An enigmatic folk nomad, McCombs is a quintessentially American artist; "he's quietly become one of (the country's) finest chroniclers of fringe characters, a writer of heart-rending love songs and psychedelic odes to the natural world, a teller of tall-tales with a sense of humor dry as desert wood, and that rare folksinger who actually sings about the folk." His vocals range somewhere between the anxious drone of Lou Reed, the hollow croon of Elliott Smith, the lilting melody of Morrissey, and the driving earnestness and complexity of bards such as Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan. His lyrical style is alternately vivid and weary, laconic and yearning, or drifting into the high-spirited and whimsical.
After cutting his first EP, Not the Way in San Francisco in 2001, McCombs relocated to Baltimore, MD. There he released "Not the Way" in 2002 and recorded his first full-length, A, in 2003 on Monitor Records. He spent the next few years touring: playing All Tomorrow's Parties; and opening for bands such as Modest Mouse, The Decemberists, and Belle and Sebastian; before recording his second LP PREfection, which was released on 4AD in 2005.
McCombs' subsequent releases have been on the highly successful British independent label Domino Recording Co. 2007's Dropping the Writ was named one of Amazon's Best Albums of that year. Catacombs was voted one of the 50 greatest albums of 2009 by Pitchfork Media, and features Academy Award-nominated actress and singer Karen Black on the track Dreams-Come-True-Girl. During this period, McCombs toured with the likes of Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Band of Horses, José González, Beach House, and The Walkmen.
Catacombs also established McCombs' relationship with engineer/producer Ariel Rechtshaid, member of The Hippos and Foreign Born, who produced Grammy-winning hit Climax for Usher, the Plain White T's Grammy-nominated No.1 platinum-selling single Hey There Delilah, and albums for Vampire Weekend, Sky Ferreira, Snoop Lion, and Haim, among others.
In 2010 McCombs played Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, L.A.'s Culture Collide Festival and Invisible Children Benefit. 2011 offered an extensive headlining tour, an appearance at SXSW, and two albums released by McCombs and produced by Rechtshaid: Wit's End in April and Humor Risk in November. The two albums were made simultaneously. In an interview with Pitchfork, McCombs explains: "Wit's End was started years ago and it slowly made its way to the finish line. Humor Risk was just punched out. They're friends but they're different. Wit's End is like a stew; Humor Risk is the raw food diet."
Big Wheel and Others, McCombs' seventh full-length (and first double album) was released in October 2013. The album is rooted in the Americana mythos of the Wild West, from the San Francisco drug culture to the gunslingers and gold rush of the nineteenth century. The album once again features Karen Black on a version of the track Brighter!, her final recording before passing away due to ampullary cancer in August, 2013. Big Wheel is dedicated to her memory.
http://cassmccombs.com
Harmonia
Cass McCombs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How the days in-between have become so few
Friend of mine united by dream
Make me a part of you and I will you of me
Friend of mine, forever let us travel high
To understand not only the how, but the why
Friend of mine fades to black
Does this belong to you?
I pull the knife from my back
I leapt from the cliff into a pool of Jersey river water, Jersey river water
The psilocybin began its effects
I smashed my arm and my leg on the rock going down
But when I rose from the depths, and nearly death
What a friendly world I found!
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
The lyrics of Cass McCombs's song Harmonia express a longing for friendship and unity amidst the struggles of daily life. The singer addresses a friend, inviting them to share in a deeper understanding of the world around them. The first stanza suggests that time is passing quickly, and that the singer wishes to make the most of the moments they have left. The second stanza emphasizes the idea of unity, with the singer asking to become a part of their friend and vice versa. The third stanza goes beyond surface-level understanding and asks that they both seek to understand the why's as well as the how's of life.
However, the fourth stanza takes a darker turn. The phrase "fades to black" suggests a sudden end, perhaps a betrayal or falling-out between friends. The singer pulls a knife from their back, suggesting that they have been hurt or backstabbed by someone they thought they could trust. But then the lyrics transition into a new perspective, one where the singer has taken psilocybin and is experiencing a euphoric moment in the midst of pain- they have leapt from a cliff into water, but found that the world is still a friendly place. The repetition of "a friend is the end" ties the song together thematically- for better or for worse, friendship is a central aspect of human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Friend of mine let me show you
Let me demonstrate to you, dear friend
How the days in-between have become so few
How the time between our interactions has diminished
Friend of mine united by dream
Dear friend, connected through shared vision
Make me a part of you and I will you of me
Let us become one and share ourselves fully
Friend of mine, forever let us travel high
Dear friend, let us journey together to greater heights
To understand not only the how, but the why
To comprehend both the mechanics and the reasons behind our experiences
Friend of mine fades to black
Dear friend turns away, leaves me in darkness
Does this belong to you?
Is this behavior or action of yours?
I pull the knife from my back
I remove the metaphorical hurt you inflicted upon me
I leapt from the cliff into a pool of Jersey river water, Jersey river water
I jumped from a high place into a body of water in this specific location
The psilocybin began its effects
The hallucinogenic drug started to impact my perceptions
I smashed my arm and my leg on the rock going down
I injured myself against a hard surface while falling
But when I rose from the depths, and nearly death
Upon my return to the surface and narrowly escaping death
What a friendly world I found!
I discovered a welcoming and supportive environment
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend is the ultimate outcome, dear friend
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend is the ultimate result, dear friend
A friend, a friend, a friend, a friend, a friend is the end, friend of mine
A friend is the ultimate conclusion, dear friend
Contributed by Matthew W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.