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.
From a Balance Beam
Bright Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He must have been the voice of God
The bystanders claimed they saw angels
Flying up and down the block
Well, they must have been attached to wires
I've seen one laying in the lawn with a broken arm
So I called 911
Well, that's one less founded opinion
So the street filled like a basin
Up with cameras and their crews
And they washed away the rumors
Leaving just the concrete truth
It was a spectacle
No, I, I mean a miracle
So I fell like a girl from a balance beam
A gymnasium of eyes, all are holding on to me
I lifted one foot to cross the other and I felt myself slipping
It was a small mistake
Sometimes that's all it takes
Now I'm staring at my wrist
Hoping that the timing is right
When the planets will align
There will be no planets to align
Just the carcass of the sun
With little painted marbles
Spinning senseless through an endless black sky
And so it never started
And it will never stop
Just like I am and you are
It was in a foreign hotel bathtub
I baptized myself in change
And one by one, I drowned all of the people I had been
And I emerged to find the parallels were fewer
I was cleansed
I looked in the mirror and someone new was there
But I was as helpless as a chess piece
When I was lifted up by someone's hand
And delivered from the corner
My enemies had got me in
But in all of my salvation I still felt imprisoned inside
That holding cell that is myself
So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key
As it turns in the lock and the guard will say to me
"Oh, my patient prisoner, you have waited for this day and finally
You are free, you are free, you are freezing"
Now I'm staring at the sun
Waiting for it to explode
Because a day is gonna come
Don't know when, but it will come
And we'll finally know the way out of here
And I'll throw away this wrinkled map
And my chart of stars and compass, cracked
And I'll climb that tree all wet with sap
To avoid the hungry beasts below
I'll cut out my lover's tongue and sing
Of a graveyard grey and a garden green
And we won't have to worry no more
No, we won't have to wonder again
About how this song or story ends
About how this song and story will end
The song "From a Balance Beam" by Bright Eyes appears on their album "Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground" released in 2002. The song talks about a man who witnesses a supposed miracle where a man claiming to be the voice of God was seen by bystanders with angels flying up and down the block. However, the man realizes that the angels were merely attached to wires and that the situation was just a spectacle. Through the lyrics, the man reflects on his own life and existence, ultimately waiting for the day when he will be free from the holding cell that is himself.
The song has a metaphorical meaning as it talks about the present-day obsession with the idea of the divine and miracles, and how society tends to overhype situations in hopes of finding meaning beyond our present existence. The singer's realization that it was just a spectacle is a metaphor for how we should try to maintain rationality and a sense of perspective in the face of phenomena that can appear miraculous.
One of the interesting facts about the song is that it features Conor Oberst's first recorded use of the harmonica, which would later become a staple in Bright Eyes' sound. The song also features vocal and instrumental appearances from members of the band Cursive, which Oberst was a member of at the time. Another interesting fact is that the song's title is a play on words, as a balance beam is an apparatus used in gymnastics while a balance beam is also a metaphor for maintaining a sense of balance in life.
Chords:
Verse - Am F C G
Chorus - F C G Am
Line by Line Meaning
There is a man holding a megaphone
A man with a megaphone was present at the incident.
So he must have been the voice of God
People believed that the man with the megaphone was the voice of God.
The bystanders claimed they saw angels
The people watching the incident thought they saw angels.
Flying up and down the block
The angels were flying in a particular area.
Well, they must have been attached to wires
The 'angels' that people saw were probably just actors suspended by wires.
I saw one laying in the lawn with a broken arm
One of the actors playing an 'angel' was hurt and lying on the grass.
So I called 911
The singer called emergency services for help.
So that's one less founded opinion
The incident helped dispel some people's baseless beliefs.
One more cause for a dispute
However, it also gave rise to new disagreements.
So the street filled like a basin
The street was now crowded like a basin filled with water.
Up with cameras and their crews
The cameras and their operators arrived to cover the incident.
And they washed away the rumors
The media's coverage helped dispel some of the rumors surrounding the incident.
Leaving just the concrete truth
The actual details of what happened in the incident became evident.
It was a spectacle
The incident was quite a spectacle.
No, I, I mean a miracle
The singer thinks of the incident as a miracle.
So then I fell like that girl from a balance beam
The artist feels like they fell like a gymnast on a balance beam.
A gymnasium of eyes were all holding on to me
People were watching the artist intently.
I lifted one foot to cross the other and I felt myself slipping
The singer made a misstep and started to slip.
It was a small mistake
The mistake was small but consequential.
Sometimes that's all it takes
A small mistake can lead to big results.
Now I'm staring at my wrist
The artist is looking at their wrist.
Hoping that the timing is right
The artist is hoping that the timing will be perfect.
When the planets will align
The singer is hoping for a planetary alignment.
There will be no planets to align
The artist acknowledges this is unlikely to happen.
Just the carcass of the sun
All that is left in the end is the sun's remains.
And those little painted marbles
The singer refers to the planets as 'little painted marbles'.
Spinning senseless through an endless black sky
The singer imagines the planets spinning without any end in sight.
(And so it never started and it will never stop just like I am and you are)
The artist reflects on the never-ending cycle of life and death.
It was in a foreign hotel's bathtub
The artist remembers a moment of change in a hotel bathroom.
I baptized myself in change
The singer views this moment as a baptism in change.
And one by one I drowned all of the people I had been
The singer leaves behind their old selves step by step.
I emerged to find the parallels were fewer
After this change, the artist realizes they have fewer connections to their old self.
I was cleansed
The artist feels renewed and clean.
I looked in the mirror and someone new was there
The artist experiences a profound change in themselves.
Still I was as helpless as a chess piece
Despite this change, the singer still feels helpless.
When I was lifted up by someone's hand
Someone helps the artist out of a predicament.
And delivered from the corner
The singer is freed from a troubling situation.
My enemies had got me in
The singer was in trouble because of their enemies.
But in all of my salvation I still felt imprisoned inside
Despite being saved, the singer still feels trapped.
That holding cell that is myself
The artist perceives themselves as a cell where they are trapped.
So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key
The artist is waiting for the day that they will feel free.
As it turns in the lock and the guard will say to me
The singer imagines this freedom as being released from jail.
"Oh, my patient prisoner, you have waited for this day and finally
The singer imagines the guard speaking to them.
You are free! You are free! You are freezing"
The guard would say that the artist is free but feeling cold.
Now I'm staring at the sun waiting for it to explode
The artist is staring at the sun, waiting for it to explode.
Because a day is gonna come
The artist believes that a day will come when the sun explodes.
Don't know when but it will come
The singer acknowledges they don't know when that day will come.
And then we will finally know the way out of here
When the sun explodes, we will finally be able to escape.
And I will throw away this wrinkled map
The singer will throw away an old map.
And my chart of stars and compass, cracked
The singer will throw away broken tools for navigation.
And I'll climb that tree all wet with sap
The singer will climb a tree.
To avoid the hungry beasts below
The artist will climb the tree to avoid dangerous animals.
I'll cut out my lover's tongue and sing
The artist says that they will silence a lover and sing a song.
Of a graveyard gray and a garden green
The song they will sing is of death and life.
And then we won't have worry no more
The singer believes that we will no longer have to worry.
No, we won't ever worry again
The artist believes that this state of not worrying will continue forever.
About how this song or story ends
There is no need to worry about how this song or story will end.
About how this song and story will end
The artist encourages the listener not to worry about the ending of the song or the story.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Conor Oberst
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind