

With martydom on his mind?
Thinking about becoming a martyr?

Whose gonna ride the bus today
Who will be riding the bus today?

And who helps him to decide?
Who assists him in making his decision?

I'm over you, jesus
I have moved beyond you, Jesus