1) An five piece Alternat… Read Full Bio ↴Several artists are known under this name:
1) An five piece Alternative rock band from the Southeast Michigan/ Northwest Ohio area. The band consists of three permanent members: Mat Kerekes (vocals), Nick Hamm (guitars) & Eric Hamm (bass). They are currently signed to Run For Cover Records (http://facebook.com/citizentheband) (http://citizenmi.bandcamp.com/)
2) A brocore band from Denver, Colorado. Loud, fast, douchey and rather boring to say the least. (http://citizenhardcore.bandcamp.com)
3) A hardstyle duo, consisting of Cristiano Giusberti (technoboy), Riccardo Tesini;
4) A US guerilla extremist grindcore band (which features members of Exhumed and Cretin);
5) A fastcore band from the Sunshine Coast, Australia;
6) A progressive psy-trance project;
7) An underground house/techno/uk bass producer from London (real name Claudio Lillo);
8) A short-lived and unfortunately unsigned post-punk/britpop group from east London active throughout the 1990s and during some time in 2006.
Jet
Citizen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Deep into the night, hereafter falls
I am keeping close, close to nothing
Let the mallet swing through the fire
I see your face staring back at me
You know I turn to you for self abusing
All of our ears to the floorboards
I know who is in the backyard
But who′s that living in our home?
We are moving slow
I am a pawn in every step you take
Illusion wraps me up, keeps me guessing
You put my back to the wall
Somehow that wasn't enough
I′m the result of what you never were
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our
All of our ears to the floorboards
There's nothing left for anyone
I know who is in the backyard
But who′s that living in our home?
If I′m in pain then you, you must be too
Are we on our way back down?
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
Make me more assured, to clean my wounds
My flickering thoughts; all wrong
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
You put my back to the wall
Somehow that wasn't enough
I′m the result of what you never were
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our
All of our ears to the floorboards
We peel them back forevermore
I know who is in the backyard
But who′s that living in our home?
In "Jet", Citizen creates a haunting atmosphere of confusion and uncertainty, with lyrics that are open to interpretation. The song seems to explore the dynamics of a relationship, with the singer suggesting he's a "pawn" in his partner's decisions, and he's left unsure of his place in the relationship. He admits to "self-abusing" and being a result of "what you never were," implying he's aware he's not living up to someone's expectations. The lyrics also include a hint of danger, with references to someone living in their home and being in their backyard. There's a sense of paranoia and fear, as though the singer feels trapped and threatened.
Line by Line Meaning
We are moving slow
We're not making much progress
Deep into the night, hereafter falls
We're going deeper and deeper into the night
I am keeping close, close to nothing
I feel like I'm empty and have nothing
Let the mallet swing through the fire
Let things happen as they may
I see your face staring back at me
I'm reminded of you and how I turn to you for self-destructive behavior
You know I turn to you for self abusing
I come to you when I want to hurt myself
All of our ears to the floorboards
We're listening intently for any signs of trouble
My eyes are falling everywhere
I'm searching for any clues
I know who is in the backyard
I'm aware of the obvious threats
But who′s that living in our home?
Who is the real enemy amongst us?
I am a pawn in every step you take
I feel like I have no control and am used by you
Illusion wraps me up, keeps me guessing
I can't trust my own perceptions because of the illusions that surround me
You put my back to the wall
You've trapped me and left me with no other options
Somehow that wasn't enough
Your attempts to control me failed
I′m the result of what you never were
I'm what you could have been but never were
There's nothing left for anyone
Hope is fading away for everyone
We peel them back forevermore
We keep trying to uncover the truth
If I′m in pain then you, you must be too
We're both suffering
Are we on our way back down?
Are we backsliding?
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
We'll turn to false hope to escape reality
Make me more assured, to clean my wounds
Help me feel more confident and heal my pain
My flickering thoughts; all wrong
My thoughts are confused and misleading
We peel them back forevermore
We keep trying to uncover the truth
But who′s that living in our home?
Who is the real enemy amongst us?
Writer(s): Mathew James Keith Kerekes, Nicholas Ryan Hamm, Ryland Lee Oehlers, Eric William Hamm, Jake Anthony Duhaime
Contributed by Lincoln D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Olsen Olsen
[Verse 1]
We are moving slow
Deep into the night, hereafter falls
I am keeping close, close to nothing
Let the mallet swing through the fire
I see your face staring back at me
You know I turn to you for self abusing
[Chorus]
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who’s that living in our home
[Verse 2]
We are moving slow
I am a pawn in every step you take
Illusion wraps me up, keeps me guessing
[Pre-Chorus]
You put my back to the wall
Somehow that wasn’t enough
I’m the result of what you never were
[Chorus]
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who’s that living in our home
All of our ears to the floorboards
There's nothing left for anyone
I know who is in the backyard
But who’s that living in our home
[Bridge]
If I’m in vain then you must be too
Are we on our way back down?
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
Make me more assured, clean my wounds
My flickering thoughts; all wrong
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
[Pre-Chorus]
You put my back to the wall
Somehow that wasn’t enough
I’m the result of what you never were
[Chorus]
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who’s that living in our home
All of our ears to the floorboards
We peel them back forevermore
I know who is in the backyard
But who’s that living in our home
Rose
I think the lyrics depict an abusive relationship between parents and their children. Often taking control of their life, living through them, making them into what they wish they were if they could do it all over. ("You put my back to the wall, Somehow that wasn’t enough, I’m the result of what you never were")
They are constantly wondering what will happen next, watching for any signs boiling below that the parental will snap on them. This may even extend to everyone else in the family besides the controlling parent. ("All of our ears to the floorboards, My eyes are falling everywhere").
They usually put them in situations manipulatively , where they cant say no or defy them by guilting and holding oppressive authority over them. "What about MY feelings?" "Until you become a doctor you will do as I say!" (I am a pawn in every step you take, Illusion wraps me up, keeps me guessing).
They act like such wonderful parents to everyone else, they only get the glimpse of part of who they are, while the child lives with their entirety and sees them for their abusive control over them, " I know who's in the back yard, But who's that living in our home?" This may be used in Vice Versa situations, "I know who's in our home, but who's that in the back yard?" Obviously this isn't as catchy.
Children who deal with this often dont get close enough to their parents to really feel loved or feel anything other than who they are supposed to be in the eyes of their parents. This often pushes the children to grow up in a mold and affects them psychologically for the rest of their lives. They may have even believed the parenting style was normal and felt they deserved it, letting their parents mold them under pressure and aggression. ("Let the mallet swing through the fire, I see your face staring back at me, You know I turn to you for self abusing")
They may feel as if they can't keep any of their own organic passions. ("I am keeping close, close to nothing,")
There may be times when the parent softens and tries to make the child (or young adult) think that all of their feelings and thoughts are unjustified if its in resistance to their authority. They will treat them nicely just to make them doubt themselves and fall back into their control. The illusion that everything will look up from now on. ("If I’m in vain then you must be too, Are we on our way back down? Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope, Make me more assured, clean my wounds, My flickering thoughts; all wrong
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope")
But they will never willingly set aside their abusively controlling behavior. The best example I can give is useful to you if you have watched "The Dead Poet's Society"
Video Connection:
We know that there is a male and two females portrayed in the house in eerie dark realities parallel to the one the family get together event is in. The male wears sticks over his face so he cannot see. The woman beckoning the rest of the family members does not, but the female singing with the mic has a ribbon around her eyes as well. Perhaps this is the immediate family being represented. The mother is luring the family members in one by one and altering their mind in some way, to the point the walk out and completely ignore the girl in the end, only turning their backs towards her or acting weirdly for no apparent reason to her. No one will respond when she tries to get their attention.
It is possible the Mother is the abusive parent who is making the rest of her family believe they should turn their backs on the daughter. The man with the sticks over his eyes may be the father who is just not seeing the damage. The daughter or another significant girl we cant place with the ribbon over her eyes may be blind to the control as well, but knows something is wrong.
The Day and Night scenes seem to be a glimpse into what we are not seeing in our reality but deep underneath. The symbolism could be understood based around this: "Night represents the darkness of the soul, its forgetfulness of its own nature as something essentially made of light. Day represents the soul’s consciousness of its source; the earth’s day represents the bright hours of the soul, its being immersed in the light of the principle and hence directly conscious of it."
