Their self-titled album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005. In the Future was a finalist for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and was also nominated for "Best Alternative Album" in the 2009 Juno Awards. The song "Stay Free" from In the Future was featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack.
In 2005 the band opened for Coldplay on their Twisted Logic Tour for three weeks, with their final opening in San Diego.
In September 2010 Black Mountain performed in an amphitheater located in the woods of Oisterwijk at the Incubate (festival) in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Leader Stephen McBean also heads another similarly named band, Pink Mountaintops, who are the more experimental side of McBean's musical abilities. Black Mountain is the front line band for Black Mountain Army, a collective of musicians, artists and friends in Vancouver. In an interview the band said "Black Mountain is just the five of us. The Black Mountain Army… which has kind of gotten blown out of proportion, it was kind of just a joke, because everybody thought we were this hippie collective, like we all lived in one house. But it’s basically just our friends at home in Vancouver, just our extended family of creative people that we know."
Several members of the band have, for as long as a decade, worked for organizations that meet the basic living requirements of the chronically poor, drug addicted and mentally ill in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood, such as Insite. In an interview, the band said: "After work we all try not to think too hard about the effect it has on our lives. It keeps us grounded."
Wilderness Heart was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.
March 11, 2014 The Black Mountain song "Wucan" was featured on season 2 of the FOX drama "The Following" during the eighth episode entitled "Messenger".
The Black Mountain song "Druganaut" is featured in a June, 2014 Father's Day commercial for J.C. Penney.
You Can Dream
Black Mountain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can dream, come on, baby, dream
You can dream, dream, dream, dream
Come on, baby, dream, baby dream
Empty your lungs into neutral
Aeroplanes strangling the sky
Hostile translucent showrooms
Never trust squares when surrounded
The circle is wide and so deep
Blessed are the ones who are shining
Blessed are the ones who still sleep
Never let your waking eyes rule all that you know
Bang on the drum after midnight
Distorted moons' bodies piled high
Transcend your frozen horizons
Learn to kick when they teach you to cry
For there's truth in life above living
There's truth in the pulse of your heart
In dreams, we flash like a fever
In dreams, no masters, no guards
When we ain't got nothing left to control
Let nothing implode past the ring
Floating the fighting and dying
Take breadth, fly your own wings
Never let your waking eyes rule all that you know
You can dream, you can dream
You can dream, come on, baby, dream
You can dream, dream, dream, dream
Come on, baby, dream, baby dream
The song "You Can Dream" by Black Mountain is a passionate and artistic plea to embrace our dreams and resist the fears and limitations that can hold us back in life. The chorus of the song is a repeated affirmation that we all have the power to dream and should embrace that power to uplift ourselves and pursue our desires.
The first verse begins with an image of releasing and letting go ("Empty your lungs into neutral") and then moves into a critique of the modern world ("Aeroplanes strangling the sky / Hostile translucent showrooms") that can feel suffocating and imprisoning. The line "Trapped by the fear in your mind" is a key theme of the song, highlighting the importance of breaking free from the limits we place on ourselves through our thoughts and beliefs.
The second verse continues with a call for rebellion and breaking free from societal expectations ("Learn to kick when they teach you to cry") and an assertion that there is a deeper truth to life that exists beyond the surface ("there's truth in life above living"). The lines "In dreams, we flash like a fever / In dreams, no masters, no guards" evoke a sense of freedom and empowerment that comes from embracing our dreams and pursuing them with ferocity.
Overall, "You Can Dream" is a powerful and uplifting song that encourages listeners to embrace their dreams, reject fear and limitations, and pursue a deeper truth and sense of freedom in life.
Line by Line Meaning
You can dream, you can dream
Encouragement to use your imagination and dream big
You can dream, come on, baby, dream
Motivation to step out of your comfort zone and pursue your dreams
You can dream, dream, dream, dream
Repeating the message of the importance of dreaming for emphasis
Come on, baby, dream, baby dream
Encouragement to keep dreaming no matter what
Empty your lungs into neutral
Let go of your fears and be vulnerable
Aeroplanes strangling the sky
The world can sometimes feel overwhelming and suffocating
Hostile translucent showrooms
A metaphor for feeling trapped in a society that values materialism
Trapped by the fear in your mind
Our fears can hold us back and limit our potential
Never trust squares when surrounded
Do not conform to societal norms if it goes against your values
The circle is wide and so deep
There are many paths to take in life and exploration is important
Blessed are the ones who are shining
Those who are thriving in life are fortunate
Blessed are the ones who still sleep
Those who are dreaming and have not given up hope are also fortunate
Never let your waking eyes rule all that you know
Do not let reality limit your imagination
Bang on the drum after midnight
Embrace your creativity and make noise
Distorted moons' bodies piled high
A surreal image symbolizing the strange and mysterious in life
Transcend your frozen horizons
Break free from the constraints of your limited perspective
Learn to kick when they teach you to cry
Do not be a passive victim, fight against injustice
For there's truth in life above living
There is a deeper meaning to our existence beyond the mundane
There's truth in the pulse of your heart
Follow your intuition and listen to what your heart tells you
In dreams, we flash like a fever
Dreams can be intense and transformative
In dreams, no masters, no guards
Dreams are a place of freedom and autonomy
When we ain't got nothing left to control
When we have lost all power and autonomy
Let nothing implode past the ring
Do not allow your despair to spiral out of control and destroy you
Floating the fighting and dying
A metaphor for the struggle to survive and persevere
Take breadth, fly your own wings
Take a deep breath and pursue your own path in life
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Stephen Gordon Mcbean, Jeremy Victor Schmidt, Amber Erica Webber, Joshua Mark Wells, Jonn Ollsin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind