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.
Chandeliers
Cloud Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I went to a square dance feeling like a circle
But did you see my mom last night?
She was so dang pretty
I ended up in a corn field,
Skeeters on my toe nails
‘Til the cows came back from their bleeding
He was so dang witty
And love scares me
Like chandeliers
Pretty shards of glass
To clean my ears
Hanging from a single wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
Hanging from a single wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
Hanging from a single, hanging from a single, single
I'm always dumbing up the smart things
And smarting up the dumb things
And knottin' up my shoe strings
And messing up the good things
But did you see the stars last night?
Punctuation for a perfect poem and
Tearin' down your walls
But I'm building up my walls
So no one knows no nothing,
No one knows no nothing
Did you see God last night?
An eighty-year-old on a red tricycle
I built the earth, I love you
Goddammit—I mean gosh darn
I built the earth, above you
Goddamn, gosh darn
And you can't take this away
You can't take this away
You can't take this away
And love scares me
Like chandeliers
Pretty shards of glass
To clean my ears
Hanging from a single wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
Hanging from a single wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
Hanging from a single, hanging from a single, single…
The lyrics to Cloud Cult's song "Chandeliers" evoke feelings of familial love and insecurity, as well as the delicate nature of love itself. The first stanza describes a night out, perhaps with friends or at a dance, where the singer was searching for romance but feeling out of place. The mention of the singer's parents, both being "so dang pretty" and "so dang witty," suggests that the singer finds comfort in memories of their family.
The second stanza goes on to describe the singer's insecurities and how they tend to sabotage themselves. The mention of the stars as "punctuation for a perfect poem" suggests that the singer is searching for meaning and purpose in their life. However, they are also building walls and keeping their true selves hidden. The mention of an "eighty-year-old on a red tricycle" as God suggests a humor and whimsy to the singer's spirituality.
The chorus compares love to chandeliers, beautiful but fragile and capable of causing harm. The repetition of the phrase "Hanging from a single wire / Waiting perhaps for a crack" reinforces this delicate and precarious image of love.
Overall, "Chandeliers" is a song that explores the complexities of love, family, and personal insecurity.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I was looking for some romance
I was searching for a romantic encounter
I went to a square dance feeling like a circle
I felt out of place and uncomfortable at the square dance
But did you see my mom last night?
I'm curious if you noticed how attractive my mother was last night
She was so dang pretty
My mother was exceptionally beautiful
I ended up in a corn field
I wound up in a corn field accidentally
Skeeters on my toe nails
I had mosquito bites on my toes
‘Til the cows came back from their bleeding
I stayed there until the cows returned from being milked
Did you see my dad last night?
Did you notice how witty my father was last night?
He was so dang witty
My father displayed a high level of intelligence and humor
And love scares me
I'm frightened by the concept of love
Like chandeliers
Love is fragile and delicate, like a chandelier
Pretty shards of glass
Love is beautiful but can be broken easily, like glass
To clean my ears
To help me hear and understand things better, like cleaning one's ears
Hanging from a single wire
The chandelier is suspended from a lone wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
It's possible the chandelier is waiting to shatter
I'm always dumbing up the smart things
I tend to say or do unintelligent things when I should be acting smarter
And smarting up the dumb things
I try to make foolish things seem intelligent
And knottin' up my shoe strings
I make simple tasks more complicated than they need to be
And messing up the good things
I have a tendency to ruin positive situations or relationships
But did you see the stars last night?
Did you observe the magnificent night sky filled with stars?
Punctuation for a perfect poem and
The stars seemed like the perfect punctuation for a beautiful poem
Tearin' down your walls
I'm breaking down your emotional barriers
But I'm building up my walls
At the same time, I'm creating new emotional walls to protect myself
So no one knows no nothing
I'm keeping my feelings and emotions hidden from others
No one knows no nothing
I'm making sure that nobody knows anything about me
Did you see God last night?
Did you catch a glimpse of God last night?
An eighty-year-old on a red tricycle
God was represented by an elderly person riding a tricycle
I built the earth, I love you
I, as God, created the Earth and love you
Goddammit—I mean gosh darn
I made a mistake with my wording and had to correct myself
I built the earth, above you
As God, I placed the Earth above you, as humans inhabit it
Goddamn, gosh darn
Once again I've almost used profanity and had to correct myself
And you can't take this away
You're unable to take away my feelings or beliefs
And love scares me
I'm still frightened of love
Like chandeliers
Love is similar to a chandelier, fragile and easily broken
Pretty shards of glass
The broken shards of the chandelier represent the pain of a broken relationship
To clean my ears
Once again, cleaning my ears represents a need to hear things more clearly, to understand love better
Hanging from a single wire
The chandelier still hangs from a lone wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
It still could shatter at any moment, waiting for a small, possibly insignificant event to trigger the event
Hanging from a single wire
The chandelier remains precariously suspended from one wire
Waiting perhaps for a crack
It could break easily without warning, its beauty and elegance fleeting
Hanging from a single, hanging from a single, single…
The repetition emphasizes the fragile and delicate nature of the chandelier, similar to love
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jodie Baxa
this song and clip clop are my favorites. I'd never heard of this band; I live at the grand canyon and wandered across someone's old campsite out in the woods. I found this CD on the ground there. It was next to some rocks that were stacked up on top of each other in three really unusual works of art. I would post a pic of it here if I could. anyways, the CD had no label or writing on it. I popped it in the CD player in my car and it was these guys. I had to go online and look the lyrics up to find out who the band was. :)
Ihsan ingersoll
Jodie Baxa that’s the exact type of story I expect to hear when it comes to Cloud Cult
Tano Petra
This is really nice. I could listen to it whole day.
pass_d_dojah 420
This whole Album is amazing ♡
Joseph A
Recently revisited multiple Cloud Cult albums in full after discovering there is a new album from 2022. While I don't think Aurora Borealis holds up as well as I remembered, Chandeliers and As Long as You're Happy (considered my favorite in the album, but the more I listen to Chandeliers, the more I question if I prefer it now) still hold up surprisingly well. That being said, I highly recommend you check out Metamorphosis (2022 album). It's a phenomenal Cloud Cult album.
pass_d_dojah 420
♡love
Jodie Baxa
see previous comment. this is from where I found the cd, the link is to the picture of it
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Eye83qaB5tcEqL9h1