Saddle Creek also released Letting Off the Happiness in November 1998, a ten-track record that boasted a much more focused and clear sound than the previous album. According to the Saddle Creek press release, it features members of Lullaby for the Working Class, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Of Montreal. It was predominantly recorded in the Oberst family basement in Omaha on an analog eight track reel to reel; with some work also done at keyboardist Andy Lemaster's Athens, GA studio. Although almost all of the tracks feature a full band, June on the West Coast is performed with only acoustic guitar and vocals. Padraic My Prince gives a dramatic fictional account of the death of Oberst's imagined baby brother.
In 2000 Bright Eyes released Fevers and Mirrors, a demonstration of the immense improvement in production quality and musical vision of the band. New instruments such as flute, piano, and accordion were introduced into the song arrangements. After An Attempt to Tip the Scales, a mock radio interview takes place. The mock radio interview features Todd Fink of The Faint doing an impression of Conor Oberst while reading a script that Oberst wrote. The man interviewing is Matt Silcock, a former member of Lullaby for the Working Class. In this interview, the fake Oberst intentionally presents a strange, contradictory explanation of his attitude towards his music. The interview acknowledges criticisms of his lyrics as overblown and insincere, which had begun to appear as the popularity of the band increased, but responds by stating that the lyrics are meant for personal interpretation. In a 'real' interview with KittyMagik.com, Oberst stated about the mock one: "It was a way to make fun of ourselves because the record is such a downer. I mean, that's one part of who I am, but I also like laughing and fucking around."
2002 saw the release of Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, and since then Oberst has released an almost constant stream of new material on collaborative EPs, split singles, tribute albums, and charity records. He ventured into the studio with Nebraska folk-pop outfit Tilly And The Wall, co-producing their debut album Wild Like Children and released it on his newly established record label, Team Love.
January 2005 saw the release of two albums: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, which is a country-tinged mélange of Conor’s finest acoustic songs, featuring guest vocal appearances from Emmylou Harris and Jim James of My Morning Jacket; and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, which is a more produced, electronic album featuring cameo appearances by Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
One single from each album, Take It Easy (Love Nothing) from Digital Ash and Lua from I'm Wide Awake took the top two slots on Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, the first time for any artist since 1997.
As had become expected of Bright Eyes recordings, the albums feature an array of talented comrades including members of Rilo Kiley, Tilly And The Wall, Cursive, Now Its Overhead, The Good Life, Azure Ray, The Faint, The Bruces, Neva Dinova, The Postal Service and Audrye Sessions.
In October 2006, Bright Eyes released a compilation of rare tracks called Noise Floor: Rarities 1998-2005.
Bright Eyes released their sixth studio album called Cassadaga on April 9, 2007, preceded by an EP entitled Four Winds on March 6, 2007.
A further 25-30 tracks have been recorded in Portland, Oregon and New York City, with another session planned in Omaha, Nebraska. Some of these tracks had already been performed at live shows.
On February 15, 2011, the band released their seventh studio album, The People's Key.
On June 22, 2020, they released Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was, their first album on Dead Oceans after a long history with Saddle Creek.
Bowl of Orange
Bright Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the window near my bed
There was a loophole in my dreamin'
So I got out of it
And to my surprise my eyes were wide and already open
Just my nightstand and my dresser
Where those nightmares had just been
Out into the gray streets
But everything seemed different
And completely new to me
The sky the trees, houses, buildings, even my own body
And each person I encountered
I couldn't wait to meet
And I came upon a doctor
Who appeared in quite poor health
I said there's nothing that I can do for you you can't do for yourself
He said oh yes you can, just hold my hand, I think that that would help
So I sat with him awhile
Then I asked him how he felt
He said I think I'm cured
No, in fact, I'm sure of it
Thank you, stranger
For your therapeutic smile
So that's how I learned the lesson
That everyone's alone
And your eyes must do some raining
If you're ever gonna grow
And when crying don't help
You can't compose yourself
It's best to compose a poem
An honest verse of longing
Or a simple song of hope
That's why I'm singing baby don't worry
'Cause now I got your back
And every time you feel like crying
I'm gonna try and make you laugh
And if I can't
If it just hurts too bad
Then we'll wait for it to pass
And I will keep you company for those days so long and black
And we'll keep working on the problem
We know we'll never solve
Of love's uneven remainders
Our lives are fractions of a whole
But if the world could remain within a frame
Like a painting on a wall
Then I think we'd see the beauty then
We'd stand staring in awe
At our still lives posed
Like a bowl of oranges
Like a story told
By the fault-lines and the soil
The first verse of Bright Eyes' song "Bowl of Oranges" describes a dream sequence that takes place during a rainy night. The singer wakes up to find that the nightmares that had previously plagued him have disappeared. He ventures out into the streets, where he encounters a doctor who appears to be in bad shape. Initially, the singer thinks that he is powerless to help the doctor, but then the doctor tells him to hold his hand. The singer does so, and the doctor feels better. From this encounter, the singer learns that everyone is ultimately alone, but sometimes it helps just to have someone else around.
