‘Opus’, meaning an artistic composition, wraps up the album in a way that reflects on the beginnings and nostalgia of this relationship and jumps forward to what seems like the ultimate failure of it. With the first and final track being written on the same day, it shows that the ‘beginning’ and the ‘end’ was the clear concept for this album. “For the first time” could reference how this is in fact their first experience of the full cycle of genuine heartbreak.
This song and “Instrumental” "were written on the same day. We were in a room together without any music prepared, for the first time in a few months, and we were all feeling quite down. It was a highly emotional time, and I think the music probably equal parts benefits and suffers from that. It’s rich with a fair amount of typical teenage angst and frustration, even though we were sort of past our teens by that point. I mean, it felt very strange but very, very good to be playing together again. It took us a little while to realise that we might actually be able to do it. It was just a desire to get going and to make something new for ourselves, to build a new relationship musically with each other and the world, to just get out there and play a show. We didn’t really have our sights set particularly high—we just really wanted to play live at the pub."
- via Apple Music
Opus
Black Country New Road Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In your car out of this small town
You on the back of my new push bike
Wheelie-ing down Thunder Road tonight
And I never felt so brave
On that unusually forgiving Sunday
Burnt your hand and charmed the locals
All those mistakes laid out plainly
Anyone could see that the clamp was breaking me
And one more time
For the record
Everybody's coming up
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Now everybody's coming up
I guess I should've had something else to say
And now everybody's coming up
What we built must fall to the rising flames
Everybody's coming up
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Oh, oh everybody's coming up
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Alright, everybody's coming up
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
The lyrics to Black Country New Road's Opus are layered and open to interpretation, but one interpretation is that it tells a story of being left behind or feeling inadequate in a world that constantly moves forward. The first verse focuses on the building of something from the ground up, specifically in a small town in the Black Country area of England. The imagery of being on a bike, heading down Thunder Road and feeling brave on a "forgiving Sunday" creates a nostalgic and hopeful feel, but this sense of pride is short-lived.
The second verse introduces the idea of mistakes being laid out plainly for anyone to see, referencing the "clamp" that was breaking the singer. These mistakes were made in the building of something that was meant to keep the group warm, but in the end, it only resulted in burning hands and charming the locals. The chorus continues to hammer home the idea of being late to the party, arriving when everyone else has already succeeded. The rising flames in the final line suggest that what was built will eventually fall.
Line by Line Meaning
What we built from Black Country ground
We created something special from the unique environment of our home region
In your car out of this small town
Escaping our small town in your car
You on the back of my new push bike
You rode on the back of my new bicycle
Wheelie-ing down Thunder Road tonight
Performing tricks on Thunder Road tonight
And I never felt so brave
I have never felt so fearless
On that unusually forgiving Sunday
On that rare Sunday when everything went our way
What we built to keep ourselves warm
We created something to comfort ourselves
Burnt your hand and charmed the locals
Our creation caused harm but also impressed the people around us
All those mistakes laid out plainly
All of our errors are clearly visible
Anyone could see that the clamp was breaking me
It was obvious to anyone that my situation was deteriorating
And one more time
Let me make this clear
For the record
Let me state this officially
Everybody's coming up
Everyone is achieving success
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
I seem to have missed out on the celebration
Now everybody's coming up
Now everyone is succeeding
I guess I should've had something else to say
Perhaps I should have had a more relevant contribution
And now everybody's coming up
And now everyone is achieving their goals
What we built must fall to the rising flames
Our creation will inevitably be destroyed by inevitable forces
Oh, oh everybody's coming up
Oh, everyone is succeeding
Alright, everybody's coming up
Okay, everyone is successful
Lyrics © THIRD SIDE MUSIC INC.
Written by: Isaac George Wood, Luke Jay Ma, Charlie Somerset Pailthorp Way, Georgia Elizabeth Ellery, Lewis David Evans
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marcinjedrzejczyk8286
What we built from Black Country ground
In your car out of this small town
You on back of my new push-bike
Wheelie-ing down Thunder Road tonight
And I never felt so brave
On that unusually forgiving Sunday
What we built to keep ourselves warm
Burnt your hand and charmed the locals
All those mistakes laid out plainly
Anyone could see that the clamp was breaking me!
And one more time for the record
Everybody's coming up
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Everybody's coming up
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Now everybody's coming up
I guess I should have had something else to say
And now еverybody's coming up
What we built must fall to the rising flamеs
Everybody's coming up
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Everybody's coming up
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Everybody's coming up
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
@marcinjedrzejczyk8286
Co zbudowaliśmy z ziemi Black Country
What we built from Black Country ground
W twoim samochodzie poza tym małym miastem
In your car out of this small town
Ty z tyłu mojego nowego roweru push-bike
You on back of my new push-bike
Jazda na wózku w dół Thunder Road?
Wheelie-ing down Thunder Road tonight
I nigdy nie czułem się tak odważny
And I never felt so brave
W tę niezwykle wyrozumiałą niedzielę
On that unusually forgiving Sunday
Co zbudowaliśmy, aby się ogrzać?
What we built to keep ourselves warm
Spalił ci rękę i oczarował mieszkańców
Burnt your hand and charmed the locals
Wszystkie te błędy przedstawione w jasny sposób
All those mistakes laid out plainly
Każdy mógł zobaczyć, że zacisk mnie łamie!
Anyone could see that the clamp was breaking me!
I jeszcze raz dla rekordu
And one more time for the record
Wszyscy się zbliżają
Everybody's coming up
Chyba trochę spóźniłem się na imprezę
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Wszyscy się zbliżają
Everybody's coming up
Chyba trochę spóźniłem się na imprezę
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Teraz wszyscy się zbliżają
Now everybody's coming up
Chyba powinienem był mieć coś innego do powiedzenia
I guess I should have had something else to say
A teraz wszyscy się zbliżają
And now еverybody's coming up
To, co zbudowaliśmy, musi spaść w płomienie
What we built must fall to the rising flamеs
Wszyscy się zbliżają
Everybody's coming up
Och, chyba trochę spóźniłem się na imprezę
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Wszyscy się zbliżają
Everybody's coming up
Och, chyba trochę spóźniłem się na imprezę
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Wszyscy się zbliżają
Everybody's coming up
Och, chyba trochę spóźniłem się na imprezę
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
@macacoartico42
Lo que construimos desde el suelo de Black Country
What we built from Black Country ground
En tu auto fuera de esta pequeña ciudad
In your car out of this small town
Estás en la parte trasera de mi nueva bicicleta
You on back of my new push-bike
Caballito por Thunder Road esta noche
Wheelie-ing down Thunder Road tonight
Y nunca me sentí tan valiente
And I never felt so brave
En ese domingo inusualmente perdonador
On that unusually forgiving Sunday
Lo que construimos para mantenernos calientes
What we built to keep ourselves warm
Quemó tu mano y encantó a los lugareños
Burnt your hand and charmed the locals
Todos esos errores expuestos claramente
All those mistakes laid out plainly
¡Cualquiera podía ver que la abrazadera me estaba rompiendo!
Anyone could see that the clamp was breaking me!
Y una vez más para que conste
And one more time for the record
Todo el mundo viene
Everybody's coming up
Supongo que llego un poco tarde a la fiesta
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Todo el mundo viene
Everybody's coming up
Supongo que llego un poco tarde a la fiesta
I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Ahora todo el mundo viene
Now everybody's coming up
Supongo que debería haber tenido algo más que decir
I guess I should have had something else to say
Y ahora todo el mundo viene
And now еverybody's coming up
Lo que construimos debe caer a las llamas crecientes
What we built must fall to the rising flamеs
Todo el mundo viene
Everybody's coming up
Oh, supongo que llego un poco tarde a la fiesta
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Todo el mundo viene
Everybody's coming up
Oh, supongo que llego un poco tarde a la fiesta
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
Todo el mundo viene
Everybody's coming up
Oh, supongo que llego un poco tarde a la fiesta
Oh, I guess I'm a little bit late to the party
@faaaaario
y'all absolutely killed it with this album. this shit's amazing
@brandonwolfe4000
I love this album except i do think the vocals on the old version of sunglasses is way better than the one on the album
@faaaaario
@Brandon Wolfe yea surely but i think we'll get used to the changes in no time!
@WoolyColdie
@Mário Ferreira nah at least for me these versions of sunglasses and athens were just made weaker and more muted overall. Science fair and opus is really good though.
@bentley230
@dogthrone 100% agree. check out the annie mac radio5 live versions of A,F and Sunglasses, those are my personal favorite versions outside of their full live sets.
@WoolyColdie
@bentley230 stolen sessions is the best imo.
@suchy_precelek
idk who is behind the graphic design/artistic direction for this but damn are they doing an amazing job
@kevinhartley7298
I agree, it's really fitting. I'm pretty sure they just picked out royalty-free videos off of ArtGrid. Crazy how well it goes with the music.
@dominicbofficial
@Kevin Hartley Yep, you can see in the bottom right corner that all the videos used here are from ArtGrid.
@seawaif
Bart Price is the art director.