The band's founder and singer Craig Minowa has a degree in Environmental Science, and his environmental, political, and social awareness is reflected in much of Cloud Cult's music. (Note: Craig Minowa actually has stated he intentionally doesn't sing about environmental awareness because he lives it...he doesn't need to preach it) The band's self-created non-profit record label, Earthology Records, uses the most environmentally friendly methods available to ensure minimum damage to the environment.
After two solo LP's, The Shade Project (1995), and Who Killed Puck? (2000), Minowa's sudden loss of his two-year-old son and subsequent separation from his wife, Cloud Cult emerged with They Live On The Sun in 2003, combining concepts of Minowa with performances by cellist Sarah Young and drummer Dan Greenwood, who shortly became members of the band. This album was deeply personal and painful album for Cloud Cult and you don't often hear songs from it in concert.
Minowa continued to use music to cope with the loss of his son on the following album Aurora Borealis. This album did begin to branch out more into exploration of pain and loss instead of just feeling it.
Minowa reunited with his wife, and the next album is widely considered their crowning achievement. Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus involved collaboration from a variety of musicians and has garnered praise from critics, even being acclaimed as "a work of insane genius". This album is capped off with the "happy-go-lucky" song, Lucky Today. This album was selected by esurance to be animated into a commercial. This was a contest for the most environmentally sound band because esurance labels themselves as the paperless insurance provider.
On April 10th 2007 Cloud Cult officially released their sixth LP, The Meaning of 8 (although it was available for sale online in late January): the first single was titled "Take Your Medicine." In April 2008, the band followed it with Feel Good Ghosts.
In 2009 band announced a break till 2010, though they released limited re-releases of their albums Lost Songs from the Lost Years, They Live on the Sun and Aurora Borealis (the last two as a double-disc).
Their concerts are certainly a sight to be seen. Along with Minowa on Guitars (and other fun things), they have got bass, drums, violin and cello. There are two official band members who actually do very little music during the shows; Minowa's wife Connie and Scott are painters. They create original works of art during the show (breaking only occasionally to sing or sometimes Scott plays Trumpet). Then, at the end of the show, they silent auction these paintings off to the highest bidder.
Their official website is www.cloudcult.com.
Buried Poetry
Cloud Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Poetry that I once wrote her.
There's nothing we were holding down.
Nothing we were holding down.
I kept a favorite photograph
Of her and I in the tall dream grass.
And nothing here could take us down.
Paper buried in the dirt:
It's all the poetry that I once wrote her.
It's something we were burning down.
Something we were burning down.
I lost my favorite photographs
Buried deep in the tall dream grass.
There's so much I am holding down. (So much I am holding down.)
There's so much I am holding down.
In Cloud Cult's song Buried Poetry, the lyrics convey a sense of loss and a yearning for what once was. The reference to "paper and pencils" alludes to the act of creating and writing poetry, which the singer wrote for a person named "her." The mention of a "favorite photograph" of the singer and "her" suggests an intimate relationship between the two, and the image of them together in a serene place evokes a sense of nostalgia.
However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that something has gone wrong. The paper and poetry that the singer once wrote for "her" are now buried in the dirt, and the refrain of "something we were burning down" implies that the relationship has been destroyed. The loss of the favorite photographs buried in the grass represents a deeper emotional wound that the singer is carrying, as evidenced by the repetition of "there's so much I am holding down."
Overall, the song Buried Poetry speaks to the pain of losing someone dear and the longing to retrieve what once was. The imagery of the buried paper and photographs is a metaphor for the emotional baggage that the singer carries, both in terms of the relationship that was lost and the memories that still haunt him.
Line by Line Meaning
Paper and pencils made a birth:
The creation of something special began with just paper and pencils.
Poetry that I once wrote her.
The special creation was a poem that the singer wrote for someone.
There's nothing we were holding down.
There was nothing holding the singer and the person he wrote the poem for back from each other.
Nothing we were holding down.
There was no obstacle or barrier that could prevent their love from flourishing.
I kept a favorite photograph
The singer cherished a specific picture of him and the person he wrote the poem for.
Of her and I in the tall dream grass.
The picture was of the two of them standing in tall, beautiful grass.
And nothing here could take us down.
Their love and happiness was unbreakable by anything present in their lives.
Nothing here could take us down.
No matter what challenges they encountered, they remained strong and steadfast in their love for each other.
Paper buried in the dirt:
The poem that was once so special and meaningful was now buried and insignificant.
It's all the poetry that I once wrote her.
The poem was the most important thing to the singer at one point in time.
It's something we were burning down.
The love that was once so strong was now fading away into nothingness.
Something we were burning down.
The song implies that there were regrets and problems in their love that they couldn't solve, and everything that was once passionate was now burning away.
I lost my favorite photographs
The singer lost the cherished picture of him and the person he wrote the poem for.
Buried deep in the tall dream grass.
The picture was lost in the exact location where it was taken, making its disappearance even more poignant and symbolic.
There's so much I am holding down. (So much I am holding down.)
The loss of the photo and the poem is still a heavy emotional burden on the singer, who cannot let go of his regrets and memories of what once was.
Contributed by Jasmine I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ceridwyn Creswell
Thanks for the upload! I've also been looking for My Fictitious Life with Amily, I wonder why it's been removed from all streaming platforms! Copyright?
zihark
No worries. Also, apologies but I wasn't familiar with this particular album when I uploaded it. I don't remember exactly what sort of due diligence I went through before uploading it but I obviously missed this track :/. What made things worse at the time, if I recall correctly, is that the track listing isn't even complete on the Cloud Cult website, it's actually missing more tracks there than on Spotify.
Wish I could tell you other ways to find My Fictitious Life with Amily but unfortunately I am paranoid about getting banned for talking about those particular methods :(.