This is explained neatly as this; In the day you act as you should and now you should, you do what you are supposed to and you feel better than you had the night before when there was no sunshine (principles, rules) to follow and you would mostly become careless or more unpredicatble (sneaking out, getting wasted, or letting go of yourself)
ALTERNATIVE MEANING
EDIT:
At 1:04 you can see the "tattoo" on her arm showing the perfect line up of the solar system. Symbolism points to this Either she is the embodiment of a God or the universe itself. Or she is behaving like one over her household. Another way to look at it: "Sun is the source of light; it is light itself. All other objects in the solar system derive their brightness from the light of the sun; they reflect the light of the principle, and hence the principle itself and its constant presence.
All the objects of the solar system, planets and comets, which have come from the heart of the sun keep revolving around their source; this is similar to the circumambulation ritual central to all religions in which the devotees rotate around a symbol representing the principle."
We see each individual come to her as if not knowing what is beckoning them, she seems to have them on their knees and shes comforting them. Then they are seen being beckoned into weird various places that seem strange and as if they are in a trance. There is a short scene at 00:43 where we can see that the mysterious woman seems to be stealing the other woman's soul.
at 00:43 We can see him with 3 jugs of milk and he later spills this over his face in the video. I researched that spilling the milk and not actually drinking it, is symbolic of the loss of trust, opportunity and faith. - information from Dream Moods. OR "Milk symbolizes the MOTHER, it is deeply connected with life itself." -Umich.edu
A lot of these short scenes seem to be ritualistic and religiously tied. Sticks, ribbons, the tattoo and the milk are all very weird but seem to be a nod towards a ritual. Perhaps she is a goddess or some immortal ominous being.
Once the girl tries to awaken or snap the people to consciousness she is locked out from the house with the people inside, backs to her. This could be interpreted as her being an outsider for not being involved with the religion. Perhaps its about giving your life to a religion that is more harsh on its principles and punishments that they feel they need to be formed by it.
Perhaps she represents an actual demon and there are lost souls already among her that exist as ghosts. she does seem to be pulling a soul from that one woman and sending the entranced hollow bodies out to the backyard. the souls trapped in the house at the end.
Who knows. Interpret as you will, I believe it was purposefully not as easy as we'd like it to be .
None Ofthet
We are moving slow
Deep into the night, hereafter falls
I am keeping close, close to nothing
Let the mallet swing through the fire
I see your face staring back at me
You know I turn to you for self abusing
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our home
We are moving slow
I am a pawn in every step you take
Illusion wraps me up, keeps me guessing
You put my back to the wall
Somehow that wasn't enough
I'm the result of what you never were
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our home
All of our ears to the floorboards
There's nothing left for anyone
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our home
If I'm in vain then you, you must be too
Are we on our way back down?
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
Make me more assured, to clean my wounds
My flickering thoughts; all wrong
Into delusion we will go to stare at a glimpse of hope
You put my back to the wall
Somehow that wasn't enough
I'm the result of what you never were
All of our ears to the floorboards
My eyes are falling everywhere
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our -
All of our ears to the floorboards
We peel them back forevermore
I know who is in the backyard
But who's that living in our home
Taylor Cassell
This honestly feels like what should've been made after Youth. Nothing wrong with their last album, but this feels like a proper continuation of what they built with Youth. This song is amazing
Hector Ramirez
Most Definitely I was thinking the same thing this album should of been after
Stephennn
The album is amazing
Plague
Taylor Cassell one of the few comments Ive read that are absolutely true.
Taylor Jackson
Taylor Cassell right
TheBradReaper
THAT CHORUS THO.
I may only get a couple hours of sleep every night but i'll never get tired of this
Jonas Köhler
I didnt think they could ever top Youth but this might just be it
Breezy
They can Easily top youth they just making music rn and it’s damn good
Spencer Cowan
Jonas Köhler PLEASE they topped their whole career easily with this album. It’s gonna be tough to follow up this masterpiece of a record.
Eli McKenna
Jafet Violante I completely agree. Youth is a progressed version of Young States, but EIGTH was 10 steps into a completely unforeseen direction that they pulled off flawlessly. I can understand why everyone still has the feels for Young States, but looking at it musically, there is so much more going on in their actual full lengths that makes YS sound a little boring. They also don't play anything from YS live anymore so that says a lot about where they're headed as a band.