Cass McCombs (born in Concord, California in 1977) is an American singer-so… Read Full Bio ↴Cass McCombs (born in Concord, California in 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and performer.

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

You Saved My Life
Cass McCombs Lyrics

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In this spare room
We better see what we have and whom
An I.O.U. for the Same Thing
Only angels have wings
So they say

Here I stand, alive unto you

My fate's mercy seat
Sought blood to gulp and flesh to eat
And I can't blame you enough
But I'm indebted to your mercy and your love

Here I stand, alive unto you, alive unto you
Because you saved my life
Now I see there's so much to lose so much to lose
Because you saved my life
My life, you saved my life

Darling, now I must live for you
One reprieve grants another until each world is born anew

Here I stand, alive unto you, alive unto you
Because you saved my life
Now I see there's so much to lose, so much to lose
Because you saved my life

Here I stand, alive unto you, alive unto you
Because you saved my life
Now I see there's so much to lose, so much to lose
Because you saved my life

Never understand, never can ignore
I'm rotten to the core, since 1994

Never understand, never can ignore
I'm rotten to the core, since 1994

Overall Meaning

The first verse of Cass McCombs's song You Saved My Life sets the scene in a “spare room” where the singer and a companion are contemplating what they have, or perhaps more importantly, what they could lose. Despite feeling indebted to unknown benefactors, the singer bemoans their own shortcomings and suggests they are undeserving of mercy. The second verse presents a different mood, however, as the singer suggests they are “alive unto” their savior, and now see how much they have to lose. The final section of the song is a plea to live for the person who saved them, acknowledging that the act of saving their life has granted them more chances to make the most of it.

There are several interpretations of this song, but the lyrics seem to be about recognizing the potential of one’s life and the importance of valuing it properly. There may also be an acknowledgement of the role that chance plays in our lives, and that sometimes we have to be saved from our own shortcomings to fully appreciate what we have. The use of the repeated phrase “alive unto you” drives home the idea that this salvation has imparted a new sense of purpose to the singer's life. The final repeating lines (“never understand, never can ignore, I'm rotten to the core, since 1994”) may be a nod to personal flaws or past mistakes, but the context is unclear.

Line by Line Meaning

In this spare room
In this empty space

We better see what we have and whom
It's important that we evaluate what we possess and who we're with

An I.O.U. for the Same Thing
A promise to exchange something equal

Only angels have wings
Only the godlike have the ability to fly

So they say
That's what people claim, but who knows if it's true

Here I stand, alive unto you
I'm standing right in front of you, thanks to you

My fate's mercy seat
The power to determine my destiny lies with you

Sought blood to gulp and flesh to eat
I was searching for something to satisfy my deepest cravings

And I can't blame you enough
I can't blame you too much for my past mistakes

But I'm indebted to your mercy and your love
I owe you for your kindness and affection

Now I see there's so much to lose, so much to lose
I realize there are many things I could lose, and it frightens me