Califone is a critically-acclaimed experimental folk band from Chicago. The… Read Full Bio ↴Califone is a critically-acclaimed experimental folk band from Chicago. The band is named after Califone International, a long-standing manufacturer of audio equipment commonly found in schools, libraries and businesses.

Califone is the musical project of former Red Red Meat frontman Tim Rutili. Its regular and rotating contributors include many former members of Red Red Meat and some members of other Chicago bands, such as Tortoise. Their music is less rooted in blues-rock than Red Red Meat and is more directly inspired by experimental music and early American folk music as can be found on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music.

Califone's current lineup includes Joe Adamik (drums), Jim Becker (banjo, violin), Ben Massarella (percussion), and Tim Rutili (vocals, guitar, keyboards). Each member is a multi-instrumentalist.

Tim Rutili has collaborated with a number of other artists as well. He joined up with Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock and others in 2002 to release the album Sharpen Your Teeth under the band name Ugly Casanova. Some members also toured with Freakwater and served as a backing band to record the album Thinking of You in 2005. In 2006, Tim Rutili teamed up with Wil Hendricks and Michael Krassner under the name The Unseen Hand to record the soundtrack for Rank, a documentary about bullriding. In the same year Califone worked with animator/musician Brent Green on a series of performance art pieces featuring animation, live music, and spoken word. They are also featured on the soundtrack for the movie Stranger than Fiction.

Wade in the Water
Califone Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The missionary's on the way home
Pistol grey, heart and lungs
Press to hard, don't give a fuck
To keep them white, sweet forgiveness
There's been no soldiers
Just pharmacists and sneaks
Skin like paper, light as confirmation wine
Wade in the water

Wade in the water
Wade in the water
Wade in the water
Hydroplane, like a sailor
Across the tar, along the lake
Hanging like a busted wing
Watch the doctor boil you clean
Fresh cut lawn, sweet forgiveness
Light as confirmation wine
Wade in the water
Wade in the water

Wade in the water
Wade in the water

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Califone's song "Wade in the Water" present a picture of a world in disarray, in which the righteous are few and far between, and where the price of survival is high. The opening lines of the song ("The missionary's on the way home / Pistol grey, heart and lungs / Press to hard, don't give a fuck / To keep them white, sweet forgiveness") describe a man who has likely been in a war zone or similarly dangerous location, witnessing and perhaps taking part in brutal violence. He is now on his way home, his soul and body damaged by what he has seen and done.

The second stanza of the song ("There's been no soldiers / Just pharmacists and sneaks / Skin like paper, light as confirmation wine") paints a picture of a society ruled by crooks and cowards, where honesty and courage are in short supply. The following stanzas describe the struggle to survive in such a world, where even spiritual purity ("To keep them white") comes at a cost. The repeated line "Wade in the water" echoes the African American spiritual of the same name, which called upon slaves to use water as a means of escape and a source of hope. Here, the water may represent a kind of purifying force that can wash away the blood and guilt that the singer carries with him.

Overall, "Wade in the Water" is a bleak yet powerful song about the cost of war and the struggle to find redemption in a world that often seems irredeemable.

Line by Line Meaning

The missionary's on the way home
The religious leader is returning from his mission

Pistol grey, heart and lungs
Feeling sad and hopeless

Press to hard, don't give a fuck
Trying too hard and not caring about the consequences

To keep them white, sweet forgiveness
Forgiving someone to maintain a clean slate

There's been no soldiers
There are no warriors or fighters

Just pharmacists and sneaks
Only medics and tricksters

Skin like paper, light as confirmation wine
Having thin skin and being frail

Wade in the water
Go deeper and cleanse yourself

Hydroplane, like a sailor
Skimming the surface like a boat

Across the tar, along the lake
Going through difficult situations

Hanging like a busted wing
Feeling vulnerable and injured