According to Songfacts, Buffalo Tom's name is derived from the band Buffalo Springfield and the first name of the drummer Tom Maginnis. The band epitomized the rise of indie guitar rock in the 1990s, but unfortunately they had only limited commercial success, despite the consistently high quality of their records.
While Buffalo Tom never 'officially' broke up, they took a seven year break, starting around 1999/2000. During that time while singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz and singer/bassist Chris Colbourn worked on solo material and other projects (Bill with his band, The Crown Victoria, Chris with former Fuzzy singer/guitarist Hilken Mancini). Drummer Tom Maginnis took up a day job in publishing.
In 2007 the trio began playing again and released an album of new material, Three Easy Pieces.
As of 2018 they are again active, touring behind their album released 3/2/2018, "Quiet and Peace."
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Racine
Buffalo Tom Lyrics
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She got so tired of Times Square
Sometimes she'd look at herself in the mirror
Sometimes she wouldn't even dare
Racine always dreamed of Long Island
Things always seemed so clean there
She took a train out of Penn Station
Blond wig covered her day hair
Sweat poured out and washed her makeup off, like wet paint in the rain
Racine, Racine, Racine, Racine
Racine sat in a bar on Long Island
Not knowing anybody there
Some boys like to have a good time
Beat her in a parking lot and left her there
But as Racine stood up in front of the great wall
The K-Mart lights bled like her heart abandoned as that mall
Racine, Racine, Racine, Racine
The song "Racine" by Buffalo Tom tells the story of a woman named Racine who takes a trip to Long Island to escape the chaos and dirt of Times Square. Racine had always dreamed of visiting Long Island, where things appeared to be much cleaner and safer. She dons a blond wig covering her day hair and takes a train out of Penn Station. While looking at herself in the black-windowed train, Racine starts to sweat and her makeup washes off like wet paint in the rain. This could symbolize Racine's true self becoming more visible, a revelation that she may have been trying to avoid.
Line by Line Meaning
Racine took a trip to Long Island
Racine decided to visit Long Island
She got so tired of Times Square
She was bored of Times Square and needed a change of scenery
Sometimes she'd look at herself in the mirror
Occasionally she would examine her own reflection in the mirror
Sometimes she wouldn't even dare
But other times, she was too afraid to look
Racine always dreamed of Long Island
Long Island was a place that she had always wished to visit
Things always seemed so clean there
She thought Long Island was a place with a neat surrounding
She took a train out of Penn Station
She chose to travel to Long Island by train, departing from Penn Station
Blond wig covered her day hair
She disguised herself with a blond wig in order to alter her identity
But as she saw her reflection in the black-windowed train
However, when she caught sight of her own reflection within the train's black windows
Sweat poured out and washed her makeup off, like wet paint in the rain
she began to perspire heavily, which made her makeup run like dampened paint in the rain
Racine, Racine, Racine, Racine
Repeating her name in the song
Racine sat in a bar on Long Island
Racine hung around at a bar in Long Island
Not knowing anybody there
She was a stranger to everyone around her
Some boys like to have a good time
A few males wanted to have fun with her
Beat her in a parking lot and left her there
They beat her up in a parking lot and abandoned her there afterwards
But as Racine stood up in front of the great wall
But when Racine stood up next to a colossal wall
The K-Mart lights bled like her heart abandoned as that mall
The K-Mart lights flickered and radiated that abandoned feeling which sunk into her
Racine, Racine, Racine, Racine
Repeating her name in the song
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BILL JANOVITZ, CHRIS COLBOURN, TOM MAGINNIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind