Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a rock band from San Francisco, United State… Read Full Bio ↴Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a rock band from San Francisco, United States. The band formed in 1998. Influences include The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Verve, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, T. Rex, The Velvet Underground, Love and Rockets, Daniel Ash, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

The band's second album 'Take Them On, On Your Own' featured several songs ('Generation' and 'US Government') which were critical of the United States' foreign policy and George Bush in particular.

After conflict with their label (Virgin Records), the band was dropped in 2004. Nick Jago left the band at the end of their summer tour in the same year due to "internal conflict".

Following Jago's departure Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been regrouped and recorded the band's third album. With their third record Howl, they added blues, folk and gospel, a la Spiritualized.

In 2005 the band inked a new deal with Echo in the UK, and RCA in the US. Nick Jago also returned to the fold. The band's third album "Howl" was released that same year to widespread critical acclaim. Jago returned after most of the album was recorded but played on "Promise".

"Baby 81" the band's fourth album was released on May 1st, 2007. In June 2008 Nick Jago once again left the touring line-up of the band being replaced by The Raveonettes' touring drummer Leah Shapiro. Nick stated that "...I am fired again and to be honest with you I respect their decision".

However Hayes and Been released a conflicting joint statement that read "Nick won't be joining us for the upcoming European tour, but it's not true that he is fired. We just feel Nick needs time to sort out exactly what he wants right now. His heart and all his energy and attention is on his own solo project and he needs to see that through".

Current:
On January 9, 2013, the band announced via Facebook the name of their seventh album called Specter at the Feast which was released on March 18 in the UK and Europe and on March 19 in USA, Canada and worldwide. It is considered a tribute to Michael Been (The Call), Robert Levon Been's father who died suddenly on tour with BRMC in August 2010.

It received mostly positive reviews; many critics noting that despite the band having been together for some time the album showed a mellower and moodier side with songs such as opener `Firewalker'.
The band made the first single from the record available, a cover of The Call's 1989 hit "Let the Day Begin", for free download on their official website. The decision to record the song was a tribute to Robert's father Michael, who used his experience from The Call to help BRMC before his death in the last couple of years. The single became Q Magazine's track of the day.[6] The band have also released the Let the Day Begin EP for free, consisting of the single and the album track "Returning", made available for streaming on the official website.[7]
On April 8, 2013 it was announced that the band would play at Rock Werchter, the largest rock festival in Belgium.

The band continues to show a willingness to tour despite the obstacles. During the 2013 tour, the organisers of the Harvest festival in Australia decided to abandon the multi-city event, of which BRMC were one of the lead acts, only a few months ahead of the performances. BRMC was the first band to announce it would still visit the country and play its own shows.

Many shows on the 2013/2014 tour have sold out.

BRMC's music/songs have been featured in many films, television programs and video games.

Visit blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com for tour/CD and merchandise info.

Discography:
2001 - B.R.M.C.
2001 - Screaming Gun (EP)
2002 - Spread Your Love (EP)
2003 - Take Them On, On Your Own
2005 - Howl
2006 - Howl Sessions Vol.1 (EP)
2006 - Howl Sessions Vol. 2 (EP)
2007 - Baby 81
2007 - Napster Live Session (EP)
2007 - American X: Baby 81 Sessions (EP)
2008 - The Effects Of 333 (Download)
2010 - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
2013 - Specter At The Feast
2018 - Wrong Creatures

Wishing Well
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I’ve been down the wishing well
I feel I’ve lost my touch
I’m losin' all the time
I’ve known it all along

Well, it feels alright
Yeah, it feels okay
I’m gettin’ on my shirt

And I’m goin’ on my way

It feels insane
We’ll be sorry when it's gone
But it takes no time
And I'm sorry I stayed so long

Well, it feels alright
Yeah, it feels okay
We’re gettin' all our shirts
And we’re goin’ on our way

We’re lucky that we ever had a chance
We’re never gonna see it again
We've been waiting on the edge of fallin’
Starin' while we drown
In promised lands, our proud retreat
Our lives, our needs, our bounds

Well, it feels alright
Yeah, it feels okay
We’re gettin’ all our shirts
And we’re goin’ out

It feels alright
It feels okay
We’re gettin’ all our shirts
And we’re goin’ out

It feels alright
Yeah, it feels okay

We’re gettin' all our shirts
And we’re goin’ on our way

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's song Wishing Well seem to address a sense of loss and disillusionment. The singer has possibly hit a low point and feels that they've "lost their touch" and are "losing all the time." Despite this, they seem to be trying to cope by telling themselves that it "feels alright" and that they're "getting on" with life. However, there's an awareness that this coping mechanism may not be sustainable: "we'll be sorry when it's gone, but it takes no time, and I'm sorry I stayed so long."

The chorus echoes this duality - on the one hand, there's a sense of resignation and acceptance ("it feels alright, yeah it feels okay"), but on the other hand, there's an urgency to get out and move on ("we're getting all our shirts and we're going out"). The mention of the "promised lands, our proud retreat" could be interpreted as a reference to a certain ideal that they're clinging onto, which has led to disillusionment as it proves hollow.

Overall, the lyrics present a conflicted attitude towards emotion - trying to suppress and ignore it in order to move on, but acknowledging that this may not be a long-term solution. The repeated refrain of "it feels alright" seems to be a way of convincing oneself that everything is okay, even though it may not be.

Line by Line Meaning

I’ve been down the wishing well
I have been hoping and wishing for something, but it seems that my wishes have not come true.

I feel I’ve lost my touch
I no longer have the ability to achieve what I want or need to do.

I’m losin' all the time
I am constantly failing and not winning, losing everything that I have worked for.

I’ve known it all along
I have been aware of my failures and shortcomings for a long time.

Well, it feels alright
Despite everything that has happened, things seem to be okay now.

Yeah, it feels okay
Things are not as bad as they seem - everything is going to be alright.

I’m gettin’ on my shirt
I am getting dressed and ready to go somewhere.

And I’m goin’ on my way
I am going ahead with my plans and moving on from my past struggles.

We’ll be sorry when it's gone
We will regret not appreciating what we have when it is no longer available to us.

But it takes no time
It does not take long for things to disappear or for us to lose what we have.

And I'm sorry I stayed so long
I am sorry that I waited so long to take action or move forward from my situation.

We’re lucky that we ever had a chance
We should consider ourselves fortunate to have had an opportunity in the first place.

We’re never gonna see it again
A chance like this will never present itself to us again, and we need to make the most of what we have.

We've been waiting on the edge of fallin’
We have been teetering on the brink of failure or disaster for a long time, waiting for something to happen.

Starin' while we drown
We are watching ourselves fail and suffer without any way to stop it.

In promised lands, our proud retreat
We retreat to a place that we think is safe or prosperous, but it ends up being a disappointment.

Our lives, our needs, our bounds
Our way of life, our desires, and our limitations are what hold us back from achieving what we really want.

We’re goin’ out
We are leaving or going somewhere new, perhaps to make a fresh start.

Writer(s): Robert Been, Peter Hayes, Peter B. Hayes, Robert L. Been Copyright: Chrysalis Music, Brmc Music

Contributed by Brayden D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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