Beginning violin lessons at the age of 8, Stratton followed quickly with cello lessons at 10, the piano at 11, and guitar at 16. It was through the piano that Stratton discovered a passion for writing and performing songs. After moving to Los Angeles in 1995, Casey signed with Magic Records. Work then began on the recordings that would eventually become his first full-length release, The Giver and the Grave Digger, which was released in 1996.
In 1997, after deciding not to renew his contract with Magic Records, Stratton began his first self-produced album, Lily Sleeps.
In the summer of 2000 Stratton moved to Chicago where he began a nearly two year hiatus from the record industry. He immersed himself in writing and recorded an independent album called The Winter Children. Many of these tracks would be re-recorded later and included on his Sony release Standing at the Edge.
Stratton's 6th studio album, "DIVIDE", was released in October 2005 on Stratton's independent label, Sleeping Pill Music. His next album, The Crossing, was released in April 2007. This was followed by Orbit, digitally released on February 5, 2008.
Memories and Photographs was released in September 2009, followed by A Winter Moon, an album of holiday music, in December 2009. Casey's next project, Myth & Stars, largely based on Greek Mythology, was released on September 21, 2010.
The House of Jupiter
Casey Stratton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
saw your flesh turn the color of sand
and it still hurts as much this time
as it did when i hit the floor
in Kalamazoo i watched you turn off
it was all i could do to lift my eyes up
who took you to the edge
and watched you fall
it wasn't me then
testing your desire
by setting fire
to the House of Jupiter
you never said "the end"
only spoke to me through mercury
and i escaped the land
made my way toward history
and California kept me silent
and i find it so hard to stay this quiet
and i will never forget the way
i fell toward what you wanted
and seeing your demise was grand
but i still miss your hands
i still miss your hands
and now i'm flashing back
i see your eyes when they were learning me
and the way you held your breath
when i was naming the stars
but the new year brought too many changes
and you grew tired with my obsession with stages
The song "The House of Jupiter" by Casey Stratton is a sorrowful narrative about a failed relationship. The opening lines, "I brought you back to life/saw your flesh turn the color of sand/and it still hurts as much this time/as it did when I hit the floor," suggest a person who has attempted to revive what was once a deceased relationship but is ultimately left feeling pain nonetheless. The singer then reflects on a time in Kalamazoo where they watched the other person "turn off" and "lift their eyes up." It's implied here that this moment represents a turning point in their relationship's demise.
The song's chorus touches upon the idea of testing one another's limit, ultimately leading to the downfall of the "House of Jupiter." We don't know what exactly is meant by "the House of Jupiter," but it's possible that it refers to a shared home or a metaphorical palace. As the song progresses, the singer thinks back to happier times with the other person, such as when they "named the stars." However, these moments of nostalgia are juxtaposed with a present-day silence and a realization that they were too obsessed with "stages" and changes ultimately to hold the relationship together. The final lines reveal a sense of longing for what was now gone: "I still miss your hands."
Line by Line Meaning
i brought you back to life
I revived you from death to life
saw your flesh turn the color of sand
I saw that your skin had become pale and lifeless
and it still hurts as much this time
The pain of losing you still affects me strongly
as it did when i hit the floor
Just like the moment I fell down in despair
in Kalamazoo i watched you turn off
I saw you losing interest in me and our relationship in Kalamazoo
it was all i could do to lift my eyes up
Your rejection of me made me feel hopeless and powerless
it wasn't me then
who took you to the edge
and watched you fall
I was not the person who pushed you to your limit and watched you fall apart
it wasn't me then
testing your desire
by setting fire
to the House of Jupiter
I didn't intentionally try to destroy your dreams and ambitions
you never said "the end"
only spoke to me through mercury
You never officially ended our relationship, but instead communicated with me in a detached and mercurial way
and i escaped the land
made my way toward history
I left behind the place where we were together and moved on to create my own story
and California kept me silent
The overwhelming experiences in California made it hard for me to speak out
and i find it so hard to stay this quiet
I struggle to keep my feelings and thoughts silent
and i will never forget the way
i fell toward what you wanted
I recall vividly how I tried to conform to what you desired and lost myself in the process
and seeing your demise was grand
It was satisfying to see that you didn't achieve your goals
but i still miss your hands
Despite everything, I still yearn for your touch
and now i'm flashing back
i see your eyes when they were learning me
I reminisce on how you studied me and my every move
and the way you held your breath
when i was naming the stars
I remember how you exaggeratedly held your breath when I shared my thoughts and dreams
but the new year brought too many changes
The new year brought many changes and transitions that I couldn't keep up with
and you grew tired with my obsession with stages
Your patience with my fixation on accomplishing my goals ran out
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CASEY P. STRATTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind