Codeine released their first album Frigid Stars on the German label Glitterhouse in 1990. The album was released on Sub Pop the following year.
Their second release, the Barely Real EP was issued in 1992. Immerwahr rejected several of the songs after the recording session. Some of these songs were re-recorded for the final album. The song w. is a solo performance on piano by David Grubbs (of Bastro, Squirrel Bait and Gastr del Sol). A somewhat different full-band version of the song appears on Codeine's next album, but titled Wird.
Brokaw left the band after the release of Barely Real to play full-time with his other band Come. He was replaced by Douglas Scharin of the band Rex.
Codeine's next and final release was the full-length album The White Birch, released in 1994. David Grubbs also participated on the album. After this release the band broke up. Stephen Immerwahr has since then been playing with the band Raymond, while Douglas Scharin continued in June of 44 and later HiM.
The band reformed in May 2012 for a Mogwai-curated ATP I'll Be Your Mirror in London. They played their final reunion show in July 2012 in New York.
Jr
Codeine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And lie in the grass
The hot winds blow
Promises I'll never know
Dumb at twelve
With a delinquent mind
The sky turned yellow-blue
These days things loom above me
My head is empty
My tongue and lips
Are swollen
The lyrics to Codeine's song Jr are filled with confusion, despair, and a sense of lost innocence. The lines "Threw my bike off the road and lie in the grass" suggest a moment of anger and frustration, as though the singer is trying to escape from something. The hot winds blowing suggest a sense of stagnation, perhaps indicating that the singer feels trapped or stuck in their current situation. The promises the singer will never know might refer to missed opportunities or a lack of hope for the future.
The mention of being "dumb at twelve with a delinquent mind" suggests that the singer has a troubled past or has made bad choices in the past. The description of the sky turning "yellow-blue like a week-old bruise" contributes to the sense of darkness and despair in the lyrics.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics take on a more introspective tone. The line "these days things loom above me" suggests that the singer feels overwhelmed by life or circumstances beyond their control. The final lines, "my head is empty, my tongue and lips are swollen," suggest a feeling of numbness or difficulty expressing oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
Threw my bike off the road
I deliberately crashed my bike and left it by the side of the road.
And lie in the grass
I lay down in the grass, possibly injured or just to take a rest.
The hot winds blow
The air is warm and there is a noticeable breeze.
Promises I'll never know
I missed an opportunity, and there will be no way to know what might have been if I had taken it.
Dumb at twelve
I was not very bright or mature when I was twelve.
With a delinquent mind
I had a tendency to misbehave or act out.
The sky turned yellow-blue
The light in the sky was unusual and slightly unsettling.
Like a week-old bruise
The color of the sky reminded me of a fading bruise, indicating that something bad had taken place.
These days things loom above me
I am currently struggling with challenges that seem insurmountable and threatening.
My head is empty
I am feeling mentally unable to cope or process information.
My tongue and lips
I am experiencing physical symptoms, such as swelling of my tongue and lips. These symptoms may be caused by emotional stress.
Are swollen
My tongue and lips are noticeably swollen and possibly painful.
Contributed by Zachary F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michael Black
This for some reason isn't on Spotify even though the rest of Barely Real is. (Apart from "Barely Real" itself). Which is a pity cos it's great.
Erick Gude
this isn't really a video, but the song is great.