Garneau, a native of Boston, lived with his family in Paris during grade school, and later New Jersey before moving to New York City. Garneau discovered a love of music at a young age while learning to play piano. After high school, Garneau briefly attended Berklee Music School in Boston, but left after completing one term and moved to Brooklyn, NY. There he began writing music and playing live shows at small venues in the East Village and Lower East Side of Manhattan, including CBGB's Gallery and "The Living Room".
Garneau eventually signed with Absolutely Kosher Records, an Emeryville, California-based record label. He was brought to the label by Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy of Xiu Xiu. Garneau released his debut album Music for Tourists in October 2006 and on iTunes in January 2007. His second project, an EP titled "C-Sides", was released in December 2007. Garneau's second full-length album, titled "El Radio," was released in July 2009.
Music
Chris Garneau Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is the same song every night
Spider on the window
Crawls over mother's shadow
If you could hear me say
Half of what i thought today
You would laugh in all my head
Well i'll stand by the sea
Until the sand covers me
Empty bottles in the floor
Body caught up to the shore
If you could hear me say
Half of what i thought today
You would laugh in all my head
From all the funny things i said
Sending my eyelashes
Where did you put your glasses?
Bathtub filled with water
There on the kitchen counter
If you could hear me say
Half of what i thought today
You would laugh in all my head
From all the funny things i said
You would laugh in all my head
From all the funny things i said
The opening lines of Chris Garneau's "Music" create a strong impression of a highly specific, and yet somehow universal, experience. The repetitive and familiar sound of music coming from a porch light creates an atmosphere of comfort and security. However, this feeling is contrasted with a sense of loss and danger that comes from the image of a spider crawling over the shadow of the singer's mother. It's an eerie image that suggests a haunting memory, and it sets the tone for the rest of the song.
The following lines become more introspective, as the singer reflects on what they are thinking and feeling. They express a desire to be understood by someone, but also a fear of being seen as foolish or ridiculous. The lines "sending my eyelashes, where did you put your glasses?" and "bathtub filled with water, there on the kitchen counter" suggest a scattered mind, one that is struggling to keep track of its own thoughts and actions. The repetition of the chorus reinforces this sense of self-doubt and uncertainty, as the singer imagines someone laughing at them for their lack of coherence.
Overall, "Music" is a powerful and evocative song that captures the complexity of human emotions and experiences. It touches on themes of memory, loss, and self-awareness, and it does so with a haunting beauty that is characteristic of Garneau's work.
Line by Line Meaning
Music from the porch light
The sound of music that comes from the porch light or from outside every night.
Is the same song every night
The music playing outside is always the same song every night, creating a feeling of monotony.
Spider on the window
A spider crawling on the window of the house.
Crawls over mother's shadow
The spider is crawling over the shadow of the artist's mother, which is cast on the window.
If you could hear me say
The artist imagines telling someone what is on their mind.
Half of what I thought today
The singer has many thoughts and only wants to share a portion of them.
You would laugh in all my head
The imagined listener would find the singer's thoughts or ideas amusing, but only in their own mind.
From all the funny things I said
The artist thinks of these thoughts as 'funny things' that they have come up with.
Well I'll stand by the sea
The artist is standing by the ocean or sea, contemplating their thoughts.
Until the sand covers me
The artist means that they will stay there by the sea until they are covered up by the sand.
Empty bottles on the floor
There are empty bottles lying around on the floor, perhaps symbolizing a feeling of mess or disorder.
Body caught up to the shore
It is unclear exactly what this means but it implies a feeling of being trapped or stuck, like a body caught by the shore of the ocean.
Sending my eyelashes
The singer is metaphorically sending their eyelashes somewhere, perhaps meaning they are closing their eyes to meditate or imagine.
Where did you put your glasses?
The singer is asking someone where they put their glasses, which seems unrelated to the other lines before and after this one.
Bathtub filled with water
A scene where there is a filled bathtub in the house, which seems unoccupied and abandoned.
There on the kitchen counter
The humor comes from the fact that the missing glasses were on the kitchen counter all along, adding to the sense of absurdity and mental confusion.
You would laugh in all my head
The imagined listener finds the whole series of events or thoughts happening inside the artist's own head amusing.
From all the funny things I said
The humor comes from the way the singer sees their own thoughts as 'funny things' despite the confusion and chaos of the scenes they describe.
Contributed by Ryan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Dummy Dum Dum
* I couldn’t find any lyrics so I listened by ear to my best abilities so please tell me if I got any of the lines wrong :;(∩´﹏`∩);:
We’re not the lovers we said we were
I’m not the child either
In other words
I’m better off
I’m better off
Don’t write the letter you said you would
Don’t walk the extra mile either
Don’t bother her
She’s better off
She’s better off
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
The shift
The change
The wild wind
Oh where
The shift
The change
The wild wind
Oh where
Don’t tell me about the wind
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
Don’t write the letter you said you would
Don’t walk the extra mile either
Don’t bother her
She’s better off
Don’t write the letter you said you would
Don’t walk the extra mile either
Don’t bother her
She’s better off
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
*I Love you Chris ! ! ♡ You deserve so much more recognition for your angelic vocals and beautiful acoustics there has been countless times where your music has been a comfort for me, please keep making amazing art because you’re an original and inspirational ☆彡
Mark Anderson
Chris, listen to me. Never worry about being underrated. You're perfect and you're great and you're a legend. Don't forget there's someone who'll never forget you
jan kowalski
I'm sad that after all these years he's still underrated. But secretly I am glad and selfish about that - his music is for insiders. I love the intimacy of "Music for tourists", so return to the roots on "The Kind" will be a pure bliss for me. But I also hear something new and fresh in his voice and singing - not previous melodramatic anger but self-confident "gentle-rage".
danielle tyler
Constantly blown away by this man's talent. I've never not been mesmerized.
Dummy Dum Dum
* I couldn’t find any lyrics so I listened by ear to my best abilities so please tell me if I got any of the lines wrong :;(∩´﹏`∩);:
We’re not the lovers we said we were
I’m not the child either
In other words
I’m better off
I’m better off
Don’t write the letter you said you would
Don’t walk the extra mile either
Don’t bother her
She’s better off
She’s better off
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
The shift
The change
The wild wind
Oh where
The shift
The change
The wild wind
Oh where
Don’t tell me about the wind
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
Don’t write the letter you said you would
Don’t walk the extra mile either
Don’t bother her
She’s better off
Don’t write the letter you said you would
Don’t walk the extra mile either
Don’t bother her
She’s better off
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
We’re not the child
This isn’t black and white
There is nothing else they can do
We’re not the child
*I Love you Chris ! ! ♡ You deserve so much more recognition for your angelic vocals and beautiful acoustics there has been countless times where your music has been a comfort for me, please keep making amazing art because you’re an original and inspirational ☆彡
Victo Sousa
He's so blessed and artistical,, I love so much his style and creativity.
Soapy
this deserves so much more attention
Mac Hilborn
Your music brings me great peace. Amazing song as always 💕
DuckistQ
I’ll never understand why you’re so underrated. your music is perfection and you inspire me so much. 🥺🤍
Audrey R
I’m so excited for your next album, from what’s been released I know it’s gonna be great. Xoxo, keep making music
Sylvia Creamer
I know I'm getting to this a few months late- It's sat in my Watch Later since I got the notification that you put out something new until I was emotionally ready to hear you, and it was so very worth the wait this is absolutely breathtaking! I've been a big fan of your work for years and years now and this made me so happy to hear, your voice is always so beautiful, thank you for sharing this with us during such a painful year, this has been a gift <3