Boy Eats Drum Machine is a singular figure of the West. He does things his … Read Full Bio ↴Boy Eats Drum Machine is a singular figure of the West. He does things his own way, thank you very much, and does those things well enough to run his own one-man gang. Sometimes his voice is low and dry like the great Oregon deserts. Other times it resonates warmly, as though reflecting off the hills. He's a turntablist's turntablist, robbing breaks and sound textures from vinyl even after most of his contemporaries switched to laptops. He then adds soulful blasts of tenor saxophone, twangy guitar, and bassy, soundtrack worthy, analog synth. He's an artist-outlaw.

His shows feature a mixture of multi-instrumental-wizardry and performance art, as he moves effortlessly from sax, to drum, to turntable. BEDM audiences are comprised of wiggling bodies, curious onlookers, and shining faces nodding in time to expertly placed beats. His songs are succinct, interesting, and strut into jammy terrain only on such occasions that call for it. Though Boy Eats Drum Machine has his finger on the sample button, his sound remains distinctively organic. His home-spun compositions set a cozy table, with tales of escape nibbling at your heart strings.

Discography:

20 Beats (2010)
Hoop and Wire (Tender Loving Empire - 3/2/10)
Booomboxxx (Tender Loving Empire - 10/2008)
Two Ghosts (7/2007)
Pleasure (11/2005)

The Crack in the Sea
Boy Eats Drum Machine Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

And as you turn while wandering
Across the waves somewhere dark and deep
Do you see the things you move away to see
Or are you troubled by the things
You don't understand

My life is circling
Around a line that wrestles the sea, deep

Cuz the more that we find out
The more we wanna know

So let's not trouble with the things
We don't understand
And we don't know

My love
Ocean floor was opened long ago
My love
And currant started forming long ago
My love
Water began circling long ago
My love
This ship started sinking long ago

So let's not trouble with the things

We don't understand
And we don't know

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Boy Eats Drum Machine’s song “The Crack in the Sea” convey the experience of wandering aimlessly, lost in thought as we move through life’s uncertainties. The first verse describes a person wandering across the waves, unsure of what they are looking for or even what they hope to find. The lyrics ask if they are troubled by things they don’t understand. Here, the theme of uncertainty and confusion is prevalent. The chorus suggests that we shouldn’t trouble ourselves with things we don’t understand – instead, we should focus on what we can control and let go of what we cannot.

The second verse shifts gears and places the singer in the midst of the sea, wrestling with the forces of nature. This time the focus is on curiosity and the desire to know more, which presents a metaphor related to the endless mysteries of the ocean. The lyrics suggest that the more we try to understand life’s mysteries, the more we want to know. But as the song’s message suggests, we can find peace in accepting these mysteries and focus on what we can control.

The refrain, “My love”, appears throughout the song and perhaps it represents a narrator speaking directly to the ocean, the great embodiment of the unknown, and accepting its vastness and unknowability.

Line by Line Meaning

And as you turn while wandering
While moving and changing direction

Across the waves somewhere dark and deep
Traveling through a mysterious, deep area of water

Do you see the things you move away to see
Do you see the things you intentionally avoid seeing?

Or are you troubled by the things
Do you worry about the things

You don't understand
That you don't comprehend?

My life is circling
My life is moving in circles

Around a line that wrestles the sea, deep
Around a boundary that battles the powerful currents

Cuz the more that we find out
Because the more we learn

The more we wanna know
The more we desire to comprehend

So let's not trouble with the things
Therefore, we should not ponder upon the things

We don't understand
That we cannot comprehend