The second verse is a testament to the power of art to help us cope with the problems of life. The singer tells his companion that he will always be there for her, even when things seem hopeless. If she needs to cry, he will try to make her laugh; if she can't stop crying, he will stay with her until the tears pass. Together, they will work to solve the problem of love's uneven remainders, even though they know that it can never be fully solved. In the end, the singer imagines a world where life is like a painting on a wall, and all of its beauty is contained within a frame. This world is one where we can appreciate the simple things in life, like a bowl of oranges or a story told by the fault-lines and the soil.
Line by Line Meaning
The rain it started tappin' On the window near my bed
I woke up to the sound of rain tapping on my window.
There was a loophole in my dreamin' So I got out of it
I realized that I was dreaming and woke up from it.
And to my surprise my eyes were wide and already open Just my nightstand and my dresser Where those nightmares had just been
When I woke up, my eyes were already open, and my nightmares were replaced with my normal surroundings.
So I dressed myself and left then Out into the gray streets
I got dressed and left my room to explore the outside world.
But everything seemed different And completely new to me The sky the trees, houses, buildings, even my own body And each person I encountered I couldn't wait to meet
As I walked through the streets, everything seemed new and exciting to me, including my own body, and I was eager to meet the people I encountered.
And I came upon a doctor Who appeared in quite poor health
I met a doctor who seemed to be in bad shape.
I said there's nothing that I can do for you you can't do for yourself He said oh yes you can, just hold my hand, I think that that would help So I sat with him awhile Then I asked him how he felt
I told the doctor that there was nothing I could do to help him, but he disagreed and asked me to hold his hand. After spending time with him, I asked how he was feeling.
He said I think I'm cured No, in fact, I'm sure of it Thank you, stranger For your therapeutic smile
The doctor said that he was cured and thanked me for my smile, which had helped him.
So that's how I learned the lesson That everyone's alone And your eyes must do some raining If you're ever gonna grow
From this experience, I learned that everyone is alone and that it's important to allow yourself to feel sad in order to grow.
And when crying don't help You can't compose yourself It's best to compose a poem An honest verse of longing Or a simple song of hope
If crying doesn't help you feel better, it's better to express your feelings through poetry or music.
That's why I'm singing baby don't worry 'Cause now I got your back And every time you feel like crying I'm gonna try and make you laugh And if I can't If it just hurts too bad Then we'll wait for it to pass And I will keep you company for those days so long and black
I want to support you when you're feeling down, and if I can't make you laugh, I'll be there to keep you company until the pain passes.
And we'll keep working on the problem We know we'll never solve Of love's uneven remainders Our lives are fractions of a whole
We'll keep trying to understand the problem of love, but we know we'll never fully solve it. Our lives are just parts of a whole.
But if the world could remain within a frame Like a painting on a wall Then I think we'd see the beauty then We'd stand staring in awe
If the world were contained within a frame like a painting, we would be able to see its beauty and be amazed by it.
At our still lives posed Like a bowl of oranges Like a story told By the fault-lines and the soil
Our lives are like a bowl of oranges, posed and still, and tell a story through the experiences and events that shape them.
Lyrics © Takwene LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CONOR OBERST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@martinschroder3828
"Heard" this song the first time when I was 14 years old on television. I am 29 now and still love it. Wrote the band and title on a sheet of paper because I didn´t have internet back then and looked it up on youtube first thing when I had. Was a blast hearing it after a few years. Conor brought great beauty to this planet. This song gave me the feeling of not being alone. Thanks
@bennettramirez2347
I hope your 30's are treating you well :)
@saracaceresx
I’m 27 and this is my forever favorite song
@hhotknivess
Me too man. Me too.
@rondo247
Love you guys 🥰
@slayerdylk
Loser. But I'm in the same boat.
@otakuattack321
Conor is a marvelous lyricist... all of his songs are so lonely, but at the same time hopeful almost. And although his shaky voice may not be perfect, it conveys the raw emotion necessary to sing what he writes. I will never tire of Bright Eyes :)
@championette6957
Lady Bosie
Well said. 💜
@workman88
The album Lifted literally kept me alive when i was a teenager.
@jessiefogarty8119
There are a fair amount of bright eyes songs that have kept me alive to 42. I really ought to write Conor a thank you note.